Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff
| Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 2nd State President of the Orange Free State | |
|
In office 27 August 1855 – 6 September 1859 |
|
| Preceded by | Josias Philip Hoffman |
| Succeeded by | Esaias Reynier Snijman |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
31 January 1808 Kogmanskloof, Montagu Cape Colony |
| Died | 21 April 1881 (aged 73) Weston, Pietermaritzburg, Colony of Natal |
| Religion | Dutch Reformed |
Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff (31 January 1808 – 21 April 1881) was a South African (Boer) politician and statesman, member of the Voortrekker movement, and the second state president of the Orange Free State, in office from 1855 to 1859.
Boshoff was a member of a Huguenot family from the Cape Colony, originally bearing the surname Boseau. He completed his education in Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet. Boshoff married twice, first to Adriana Petronella Gertruida Van Aswegen (Graaff-Reinet 3 November 1827) and after her death in 1878 to Louisa Perry van der Berg (26 May 1880).
Boshoff was one of the original Voortrekkers in Natal, that established the Natalia Republic. Here he showed himself an able politician in the light of the British plans to annex Natal. He drafted and co-signed the protest manifesto the Boers signed at Pietermaritzburg on 21 February 1842 and in a way it made his reputation with the British.
In 1855 Boshoff, then living in Graaff-Reinet, stood for election as state president of the Orange Free State, against the chairman of the Presidential Executive Commission J. J. Venter and A. Du Toit from Beaufort. He won the election with a convincing majority.
Within his first year in office, Boshoff introduced state symbols, namely a Great Seal, a flag, and a coat of arms.
During his term of office Boshoff laid the foundation stone of Grey College in Bloemfontein on 13 October 1856, named after Sir George Grey, governor of the Cape Colony and high commissioner for South Africa.
...
Wikipedia