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Seventh Generation


239. Margaritha Wilhelmina ENGELBRONN66 was born on 11 Jul 1804 in Curaçao, Neth. Antilles.89 She died on 29 Jul 1833 in Curaçao, Neth. Antilles.89 Zonder kinderen overleden. The history of the printer shop “De Curacaosche Courant” N.V.
started in the year 1812 founded by a printer William Lee,
a young Schotchman.

The official newspaper “De Curacaosche Courant” dated 13 of December 1862
published that the young William Lee fled from Venezuela to Curacao due to
an earthquake that hit Caracas. He could barely save himself with some
letters and a manual printing press.
It was on the historical date Friday 11th of December 1812 that the first
newspaper of printer William Lee was published under the name “The Cuaracao
Gazette and Commercial Advertiser”
Lee hired a room on the third floor of the building at Heerenstreet 20,
where he kept himself busy with printing the newspaper and some commercial
printed matters. He lived there till his death in 1823 at the age of 37.
He was a pioneer, the first printer, publisher and reporter on Curacao.
In January 1814 he was official appointed printer to the King’s Most
Excellent Majesty. On the 5th of April 1816 he changed the name of the
official gazette into “ De Curacaosche Courant”.
On the 21st of April 1822 he married Margarita Wilhelmina Engelbron who
runs the printer shop assisted by two young fellows A.L.Statius Muller
and J.F. Neumans Willemszoon who started working for Mr. Lee in 1818.
After the death of Mrs. Lee –Engelbron on the 29th of July 1833 they bought
the print shop and became the owners of “De Curacaosche Courant”.
The partnership lasted for 35 years in also good friendship, till the
death of J.F. Neuman Wz in 1868, were Mr. C.J and A.W Neuman Fz acquired
his shares. The new shareholders were appointed printer to the government
by the governmental decree on the 4th of December 1868.
Mr. Statius Muller stayed with the company till 1876 and quitted after
42 years of giving the best part of his life to the existence of the
official gazette and print shop.
In 1892 Mr. J.P.E.Neuman became the new owner and stayed for 16 years on
the same address in Heerenstreet.
Then in 1908, Mr. C.Gorsira bought the shares of the company and managed
it for 11 years. He died in 1919, where his son Pieter Carel Gorsira
started managing the official gazette and print shop.
Mr. Pieter Carel Gorsira did a quit lot for the progress of the company.
In 1929 he invested a lot in new equipment and moved the company to a
new address in the Fort Amsterdam behind the Fortress Church, nine years
later he became the only owner. Through buying up some print shops he
became the biggest print shop on the island.
On the 17th of Januari 1950 Mr. Gorsira moved the company to the newly
build building at the Theaterstreet 11
As appreciation for the pioneers work of William Lee and also for the
good work Pieter Carel Gorsira has done, the government decided to name
the street next to the print shop, William Lee Street. Also in later
years they changed the street name west to the building into
“De Curacaosche Courant” street.
After 58 years of leading the company, and for the reason, according to
his words, he did not have an adequate successor, he decided to sell the
company to Mr.Jaap Koridon in 1974.
Mr. Jaap Koridon stayed for only 5 years with the company but made quite
a lot of changes and investments that will result very beneficial for
the existence of the print shop. It was in his time that we switched
nearly completely from letterpress to offset, from machine and hand
typesetting to IBM composing to Mergenthaler computers.
In 1981 The Kluwer concern Holland bought the shares and after a lap of
only 5 years they sold again, this time Mr. August A Jonckheer in 1986
who stayed till 1993 as owner –managing director. Neither Kluwer nor
Mr. Jonckheer has invested in new machinery or new technology.
On November 1993 after being employee of “De Curacasche Courant” N.V.
for 22 years, Mr. H.C. “Pim” Elisabeth became employer himself after
buying all shares of the company

Margaritha Wilhelmina ENGELBRONN and William LEE obtained a marriage license on 5 Apr 1822 in curacao, Neth. Antilles.66 They were married on 21 Apr 1822 in curacao, Neth. Antilles.88 William LEE died in 1823 in Curaçao, Neth. Antilles.90