Mathijs Ponts

Mathijs Ponts (English: Mathias) (c. 1690, Hoensbroek — 12 november 1743, Hoensbroek) was a knacker from Hoensbroek and alleged leader of the Bokkenrijders. He was prosecuted along with his family during the third mass trial and was imprisoned on the castle of Hoensbroek. He is one of the most well-known Bokkenrijders.

Personal life

Little is known about Mathijs's birth; we believe that he was born around 1690 in Hoensbroek. His parents were probably Johannes (English: John) Ponts and Ida Busch, but Georgius Ponts and Maria van Iseren are sometimes named as well. Johannes Ponts and Ida Busch seem the most likely, because Mathijs's oldest children were named Johannes and Ida. It was habitual in Mathijs's time to name your children after your parents. Seeing as Mathijs and his children were knackers, it is very likely that his father was a knacker as well, especially since knackers usually had a bad reputation and generally didn't have much contact with people who weren't knackers as well.

On May 26, 1711, when he about 21 years old, Mathijs married Barbara Bemelmans, who had been baptised on July 12, 1784 as the daughter of Hendrik (English: Henry) Bemelmans and Gertrude Wingarts, a knacker family as well. The two of them had nine children in the years after that, between 1712 and 1729: Ida (1712-1744), Johannes (1713-1743), Peter (1716-1743), Gertrude (1716-?), Hendrik (1718-?), Maria (1721-1743), Margaretha (1723-?), Matthias (1726-?) and Reinerus (1729-?). The family lived in the Akerstraat in Hoensbroek.
In 1734, Mathijs allegedly filed a complaint with the court in Schinnen against knackers from the Hollandish territory who had started living in the Spanish territory (where Mathijs lived) and rivaled him, causing him to lose profits.

Mathijs and his family came into conflict with the local sherriff, Jan Willem Fransen, a few times. Apparently they didn't always choose their company wisely, because in 1740 they housed a gang of tramps led by Ernest Mistarius, who would later be arrested and locked up in the 'Panhuis' (an inn and brewery) of Hoensbroek.
Another time, in 1741, Mathijs's sons Peter and Hendrik started a fight in the inn of their neighbour Christian La Haye, together with a stranger. This stranger was arrested in the Ponts family home that same afternoon and he was imprisoned in the 'Panhuis'. He was banished a few days later and Mathijs had to pay for the trial.

On November 27, 1742 a razzia took place — when a patrol searched for unwanted strangers — and a woman from the Jülich territory was found in the home of Mathijs Ponts. This was probably Mathijs's daughter in law Anna Gertrude, the wife of his oldest son Johannes. She was banished as well and Mathijs had to pay for the trial as well.

Mathijs's sons definitely didn't have a good reputation. On February 15, 1742 the 26-year-old Johannes had already been arrested together with his wife Anna Gertrudis in Eschweiler. He managed to escape a few days later. Not long after this, March 9 or 10, 1742, Hendrik Ponts was arrested in Aldenhoven, 23 years old. He was imprisoned in Jülich for a while and returned to his family in Hoensbroek after that.

These incidents probably didn't have a good influence on the family name, but there might have been another reason why Mathijs and his children were eventually accused of being Bokkenrijders: they were knackers. Knackers did dirty work, they even aided executioners, and it was generally regarded as a disreputable reputation. Knackers were social outcasts. Knacker families mostly interacted with other knacker families, knackers married people from other knacker families and their children all became knackers as well, with the result that this profession was carried out by the same few families in the entire area: the families Beckx, Bemelmans, Corvers, Hersseler, Honnoffs and Ponts. These are all names that return in the Bokkenrijders trials several times, because knackers were often blamed when something went wrong. If a suspect was being tortured until he named his accomplices, he would have been tempted to pick a random name, just for the sake of ending the torture; and if he had to pick a random name, the local knacker would have been one of the first he came up with.

Start of the mass trial

In July 1741, Johannes and Peter Douven from Merkstein were arrested after stolen goods had been found in their home. There were many robberies and break-ins in this thime, so the government was very glad that they had finally caught a suspect. Johannes and Peter were interrogated under torture and named their neighbour and their cousin (Peter Douven from Kerkrade) as accomplices. Both had fled the area. In November 1742, the cousin was arrested and interrogated under torture as well, despite already having confessed. He was suddenly, without reasonable suspicion, being accused of many other crimes and was tortured until he had named several accomplices for these crimes, who were arrested in January 1743. Among them were Nicolaas Peters and Michiel Winckens.

Mathijs's trial

Late in March 1743, Mathijs Ponts was named as an accomplice by Nicolaas Peters from the Groenstraat in Ubach over Worms, Michiel Winckens from Herzogenrath, and Mathijs's sister in law Catharina Bemelmans. His sons Johannes, Peter and Hendrik were accused as well. The accusations steadily became more serious and soon Mathijs was regarded as the gang leader. On April 10, 1743 he was arrested, along with his son Peter and his daughter Maria. Mathijs was around 53 years old, Peter was 27 and Maria was 22. The sons Hendrik and Johannes, who had also been accused, were luckier than their siblings; they had both fled the area. Johannes was caught on April 18, but Hendrik never returned to Hoensbroek as far as we know.

Mathijs was imprisoned in the dungeons of the castle of Hoensbroek. The cell where he was locked up is still open for visitors. It's a small, dark room, with only one slim window in the wall to let through a bit of sunlight. Underneath the window, the handprints of a desparate prisoner are pressed into the wall. A heavy wooden beam lay on the ground with chains that held prisoners like Mathijs.

In July 1743 Mathijs was tortured. He confessed everything the interrogators asked him: church thefts, robberies and murders. He accused many other people, including his own children.

Death

On November 12, 1743 Mathijs was executed in Hoensbroek along with Johannes Klinckers, Corst Klinckers, Johannes Kraens and his own children Peter Ponts and Maria Ponts. His bones were broken on the breaking wheel and he was burnt on a fire after that. Just before his death, he loudly recalled all of his confessions and accusations and declared his innocence, but to no avail.

The fate of the family

Mathijs's family didn't have a happy ending either. He had nine children, including Ida, Johannes, Peter, Hendrik, Maria and Margaretha; all of them were accused at least once. His wife, Barbara Bemelmans, was accused a few times as well, even by their daughter Ida, but there are no indications that a trial against her ever took place. The family home was demolished after Mathijs's death. Barbara probably left Hoensbroek together with her younger children.

Ida, Mathijs's eldest daughter, was arrested on October 18, 1743, less than a month before her father's death. On January 29, 1744 she and her husband Johannes Honoffs were hanged. She was 30 years old and Johannes Honoffs was around 23 years old.

Johannes "Hans" Ponts, Mathijs's eldest son, was arrested on April 18, 1743, just after Mathijs, Peter and Maria; not in Hoensbroek but in another town, Rekem. A robbery had been committed in 's-Gravenvoeren and Johannes matched the description of one of the robbers. He was hanged in Rekem on August 14, 1743, even earlier than his father and siblings, for other crimes. He was 30 years old. His cousin and wife, Anna Gertrude, was arrested as well, but she was acquitted and likely left the area.

Peter Ponts was arrested along with his father on April 10. After three days of torture in July, he attempted to commit suicide, but he didn't succeed. On November 12, 1743 he was executed together with his father and sister. Before he died, he loudly declared his innocence. He was 27 years old.

Hendrik Ponts wasn't home when Mathijs and Peter were arrested; he had fled the area, possibly back in January, when the first people were being accused.

Maria Ponts was arrested in April 1743, likely at the same day as Mathijs and Peter — although this isn't absolutely certain. She was interrogated under torture. She was said to have participated in the robberies while wearing men's clothes. On November 12, 1743 she was put to death together with her father and brother. She was 22 years old.

Margaretha "Grietje" Ponts had more luck than her older siblings. She was still living with her parents and while she had been accused a few times, there probably hasn't been a trial against her. She left Hoensbroek, probably together with her mother and any other (younger) siblings.

Five members of the Ponts family died because of the Bokkenrijders trials.

Legacy

Even 280 years after his death, many people still know Mathijs Ponts as a famous gang leader. Anyone who wants to learn more about him, can visit the castle of Hoensbroek; his old cell is still open for visitors and there is even a walking route named after him. He often plays a role in books about the Bokkenrijders, like non-fiction but even in fiction; for example, the children's book Het Wolvenpak by Ton van Reen. There's also a short movie about his son Matthias: 'Voor Galg en Rad'.