Jan Andries Dewitt
- Born: 9 Dec 1569, Dordrecht, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
- Marriage: Jacomina Van Barestijne on 18 Feb 1589 in Dordrecht, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
- Died: 15 Sep 1625 at age 55
 Noted events in his life were:
• Education. 361 During my youth I studied law and traveled abroad in order to fit myself for official and municipal employment.
• Occupation, 1614. 362,363 I was the captain of a ship named “Little Fox”. The owners of my ship were Gerrit Jacobsz Witssen who was Burgermaster of the City of Amsterdam, Jonas Witssen and Simon Morrisen. The States-General of Holland chartered my ship along with 18 others as a company in 1614
• Occupation: Grand Pensionary of Holland and Vriesland, 1618 to 1620. 364 I served as Grand Pensionary of Holland and Vriesland in 1618-20 and my brother Jacob was one of the leaders in the revolt against William II, Prince of Orange, which resulted in the establishment of the Dutch Republic.
• Notes of Interest. Castle Loevestein:
The castle was used in the past as a toll castle, a defensive post, and a prison. The castle has a double moat, a munitions tower, soldiers' barracks, an arsenal and the Loevestein Street, which housed families of soldiers and workers.
Loevestein was built between 1357 and 1368 by order of Sir Diederick van Horne. The walls of the castle are made of bricks baked from the river clay, and are 1.5 to 2 metres thick. Shortly after it was built Loevestein became a toll castle. Every ship that passed had to pay the toll. The outer courtyard was destroyed in 1397 by the army of the Duke of Holland.
About 1600, the castle became a State Prison of the Republic of the United Netherlands. Many politicians and ministers have been imprisoned here over the years. One of the prisoners, Hugo de Groot, made Loevestein famous when he escaped from the castle by hiding in a book chest in 1621.
In the 18th century the castle served as a military garrison. Many of the surrounding buildings date from that period. Slot Loevestein had a colourful, and sometimes bloody past, and it is said by some to be haunted by its past prisoners who died within its walls.
Jan married Jacomina Van Barestijne on 18 Feb 1589 in Dordrecht, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. (Jacomina Van Barestijne was born about 1569 in Herwijnen, Gelderland, Netherlands and died about 1640.)
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