General Jacobus Philippus Snyman (; Kootjie "Hamerkop" Snyman, 29 January 183819 December 1925) was one of the dominant military figures in the South African Republic (or Transvaal) during the 19th century. He was the District Commissioner, Native Commissioner, and Commandant for the Marico district and led the Rustenburg and Marico commandos during the Second Boer War. Nicknamed Hamerkop, Snyman came to international prominence as the military commander at the Siege of Mafeking from November 1899 to May 1900.
Early life and family Born in Uitenhage during the Great Trek, General Snyman was a young boy when his family trekked from the Cape Colony to Natal, eventually settling in the Marico district of the Western Transvaal. He was the son of Jacobus Philippus Snyman Sr. and Johanna Marthina Bekker."South Africa, Transvaal, Probate Records from the Master of the Supreme Court, 1869-1961", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPC1-1HCD : Fri Mar 08 19:41:17 UTC 2024), Entry for Jacobus Philippus Snyman, 19 Dec 1925.
General Snyman's parents lived in Uitenhage with his maternal grandfather, Johannes Jurgen Bekker, a deeply religious man and leader of the Jerusalemgangers movement. The two families joined the Great Trek under the leadership of J.A. Enslin and made their way to Natal where they arrived in 1838. General Snyman's father and father-in-law (Matthys Gerhardus Potgieter 1794–1868) participated in the Battle of Bloodriver.Verwys na die lys van kommandolede in die Bloedrivierse Eeufeesgedenkboek It was Evert Frederik Potgieter (1799–1863), brother of General Snyman's father-in-law, who found and verified the signed treaty (The deed of cession of the Tugela-Umzimvubu region) located in Piet Retief's pocket following the delegation's massacre by the Zulu king, Dingane. The family eventually settled in the Marico district in the Transvaal, but not before participating in the Battle of Boomplaats in 1848 where they tried, unsuccessfully to drive the British out of the Free State after Britain had annexed the Orange River Sovereignty to the British Crown.
General Snyman's father was a farmer in the Marico district, a pioneer hunter, a leader of the Jerusalemgangers movement in the Marico and one of three leaders of the 'hunter's faction' of the Transvaal Republic. Some time before David Livingstone reached the Victoria Falls, the famous falls were also reached from the South by General Snyman's father and the well-known Commandant Jan Viljoen, whose hunting ground it became. In August 1852, General Snyman's father informed the Transvaal Government that Sechele, ruler of the Bakwêna of Botswana, had received gunpowder, lead and muskets from the missionary David Livingstone. In addition, General Snyman's father held successful negotiations with Sechele in November 1852 and was a signatory to the Peace Treaty at Mathebe between the South African Republic and Chief Montshiwa of the Barolong Boo Ratshidi, on 14 October 1853. This is the Peace Treaty referred to by Theal in his History of South Africa 1834-1854, p525.
As a young man General Snyman was a professional hunter. He tanned the hides and traded them for sheep which he had purchased in the Free State. He was a successful farmer and known for his breeding of carriage horses that won 1st prize at the annual Agricultural Show.
General Snyman's father, together with Commandant Jan Viljoen, had shown support to Stephanus Schoeman during the Transvaal Civil War, when the Volksraad declared Schoeman's following a rebel faction. This allowed Paul Kruger to summon his burghers to the conflict. Kruger, who was elected commandant-general in April 1863, succeeded in driving Schoeman over the Vaal River. Commandant Jan Viljoen took over the leadership of Schoeman's faction and tried to restore their position by force of arms. Commandant Jan Viljoen led a so-called 'People's Army' against Kruger and his 'State Army' in January 1864, but was defeated at the Crocodile River. Negotiations held at the Crocodile River in January 1864 ended the Transvaal Civil War. General Snyman's mother, Johanna Marthina Bekker, was the niece of Stephanus Schoeman's stepmother.
In 1901 Snyman owned well over eight hundred head of cattle and five thousand sheep. This did not include the holdings of his sons, who worked a large group of farms located near Snyman's stead. He died on 19 December 1925 at the age of 87 on his farm Witrand in the Marico district."South Africa, Transvaal, Civil Death, 1869-1954", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W425-QQMM : Sun Mar 10 17:04:56 UTC 2024), Entry for Jacobus Philippus Snyman, 19 Dec 1925.
Marriage On 6 August 1858 at the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk at Potchefstroom, Snyman married Dirkie Elizabeth Aletta Potgieter (1840 - 1905)"South Africa, Transvaal, Probate Records from the Master of the Supreme Court, 1869-1961", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLQ7-PTZ9 : Sat Mar 09 17:27:03 UTC 2024), Entry for Dirkie Elizabeth Aletta Potgieter Snyman, 1905. and settled on Witrand, the Snyman family farm. They had ten children. She was the daughter of Matthys Gerhardus Potgieter, a prominent member of the Boer community who served as Heemraad and member of the Natalia Republic Volksraad at Pietermaritzburg. On 12 January 1906 General Snyman married Lydia Magdalena Fouché"South Africa, Transvaal, Civil Marriages, 1870-1931", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPWN-LYFH : Sat Mar 09 06:06:52 UTC 2024), Entry for Jacobus Philippin Snyman and Lydia Magdalena Fouche Erasmus, 12 January 1906. and on 17 September 1907 he married Helena Jacoba Catharina Pienaar."South Africa, Transvaal, Civil Marriages, 1870-1931", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP7T-WYNR : Sun Mar 10 05:37:16 UTC 2024), Entry for Jacobus Philippus Snyman and Helena Jacoba Catharina Pienaar Claasen, 17 September 1907.
Gereformeerde Kerk General Snyman's family were initially members of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk rather than the Gereformeerde Kerk to which Paul Kruger belonged. The Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk was the only Dutch church in the vicinity of Rustenburg at the time, founded in 1850 by the Dutch-speaking Voortrekkers who moved into the area due to relative peace and fewer attacks from the native population. Rev. Dirk Van der Hoff was their Minister. The disaffected then made efforts to receive a Minister from the Reformed Church (Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrikaans) in the Netherlands that remained true to the teachings as established at the Synod of Dordrecht. In answer to the request, Rev. Dirk Postma Sr. was sent to South Africa by the church in the Netherlands. He arrived at the end of 1858 and was initially recognized by the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk as a Minister of the Rustenburg congregation.
On 10 January 1859, it was decided at a general church meeting in Pretoria that in addition to the book of Psalms the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk would recognize and allow the singing of additional Hymns not found in the book of Psalms. With this decision, Rev. Postma Sr. and many who were of the same opinion, could not reconcile and with a letter dated 11 January the aforementioned withdrew from the church community of the Nederduitsche Hervormde Kerk and established the Gereformeerde Kerk in accordance with the teachings revealed at the Synod of Dordrecht in the years 1618 and 1619. It was then decided to hold a general meeting on 10 February 1859 where the new Church was established.
The following month, the Rev. Dirk Postma Sr. visited the Marico district where he was hosted by General Snyman's father. It was during this visit that the Snyman family became members of the Gereformeerde Kerk at Rustenburg and would continue to serve as members and ordained officials of the community helping to establish new congregations in Namibia, Angola and throughout South Africa. General Snyman was ordained Deacon in 1893, serving as a church elder (Ouderling in Afrikaans) and Deacon for more than 32 years. The western wards of the Gereformeerde Kerk of Rustenburg, the oldest congregation in South Africa, were formed into the Marico congregation on Saturday 26 May 1899 under the chairmanship of Rev. Dirk Postma Jr. at the opening of the new church building. As church elder of the Rustenburg congregation General Snyman was re-elected to the position for the Marico congregation where he provided the sum of £700 for the construction of the main church building located at Zeerust. The building was expropriated by the British during the Second Boer War. After the war £500 was paid in war reparations to the congregation.
The Hamerkop Mine The first base metal mining operation in the South African Republic was the Hamerkop mine in the Marico, which was worked as early as 1866 for the extraction of Lead used in the manufacture of ammunition. It was situated near the head of the Great Marico River, near Jacobsdal on the Klein Marico, on the farm Doornhoek that belonged to General Snyman. These ore deposits were commonly called 'Lead mines' due to the fact that the Silver bearing Galena attracted the most attention. Aubert, the French consul-general at Pretoria, reported that the Galena from the Marico district returned more than 500 grams (18 ounces) of Silver per ton.
The Barolong On 15 November 1870, a conference aimed at an agreement on the issue of land boundaries was held on the border near Mafeking at a place called Buurmansdrift attended by General Snyman, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, Paul Kruger, Hendrik Adriaan Greeff and five other representatives of the South African Republic and the Batswana Chiefs represented by Montshiwa of the Ratshidi Barolong, Moroka of the Seleka Barolong, Izaak Motlhabane, Makgobi of the Maebu Barolong, Phoi and Matlaba of the Rapulana Barolong, Moilwa of the Bahurutshe at Marico, Maiketso of the Batlhaping, Gaseitsiwe of the BaNgwaketse at Kanye, and Andries Rey the representative of David Massouw (Mosweu) of the Koranna at Mamusa.
The Barolong people were led by Tau's sons, two of whom were to become much involved in the race for paramountcy in Bechuanaland. Their names were Montshiwa of the Barolong Boo Ratshidi and Moswete of the Barolong Boo Ratlou. Moswete had been driven off land in the Molopo River region and was bitter with the British about the land he had lost when Governor Robert William Keate designated some of it to be part of Griqualand West in the Keate Award of 1871. Moswete saw a Transvaal deal as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and awarded the contentious Molopo land to the South African Republic.