Dutch Captain: Paulus van den Kerckhoff

Paulus van den Kerckhoff was born about 1616 and died in May 1658. He served the Admiralty of the Maze. His father was Jan Janszoon van de Kerckhof and his brother was Quirijn van den Kerckhoff. Paulus commanded the Nijmegen (26 guns), a purchased ship formerly named Kasteel van Medemblik. On the voyage back from Brazil in June 1652, his ship was sunk. After that, he was given command of the ship Gulden Dolphijn (eventually, 32 guns). Paulus fought in the Battle of Dungeness in December 1652 and then fought at the Battle of Portland from 28 February until 2 March 1653. His brother was said to have been killed in that battle, but he seems to have survived. He probably fought in the Battle of the Gabbard, after which his ship was unfit for immediate service. Tromp planned to transfer his crew to other ships. In the winter of 1653 to 1654, he and Corstiaen Eldertszoon captured a ship, the Fortune. They went into Vlissingen to repair damages suffered in the fight. Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910.
2. C.T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912.
3. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, Vol.II, 1923.
4. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Paulus van den Kerckhoff of Paulus van de Kerkhoven", 2005.
5. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938.