Maria Ponts (January 25th 1721, Hoensbroek - November 12th 1743, Hoensbroek) was a young lady from Hoensbroek who got executed as Bokkenrijder. She was the daughter of the skinner and the supposed gangleader Mathijs Ponts.
Personal life
Maria Ponts was baptized on January 15th 1721 in Hoensbroek in the small Sint-Janschurch, shortly after her birth as daughter of Mathijs Ponts and Barbara Bemelmans. She was the third daughter and the sixth out of nine children; her siblings were Ida (1712), Johannes (1713), Peter (1716), Gertrudis (1716), Hendrik (1718), Margaretha (1723), Matthias (1726) and Reinerus (1729). She was not married and lived with her parents in the Akerstraat, together with her brother Peter and likely also Matthias, Reinerus, Margaretha and possibly also Gertrudis. Her brother-in-law Johannes Honoffs (Ida's husband) described her as "fat, heavy and tall regarding posture, red faced, black hair and blue eyed." He also sai she had a child that was 3 or 4 years old, which was born in Eschweiler. It is unknown whether this was her own (illegal) child or one of Johannes', who was a fugitive at the time.
Arrest and trial
From January 1743 and forth, her father Mathijs and her brother Peter were being accused by suspects from Kerkrade; the trials had only just started at the time. Maria's name isn't mentioned at first, but later on she also gets accused. They say she would have joined robberies wearing men's clothing, perhaps to appear as more intimidating or to feel safer. She would have helped her dad and her three older brothers with their crimes.
On April 10th 1743 Maria got arrested in (likely) her own home, together with her older brother and her father. They were put in prison at the castle of Hoensbroek. She likely got placed in a different cell due to her being a woman. On September 19th and 24th she was interrogated, which could have been paired with torture. The rest of her time was spent in a dark cell, with no contact with the outside world. On November 12th she ended up being executed together with Mathijs Ponts and Peter Ponts, likely via being burned alive; a gruesome punishment. The entire town would have seen her execution happen and she possibly could have seen the death of her father and brother happen before hers, or maybe the other executed that day: Johannes Klinckens, Corst Klinckens and Johannes Kraems. Maria Ponts only lived up until 22 years old.
Maria's sister Ida would have passed on the gallows a few months later; their brother Johannes was hanged a few months before them. Hendrik Ponts ran away in time and managed to escape his destiny.
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