An image from the trial documents of a sideways X Dirk Hersseler used as a signature, because he couldn't write his name.
Dirk Hersseler (c. 1732, Kerpen-Eifel – 23 September 1773, Heerlen) was a knacker from Neerbeek and an alleged Bokkenrijder. He was the brother of the knacker Nicolaas Hersseler and an uncle to Nicolaas's son Philip Hersseler; both of them were convicted Bokkenrijders as well. Dirk was the first convict from Beek during the third mass trial.
Personal life
According to himself, Dirk Hersseler was born in 1732 in Kerpen, in het county Arenberg, in the Eifel. He was part of a family of knackers and because of that he became a knacker as well, just like his brother Nicolaas, who was about fifteen years older. Nicolaas moved to Aachen and then to Heerlen; Dirk moved to Schümm, near Gangelt, then to Kleine Meers (Little Meers), in Elsloo, and next to Neerbeek, in Beek. This last town is where he lived from 1764 until his arrest in 1773. He married Catharina Schuts on 26 November 1754 in Gangelt, when he was about 22 years old. They had seven children together, all born between 1756 and 1773. The last child was born two weeks after Dirk's arrest and never met their father.
In the trial documents, Dirk signs with a sideways X instead of writing down his name, like every suspect who couldn't write.
Arrest
On 1 May 1773, Dirk's brother Nicolaas was arrested in Heerlen along with nine others, and eleven days after that, Dirk's nephew Philip was arrested as well. Several prisoners named Dirk as their accomplice: among them Matthijs van de Berg and Dirk's own brother Nicolaas Hersseler. On 27 May, an arrest warrant is issued for him. He probably saw this coming after the arrest of his brother and nephew, and because of this, he's hiding in the barony Elsloo, but he is captured nevertheless. On 3 June, he's arrested and subsequently transferred to the jurisdiction of Valkenburg, where he was probably imprison in the Landshuis. Nicolaas and Philip Hersseler were locked up in that building as well.
Confessions
His first interrogation and the confrontations with those who accused him took place on 5 June (the day that Philip was threatened with torture devices and started confessing) and on 11 and 12 June, he's interrogated again and threatened with torture devices. He starts to confess and names many accomplices, like his brother Nicolaas, but not his nephew Philip. He mostly names people from Heerlen, where many people were already getting arrested, but then goes on to name people from his own area, Beek and Elsloo. Because of this, the mass trial caught hold of those lands as well. On 14 June, Dirk has his recollection, during which a suspect has to confirm and re-iterate the confessions he made under torture. Dirk confirmed everything and stuck to his confessions, instead of denying them like many other suspects did when they were no longer being tortured. He even asks for further interrogation on 1 July. It's probable that he did this to seem helpful and avoid further torture, or maybe even to be kept alive longer; suspects who made many confessions and accusations, tended to live longer, because they were useful to the prosecution.
Even though Dirk is helpful and obedient, other suspects give the prosecution the idea that Dirk is still holding back information, and he is subjected to further interrogation under torture on 26 and 27 July. He is put in thumbscrews and Spanish boots. Initially, he denies the allegations, but then he gives in and confesses the robberies and rapes he is being accused of. He accuses many people from Elsloo and Beek; altogether, he names over one hundred people, just like his brother did when he was being tortured.
He confessed guilt to a robbery that never took place, in the New House, near Camp behind Schimmert. This place is under the jurisdiction of the court in Nuth. In December 1773, a few months after Dirk's death, the court of Nuth discovers that this robbery never took place. No one bothered to check this when multiple suspects falsely confessed to taking part in this robbery.
Death penalty
Just like when Dirk's brother Nicolaas was convicted a few months earlier, the court thinks Dirk's crimes were to serious for a “normal” death penalty by hanging. He has to be broken on a wheel, just like his brother; the two fingers of his right hand that he allegedly used to swear an oath to the devil have to be cut off; and he has to be beheaded, just like his brother, in order to put his head on a spike and show it off. On 23 September 1773, Dirk Hersseler is executed on the Graetheide underneath Beek. He was about 41 years old and left a wife and children behind.
References
1: Van Gehuchten, F. (2014). Bokkenrijders. De schande van Limburg. De derde en grootste bokkenrijdersvervolging, 1770-1778, Heerlen: Leon van Dorp. p. 246
2: Van Gehuchten, F. (2014). Bokkenrijders. De schande van Limburg. De derde en grootste bokkenrijdersvervolging, 1770-1778, Heerlen: Leon van Dorp. p. 99-102
3: Van Eekelen, J. (z.d.). Bokkenrijders en afstammelingen > Hersseler, Dirk > Dirk Hersseler, vilder in Neerbeek, gefolterd, executie 1773. Johnve.home.xs4all. Viewed on 8 October 2022, from https://johnve.home.xs4all.nl/AFS_2/A226.html#226
4: Van Eekelen, J. (z.d.). Bokkenrijders en afstammelingen > Hersseler, Philip > Philip Hersseler, vilder in Heerlerheide, gefolterd, galg 1773. johnve.home.xs4all. Viewed on 7 October 2022, from https://johnve.home.xs4all.nl/AFS_2/A226.html#228
5: Van Eekelen, J. (z.d.). Bokkenrijders en afstammelingen > Hersseler, Nicolaas > Nicolaes Hersseler, vilder in Heerlerheide, gefolterd, executie 1773. johnve.home.xs4all. Viewed on 7 October 2022, from https://johnve.home.xs4all.nl/AFS_2/A226.html#227
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