The Voet family

Family's Origin :
The assumed Westphalia and noble descent of the ancestors of the Voet family was never proved, but it is certain that the Voet family had been living in the town of Leusden (near Arnhem) for several generations when Paul's grandfather Gijsbert was born in 1589.

Paul's grandfather:
Gijsbertus Voet (1589-1676) was Paul's grandfather. He was a witness at the wedding of Paul and Engelberta.
Generations of the family were very Orange-minded and fought the Spanish suppressors. They were Calvinists and many were town majors or ministers. Paul's grandfather was very well known. Several books have been published about him.

Like all educated men, he did all his correspondence in Latin and 'Latinized' his name to Gisbertus Voetius.

Paul's parents:
Paul's father:
Fourth child and oldest son of Prof. Gijsbertus Voet and fervent defender of his father's teachings. Strongly opposed to Descartes' teachings.
Secretary and counselor at the the town of Vianen's court.

Professor at Utrecht in metaphysics (1641), logic and Greek (1648) and law (1652).
In 1656 he published a book entitled: Origin, Progression and Deads of the Lords of Brederode, which -together with the Orange family- were the rulers of Holland.
A French translation was published in 1663, titled: Origine, progrès et gestes mémorables des illustres seigneurs de Brederode.

Paul's mother:
Paul's mother was Elisabeth van Winssen. She passed away at age 31, when Paul was only 4 years old. The children had the family names of both parents: Voet van Winssen.

Paul:
Paul Voet van Winssen, baptized on February 4, 1651 at Utrecht, was the son of Paulus Voet and Elisabeth van Winssen. He, and his brother Johannes, studied in France. Paul became mayor of Utrecht and later Secretary of State for the Province of Utrecht.
When he married Engelberta van Brienen, his grandfather Gijsbertus dedicated the second volume of his book "Politica ecclesiastica " to Paul and his brother Johannes.