Kuyper wrote this letter to D.M. Storm van Leeuwen, a captain of the infantry. At the request of his youngest son, Guillaume (1878–1941), Kuyper asked permission for Guillaume to wed Henriëtte L.W. Storm van Leeuwen (1879–1959), the captain’s oldest daughter. The comments on this letter were written by the journalist Guillaume Spiering, the grandson of Guillaume Kuyper. The title of this article, which reprints all—or nearly all—of the letter, is “Abraham Kuyper’s moeilijkste brief” [Abraham Kuyper’s most difficult letter]. The reference is to the difficulty Kuyper faced in requesting the marriage in light of his son’s insufficient income as a second lieutenant to support a wife and family. In his letter, Kuyper addressed the issue concretely and provided his perspective on the matter.

Guillaume and Henriëtte were married on October 9, 1906, the year in which Guillaume became first lieutenant. In 1932 Guillaume left military service with the rank of major to become the mayor of Stedum.