Nicolaas van Haaren
1835-1904
Nicolaas van Haaren was born on October 10, 1835, in the Dutch town of Kerkdriel, east of ’s-Hertogenbosch. He was the first of seven children of Elisabeth van Asten and Henricus van Haaren.
It is no coincidence that Nicolaas van Haaren is regarded as the founder of the company Ackermans & van Haaren. His father, a bricklayer, was familiar with the contracting business. Around 1850, Nicolaas followed in his father’s footsteps. He developed into an independent contractor for public works at various locations in the Netherlands. To be able to oversee the projects, the family always settled near the worksite. This is evident from the various birthplaces of the children: Zwollekerspel, Maastricht, Hedikhuizen, Rotterdam, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Geertruidenberg. Works were also carried out in Honswijk, Nieuwersluis, Lage Zwaluwe, and ’s-Hertogenbosch.
The development of Nicolaas van Haaren’s business was determined by economic and technical circumstances. In the middle of the nineteenth century, industrialization and urbanization emerged in the Netherlands, which had far-reaching consequences for the construction industry. Ground, water, and road construction became crucial. By taking on public works, Nicolaas van Haaren was able to establish a very solid financial and logistical foundation for the future.
Nevertheless, the Netherlands was initially far from a leader in industrialization. This is also apparent from the fact that Nicolaas van Haaren had his dredgers (“Luikenaars”) built in Belgium: at L. D’Andriessens in Liège and at Beer in Jemeppe.
On May 19, 1865, Nicolaas van Haaren married Maria Luyben. They had five children: Clazina, Hendrik, Elisabeth, Jacobus, and Gijsbertus. Maria Luyben passed away shortly after the birth of Gijsbertus in 1872.
In 1876, Hendrik Willem Ackermans entered the service of his fellow villager Nicolaas van Haaren. That same year, Nicolaas van Haaren remarried the sister of Hendrik Willem Ackermans, Elisabeth. This marriage also resulted in a large family, with eight children: Maria, Christina, Sophia, Johanna, Cornelis, Nicolaas, Johannes, and Ansfriedus. Both the children from his first marriage and those from his second marriage played a role in the development of Ackermans & van Haaren.
The close and good family ties between Nicolaas van Haaren and Hendrik Willem Ackermans, his brother-in-law and, from 1890, also his son-in-law, played a decisive role in the emergence and development of the company Ackermans & van Haaren. For the “petite histoire”: in his diaries, Hendrik Willem Ackermans never spoke of brother-in-law, but always of “pa van Haaren.”