The Belgians - Padraigan.com

T HE B ELGIANS
The Belgians
T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
Introduction
Belgium
History
Chapter 1 – History of Ghent
Chapter 2 – King Arthur and Ghent
Chapter 3 – City on the Mouth of the River
Chapter 4 – The Burgundians
Chapter 5 – Emperor Charles V
Chapter 6 – Revival of Catholicism and Trade
Chapter 7 – City of Textiles
Chapter 8 – Living Conditions
Chapter 9 – Emigration
Chapter 10 – Where Our Ancestors Lived
Chapter 11 – Religion
Chapter 12 – Gaelens
Chapter 13 – Boerjans
Chapter 14 – Life Together for Nathalie and Ben
Chapter 15 – William H. Boerjan Family
Chapter 16 – Boerjan Girls
Resources
The Belgians
I NTRODUCTION
Our Belgian forebears hail from places such as Oost Eeklo, Maldegem, Lembeke (which
has been incorporated into Kaprijke, northeast of Eeklo), Basselvelde, plus others. The
nearest market was Ghent, and this is where the Boerjan family travelled to on market
days. They made this trip on foot, so it must have been within reasonable walking
distance.
The kingdom of Belgium is a democracy with a constitutional monarchy. The current
king, Albert II, does not govern. In fact, according to the constitution, the king cannot
take any official action without the approval of a minister, and his ministers are held
accountable for his actions. In Belgium, the king is traditionally considered a moral
leader. The present king is Philippe.
Belgium has a well-educated public and a very high quality of life. There is almost no
illiteracy, and all citizens over the age of 18 are required to vote. The major religions of
Belgium are Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Anglicanism, the Orthodox Church, Judaism
and Islam. The leaders of the four major religions – Roman Catholicism, Protestantism,
Judaism, and Islam – are paid by the state.
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About 75 percent of the population is Roman Catholic but in recent years church
attendance has been declining. The second largest religion practiced in Belgium is Islam.
Hinduisim and Sikhism are also increasing, but the government does not recognize them.
As with the rest of the world, the traditional face of Belgium is changing.
The Belgians
B ELGIUM
Belgium is about the size of Maryland and its coastline is only 40 miles. It is bordered by
the North Sea, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Its climate is fairly
moderate.
In the northern part of Belgium, known as Flanders, Dutch or Flemish is spoken. This is
the language our ancestors spoke. In the south, French is spoken. Brussels, the capital, is
in the Flemish part of the country, but is mostly French speaking. German is also spoken
in Belgium.
There is a separation movement in Belgium. The
concept of separation is based on the notion that
the cultural continuity of Wallonia is with France,
and that of Flanders is with the Netherlands. There
has been tension between these two groups, based
on language and economic factors, for a long time.
Our ancestors spoke Flemish or Dutch and our
present relatives in Belgium speak Dutch.
The Belgians
H ISTORY
The name Belgium came from an ancient Celtic tribe, the
Belgae, who settled the area in 900 BC. The Romans ruled
Belgium after 52 BC. As the Romans moved out, the Germanic
tribes moved in – these people were called the Franks, and
their king was Charlemagne, who is considered the founder of
the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire ruled from
880 to 1806. After Charlemagne’s death, Belgium was ruled in
part by the French.
Charlemagne, “Charles the Great”, King of the Franks.
Belgium merchants grew rich during the Crusades, and they joined
artisans in communes (free cities) and gained political rights which
saw a charter of civil liberties in 1066.
In the late 1300s the Bergundians ruled Belgium, eventually leading to
rule by the Habsburgs. Belgium became part of the Netherlands and
was ruled by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. As with the rest of
Europe, Belgium saw much religious conflict during this time.
Charles V
Belgium was ruled by the French until 1815 when Bonaparte was defeated at Waterloo.
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands was created, of which Belgium, known as the
Southern Netherlands, was a part. The Belgians didn’t like their new ruler, the Dutch
King William I, and revolted. Belgium gained independence
and a German prince, Leopold I, was elected as Belgium’s first
king. His son, Leopold II, is infamous for the cruelty of his rule
in the Congo Basin. He became very wealthy from this area of
the world.
Leopold II of Belgium
The Belgians
After World War II erupted, Belgium was invaded by
Germany. Their king, Leopold III, was taken prisoner by
the Germans, and as he surrendered to the Germans he
was very unpopular.
Leopold’s son, King Baudouin,
proclaimed the Belgium Congo’s
independence in 1960. When King
Baudouin tried to influence a law that
was being passed, the people were
outraged. As in every constitutional
monarchy the monarch is required to not interfere in the ruling of
the country.
King Baudouin
Belgium sent forces to Rwanda through the United Nations in 1994, were involved as
peace keepers in Kosovo through NATO, and are supporters of the United Nations as
peace keepers. They also sent troops to Afghanistan and deployed six F-16 fighters in
support of the NATO intervention in the Libyan civil war.
Belgium entered the Euro zone in 1999 as a founding member of the European Union.
Ghent, the home of our ancestors, is the location of the third largest port in Belgium.
Three-quarters of its trade is with the rest of Europe, and their economy has been affected
by the Euro crisis. Belgium’s largest trading partner is Germany.
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Chapter 1 – History of Ghent
The city of Ghent was within close proximity to Oost Eeklo, Maldegem, Lembeke (which
has been incorporated into Kaprijke, northeast of Eeklo (Echeloo in the map below), and
Bassevelde. These are all familiar locations in the Gaelens and Boerjan families.
Ghent was the central market town and people lived there during prehistoric times. During
the Roman period, the city grew and moved to the confluence of the Scheldt and Leie
rivers. The Abbey of St. Peter (later Saint Bavo) was founded in about 630. St. Peter’s and a
second abbey, Blandijnberg, became the two religious centers, and people began to build
houses between to the two abbeys. Ghent became a centre of trade and commercial
activity, and their then ruler Charlemagne sent a fleet to protect the city from the Vikings,
who had attacked in 851 and 879. A fortification was built to protect the city and was
located on the spot where the Gravensteen, the Castle of the Counts, was later built.
Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts)
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During the 11th and 12th centuries, Ghent became an important trade centre. The stone
Castle of the Counts was built at this time. Ghent relied on English imports of wool. The
town was later ruled by the House of Hapsburg. Charles the V, the Holy Roman Emperor,
was born there in 1500.
Charles V – Note the Hapsburg Chin
The son of Charles V, Philip II of Spain, ruled during a period of religious troubles between
the Protestants and the Catholics. Many people left Flanders and settled in England and
Germany. Later, the economic situation improved as a result of the building of a canal
between the Ghent harbor and the city of Ostende. At this time Louis XIV was determined
to conquer Flanders which led to conflict in the area. During the 18th century, peace and
prosperity again returned to Flanders and new industries were developed.
Philip II of Spain (also has the Hapsburg Chin)
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In 1800 the cotton industry flourished because a citizen of Ghent smuggled a common mill
out of England and set up a successful industry in Ghent. At this time Belgium was under
the control of the French. After the Battle of Waterloo, Flanders was united with the
Netherlands. Ghent continued to grow and the number of inhabitants tripled in the 19th
century. Poor living conditions led to the forming of the first Belgian trade union.
Battle of Waterloo
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Chapter 2 – King Arthur and Ghent
The city of Ghent played an important role in the legend of Arthur. In the 10th century,
Abbot Dunstan from Glastonbury fled to Ghent from Somerset for political reasons. He
lived in protection at St. Peter’s abbey for two years, then returned safely to Glastonbury,
where he introduced the Benedictine rule, to which he had been introduced in Ghent. He
left a mysterious manuscript at the Ghent Abbey which was later given to the court poet
Chretien de Troyes. This manuscript was the starting point for Troyes “Perceval ou le conte
del Graal”, which made Arthur and his knights famous.
St. Peters Abbey, Ghent
Roundel of Men and Women Harvesting
Grapes, early 1460s
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Chapter 3 – City on the Mouth of the River
Between 1100 and 1500, Ghent played a prominent role among the major cities of
northwestern Europe. The number of inhabitants from the 13th to 15th centuries is estimated
at 65,000, just slightly less than Paris, and larger than London or Hamburg.
Ghent owed its metropolitan character in the Middle Ages to its production of luxury
woollen cloth and its excellent geographic location at the confluence of the two main rivers
in Flanders, the Leie and the Scheldt, both of which provided good opportunities for trade.
The city’s name means “river mouth” or “confluence”. Archaeologists have found evidence
of human presence going back to the Stone and Iron Ages.
Confluence of the Leie and Scheldt Rivers
The Counts of Flanders ruled after the Norman invasions. Count Baldwin
II , the Bald, brought order and peace to his earldom, and conditions were
established that nurtured the growth of the economy. Baldwin built a
fortification on the left bank of the Leie, where the keep of the
Gravensteen Castle now stands. The population moved into the area and a
market was built. The present day Groentenmarkt was built at the foot of
the fortification, and a settlement expanded around it.
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Rapid growth began in the area between the Leie and the
Scheldt, in the shadow of the fortress, and bordered by two
large abbeys. Many churches were
built to meet the needs of the
population.
St. Nicholas Church
St. Bavo Cathedral
Church at Oosteeklo
From 1100 to 1400, 60 percent of the households earned a living in the fast growing woolen
trade. Semi-skilled or unskilled workers were employed in the areas of sorting, washing,
spinning and bleaching the wool. The specialists worked in the areas of weaving, fulling
(process of felting the woolen cloth to make it thicker and smoother), and dying the wool.
This was done exclusively within the city. Ghent’s weavers sold the finished product all over
Europe and even as far as North Africa. Wool was traded for wine, salt and other consumer
goods.
The wealthy merchants who were the original
owners of the land on which Ghent was built
gained the most from the woolen trade. These
merchants began to aspire to political and
economic independence from the Count of
Flanders. Thus, the Gravensteen was built to
control the people and to keep the city safe. The
aldermen of the city had the monopoly on local
government, finance and administration of
justice. They built hospitals and set up charitable
organizations. A minority of the people lived well, and the majority were repressed and
exploited. The craftsmen organized themselves and began to protest against the poor
conditions in the early years of the 14th century and they won! Craftsmen began to enter the
The Belgians
ranks of aldermen. They were organized into guilds which functioned as political
associations.
Gravensteen
Of the four guildhouses at the Graslei, the oldest is the Spijker. It was a wheat trading
house. The guildhouse of the Free Sailors is the most beautiful of the guildhouses and
boasts a late-Gothic façade. The Sailors’ guild was one of the most powerful guilds because
they had sailing privileges through the harbor of Ghent. On the left side of the Spijker is the
first Grain Counters House and next to it stands the Angel, with its beautiful Renaissance
façade.
War broke out between England and France (the 100 Years War) and the economy of Ghent
declined significantly. A trade agreement was signed with the Edward, King of England and
the population of Ghent paid him homage as the rightful king of France rather than the
previous King Philip VI. The Ghent textile workers were soon working on their looms again.
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John of Gaunt, the fourth son of England’s King Edward III, was born in the Ghent Abbey of
St. Bavo in March 1340.
John of Gaunt
The Black Prince, Edward,
Prince of Wales
- Brothers -
The Belgians
Chapter 4 – The Burgundians
Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, gained possession of Flanders in
1383 through marriage. Philip repressed any upsurge of
independence in Ghent. Ghent cloth workers were losing a lot of
their business to the new textile centers in northwestern Europe,
such as Brabant, Holland and England. Also, the rural peasant cloth
makers could work for less money, and they were taking business
away from the city. Violent raids were made on the peasants by the
Ghent militia who came into their homes and smashed their looms.
Other economic areas grew in Ghent, such as the wine industry and the country’s grain
trade. The quaysides were busy with the ‘schroeders’ using wooden cranes to unload barrels
and other heavy loads.
The Graslei and the Korenlei were the heart of the Ghent harbor for many years. The Ghent
shipmasters dominated shipping on the main Flemish inland waterways. As early as the
mid 13th century, the city council extended natural waterways and canals.
Graslei and Korenlei
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Chapter 5 – Emperor Charles V
City administration built the formidable town hall in about 1500. The Van Eyck brothers
finished their famous altarpiece of The Adoration of the Lamb in 1492. The city was wellknown for their tapestries. Ghent was doing well. However, this was not to last. The
economy began to slump and the city’s treasury was emptied.
Adoration of the Lamb
Ghent Tapestry
There could not have been a worse time for Charles V, who
had been born in Ghent, to impose a heavy tax! Craftsmen
and unskilled workers went on strike. Charles V travelled to
his birthplace to punish the population of the city. He
removed their privileges and independence, and abolished
their rights to exercise power outside the city. Fifty Ghent
patricians were made to beg for his mercy.
More trouble followed. Luther and other
reformers in the church were well
supported in Ghent and the city split apart
on the point of religion. The Protestants of
Ghent suffered through the Inquisition
and their emperor’s heresy edicts.
Protestants struck back - not a single
church, monastery, convent or chapel was
safe from their fervour. The cathedral itself
was stripped bare and whitewashed so it
could be used for Protestant services.
Luther
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
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Enter Prince William of Orange, who urged agitators to seize power
in a coup and establish a Protestant dictatorship. Ghent was the
source of a revolt against King Philip II of Spain and the round-up of
Catholic clergymen.
Philip II
The Catholic Duke of Parma turned the tide by his conquest of
Ghent in 1584 on behalf of the King of Spain. The Catholics were
again on top. About 15,000 people left Ghent, most of them
Protestants. Some were just people who were fed up with the city so
they moved to the northern Netherlands.
The Belgians
Chapter 6 – Revival of Catholicism and Trade
After 1600, the public life of the city was dedicated to Catholic reconstruction – dozens of
destroyed or badly damaged monasteries, convents, churches, chapels and almshouses
were repaired or rebuilt. This was the era of Baroque architecture.
Religious orders were established in Ghent. The principal
newcomers were the Jesuits with their devotion and discipline. A
major figure in Ghent at that time was the Ghent bishop, Antoon
Triest. He was a tireless organizer. He kept busy and on average
visited each of his 150 parishes once every three years. He also left
his mark due to his love and patronage of the arts.
Antoon Triest
The prospects of Ghent commerce and inland shipping were greatly improved by the
completion of the canal from Ghent to Bruges, which was further connected to the
harbours of Ostend and Dunkirk between 1613 and 1640.
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Every year, barges carried approximately 50,000 passengers from Ghent to Bruges and vice
versa. Tsar Peter the Great left Ghent on a barge in 1717. After 1700, there was a direct
connection to the sea, which led to worldwide shipping.
Main Canal in Ghent
Tzar Peter the Great
In 1740, peaceful times came with the prosperous reign of the Austrian Empress Marie
Theresia. Ghent had its first great economic revival since the Middle Ages. Factories were
built and sugar refineries appeared in 1750. New and straight cobbled roads were built to
the larger towns and cities. These roads have survived more or less intact to the present
day.
Empress Marie Theresia
Mechanization of the textile industry came around 1800, which led to a new industrial
awakening. Ghent at that time belonged to the French, with principles of the French
Revolution being applied; for example, a new form of city council. The privileges of the
church were abolished. Associations of workers were also prohibited.
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Factory bosses were given free reign and had an enormous market for
their goods in France. Lieven Bauwens smuggled spinning and
weaving machines and steam engines from England to Ghent.
A canal was built that connected directly to the North Sea, and
seagoing vessels sailed into Ghent for the first time.
Lieven Bauwens
Residences in the French style were built after 1750.
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The Treaty of Ghent put an end to the Second Anglo-American War. The American
delegation stayed in Ghent in 1814 during negotiations with the British. John Quincy
Adams, future president of the United States, the leader of the American delegation,
maintained cordial relations with the people of Ghent.
John Quincy Adams
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Chapter 7 – City of Textiles
Large textile factories and workshops characterized Ghent from 1800 to 1930. Population
increased from 61,000 in 1814 to more than 175,000 in 1930. The textile industry prevailed,
leading to the Gravensteen being converted into a spinning-mill with workers’ houses
surrounding the castle. After an explosion in the factory, the building became unstable, and
it was decided to leave the castle. The castle was in danger of demotion at one time, but
luckily it was decided to repair the complex and give the building back its appearance of
the 12th century.
Abolished monasteries and convents were put to similar use as factories. As with other
economic booms, for 100 years, people flooded into Ghent from the countryside looking for
work. They lived in squalor in miserable slums and endured poor working conditions, low
wages, lack of hygiene and cholera epidemics. From these conditions rose the trade unions.
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There was a huge rift between the workers and the owners of the factories. The majority of
the population supported Dutch King William I and his policies of economic progress and
expansion of commerce and industry. He founded many trade institutions, giving him his
nickname of “King-Merchant”. Industry flourished. The king founded the University of
Ghent, as well as the University of Leuven and the University of Liege. Both French and
Dutch were spoken in Ghent, although Dutch was prevalent.
King William I of the Netherlands
The center of trade was in the Northern provinces which created great wealth for the
kingdom. However, the money flowed into the hands of Dutch directors, and only a few
Belgians managed to profit from the economic growth. Feelings of economic inequity were
one of the causes of the Belgian uprising. Dutch was imposed as the official language of
Belgian, and this angered the French-speaking aristocrats and industrial workers. Schools
throughout the kingdom were required to instruct students in the Reformed faith and the
Dutch language. Many in Belgian feared that the king was trying to extinguish Catholicism
and the French language.
In 1830, Belgium broke away from the Netherlands, and an independent state of Belgium
was proclaimed. King William sent his sons, William, the Prince of Orange, and Prince
Frederick to invade the new state. Some support of the Orange dynasty still existed in
Belgian, so they persisted in their endeavours for many years, however, the Dutch never did
regain control over Belgium.
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In July of 1831, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg swore allegiance to the
Belgian constitution and thus became the first king of the
Belgians.
Ghent maintained lots of green spaces until 1830, when the city
changed dramatically. There were numerous factories and
workers’ housing estates. Public transport had been mechanized.
Trains ran throughout the country. Urban renewal began in 1913
when the inner city was completely redesigned. New initiatives
included the Museum of Fine Arts.
In 1914, Germany invaded Belgium. The invasion was very hard on the people. German
soldiers carried out many acts of violence against them during the invasion. A typical action
was ordering a town set on fire. Hundreds of houses were destroyed. Civilians, fleeing the
flames, were hunted down and executed. The Belgians eventually surrendered. Because
Belgium was occupied so soon in the war, large parts of Belgium’s architectural heritage
were saved. Many previously unemployed people were hired during the war to enlarge the
Ghent harbor, so living conditions did improve to some extent.
German Invasion of Belgium
The Belgians
German Invasion
Between the First and Second World Wars, working conditions improved with
achievements such as an 8-hour day, 6 day work week, and paid annual vacation.
The 1930s brought economic crises in the urban areas. Nazi Germany occupied Belgium,
and during the Allied offensive, parts of the city were destroyed. Life became almost
unbearable. Also, the people living in the vicinity of the Verbindingsvaart canal and the
neighborhood of Merelbeke station were hard hit by Allied bombardments.
Member of Canadian Provost Corp talking
to members of the Belgian Resistance
in Bruge, 1944.
The first British tanks rolled into the city of
th
Ghent on the 10 of September 1944. The city
was ready for the victorious arrival of the
liberators and they received a tumultuous
welcome. Everywhere flags were flying. They
were hoisted on public buildings and draped
along every house front. Everyone was
overjoyed, there was cheering and shouting.
“Welcome Tommy”. The British soldiers were
overwhelmed with armfuls of flowers and
offers of beer and wine. Many citizens had
saved a bottle or two for this very occasion.
Frank Key – ghentinwartime.blogspot.ca
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During the winter of 1941-42 the weather was particularly cold. Newspapers were censored
and filled with German success stories around the world. Morale was low – people just
wanted the war to end. They wished for an end to food shortages and to be freed from the
oppressive and evil presence of the enemy. People especially feared the Gestapo and SS;
there were many rumours of atrocities, although the full truth of the atrocities did not
come out until the end of the war. There was hard frost in winter and it was bitterly cold.
You could not find fuel for houses or cars, and there were many shortages. The Belgian
people, however, were inventive, and they thought of ways to make their own items, such
as clothes made out of silk parachutes found in the fields, or rings and bracelets made out
of airplane wreckage. The summers were beautiful – warm and sunny. There was fresh fruit,
green beans, peas, and grains to make bread. People, in their search for food, found
household pets could be used for food. If you had a pet, you kept it inside or it could have
been stolen.
Frank Key - http://ghentinwartime.blogspot.ca/
In the years after World War 2, and in large
part inspired by the desire of seeing an end to
the recurring wars between its neighbours,
which were often fought on its soil, Belgium
became one of the pioneers of European
unification.
Brussels is the seat of most European
institutions, such as NATO, of which Belgium
is a founding member.
FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade &
Development Cooperation
After the war, Ghent recovered quickly. The digging of the Watersportsbaan course and the
erection of highrise buildings for social housing around it were the beginning of a new era
of growth. The broadened canal to Terneuzen attracted large steel, petrochemical and car
assembly plants to the harbour area. Employment was such that people could afford to
purchase a house with a garden, a car, and to take an annual vacation to one of the seaside
resorts.
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Municipal reorganization in 1977 merged a number of the surrounding villages with Ghent,
creating a population of 250,000. People moved to the countryside. The inner city was
beautified, monuments were restored, and pedestrian shopping areas were created. In 1977,
car traffic was prohibited from entering the inner city.
Pedestrian Zone
The city of Ghent grew around the River Leie
flanked by the ‘Korenlei’ and ‘Graslei’ on each
side of its banks.
Houses of Ghent
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Chapter 8 – Living Conditions
The Boerjans were peasant farmers who lived in East Flanders. Boerjan translated from
Flemish is “Farmer John”. The family lived around the villages of Lembeke, Maldegem, Oste
Eeklo, Assenede and Evergem from the 1600s to present day. The nearest market center was
Ghent, and the Boerjan family walked to Ghent on market days. My grandmother
remembered her mother-in-law, Nathalie, telling stories about walking to the outside
market on market day.
Boerjan relatives throughout history committed crimes and served time in prison – five of
our ancestors served prison terms. Studying their living conditions may provide reasons for
these criminal acts. One of our ancestors was Franciscus Boerejan, who was sentenced to 3
months for theft at the Correctional Tribunal of Ghent on January 11, 1830, and his
daughter, Marie Therese, was sentenced on the same day to 14 days in prison, also for theft.
Franciscus served his sentence from April 24 to July 24, 1830, and Marie served her sentence
from April 24 to May 3, 1830. We will never know the circumstances of the crime, but it
could be that they were involved in the uprising that led to the Belgian Revolution.
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Belgium was the second country, after Britain, in which the industrial revolution took
place, and the first in continental Europe. Wallonia (French-speaking southern Belgium)
was the first region to follow the British model successfully. Starting in the middle 1820s,
and after Belgium became independent in 1830, numerous works comprising coke blast
furnaces as well as puddling and rolling mills were built in the coal mining regions around
Liege and Charleroi.
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.wikipedia.org/
Wallonia exemplified the radical evolution of industrial expansion. Thanks to coal, the
region geared up to become the second industrial power in the world after Britain. The sole
industrial centre outside the collieries and blast furnaces of Walloon was the cloth-making
town of Ghent.
As the industrial revolution got underway, it changed a mainly rural society into an urban
one. Rural poverty reappeared. The rural economies of Flanders remained dependent upon
labour-intensive agriculture and poorly paying cottage industries, such as spinning and
weaving. As these industries were mechanized, poverty increased even more. There were
inadequate farming incomes to support a family as the population doubled between 1846
and 1847. Belgium was still characterized by small, unproductive farms that continued to
use primitive farming methods, and adequate food supplies could not be guaranteed. Many
young people could not find employment on the farms and had to leave the area to find
jobs. Some moved to the United States or Canada.
The farmers themselves were mostly tenants and did not own the land they worked on.
High rents were demanded by the owners. The farmers had to find other jobs to
supplement their income, such as the weaving of linen cloth in cottages. Many men held
these positions. The family at this time typically lived on the edge of poverty. They grew
much of their own food, such as potatoes, and pastured a cow on grass along public roads
for milk. They also raised pigs which were fed food scraps.
For our ancestors, life was always on the edge. They couldn’t move up in the world and they
suffered greatly from poverty. Life was cruel. In the cottages, women did lace work by
candlelight or kerosene lamp, often leading to blindness. The only furniture they had were
a table, bed, trunk or a couple of chairs and some kitchen utensils. Some people moved into
the cities so they could work in the factories and lived in slum conditions.
By the 1800s the potato was the staple food of the poor. The harvest
gradually declined over the years due to blight or disease. The potato famine
spread throughout Europe and led to the high death toll in countries such as
Ireland. In 1846, “the fields were black and the smell blew over the roads”.
The disaster was complete when the barley crop failed.
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Disease ran rampant due to unhygienic living conditions and infestation of lice that carried
typhus. Cholera due to poor sanitation combined with poor nutrition led to many deaths. It
became routine for the local “veldwachter’ (policeman) to visit each cottage on a regular
basis to check for bodies.
The Treaty of Ghent – Treaty
that officially ended the War of
1812. The treaty was signed in
Ghent, Belgium, on December
24, 1814.
The Belgians
Chapter 9 – Emigration
The reasons for people leaving Belgium and moving to North America were complex.
Poverty increased in the rural areas after the defeat of the Austrians by the revolutionary
French in 1794. The rural decline began in 1794 and continued for 20 years in the Flemishspeaking area of Belgium. Some of this decline is due to the economic and social system
that characterized the “Ancien Regime”.
During the economic boom in the 1700s, rural populations began to grow faster than rural
employment in the rural areas grew. Cottage-based industries, such as spinning flax and
weaving linen during the winter months supplemented the farmers’ income. Land prices
remained high and land plots shrunk as the population grew. Average farm sizes were
about 2.5 acres. Linen prices were low and merchants took advantage of this. This and poor
crop yields resulted in rural poverty, high infant mortality rates, poor health and deplorable
living conditions. Many worked for extremely low wages as laborers (‘dagloners’) and some
obtained seasonal work in France and Wallonia.
In the last half of the 1700s, modes of farming improved with the resulting increase in
yields. As a result, poverty was reduced, population growth slowed, and infant mortality
rates dropped.
Life in the 1800s
In the early 1820’s, power looms started to appear in city
factories which lead to a decline in the cottage industries.
This was a gradual decline and some rural producers of
high quality linen survived into the late 1800s. The
improved economic state in the rural areas saw a decline in
migration from the countryside to the cities and
emigration from Belgium.
Life in rural Belgium was reflected in the working and
living conditions at the turn of the 19th century and was
very different from lifestyles today. Children did not attend
school because they had to work. The only education they
received was from the local priest at Sunday school when
they learned their catechism. Some even managed to learn to read at Sunday school. In
1842, the government set out to organize primary education, with religion very much
present. In 1879, a law was passed stating the government had complete control over
education, and religious content was not allowed. The municipal schools only hired
The Belgians
teachers with a diploma from the “Royal Normal School” of teacher training. In 1884, the
newly elected Catholic government repealed the law, and the situation reverted back to the
time when Roman Catholics had great involvement in education. Then Catholic schools
and state-sponsored schools were set up – much like we have in Canada.
The farmers worked their land by hand. Farming was an extremely
hard life, full of hard work and long days, with no days off in the
week. One example is mowing season, which was carried out in the
hot months of July. Scythes were used – there was no farm
machinery on these farms. The whole family took part in the
harvest – from old folk to young children. They each had a task so
the processes were generally quite smooth. The women followed
the mowers, gathering the swathes, with children helping – no
swathing machines here. The wagons, which held the hay, were
driven to the barn where the hay was stored.
Later, the grain was brought into the barns, and
threshed to loosen the grain kernels with threshing
flails. These flails had long wooden handles with a
shorter piece attached to the end by a leather strap.
The person threshing the wheat raised the handle and
brought the short flail down hard horizontally on the
wheat sheaves lying on the floor. Threshing lasted
from All Saints’ Day until Easter. Finally, by 1911, hard
labour gradually disappeared and fewer farmers used
the threshing flail – instead they rented or purchased
small threshing machines.
The Belgians
After threshing was complete, the grain was separated from the chaff by winnowing, a
process where the threshed grain was shaken in reed baskets so the chaff dropped on the
ground, leaving the grain kernels. On larger farms winnowing was gradually replaced by
mechanized methods early in the 1900s.
There were periods when disaster hit, with foreign grain prices being extremely low, with
the local grain price dropping from 31 francs per bushel in 1881 to 14 francs in 1895.
However, farmers being farmers, they persisted in their traditional way of farming. These
farmers had the mentality of “next year country”, the same as the farmers in Western
Canada in the early 1900s – even if one year was not good, the next year may be really good.
You just never knew in farming. However, conditions in Western Canada for farmers were
different in that they generally had larger areas of land to farm, leading to higher yields,
and with some operations being farmed using mechanized equipment.
In Belgium, farmers were still using old ways. If they had a harrowing machine, the family
pulled it. Sooner or later, the farmers had to accept the modern ways of farming. They
could not make enough money off their traditional farming methods to sustain a family in
rural areas. Some people moved to the cities to find work in factories. Many emigrated to
Canada or the United States, where they could acquire land for almost free. Even in
Canada, change was hard for our ancestors. My great grandfather, Ben Boerjan, could not
make the transition from horses to machines, and when it was time to switch to
mechanized farming, Ben retired.
Spiked-tooth harrow
The Belgians
Day Workers
Day workers (“dagloners”) were people who worked for a daily wage. Dagloners often
worked for a “boer”, but did not live in the boer’s farm. Therefore they had to provide for
their own living accommodations and food, clothing for their family, and other needs. In
1822, a male dagloner earned 1 to 1.5 francs per day, and a woman earned 0.6 to 0.9 francs. If
the wife did not work, the only food they could afford was porridge, soup and potatoes and
hopefully rye bread. Dagloners and their families ate lots of rye bread – almost at every
meal. The only variety was the food served with the rye
bread. For the meal at noon, they had potatoes instead of
rye bread, and no meat – just vegetables. They could even
have just porridge made with milk – one of our families’
favourites. The only day they had meat was on Sunday,
where beef or pork would be served with rye bread,
noodles or potatoes.
To me, rye bread seems hard and dry. I don’t think I
would have flourished with the dagloners’ food choices.
To supplement their income, the wife and the children often worked – the more children,
the more income. Such was the economic decline – previously a family could live on the
husband’s earnings, and the wife might even be able to buy rye bread, cheese and
occasionally herring. Now they found it hard to make ends meet with the entire family
working.
Some dagloners were farmers who tried to
rent a small piece of land upon which they
grew food for the family. They would have a
goat for milk and they raised rabbits for meat.
The goats and rabbits often lived in the same
house as the family in separate quarters. They
could have had pigs which they raised, then
either sold one or more, slaughtering the rest
for family use. The meat would have to be
preserved, so hams and bacon were often
soaked in brine, then smoked. The dagloners sometimes managed to save enough money to
buy essential, but expensive, consumer items, such as shoes, which could cost earnings
from 5 days’ work.
The Belgians
The family usually lived in a thatched cottage built in the wattle and daub style. Thatched
cottages were lived in by people in many countries of the world at this time. The roofs were
very durable – they were expensive to fix but lasted for years and years.
A dagloner’s work was usually seasonal, with the dagloner working full time for a farmer in
May and June planting flax. Then while the flax grew, he would go to Holland to cultivate
beets. Afterwards, he would return to the farm where he cultivated the flax he had planted
in the spring – cultivating flax was very hard work. In August, the dagloner would prepare
the flax fields for seeding using a hoe and pick.
Cultivation and Preparation of Flax
The Belgians
If the dagloner owned a loom, he would contract with the farmer the spinning and weaving
of the flax. In the fall, after the crops were off, spinning and weaving would carry the farmer
through the winter.
Spinning
Dagloner working in the fields
Jobs for children of 10 or 11 were often working in a “weeding group” – a group of 30 to 40
children to weed the fields. Each child worked from dawn until 7:00 or 8:00 in the evening
to earn half of what an adult would make.
Dagloners and their families were the ones hardest hit when bad times came because they
were at the bottom of the economic ladder.
The Belgians
The Family
A household consisted of a married couple, their children, and servants they may have had.
The household usually had only 5 to 6 members, and more than two generations living
together was very common. Three generations living together was not common due to high
mortality rates and late marriages.
Children were an integral part of the household economy. In their late teens they often left
their homes to find work elsewhere so they could bring income into the family. By the age
of 7 girls already did housework, fed the chickens, watered the animals and carried food
and drink to the men working in the fields.
If a young girl’s labour was not needed on the home farm, she left home, usually at the ages
of 12 to 14, to work on another farm or household. She may have migrated to a nearby town
or city to live and work in another household, or she may have worked quite far away.
My great grandmother, Nathalie Gaelens Boerjan, had two nieces who worked away from
home as maids in France. They were the daughters of Nathalie’s brother, Jozef Gaelens. The
girls visited the family about twice a year, bringing home any money they
had earned. Once before going home, they could not resist the
temptation of purchasing items for themselves which left their funds
depleted, and when Jozef learned this, he was very angry because he had
already incorporated that income into the expense budget. Apparently
women in the Gaelens family were particularly fond of jewellery – I don’t
remember my greatgrandmother having an inordinate love of jewellery.
She did not seem to have huge amounts of jewelry even after Ben retired
from farming – they certainly had the income where she could indulge
that love if she had it.
The age of marriage was relatively late – over 26 years for men and 23 years for women. It
was not unusual for the bride, after a very long courtship and engagement, to walk to the
altar pregnant. This occurred with some of the Boerjan women. Many women were left at
the altar, or may have become widows, and they had to raise their child alone. This usually
entailed taking on outside work, or sending family members off to seek work. Some even
sent their children to beg on the streets – that is how desperate they were.
If income sufficed, some families even had a servant who ate and lived with the family.
Women often raised their own dowry if the family’s income was low. As it took many years
to save up for your marriage, this was one reason for the late marriage age.
The Belgians
Flax was a big part of these families’ lives. Rural families were supported by growing and
processing flax into linen cloth. This cottage industry lasted until the onset of the Industrial
Revolution. This plus the failures of the harvest brought poverty, epidemics and starvation
to the rural areas and was a major factor in the decision of these families to leave Belgium
for North America.
In the countryside, even though starvation faced a family, children were rarely abandoned.
In the cities, it was a different story, with many newborn infants being left anonymously at
the foundling homes. The following is the birth certificate of Joanna Francesca Bauwens.
In Gent at 16:15 (4:15 p.m.) there appeared before me Francies Verhegghen, head of
the Civil Registration: Joanne Kints, 55 years old, from the Home for Foundlings,
who declared she had found yesterday at 15:30, in the "rolleken" of the Foundling
Home in St. Jans Hospital a child of the female sex, about 3 months old. The
child shown to us was dressed in a little linen shirt and a satin dress with white
and purple stripes, a red-colored cotton scarf with white flowers, a purple cotton
cap and a white undercap of piqué. She was wrapped in a white cotton bundle
inside a purple-coloured cotton covering with red and white flowers. We found a
short note attached to the child in Flemish that said: "Joanna Francisca Bauwens
age fourteen weeks last Monday".
We registered this child as Joanna Francisca Bauwens. This official report [was
prepared] in presence of Angelus Vlaemynck, 54 years-old, employee at the (sugar)
refinery and Jan Francies Peelman, 33 years old, police officer, living respectively in
Saint Jansdreef and Brabantdam (streets). After this certificate had been read
aloud, Joanne Kints declared she couldn't write; [so] the witnesses signed with me.
February 20, 1820,
Signed: JF Peelman A. Vlaemynck F. Verhegghen
The Belgians
The St. Jan’s Foundling Home existed in Ghent from 1820 to 1863. In the “Register der
Vondelingen”, there is a history of 7,181 children being abandoned there. Most of their
histories have only a few lines covering a couple of days or weeks. This was because 75
percent of the children that were brought into St. Jans died within a very short time after
their arrival. About 10 percent of the foundlings were left by maids and servants made
pregnant by their masters. If the child was abandoned without a name it was named at St.
Jans according to the alphabet.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~belghist/Flanders/Pages/foundling.htm
Emigration
After the decision had been made to emigrate, farmers would sell their land to pay for their
fare. Repeated crop failures and the loss of the potato crops created large numbers of
destitute people who were often reduced to begging and wandering around the countryside
as vagabonds looking for work. “Beggar colonies” were set up near the towns and cities.
Some volunteered to go into these colonies, and some were committed to them by
magistrates. The municipal government was responsible for the cost of feeding and lodging
these people, and often looked for ways to reduce this cost. Some were encouraged to
emigrate to Central or South America but were forced to return to Belgium because of
tropical diseases and ill health.
The Council of the Province of Antwerpen encouraged the placement of the “socially fallen”
into beggars’ colonies, and encouraged people in these colonies to emigrate overseas to the
United States or Canada at a cost of 186 francs per person. This included a ticket for
passage, money for food for 77 days, kitchen utensils, pocket money, a set of trousers, a
vest, working overalls, 2 shirts, 2 pairs of socks,
a pair of shoes, a trunk, a towel, comb and hair
brush, soap, needles and thread, a straw-filled
mattress and pillow, a bed cover, and a pipe
and tobacco. They were “mustered” onto the
ships as sailors, to make them more acceptable
– the government did not want anybody to
know they came from beggars’ colonies. Some
were even people who had been in jail and had
their sentences commuted if they agreed to
leave Belgium.
The Belgians
In April 1854, the captain of the ship Ann Washburn, destined for the U.S., insisted that
each emigrant have a ticket to show that he would be travelling further into the interior of
the United States and would not become a burden to the city of New York when they
disembarked. The U.S. ship owners had suspicions that the municipalities were sending
beggars or people with prison records as regular passengers. Thus, the governor of
Antwerpen spread the word that there would be no trouble if such emigrants were sent to
Canada. The plan was to have these people travel to Canada, then move on to the American
Midwest, thus circumventing New York and U.S. regulations. Some of the emigres never
prospered and lived under the same conditions they had endured in Belgium.
Emigrant Cabin on Steamship
Between 1850 and 1885, more than a 1,000 of these beggars were sent off as emigrants,
mostly to the U.S. The Red Star line after 1872 disinfected baggage to make sure that poorer
emigrants from Belgium and the rest of Europe who boarded at Antwerp did not
contaminate the ships with vermin.
Some immigrants may have come via the Ghent-Bruges-Ostend canal, where they would
travel to England, and depart Europe for North America from there.
Our Belgium ancestors came to the U.S. in the mid to late 1890s. They had friends and
relatives who had emigrated to America so they would not be entirely alone in the New
World.
The Belgians
Ships Sailing from Antwerp – 1892
S/S Noordland, Red Star Line, 1892-04-07, 1892-03-02
S/S Friesland, Red Star Line, 1892-04-12, 1892-03-07
S/S Conemaugh, Red Star Line, 1892-04-15, 1892-02-23
S/S Switzerland, Red Star Line, 1892-04-20, 1892-03-08
S/S Illinois, Red Star Line, 1892-03-13
S/S Rhynland, Red Star Line, 1892-04-28, 1892-03-18, 1892-02-06
S/S Nederland, Red Star Line, 1892-03-25
S/S Pennland (1), Red Star Line, 1892-03-25
S/S/ Belgenland, Red Star Line, 1892-03-28, 1892-02-14
S/S Westernland, Red Star Line, 1892-03-29
S/S Westernland (1), Red Star Line, 1892-02-23
S/S Pennsylvania, Red Star Line, 1892-03-31, 1892-02-15
S/S Waesland, Red Star Line, 1892-02-17
Ships Sailing from Hamburg – 1892
Stubbenhuk, Hamburg 1892-04-21 (Quebec) 1892-05-09 C-4538 5
Antwerp 1892-04-26 Montreal, Que
The Belgians
Chapter 10 – Where Our Ancestors Lived
Our Boerjan ancestors lived in many villages near Ghent throughout the years.
Village of Lembeke
At present, Lembeke is included in the municipality of Kaprijke. They two villages merged
in 1976.
The entire territory was sandy moorland with a high ridge cutting across it. Lembeke either
means "River by the lime-tree" or "River in loamy bed". The "Little Kaprijke Canal" was a
waterway that linked Lembeke and Kaprijke to Ghent
during the Middle Ages. The cloth industry was the major
industry in Lembeke during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Religious conflicts in the 17th century led to political and
religious instability with resulting damage to many of the
churches in the area. They were repaired over the next few
centuries, resulting in a mix of styles. Pieter Boerejeans and
his wife, Angela Switsinck, lived in Lembeke, as did
Franciscus Boerejan during his two marriages, to Anne
Petronelle Finet and Maria Judoca Van Cauter. Franciscus
and his daughter, Marie Therese, were imprisoned in 1830.
Desire Boerjans and his wife, Sophia Taets (right), also lived
in Lembeke.
The Belgians
Desire was born during the famine years. In 1864, Desire spent 1 month and 8 days in jail for
marauding. From prison records, we know that Desire was 1.7 metres (5.6 feet) tall, had
blue eyes, a long face, normal nose, and fair hair. Surprisingly, he did not have the famous
Boerjan nose!
Kasteel Hofter Kruisen
Aveschoot Manor, Lembeke
Brewery, Stockman, Lembeke
Parish Church, St Egidius, Lembeke
House in Lembeke
The Belgians
Town of Maldegem
Maldegem is the largest municipality in East-Flanders. The municipality comprises the
villages of Maldegem, Adegem, and Middelburg. Until the 13th century, Maldegem's
territory consisted mainly of swamps and woods. From the 14th century onward, annual
fairs have taken place here, a privilege given to the village by Count Louis of Male. The
manor Maldegem stood under the authority of 'het Brugse Vrije'. Maldegem is often called
'the faithful'.
The community owes its good name to the bravery and loyalty of its knights of the Count of
Flanders. Philip of Maldegem fought on the side of Guy of Dampierre against Filips (the
king of France), was captured and his castle was burnt down. Walter of
Maldegem accompanied the Count when he was captured by the
French. Nevertheless, not all the knights were loyal. Eustache of
Maldegem chose the side of the French! Eventually he saw that he was
wrong and fought on the Flemish side at Groeningefield (Battle of the
Golden Spurs 1302). The municipal hall stands centrally on the market
square. This building was erected between 1907 and 1909. In the tower hangs a carillon with
18 bells. Beside the little river "Eede" lies St. Anna Park. The house at the entrance of this
park is called the castle of St. Anna. In the 13th century, this building served as a hospital.
The church of St. Barbara was built in 1074. The tower dates back to the 11th century, and
the choir to the 15th century. The building was destroyed in 1578 and rebuilt in 1778-1779.
On the right hand side of the small road that leads to the church stands the old
"Schepenhuis" (house of magistrates), which was built in 1525. A pillory was located in front
of this house. A small 16th century castle still stands not far from the church, and is called
"Het Kasteeltje".
The Belgians
Reesinghe Castle is situated just outside the center of the town. The present manor was
built in 1858 at the same location as the stronghold of the lords of Maldegem, which was a
ruin at that time. There was a fortified farm built on a small hill, surrounded by a wall, and
after some time, the farm became a genuine castle.
Reesinghe Castle
Maldegem's most famous attraction is the Steamcenter. This center consists of a tourist
railway, Maldegem-Eeklo, a small track Maldegem-Donk, and the station at Maldegem. In
that station, built in 1862, you can admire the old steam train, steam rollers, etc.
The Belgians
Maldegem 1909
The Poermolen
Free primary school, public library,
School founded in 1880.
The Belgians
Oost Eeklo
The Gaelens family lived at Oost (East) Eeklo. My Great Grandma Boerjan (Nathalie
Gaelens) used to tell my Mom and her sisters that if they weren’t good, they would be sent
to Oost Eeklo. The children did not know where Oost Eeklo was so it scared them into
obedience.
Eeklo is a combination of two words, “eke” and “lo”, two old German words for “oak” and
“sparse woods”. Eeklo was an open city in the Middle Ages, located on the border between
the Catholic south and the Protestant north. Having no ramparts meant it was regularly
attacked and sacked by armies and rebel soldiers. It was nearly abandoned at one time.
The center of Eeklo
nowadays: city hall
with the church
behind it, Sunday
evening, 12 May 2002.
All is quiet on Eeklo's
Time Square.
In 1240 the town was granted municipal rights by the Countess of
Flanders Johanna of Constantinople. The whole area around Eeklo
was the personal property of the Counts of Flanders, who had a
hunting lodge there. The lands were sandy and marshy but were
developed by religious orders so farming could be carried out
there.
In 1348, the Black Death appeared in Europe. It began in the port of Sluis and infected the
whole country. People everywhere panicked and the churches were full of people praying,
fasting and trying to atone for their sins.
The Belgians
During the Middle Ages, Eeklo belonged to the Brugese Vrije, a castellany in the county of
Flanders, which might explain the specificity of the local dialect, quite different from other
Western Flemish dialects. The town had trade relations with Ghent, and production of
cloth increased its wealth. In the beginning of the 15th Century, the city had a flourishing
textile industry and was prosperous. The cloth of Eeklo was famous as far away as
Germany. This prosperity made it possible for the town council to modernize and improve
the town. Education was subsidized and the guilds were revived; however, corruption,
squandering and dissension eventually led to decline.
The Revolt of Ghent against Philip the Good from 1451 to 1453 meant
hard times for Eeklo and its church. This church was rebuilt in 1520
after a fire destroyed its spire. During the religious disturbances and
during the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) the church was not spared.
Historians will tell you this war was fought for the independence of the
Protestant Netherlands from Catholic Spain. That may be so, but the
people of Meetjesland did not want the Protestants living in their area
anymore than they wanted the Spaniards living there. On 25 July 1578,
the statues and many other ornaments of the church of Eeklo were
vandalized. In 1583, part of the church was once again destroyed by fire
and it was not repaired until 1612. In the winter of 1613-14, Irish soldiers used it as their
barracks.
This house once was
located just outside
Eeklo in the
Peperstraat (Peper =
Pepper) on the way
to Bentille.
The Belgians
By 1640, the cloth industry had completely disappeared and attempts to revive it failed. The
entrepreneurs and the best weavers left for the Protestant north.
There was not only the regular passage of troops of all kinds and economic decline through
the area, but the people were also the victims of epidemics such as plague, typhus, and
small pox. In 1693-94, child mortality was between 30 and 50 percent of total mortality.
Needless to say, in those days there were many beggars in Eeklo and industry and
commerce stagnated into a deep depression, especially when French or Dutch soldiers
raided the town. In 1718, famine ravaged much of Europe, as well as Belgium, as frost killed
crops, fruit trees and domestic fowl as far south as the Mediterranian Coast.
In Eeklo, like elsewhere during the Austrian period, the economy recovered slowly but
surely. The flax and linen industry revived but not the wool trade. All hope was placed on
agriculture. Ruined farms were rebuilt, the woods were taken care of, and land left fallow
for years and years was tilled again. The grain markets came back to life and more
commerce meant more taxes for the treasury of the town.
Eeklo during this period became an important educational center thanks to the efforts of
the Récollet Brothers, a Catholic order.
The church of Eeklo was in a sorry state and signs of the destruction carried out by the
Calvinists a century earlier were still clearly visible everywhere. Around 1775, the edifice
was open to the public even though it was old
and weakened. It would be another hundred
years before a new church was built.
The Holy Cross and Notre Dame Churches
were built between 1781 and 1784 by the
burgomaster of Lembeke. The Lembeke
church served as a model. Inside the church is
located a beautiful Van Peteghem organ
dating from the second half of the 18th
century.
The Belgians
In 1793, France was in the middle of the murderous French Revolution. The terrorists
themselves had taken control. In January, King Louis XVI was guillotined. Mary-Antoinette
followed him in October. On 10 July 1794, the French invaded Eeklo and took everything
they could lay their hands on, including grain, horses and other lifestock. When there was
nothing left to steal, they imposed very heavy war taxes. The
population of Belgium was so impoverished that in desperation
even the most virtuous started thieving. On 1 October 1795,
Belgium was officially annexed and incorporated into France.
Napoleon decided that Eeklo would be part of the Scheld
Department and promoted the city to capital of the
district. Eeklo also received a tribunal.
The living standards of the inhabitants of Eeklo gradually
improved, however, not for long. Napoleon's dictatorship came
to an end at Waterloo in 1815 and now for better or worse the
North (now the Netherlands) and the South (now Belgium)
were reunited into one Kingdom under Willem I of Orange of
the Netherlands.
Willem I of Orange
In 1866, Eeklo had 5,895 illiterate persons out of a population of 9,544. Perhaps these
figures are misleading because quite possibly the babies were counted among the
illiterates. It is perhaps more interesting to know that in 1862-63 only 241 candidate soldiers
from Eeklo out of 491 had received "tuition" ("onderwijs"). No doubt a lot of those 241 could
barely write their name. ("De Familie De Crop", C. De Crop, in "De Eik" (The Oak), 1984, p.
110).
Eeklo Municipal Flag
The Belgians
Eeklo 1910
Eeklo Train Station
Eeklo – St. Vincent Church
The Belgians
Eeklo – 1905
Eeklo – Convent
The Belgians
Eeklo Cattle Market – 1899
Eeklo – 1878
The Belgians
Eeklo – Le Moulin et la Chapelle de St. Sépulcre
Eeklo – De Kerk en de Groote Markt
The Belgians
Eeklo
Eeklo as it would have looked 1880
The Belgians
Our grandparents may have visited these very sites when they returned to Belgium to live
in about 1899 or 1900. Greatgrandma Boerjan (Nathalie) would have had sisters and
brothers living there. Perhaps she visited her brother, Josef Gaelens. The Boerjans returned
to the U.S. in January 1901.
The ship they travelled on to the U.S. was the SS Kensington and landed at Ellis Island.
Whether the Boerjans settled at Ghent, Oost Eeklo, Lembeke or Maldegem when they lived
in Belgium is unknown.
The Belgians
City of Ghent
Ghent is located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the
East Flanders province. The city began as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers
Scheldt and Leie. In the Middle Ages, it became one of the largest and richest cities of
northern Europe.
Archaeological evidence shows people have lived at
the confluence of these two rivers since the Stone
Age and the Iron Age. Ghent is derived from the
Celtic word ‘ganda’ which means “confluence”.
Initially the people in this area spoke Celtic and
Latin, however, when the Franks invaded the Roman
territories in the 4th and 5th centuries, they spoke
‘Old Dutch”, which was spoken thereafter.
In about 650, St. Amand founded St. Peter’s Abbey
and St. Bavo’s Abbey in Ghent. The city was attacked and plundered twice by the Vikings.
During the Middle Ages, Ghent was the leading city for the manufacture of cloth.
By the 11th century, Ghent was the largest city in Europe after Paris. Within the city walls
lived 65,000 people. The first industrialized zone in Ghent was devoted to the wool
industry. Wool was imported from Scotland and England. Raw wool was baled and shipped
from North Sea ports to the textile cities of Flanders, notably Ypres and Ghent, where it was
dyed and worked up as cloth. Trade with England suffered significantly during the
Hundred Year’s War.
ca 1534
The Belgians
Ghent recovered in the 14th century when Flanders was united with
neighbouring provinces under the Dukes of Burgundy. High taxes
led to a revolt. Eventually, Flanders was ruled by the House of
Habsburg. In 1500, Charles V, who was born in Ghent, punished the
people of Ghent after the city’s nobles revolted.
St. Michael’s Bridge
St. Bavo
Under the rule of Philip II of Spain (son of Charles V) Ghent suffered like most other cities
of Flanders and the low countries under the continuous religious troubles between
Protestants and Catholics. Lots of people left the impoverished Flanders and settled in
England and Germany. It was only under the Archdukes Albert and Isabella that Ghent
could flourish once more. Later, the economic situation improved thanks to the
construction of the canal between the Ghent harbor and the
city of Ostende. War, however, was never far away, especially
when Louis XIV of France repeatedly tried to conquer
Flanders.
Louis XIV
The Eighty Year’s War in the 16th and 17th centuries ended Ghent’s role as the centre of
international importance. In 1745 the city was captured by French forces during the War of
the Austrian Succession before being returned to Empire of Austria. This part of Flanders
was known as the Austrian Netherlands until 1814. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1815,
which ended the War of 1812. After the Battle of Waterloo, Ghent and Flanders became part
The Belgians
of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands with the northern Dutch for 15 years. Ghent was
occupied by the Germans in both World Wars and escaped severe destruction.
The Austrian period of the 18th century again brought peace and prosperity. New industries
were developed (sugar refineries and cotton mills).
The number of inhabitants tripled in the 19th century. The miserable working and housing
conditions of the working-class resulted in the creation of the first Belgian trade union in
Ghent. Ghent also played an important part in the Flemish movement in Belgium. In 1886
the Royal Academy of Language and Literature was founded. In 1930 the Ghent University
became a Dutch-language university. Now, Ghent has a population of about 250.000
inhabitants. It is the capital of the Belgian province of East-Flanders.
Ghent University, a former monastery
The Belgians
Chapter 11 – Religion
In the 7th century, abbeys were founded in remote places and this is
where the country was Christianized. This was conducted under
Charlemagne, who waged war to impose Christianity on the region.
During the Reformation, the influence of the Protestant religions
appeared in Belgium. The Lutherans even had martyrs in Belgium in
the early 1500s. Then Spain, who showed no tolerance for
Protestants, came to control Belgium and outlawed any other
religious but Catholicism.
The south of Belgium had a large population of Roman Catholics
and the north was mainly Protestant. The union of north and
south split up in 1830 and the south formed the Kingdom of
Belgium.
Roadside Chapel
In most families, at least one son or daughter took Holy Orders as a priest or nun. Roman
Catholicism played a major role in the lives of our ancestors who emigrated to North
America.
Everywhere you go in Belgium, even today, simple chapels are located along the roads and
at crossroads and were common places of worship for ordinary folk who often stopped to
pray. Some simply consist of a crucifix attached to a tree, or a little box attached to a tree
with a crucifix and a small altar inside. Passersby can stop and say a few prayers at these
small chapels.
The Belgians
St. Bavo Cathedral
Van Eyck’s Altarpiece
The Belgians
Saint Jacobs, Ghent
St. Nicholas Church, Ghent
The Belgians
Chapter 12 – Gaelens
Nathalie Gaelens was born at Oost Eeklo on July 27, 1870. Her father registered her birth on
July 28. She grew up in a large family. Nathalie’s greatgrandfather was Jooris Gaelens, and
her greatgrandmother was Johanna Francisca de Bul.
Jooris Gaelens
Jooris Gaelens
- Born about 1780
- Deceased ?
Spouse and Child
- Married to Johanna Francisca de Bul, ca 1780
o Pieter Francies Gaelens, born 1808
Address: Oosteeklo, Stroomstraat
The Belgians
Nathalie’s grandparents were Pieter Francies Gaelens and Marie Theresia Van Hoecke.
Pieter Francies Gaelens
Pieter Francies Gaelens
- Born about 1808
- Deceased
- Werkman (Labourer)
Spouse
- Married to Marie Theresia Van Hoecke, born about 1808
Pieter Francies and Maria Theresia Van Hoecke has 13 children, some of whom died
very young. Augustus, Pieter’s brother, was married to Eduard’s wife’s sister, Amelia
Hollebosch.
o Pieter_Francies ca 1808- and Maria_Theresia Van_Hoecke ca 1801o Eduard 1836-1887 and Virginie Hollebosch 1843-1925
o Petrus 1865o Johannes 1866-1875
o August 1867-1868
o August 1868o Nathalie 1870o Eliza Marie 1872-1872
o Francies 1873- & Marie Baeke 1888o Charles_Louis 1876o Raymond 1878o Prosper 1880o Jacobus_Leopold 1882o Leontine 1884-1947
o Jozef 1886-1965 and Melanie Van_Hamme 1891-1968
o Maria_Martha 1911-/1991 & Maurits Van_Semmertier
o Martha_Maria 1913-/1991 & Sylvair David
o Clara & Maurits Courteaux
o Albert_Leo & Julia De_Muynck
o Marcel_Antoine (1921-1991)
o Marguerite_Leonie & Julien Van_Goethem
o Irma_Celina & Robert Spanoghe
o Franscina_Maria & Jerôme_Camiel Closse *
o Andrea & Roger Van_Ryssel
o Augustus 1838-1877 & Amelia Hollebosch 1836-1918
o Petrus 1856o Leonie 1866- &1895 August Baeke 1860o Frans 1871- & Marie Baecke
o Gustaaf 1907-1994 & Madeleine Bauwens
o Octavie 1877-1964 & Charles_Louis De_Roo 1875-1952
* Our cousin’s family in Belgium.
The Belgians
Nathalie’s Mothers’ Side – Nathalie’s grandfather:
Livinus Hollebosch



Born 15 January 1790 - Oosteeklo
Baptized 15 January 1790 - Oosteeklo
Deceased 23 August 1857 - Oosteeklo, age at death: 67 years old
Parents

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Joannes_Bernardus Hollebosch 1751-1824
Maria_Anna Roegiers 1760-1824
Spouse and children

Married to Livina_Maria Lippens 1803-1887 with

Amelia Hollebosch 1836-1918
o
Felicita Hollebosch 1837
Monica Hollebosch 1842-1900/

Virginie Hollebosch 1843-1925 married Eduard Gaelens
Siblings
o
o
o
o

Francisca Hollebosch 1791-1848
Maria_Carolina Hollebosch 1792Francies Hollebosch 1793-1848
Petrus_Bernard Hollebosch 1794Carolus_Francies Hollebosch 1795-1880
Address: Oosteeklo
The Belgians
Virginie Hollebosch
Virginie Hollebosch, Nathalie’s mother, was born on October 19, 1843, and she was a
field worker. Her father was Livinus Hollebosch, and he died at Oost Eeclo on August
23, 1857. Her mother was Livinne Marie Lippens, born 1776, who was a small farmer.
These were the children of Eduard Gaelens and Virginie Hollebosch.
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Petrus Gaelens born on February 19, 1865 at 11.00 am, died October 20, 1938, Moline,
Rock Island, Illinois, USA. He moved to the U.S. with Nathalie and a brother, Raymond, in
approximately 1892.
Joannes Gaelens born on March 3, 1866 at 6.00 am and died on November 26, 1875 at
6.00 pm, at age 9.
Augustus Gaelens born on April 25, 1867 at 9.00 am and died on September 29, 1868 at
11.00 am, at 17 months.
Augustus Gaelens born on September 29, 1868 at 10.00 am and passed on July 1, 1915 at
Sint Jan Baptist in Zelzate age age 47.
Note that Augustus II was born an hour before his older brother, Augustus I, died. What a
day it must have been for Virginie – she gave birth to a baby the same hour her 1 year-old
died. The parents, Eduard and Virginie, must have decided to name Augustus II after their
first baby after Augustus I died.



Nathalie Gaelens born July 27, 1870 at 07.00 pm and passed in 1956 in Saskatchewan,
Canada. Petrus, Nathalie and Raymond moved to the U.S. in about 1892.
Elisa-Maria Gaelens born on November 6, 1872 at 10.00 pm and died on December 17,
1872 at 4.00 am at 2 months.
Franciscus Gaelens born on December 1873 at 4.00 am and died on May 4, 1962. He was
married to Maria Backe. He was 89 when he died so he lived to a ripe old age.
On Franciscus Gaelens, Jozef Gaelens’ granddaughter, Ingrid Closse, our cousin, only found that he
had one son, Charles Louis Gustave Gaelens. When Charles was 24 years old, together with his
father, he registered the death of his baby daughter Georgette Marie Joseph Gaelens who was born
in Sleidinge on January 2, 1930 and passed away on August 24, 1932 in her father's house on the
Weststraat in Oosteeklo where Charles was living at the time. Georgette's mother was Madeleine
Bauwens, who was unmarried. At the time in Sleidinge there was what we call 'a mother house'.
This was a place where women had their babies (a maternity hospital), with no other kinds of
patients treated there.
The Belgians

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Charles Louis Gaelens born on July 10, 1876 at 10.00 pm and died May 11, 1906 at Sint Jan
Baptist in Zelzate. He was 30 years old when he died.
Raymond Gaelens born on June 16, 1878 at 2.00 am. He travelled to the U.S. with
Nathalie and Petrus.
Prosper Gaelens born on June 16, 1880 at 3.00 am and died on November 1, 1956 at Sint
Guislain in Gent. He was 76 years old when he died.
Jacobus Leopold Gaelens born on September 5, 1882 at 8.00 am and died on March 7,
1949 at Sint Guislain in Gent. He was 67 when he died.
Leontina Gaelens born on September 26, 1884 at 8.00 am and died on May 7, 1947 at the
psychriatic hospital on the Oostveldstraat in Eeklo. She was unmarried. She was 63 when
she died.
Joseph (Jozef) Gaelens born on November 4, 1886 at 11.00 pm and died on January 29,
1965. He was 79 when he died. He was married on October 11, 1912 to Melanie Van
Hamme, who was born on May 9, 1891 and died on January 30, 1968. They had 9 children.
Their granddaugher, Ingrid Closse, has been in touch with the family in Canada and
provided this genealogy information.
Hollebosch sisters marry Gaelens Brothers
Augustus Gaelens, uncle of Nathalie, was born in 1839 and was married to Amalea
Hollebosch, Virginie’s sister, who was born in 1837. They also lived in the Stroomstraat in
Oosteeklo and had 5 children. Augustus worked as a dagloner. He died in the mental
institution of Zelzate in 1877. In the year of his death his youngest daughter was born.
At the age of 22, Petrus Gaelens went to register the death of Eduard Gaelens, his father,
at the town hall of Oosteeklo. On information from our cousin in Belgium, Ingrid Closse,
Petrus and Raymond travelled to the U.S. with Nathalie. I found Petrus Gaelens’ death
registration on Ancestry.com – Petrus died on October 20, 1938, Moline, Rock Island,
Illinois at age 73. Father: Hollis Gaelens. Profession: Laborour. Residence: Coal Valley,
Rock Island, Buried, October 24, So. Moline, Rock Island, Illinois (Ancestry.com). His
father’s name was a bit of a confusion: his mother was Virginie Hollebosch and his father
was Eduard Gaelens. Because Petrus spoke Dutch and probably did not speak English too
well, the registration of his parents’ name, probably when he arrived in the U.S., could
easily have gotten mixed up by the person registering him.
The Belgians
Prosper and Jacobus passed away in the psychiatric hospital of Sint Guislain in Gent. The
hospital was founded in 1857 by Dr. Jozef Guislain. When the number of patients
continued to increase, a new ward was opened in 1864 with the name of Sint Jan Baptist.
This is where Augustus and Charles passed away. During World War I, one out of three
patients at the Sint Guislain died of starvation. After the war, the ward had to be rebuilt.
St. Guisland, Ghent
Nathalie was the 5th child of Eduard Gaelens and Virginie Hollebosch.
Jozef, the grandfather of our cousin Ingrid, was number 13 in line and
the youngest. Virginie gave birth to 10 boys and 3 girls. As was common
in those days, some of them died in infancy.
The records also mention Jan Francis Boerjan, who was a neighbour of
Eduard Gaelens and Virginie Hollebosch. They may be part of the family of
Greatgrandpa Ben Boerjan (Nathalie's husband).
The Belgians
The Belgians
Chapter 13 – Boerjans
Generation 1
Joannes, married to Theresia Cordeman.
The last name of Joannes is not known. Only at the birth of his first child is the name
“Briant” written in his baptism book; by his second child, “Broyan” was written; by his third
child, “Brejan” was written, and by his fourth child, “Bruhans” was written in the baptism
book.
From this marriage came:
1. Martina Briant, born at Maldegem on June 21, 1648.
Married at Maldegem on April 27, 1673 to Martinua Bollaert
2. Hubertus Broyan, born at Maldegem on March 10, 1650.
Died at Maldegem on May 5, 1700.
Married Magdalena de Jaegere, who died at Maldegem on July 4, 1685.
3. Cornelia Brejan, born at Maldegem on January 21, 1652.
Died at Maldegem on March 10, 1728.
Married to Judocus Depaepe, who died before 1728.
4. Jacobus Bruhans (at the time of his marriage was written
Bourjan, and at the time of his first wife’s death on May 31, 1701).
The name was written Bruan after his second marriage on August 1,
1701. He was born at Maldegem on September 21, 1653.
In the family tree of Jean Michel Tonneau, Joannes and his wife are called Jan Briant and
Theresia Cordeman.
http://gw.geneanet.org/pamaprijelo?lang=es;pz=confidentiel;nz=confidentiel;ocz=300;p=jaco
b;n=bruhans
The Belgians
Generation 2
Jacobus Bruhans - (at his first marriage was written Bourjan, and at the time of death
of his first wife on May 31, 1701. The name was written Bruan after his second marriage on
August 1, 1701.) He was born at Maldegem on September 21, 1653. He was married first at
Maldegem on June 24, 1696 to Cornelia Pickelbeen, who died at Maldegem on May 31,
1701.
From this marriage came:
1. Petrus Bourjans (with his marriage in 1719 came the commonly used name
“Bruan”). He was born at Maldegem on June 29, 1697. He died on June 15 at
the age of 53, and was buried on June 17, 1750, at St. Kruis. He married Joanna
Gilleman, who died on January 14, 1729 at St. Kruis. Four children were born
of this marriage. He married Godelieve Govaert on February 27, 1729, at St.
Kruis. She died on September 24, 1777 at St. Kruis. There were 7 children born
of this marriage. In total, Petrus had 11 children in all.
2. Judocus Bourian (at his death came the name “Bruan”), born at Maldegem on
June 6, 1699, died at Maldegem on June 8, 1699.
Twins
3. Cornelis Bourian, born at Maldegem on June 6, 1699, and died at Maldegem
on June 8, 1699.
Jacobus married for a second time at Maldegem on August 1, 1701 to Wilhelmina van
Ootteghem, who died at Maldegem on December 12, 1715.
From this marriage came:
1. Joannes Bruan (with his marriage the name “Boerejans” was used).
Joannes was born at Maldegem on December 29, 1702 and died at Maldegem
on November 21, 1758, at the age of 56.
2. Elisabeth Bruan, born at Maldegem on April 10, 1706.
3. Joanna Bruan (Boerjan the registered name at death). Born at Maldegem on
October 24, 1708, baptized at Maldegem, died at Maldegem on October 31,
1708 – he only lived 8 days.
From the above-located research, there is a diverse variety in the last name. Within this
family were used the names Bruhans, Bourjan, Bruan, Bourjans, Bourian and Boerjan.
The Belgians
Generation 3
Joannes Bruan (at his marriage the name “Boerejans” was used). He was born at
Maldegem on December 29, 1702, and died at Maldegem on November 21, 1758 at age 56.
He was married on April 13, 1728 to Marie Anne de Vrieze, who was born about 1705,
and who died at Maldegem on June 28, 1757 at age 52.
From this marriage came:
1. Anne Maria Boerjan, born at Maldegem on January 12, 1729.
She died at Maldegem on March 23, 1729, at 2 months, 11 days old.
2. Petronella Barbara Boerjan (at her death the name “Boerian” was used in the
register). She was born at Maldegem on March 18, 1730, and died at
Maldegem on May 6, 1736, at 6 years of age.
3. Maria Francisca Boerjan, born at Maldegem on March 2, 1733.
4. Clara Boerjan, born at Maldegem on January 16, 1736, and died at Maldegem
on July 14, 1756, at 20 years of age.
5. Pieter Boerejans, born at Maldegem on February 20, 1738, and died at
Lembeke on January 7, 1818 at 80 years of age.
6. Joanna Boerjan, born at Maldegem on October 31, 1740, married to Georgius
Kockuijt.
7. Joseph Boerjan, born at Maldegem on March 3, 1748, and died at Lembeke on
March 15, 1817 at 69 years of age. He was married for a time at Basselvelde on
April 30, 1774 to Anna Maria de Koningh, who was born at Bassevelde and
died at Bassevelde on January 27, 1808. He married a second time at Lembeke
on September 10, 1810 to Petronella Isabella Soens, who was born at
Waarschoot on April 21, 1764, and died at Lembeke on August 4, 1811 at 47
years of age. Note: In the civil register, it stated that Petronella Soens married
Joseph on September 15, 1808, and that she was the widow of Ferdinant Van
Belle, who died at Lembeke.
8. Regina Barbara Boerjan, born at Maldegem on December 13, 1745, and died at
Maldegem on April 28, 1748 at 3 years, 4 months.
The Belgians
9. Petronilla Cornelia Boerjan, born at Maldegem on February 18, 1749, no
known occupation*, and died at Maldegem on June 21, 1753 at 4 years, 4
months. (*No known occupation on the register usually indicates that the
person died as a child).
10. Isabella Clara Boerjan, born at Maldegem on August 6, 1752, died at Kaprijke
on November 26, 1819, at 67 years of age. She was married firstly to Petrus
van de Wijnckel, secondly to Josephus Haudor, and thirdly at Kaprijke, July
17, 1798, to Petrus Deroose who was born at Ichtegem ca 1762 and died at
Kaprijke on March 1, 1814.
Joannes Bruan married a second time at Maldegem on June 25, 1758, to Joanne
Verbeke. After his first marriage Joannes had been widowed for one year. They were
married for six months when Joannes died at age 56.
His second wife was left with five underage children, 6, 9, 15, 18 and 20 years old.
1795 – FORMER AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS ANNEXED TO FRANCE
The Belgians
Generation 4
Pieter Boerejans was born at Maldegem on February 20, 1738, and died at Lembeke on
January 7, 1818 at 80 years of age. He was married on May 1, 1773 at Lembeke to Angela
Switsinck, who was baptized at Lembeke on September 27, 1752, and died at Lembeke on
October 13, 1804 at age 52. At the time of their marriage, Pieter was 35 and Angela was 21.
Interesting note: she was 8 months pregnant at the time of their marriage.
From this marriage came:
1. Petronella Boerejan, born at Lembeke on July 9, 1773, and died at Bassevelde
on December 10, 1851, at 78 years of age. She was married to Georgius
Bauwens, who died on August 25, and was buried on August 27, 1826, at
Bassevelde.
2. Isabella Boerjans, born at Lembeke on November 7, 1774, married at Kaprijke
on January 10, 1801 to Jacob de Decker, who was born at Kaprijke on
September 1, 1780, a day labourer.
3. Petrus Franciscus Boerejan, born at Lembeke on August 11, 1776, and died at
Lembeke on August 31, 1780, at 4 years of age.
4. Joannes Boerejan, born at Lembeke on January 19, 1778, died April 28, 1846*.
Op 28 augustus 1846, om 9 uur 's-avonds, is in de woning van
Bernard Taets, Beekstratte te Lembeke, overleden Joseph
Boerjan, 60 jaar ongehuwd en zoon van Pieter Boerjan en Livina
Coppens. Deze Joseph zou dus ca 1786 geboren moeten zijn.
Maar Pieter is pas in een 2e huwelijk in 1804 met Livina Coppens
getrouwd. Vermoedelijk is dit het overlijden van Jonnes Boerjan
geboren 19 January 1778 uit het 1e huwelijk van Pieter met Angela
Switsinck.
*August 28, 1846, at 9 a.m.-night, in the home of Bernard
Taets, Beekstratte to Lembeke, Joseph Boerjan died, at 60 years
old. He was the unmarried son of Peter and Livina Coppens
Boerjan. This Joseph was born about 1786. Peter entered into a
2nd marriage in 1804 with Livina Coppens. Presumably it is the
death of Jonnes Boerjan born 19 January 1778 from the 1st
marriage of Peter with Angela Switsinck.
The Belgians
5. Franciscus Boerejan, born at Lembeke on March 11, 1780, died at
Lembeke on April 5, 1839, at 59. He married Anne Petronella Finet at
Lembeke on July 30, 1808. She was 38 and he was 28. She was born at
Lembeke on June 18, 1770 and died there on September 25, 1808 (married for
only 2 months at time of death). When Franciscus married Anne Finet, she
was the widow of Andre Deltour. The marriage to Franciscus (Francies) and
Anne lasted only 57 days when Anne died.
Franciscus married for a second time to Maria Judoca Van Cauter on
October 13, 1809, at Lembeke. She was 23 and he was 29. She was baptized at
Lembeke on July 30, 1786, and died there on November 30, 1867 at age 81.
Marie and Franciscus had 9 children.
At the Correctional Tribunal of Ghent, Francies was sentenced
on January 22, 1830 at age 50, to three months in prison for
theft. On the same day, his daughter, Marie Therese, was also
sentenced to 14 days in prison, for theft. Francies served his
sentence from April 24, 1830 to July 24, 1830, and Marie served
her sentence from April 24, 1830 to May 3, 1830.
6. Bernardus Boerjan, born at Lembeke on September 4, 1782, labourer, died at
Kaprijke on April 4, 1821 at age 49. He was married at Hoofdplaat on
December 12, 1814 to Anna Catharina Foossens, who was born at Kilsdonk
around 1771, and died at Kaprijke on March 19, 1821 at the age of 50.
The Belgians
As best as I can make out, there seemed to be a problem with
the marriage in that Bernardus had not produced his mother’s
obituary/death certificate. On November 7, 1814, the
Burgermaster of Hoofdplaat said he did not wish to marry
them until he has received this. Also, marriage banns had to be
posted in the church for three successive Sundays at Mass,
after which the Burgermaster would give them permission to
marry once they had paid the fee. Once the banns were
successfully posted, the couple was married on November
December 12, 1814.
7. Ignatius Boerejan, born at Lembeke on January 8, 1785, died at Lembeke on
June 8, 1786, at 18 months of age.
8. Petrus Boerejan, born at Lembeke on February 23, 1787, married at Zuidzande
on November 4, 1817, to Collette Gilles, spinster.
9. Carolus Bourjan, born at Lembeke on January 26, 1789.
10. Georgius Boerejan, born at Lembeke on May 2, 1791, died at Ichtegem on
January 29, 1867, married to (1) Anna Therese Ioye at Ichtegem on December
28, 1816; she was born September 12, 1795, spinster, at Torhout, died at
Ichtegem on October 10, 1833. They had 7 children; (2) Regina Geneveva
Turloot at Ichtegem on January 25, 1834; she was born at Ichtegem on
September 16, 1802, spinster, and died at Ichtegem on October 9, 1859. They
had 5 children.
11. Maria Johanna Boerejan, born at Lembeke on December 21, 1794, died at
Bassevelde on January 17, 1884. She married Joseph Anjun on February 16,
1826, at Boekhoute. Joseph was born at Selsaete on July 30, 1786, and died at
Bassevelde on June 21, 1864.
The Belgians
Joseph Anjun was eerst gheuwd geweest met Joanna Marie de
Vleeschauwer, die op 17 oktober 1825 te Boekhoute is overleden.
Pieter Boerejans married a second time at Bassevelde on December 11, 1805 to Livina
M. Coppens, baptized in Lembeke on August 1, 1767, and died at Lembeke on April 30, 1840.
From this marriage came:
1. Marie Therese Boerejan, born at Lembeke on November 25, 1806, no
occupation, died at Lembeke on December 25, 1806, at 1 month of age.
2. Jan Baptiste Boerejan, born at Lembeke on July 25, 1808, died at Lembeke on
March 13, 1857, married at Lembeke on August 29, 1832 to Marie Colete
Pauwels, who was born at Kaprijke on July 7, 1806, and died at Lembeke on
May 28, 1863. Marie had 13 births resulting in 1 living son, Angelus. Bruno
lived for 10 months, Joannes Baptiste lived for half a day (12 hours), she had 4
stillborn boys and 2 stillborn girls – Marie Terese lived for 2 days, Julie lived 1
day, Amelia died at 2 months, and Jacobus died at 2 months, 20 days. Marie
Colete must have had a problem giving birth.
Van 29 october 1835 tot en met 28 november heeft Jan in de
gevangenis te Gent doorgebracht. Hiertoe was hij veroordeeld,
wegens diefstal, door het Correctioneel Trubinaal te Gent op Juni
1835. Jan was 1.71 m lang, had een grote neus en blauwe ogen.
From 29 October 1835 to 28 November, Jan, at age 22, was in
prison in Ghent. To this end, he was convicted of theft by the
Correctional Tribunal Ghent on June 1835. Jan was 1.71 metres
tall (5.6 feet), had a big nose and blue eyes. Obviously he
sported the famous “Boerjan nose”.
The Belgians
Generation 5
Franciscus Boerejan, born at Lembeke on March 11, 1780, and died at Lembeke on
April 5, 1839 at age 59. He was married for a time at Lembeke on July 30, 1808 to Anne
Petronella Finet, who was born at Lembeke on June 18, 1770, and died at Lembeke on
September 25, 1808, after 2 months of marriage. She was 38 years old. Franciscus was 28.
Franciscus was married a second time, at age 29, at Lembeke on October 13, 1809 to Marie
Judoca Van Cauter, who was baptized at Lembeke on July 30, 1786, and died at
Lembeke on November 30, 1867 at the age of 81. She was 23 when they married.
From this marriage came.
1. Marie Therese Bourjan, born at Lembeke on July 15, 1811, and died at Lembeke
on May 12, 1880. She had one child, Petrus Boerjan, who was born and died
on December 23, 1840 at Lembeke.
Marie married Pieter Francis Hontele on December 1, 1876 at age 65. Pieter
Francis was born at Assenede on September 27, 1814, and died at Boekhoute
on May 18, 1891.
Marie had her child, Petrus, at age 29, married Pieter at age 65, and died at
age 69.
Marie Therese must have led a hard life because, at age 19, she
was imprisoned for theft in 1830 for 14 days, incidentally at the
same time as her father, who was imprisoned for 3 months. In
those days, a person was sometimes forced to steal food to feed
their families or themselves.
2. Marie Francoise Boerejans, born at Lembeke on July 7, 1813 and died at
Bassevelde on February 28, 1862, at the age of 49. Marie Francoise was
married to Livinus van Heesvelde, who was born at Oost Eeklo on May 3,
1814. He was a labourer.
3. Joannes Boerejans, born at Lembeke on September 15, 1816, and died at Ghent
on October 8, 1902, at age 86. Joannes was married to Rosalia Van De
Kerkhove at Lembeke on May 22, 1846. She was born at Lembeke on August
12, 1824, and died at St. Nicolaas on April 16, 1894 at age 70. They had one
child, Eduardus Boerjan, who was born at Lembeke on December 1, 1846, and
died at Lembeke on June 6, 1847, at 18 months.
The Belgians
Bij een vonnis van de rechtbank te Gent van 5 december 1838 is
Joannes veroordeeld tot een gevangenisstraf van een jaar en
een dag. In het gevangenis register isvermeld: "Betigt van
diefte van een verken". Zjn signalement was; lang 1.66 m;
blauwe ogen; gewoon gezicht. Hij is op 28 januari 1839
opgenomen in het arrest ant enhuiste Gent enop24februari
1839overgebracht naar het gevang a. Bernard.
Toen Joannes trouwde heeft hij hiervoor toestemming
gekregen van de colonel-commandant van het le regiment
Linie, waar hij alsremplancant voor de lichting 1840 was.
In a judgment of the court in Ghent on December 5, 1838,
Joannes, at 22 years of age, was sentenced to imprisonment
for a year and a day. In the prison register, it stated "Betigt van
diefte van een verken." In his permanent report, it indicated he
was 1.66 metres long (5 feet, 4 inchs tall), had blue eyes and a
just face. He was recorded on January 28, 1839 in the ant
enhuiste Gent judgment of the 24th of February, 1839,
transferred to prison Bernard. Joannes married when he had
been given permission from the colonel-commandant of the
regiment of the Line, where he was alsremplancant for
lichting in 1840.
4. Sophie Boerejans, born at Lembeke on January 17, 1819, and died at
Lembeke on March 25, 1858 at age 39. Sophie was married at Lembeke on
May 20, 1842, to Angelus Depape who was born at Lembeke on December 9,
1811, labourer, who died at Lembeke on February 15, 1881.
5. Naamloos Boerjan, born and died at Lembeke on June 4, 1821.
This child is only recorded in the death register and not in the birth register.
It is mentioned in the death register that "the child lived only a few minutes –
it did not mention a name.
6. Joannes Baptiste Bourjans, born at Lembeke on April 7, 1823, and died at Oost
Eeklo on February 27, 1864 at age 41. He married Amelia Geiregat at
Basselvelde on April 7, 1861. She was born at Bassevelde on February 23, 1835
and died on November 18, 1865, at age 30. Joannes’s surname at the wedding
was Boerjans. The couple only had one child, Joannes Baptiste Boerjan, who
was born at Oost Eeklo on August 30, 1861. Joannes married for a second time
to Joannes B. Backe.
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7. Desire Boerjans, born at Lembeke on May 23, 1826, and died at Lembeke
on May 22, 1894, at age 68. Desire married Sophia Taets on August 13, 1853
at Lembeke. Sophia was born at Lembeke on February 9, 1832, and died at
Lembeke on July 9, 1909 at 77. She had been widowed for 15 years at the time
of her death.
Desire was also in jail at age 38. In 1864, he was imprisoned for
1 month and 8 days for marauding. We know from the prison
records that he was 1.7 metres (5 feet, 6 inches) tall, had blue
eyes, a long face, a normal nose, and fair hair.
8. Catharina Bourjan, born at Lembeke on August 15, 1829, no occupation. She
died at Lembeke on January 12, 1835 at 6 years of age.
9. Petrus Francies Boerjan, born at Lembeke on July 1, 1833, died at Hoboken,
Belgium, on April 22, 1920, at 87. His first wife was Helena Van Hijfte, whom
he married on February 4, 1856 at Oost Eeklo. She was born at Eeklo on June
21, 1834, and died there on December 2, 1866. They had three children.
Helena lived to the age of 32. Petrus’s second wife was Antonia Hollevoet,
whom he married at Zelzaete, Belgium, on February 28, 1867. She was born at
Zelzaete on April 10, 1840, and died at Hoboken on December 29, 1915 at the
age of 75. The couple had 7 children who lived. Their first child was stillborn.
Five Boerjans up to this time have served time in prison:
-
-
-
-
In 1816 – Joannes Boerejans, son of Franciscus Boerejan and younger brother of
Marie Therese, at the court in Ghent, was sentenced to a year plus a day.
He was 22 years old. His crime must have been more serious than that of
Franciscus or Marie Therese because he was sentenced to a much longer
sentence.
In 1830 – Franciscus Boerejan, father of Joannes and Marie Therese, served 3 months
in prison for theft. He was 50.
In 1830 – Marie Therese Boerejan served 14 days for theft. She was 19 years old. She
was the daughter of Franciscus Boerejan and brother to Joannes
Boerejans and Desire Boerjans.
In 1835 – Jan Baptiste Boerejans, son of Pieter Boerejans and Livina Coppens,
grandfather to Marie Therese, Joannes Boerejans and Desire Boerjans,
convicted of theft. He was 22.
In 1864 – Desire Boerjans, son of Franciscus Boerejan and brother to Marie Therese,
was imprisoned for 1 month and 8 days for marauding. He was 38.
The Belgians
Generation 6
Desire Boerjans and Sophia Taets
Leopold, about 7?
Sophia Taets looks really grumpy in this picture.
Does her nose resemble the famous “Boerjan nose”?
Desire looks like the description of him in the prison
register - 1.7 metres tall (5 ft, 6 in), blue eyes, a long
face, a normal nose, and fair hair.
Desire Boerjans was born at Lembeke on May 23, 1826, and died at Lembeke on May
22, 1894, at age 68. Desire married Sophia Taets on August 13, 1853 at Lembeke. Sophia
was born at Lembeke on February 9, 1832, and died at Lembeke on July 9, 1909 at 77.
From the marriage of Desire Boerjans and Sophia Taets came the following children:
1. Leopold Boerjans, born at Lembeke on April 18, 1854.
2. Rosalie Boerjans, born at Lembeke on December 22, 1856, and died at
Lembeke on January 29, 1858, at 2 years of age.
3. Benjamin Boerjans, born at Lembeke on April 22, 1859, and died at Lembeke
on March 26, 1864, at 4 years, 11 months.
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4. Angelus (Lus Boerjan), born at Lembeke on March 4, 1861, and died at
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on June 4, 1917 at 56.
Angelus is evenals zijn broers Peter en Bernardus naar Amerika
geemigreerd. In America, was hij bekend onde naam Lus
Boerjan. Hij is nooit gehuwd geweest en heeft een tijd alleen
door America rond getrokken. Toen Peter en Bernardus zich in
Saskatoon gevestigd hadden, is hij er ook heen getrokken en is
eveneens een boerderij begonnen. Bij zijn overlijden in 1917,
liet nig zijn bezittingen na aan Peter. Bernardus, aan zijn
zuster in Belgie, die gehuwd was met Camiel Bierens en aan een
nicht Leonie Roelant.
Angelus, like his brothers Peter and Bernardus (Ben
Boerjan), emigrated to America. In America, he was known
by the name of Lus Boerjan. He has never been married
and had at a time just travelled around America. When
Pete and Ben settled near Saskatoon, he was also drawn
there, and also started a farm. Upon his death in 1917, he
left his possessions to Peter, Ben, to his sister in Belgium,
who was married to Camiel Bierens, and to a niece Leonie
Roland.
5. Petrus Boerjans (Pete Boerjan), born at Lembeke on December 17, 1863, died
at Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., in October 1940 at 77 years of age. Pete was
married to Virginia van de Avoy, who was born at Yzendijke on May 29, 1870
and died at Seattle, Washington, on November 25, 1957, at the age of 87.
From this marriage came (1) Mary Lucille Boerjan, born on January 17, 1901,
and married James Clarke on January 14, 1920 at Seattle, Washington; and
(2) Theophile Boerjan, born in 1903 (architect). He married Irene Dines and
had one child, Virginia Boerjan.
6. Rosalie Boerjans, born at Lembeke on July 23, 1866, and died at Assenede on
November 3, 1896, at 30 years of age. She had a son, Augustus, on December
2, 1887, before she was married. When she married, she changed her son’s
last name to her husband’s name – Neyt. Her husband was Emimilius Neyt.
He was born at Assenede on January 22, 1866, and died on November 3, 1896
at 30 years of age. Coincidentally he died the same day as his wife died. They
were probably killed in an accident of some sort. The couple were both 30
years of age at the time of their deaths.
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7. Marie Leonie Boerjans, born at Lembeke on October 25, 1867. She married
Hippolijte Roelandts at Lembeke on May 18, 1892. Hippolijte was born at
Aveghem on November 29, 1861.
8. Bernardus Boerjans (Ben Boerjan), born at Lembeke on April 16, 1870
and died on June 16, 1957 at age 87 at Elrose, Saskatchewan. He was a farmer.
Ben married Nathalie Gaelens, who was born at Ooste Eeklo on July 28,
1870, and died at Elrose, Saskatchewan on March 15, 1956 at age 86.
9. Maria Celina Boerjans, born at Lembeke on October 5, 1873, and died at
Waarschoot on August 5, 1948, at 75 years of age. She had two children
before she was married – Aloysius Boerjan, born at Lembeke on April 22,
1892, and died at Lembeke on August 13, 1894 at 2 years of age, and Raymond
Boerjan, born at Ooste Eeklo on May 14, 1894. Maria Celina eventually
married Camiele Bierens.
10. Elodia Marie Boerjans, born at Lembeke on October 18, 1874, and died at
Lembeke on October 4, 1876.
11. Augustus Boerjans, born at Lembeke on February 6, 1876, and died at
Lembeke on November 4, 1876.
12. Elodia Boerjans, born at Lembeke on February 13, 1878, and died at Brugge in
May 5, 1900 at 22 years of age. She died in childbirth. Her child was Martha
Maria Boerjans, born at Brugge on May 5, 1900, and died at Lembeke on June
16, 1900 at 1 month.
Sophia was pregnant from age 23 to 46 almost constantly, giving birth to 12 children.
Her last child, Elodia, was born when Sophia was 46. I bet Sophia was glad when she
went into menopause. Three of her sons emigrated to North America – Angelus
(Lus), Petrus (Pete), and Bernardus (Ben).
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Sophia’s age at births:
Leopold
Rosalie – died at 2 yrs
Benjamin – died at 5 yrs
Angelus
Petrus
Rosalie
Marie Leonie
Bernardus (Ben)
Maria Celina
Elodia Marie – died at 8 mo
Augustus Boerjans – died at 8 mo
Elodia
23
25
28
30
32
35
36
39
41
42
44
46
All the Boerjan men who were in prison had a description of them in the prison
records at the Tribunal in Ghent. They are all about 5 feet, 6 inches, had blond hair
and blue eyes.
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Generation 7
Bernardus (Ben) Boerjan and Nathalie Gaelens
Ben Boerjan was born at Lembeke on April 16, 1870 and died on June 16, 1957 at age 87 at
Elrose, Saskatchewan. He was a farmer.
Ben married Nathalie Gaelens, who was born at Ooste Eeklo on July 28, 1870, and died
at Elrose, Saskatchewan on March 15, 1956 at age 86
From the marriage of Ben and Nathalie came the following children:
1. William Boerjan, born at Chicago, Illinois prior to 1895, died at birth.
Nathalie told the story of this birth - that the doctor who delivered her baby
was drunk, and he used forceps to deliver little William. However, he held
the forceps too tight, and crushed the baby’s skull during the delivery.
Nathalie was forever traumatized by this.
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2. William H. Boerjan (the middle initial Bill gave himself as he did not
have a middle name). William was born at Kewanee, Illinois on August 8,
1896, and died at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on August 19, 1981 at age 85 from
a burst aneurysm near his heart. Bill was married to Valerie Boucher,
who was born at Roome Township (delivered by her father on the family
farm near Eldred, Minnesota) on January 21, 1900. They were married on July
12, 1919. Valerie died in Rosetown on October 12, 1995, at the age of 95,
surrounded by her family. Bill and Val had three children, Anita Marie,
Blanche Beatrice and Viola Marguerite.
3. Theophile Boerjan, born at Kewanee, Illinois on June 4, 1898. He was
registered as being born to Benjamin and Nellie Schalens on his birth
certificate. He died at Elrose in February 1966. Birth certificate received.
4. Joseph Boerjan (Jay Raymond) was born at Oakwood, North Dakota, on
March 21, 1904, and died at Pasco, Washington in September 1987 at the age
of 83. Birth certificate received.
5. Marguerite Boerjan, born at St. Boniface, Manitoba, and died in about 1978.
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Generation 8
William Boerjan and Valerie Boucher
William was born at Kewanee, Illinois on August 8, 1896, and died at Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan on August 19, 1981 at age 85. Bill was married to Valerie Boucher, who
was born at Eldred, Minnesota on January 21, 1900.
Bill and Valerie had three children:
1. Anita Marie Boerjan, born at Crookston, Minnesota, on February 28,
1919, married Earl Olson on July 19, 1942. She was married for a second
time to Claude Treinen. Anita died on October 5, 2008. Anita and Earl had 7
children.
2. Blanche Beatrice Boerjan, born in Elrose, Saskatchewan, on April 30, 1920.
She married Carl McCallum on January 13, 1943 and died in Elrose,
Saskatchewan in December of 1989 at the age of 69. Blanche and Carl had
two children, a son and a daughter, both born at Elrose.
3. Viola Boerjan, born in Elrose on November 23, 1923, and died in Vancouver,
British Columbia on September 17, 1957, at the age of 34. She was married to
Donald (Mac) McDonald in September 1944. They had three daughters.
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Generation 9
Anita Boerjan and Earl Olson
Anita Marie Boerjan, born at Crookston, Minnesota, on February 28, 1919. She
married Earl Alexander Olson, who was born on December 31, 1908, at Brownlee,
Saskatchewan, on July 19, 1942. Anita and Earl had seven children, five daughters and two
sons. Earl died on July 14, 1966, at Elrose, Saskatchewan, at the age of 58 from complications
of asthma.
Anita was married for a second time to Claude Treinen. Anita died on October 5, 2008, at
the age of 89.
The Belgians
Chapter 14 – Life Together for Nathalie and Ben
Nathalie and Ben met in Belgium. It could be that Nathalie’s brothers were friends of Ben
and his brothers and that is how Ben met Nathalie. The men of the family at that time
travelled around the country, working for local farmers. Also, the Gaelens had a neighbor
called Jan Francis Boerjan, an older man. If he was a relative of the Boerjans, it could be that
Ben and Nathalie met when Ben’s family was visiting.
Ben and Nathalie became engaged in about 1890. They made the decision to emigrate from
Belgium, and Ben and Pete (Ben’s brother), and a cousin made the sea journey to North
America in about 1891. They settled in Chicago, Illinois, where there was a good-sized
Belgium community, and Ben saved his money up so he could bring Nathalie to America.
Finally, in 1893, he had enough money to purchase a sea crossing for his fiancé. Nathalie
travelled to America with her brothers, Petrus and Raymond Gaelens.
A record of Ben’s and Pete’s sea journey, as well as Nathalie’s and her brothers’ arrival in
either Canada or the U.S., has not been found as yet. The immigration station in New York
was being changed from Castle Garden to Ellis Island, and some of the records may have
been lost or misfiled, or perhaps they arrived in Chicago instead of New York. It is known
that upon arrival, Nathalie’s name was spelled incorrectly by the immigration officer. He
spelled her name “Shalenz” instead of “Gaelens” – perhaps when spoken in Dutch, the
name sounds like Shalenz.
Nathalie et al
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The Belgians
The reason for emigration to America was two-fold. The
opportunities for young families in America were seen to be too
good to pass up. Ben and his brothers and cousin had heard all
of the stories about opportunities in the New World. In the late
19th century, the governments of Canada and the United States
wished to encourage the immigration of good farmers from
Europe, so they sent advertisements all over Europe offering
people the possibility of owning
land for free! Often the steam ship
lines offered packages to people
wishing to travel to North America
to acquire land for free. This was a
dream come true for many
Europeans as land was not readily
available in Europe, and if it was it
was too expensive.
Another reason for emigration was that the parents of these young men wished them to
avoid the draft. In Europe, due to the number of wars over the years, many countries had
compulsory conscription in the Armed Forces. Many young men from every country in
Europe made the journey to America to avoid the draft in their home countries, and made
good lives for themselves and their families in North America.
When Nathalie arrived in the United States, oral records indicate they were married at
Davenport, Iowa (on the Iowa/Illinois border) on August 12, 1893. Kewanee, Illinois, where
their sons, William and Tay, were born, was about 55 miles from Davenport, a fairly short
journey by train. They also lived in Chicago, Illinois, for a time.
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The Belgians
Nathalie became pregnant with their first child in about 1894. Due to the doctor’s drunken
incompetence, the baby died at birth. They named him William. Nathalie said that it was
because the doctor used forceps and crushed the baby’s skull. Nathalie was affected by this
for the remainder of her life. In December 1895 she became pregnant again, and this time
the baby survived and thrived.
William II
As can be seen in the picture above, both male and female babies of this age
were dressed the same – in little dresses. William would have been about 1 in
this photo.
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The Boerjan brothers were wanderers. Ben and Nathalie moved their family to Kewanee,
Illinois, where Ben was employed in an iron foundry and Nathalie ran a boarding house,
which she was very successful at. William was born on August 8, 1896, and another boy,
Theophile (Tay) was born on June 4, 1898. With Ben’s earnings and Nathalie’s income from
the boarding house, they were able to save quite a bit of money.
William and Tayphile
Note: the church that registered William’s and Tay’s births, and where the
birth certificates were filed, burned down and the records were lost. Later,
when Bill and Tay were applying for Canada Pension, they tried to order their
birth certificates. They had a very difficult time getting copies which they
needed in order to receive Old Age Pension. They had a certification
prepared by the appropriate U.S. government department, which was sworn
to by Ben Boerjan, their father, stating when and where they had been born.
While living in Kewanee, Ben was injured at work and had to leave his job for awhile.
Nathalie suggested they move back to Belgium while they still had some money. This they
did, however, Nathalie was not happy. They were too rich for the poor, and too poor for the
rich. There was no middle class in Belgium at that time. Ben would have stayed – he wasn’t
as unhappy at Nathalie because he spent a lot of time in the local pub visiting with his
friends. Nathalie was left alone with the babies. Nathalie decided it was time to move back
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to the U.S. She had become pregnant while living in Belgium, but she lost the baby on the
sea journey to the United States.
Kewanee, Illinois
The family travelled on board the Kensington from Antwerp in January 1901 and entered
New York through Ellis Island. As they were considered citizens of the United States,
having lived there before, they were not required to go through the stringent immigration
procedures that were required of people immigrating to the United States for the first time.
The sisters Kensington and Southwark, Red Star Line.
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After arriving back in the U.S., Nathalie decided that, as she and Ben had made the decision
to make North America their home, she should learn to speak English instead of speaking
Dutch all the time. Prior to this, she did not have the incentive to learn English as she had
always thought they would eventually return to Belgium to live. Nathalie went to night
school to learn English. She also learned to sign her name and she began to learn to read.
The first Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oakwood ND, constructed in 1881. This church was very small, and
was later used as a granary.
Saint Aloysius Academy in 1906. This school opened in 1906 and closed in 1967.
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Ben, always searching for opportunities in the newspapers, located some land to homestead
in North Dakota, so the family moved to a location near Oakwood. Their son, Jay Raymond
(Joe) was born there on March 21, 1904. His birth certificate states that he was “born at
Oakwood, Grand Forks County, North Dakota – father’s name: Ben Boerjan, mother’s
name: Nellie Schaelens. There were many homesteads surrounding Ben’s land which were
owned by Germans. Bill and Tay went to a school run by Catholic brothers, and German
was the only language spoken there. As the boys spoke only Dutch, they couldn’t
communicate very well and “often got a switch on their behinds”. At that time, Germans
did not like people from Belgium for some reason, and Ben felt his neighbours picked on
him because he was Belgian. He also wanted to acquire enough land for himself and his
sons, and, as he was surrounded by Germans, he knew this would be impossible. Thus, Ben
and his brother, Pete, decided it was time to move on, this time to Canada. Bill and Tay
were especially happy about the move because they did not like school in North Dakota, for
obvious reasons.
Nathalie, Ben, ?, Aunt Ferza, Uncle Pete, ?
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They moved to St. Boniface, Manitoba, where Nathalie gave birth to a baby girl, Marguerite,
in 1907. Ben worked on an ice wagon, delivering ice to people with ice boxes. This was very
hard on his bowels because he had to sit on ice all day. He later required surgery on his
bowels. Ben was a farmer at heart, anyways, and he always watched the newspapers for
land to homestead. At the earliest opportunity, the young family moved to Lanigan,
Saskatchewan.
In Saskatchewan, for a registration fee of $10.00, any male
over 18, or any widow who was sole head of a family, could
have a quarter-section of land (160 acres) from the federal
government (the “Crown”). To transfer title of land from
the Crown to the homesteader, the land would have to be
“proved up”. The farmer had to have broken at least 30
acres of land, and must have built on the land a residence
worth at least $300 in which he had resided for at least six
months of each of three consecutive years. He must be a
British subject, either by birth or naturalization. Once all
these conditions were met, the title was transferred and
registered in the homesteader’s name at the Land Titles
Office.
The Belgians
The land around Lanigan, Saskatchewan was a
quiet, peaceful land. It was a land of rolling
grasses fringed with green poplar bluffs,
abounding in wildlife, such as antelope, deer,
prairie chicken, and bush partridge. The land
was part of the Saskatchewan Valley, bounded
on the south by Last Mountain Lake, on the
east by Big Quill Lake, and on the west by the
Little Manitou. The land differed from the
open plains of the Palliser triangle. It was
dotted with many depressions which held the
spring run-off. In many of these, there were
small clumps of poplar which had been protected from fires by wet ground and by the lush
green growth always found in such locations. This same unevenness of land, and
abundance of moisture, accounted for a variety of grasses and a great quantity of feed for
grazing animals. The buffalo were long gone, although there was evidence of their
existence in this area. The prairies were strewn with bleached buffalo bones, and the land
was crisscrossed with narrow crooked paths connecting the more dependable water holes.
At intervals, there were wallows and salt licks where the grass had long since ceased to
grow and where the ground was as hard packed as the modern city streets.
Lanigan, 1909
Lanigan City Hall, circa 1909
Here was an ideal site where the North American Indian could hunt and live. There was
food and water at hand, meat easily secured to feed their families, and in the bluffs
protection from the winter storms and hot summer sun. The Indians have left much
evidence of their existence in what was once their camping sites - arrowheads, heavy stone
hammers, and chunks of dark grey pemmican marked their sojourn in this land.
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The following is an excerpt from "Lanigan, 1905-1955: Saskatchewan's Golden Jubilee".
"There is one homesteader on the very town-site itself about whom we must
tell. In the spring of 1906 Ben Boerjan and his family settled on the southwest
quarter of Section 22. He tells of building a sod house and barn, and of the
leaky roof characteristic of such abodes. Mr. Boerjan was Lanigan's first
milkman, supplying milk (22 quarts for a dollar) to the town during the years
1907 to 1910. At that time, he sold his land to Mr. Griffith. This quarter was
surveyed for town lots, but when it was learned that the town would not
extend that far south, it became the locale for the Lanigan Golf Club."
Ben and his sons, Bill and Tay, cleared the right-of-way for the railroad where Lanigan is
now situated while at the same time carrying on the dairy business.
Ben always thought he wouldn't survive past the age of 35. With this in mind, he taught Bill
from a young age how to take care of his mother and siblings. He also taught all his boys
the Belgium work ethic, which stood them in good stead throughout their lives.
Bill remembered well those days and the
soddy they had lived in, even though he was
very young. The first thought many
homesteaders had when they stepped onto
their new quarter section (160 acres, 65 square
hectares) probably concerned a home. What
to build it out of? In many places, the only
material in abundance was the prairie sod
itself. The sod today has all been ploughed
and cultivated, but in those years, it was
knotted together by the roots of hundreds of
years of grasses and weeds and was very tough. It was also handy, so that was the material
chosen by the pioneers to build their homes. First, they would plough out the floor plan,
approximately 16 x 26 feet, or 5 x 8 metres. Then, they would cut down some poplar trees
from the hills or from a nearby coulee and use it to build a frame. They would usually
plough out additional sod, as it was going to be used as bricks and many bricks would be
needed - 4,000 or so. Also, a ploughed area was needed around the house to act as a
firebreak against the inevitable prairie fire. Then sod bricks were stacked against the poplar
frame. Each brick would be 1.6 or 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) thick, about 1 foot and 3.748 inches
(40 cm) wide, and twice as long, and piled up with a slight inward tilt to help bear the
weight. Doors and windows could be placed anywhere. The roof was made by stretching
poles side by side between the walls, then laying down a layer of hay, a layer of sod, another
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layer of hay, then some more sod. Some homesteaders referred to that top layer as
"government shingles". Boards on the ground would make the floor, and cloth was plugged
into the dirt walls to seal them from the outside. Blankets were hung to make rooms. This
was the little home on the prairie, warm in winter, cool in summer, although not particular
dry, as noted by Ben.
In 1909, Ben and his brothers, Pete and Angelus (Lus), decided to move to another area of
Saskatchewan - Elrose - to take up homesteads there. Nathalie and her sons, Bill and Tay,
maintained the business at Lanigan, which was very hard for them as Bill and Tay were
both young and Marguerite was a baby. They had a horse and oxen. Bill could remember
driving the wagon and oxen and the wagon getting stuck in the mud. The boys would have
to push the wagon, with Nathalie following behind carrying her baby, helping as much as
she could, as she was structurally quite a small person. These boys learned at a young age
to be responsible and were a great help to their mother.
At Elrose, Ben's brother, Pete, homesteaded the north half of Section 14-25-16 W3 and Ben
the south half of Section 14 (Dominion Land Grant records, ArchiviaNet). This land was
hilly and stony prairie. Ben also acquired Lsds. 9, 10, 15 and 16, in Section 26-24-16 W3 along
with the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Co. (Source: Dominion Land Grant records,
ArchiviaNet). In some townships, the railroad had accepted 8 or more sections as part of its
land grant and if a quarter in one of these sections adjoining a homesteader's land became
available, the homesteader could claim the first right to purchase it at $3.00 per acre. The
homesteader was required to break 50 acres within 3 years and be resident on either the
homestead or the pre-emption for 6 months of each of 6 years. In 1908, all unclaimed odd
and even numbered sections were released for homestead and pre-emption lands. Bill’s
daughter, Anita, inherited the following land from William (Bill) upon his death, which
consisted of the following lands:
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Northwest quarter (NW/4) of Section 13, Township 25, Range 16, West of the Third
Meridian (W3M) (150 acres)
Southwest quarter (SW/4) of Section 13, Township 25, Range 16, W3M (160 acres)
Northwest Quarter (NW/4) of Section 15, Township 25, Range 16, W3M (160 acres)
Southeast Quarter (SE/4) of Section 22, Township 25, Range 16, W3M (160 acres)
Southwest Quarter (SW/4) of Section 24, Township 25, Range 16, W3M (156 acres)
This land was owned by Anita and farmed by her nephew and grandson of Bill, Billy
McCallum, until the summer of 2001. Anita and Billy both received offers on their land
from a large farming concern in the area, and decided to sell. Fortunately, the purchaser is
a local farmer. It is unfortunate that today, with economic conditions the way they are in
Saskatchewan, a small farmer cannot survive.
Some time after they initially homesteaded the land,
Ben's brother, Pete, decided to move from
Saskatchewan to Lake Samanish, at Port Orchard,
Washington, in the United States, where he
purchased a summer resort. He had married Ferza,
who was deaf, and they had 1 son, Theophile, and 1
daughter, Mary. Theophile married Irene, and had 1
daughter, Virginia. Mary married James Clarke, and
they had 2 sons, Tom and Jim. Pete is thought to
have died in 1945, and Ferza in 1950.
Lake Samanish
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Lus moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and died there of a burst appendix in June 1917,
leaving all his worldly goods to Pete, Ben, a sister, Maria Celina Boerjans (Mrs. Camiele
Bierens) in Belgium, and Maria's daughter, Leonie Roelant, also in Belgium. He never
married or had any children of his own. Each beneficiary received $80. Bill and Tay looked
for Lus's grave in Saskatoon for years, but they were never able to find it. Bill's
granddaughter, Adrienne, has since located Lus's grave; he is buried in Roselawn Cemetary,
Grave Number 1727, Block – Lot – Section 44-L012-S1/3, Date of Death: 1917/06/01, Date of
Burial 1917/06/08.
Roselawn Cemetery, Saskatoon
Nathalie
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1918
Nathalie and Ben at their House in Elrose
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Ben had great muscles
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Nathalie and Ben - Smiling
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Chapter 15 – William H. Boerjan Family
Bill and his brothers, Tayfield and Joe, grew up helping their father on the farm. There was
quite a bit of work to do as the farming was done with horses. Joe was never a farmer – he
was more an office-type worker.
When Bill was about 19 or 20 he decided to move back to the United States, where he
worked in International Falls, Minnesota, for the Minnesota and Ontario Power
Company. He met his future wife, Valerie Marie Boucher, there. She was staying with her
sister, Vitaline, who introduced them. Bill worked with Vitaline’s husband. Bill and Val
started courting and immediately fell in love. Valerie was a very petite, pretty, darkhaired French girl, with large brown eyes. Bill was a barrel-chested, handsome man, with
lots of dark curly hair and grey eyes.
Bill wished to serve in the Armed Forces during the war years. In 1918 he joined the
Canadian Expeditionary Force. He had been accepted after stating he was old enough,
and when Nathalie discovered this she immediately wrote the Canadian government and
told them he was not of age, and that she would not give permission for him to join the
services. She remembered all the young men, like her husband, who had left Belgium and
moved to America to avoid the draft, and also the many men that had died in the wars in
Europe. She would never give permission for her son to join the Army! While Bill was
living in International Falls, when he was 21, he was
drafted into the Army of Occupation as a Sargent in
the Medical Corps. He was stationed overseas at the
end of the WWI. He was a member of the
Ambulance Corp., picking up the wounded and
burying the dead.
Bill
Friend
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Bill’s Draft Card
Bill’s Unit in France – Bill, back row, right end
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Bill
While Bill was overseas, Anita was born in February 1919. She was premature and as a
result she was very tiny. Valerie lived with her family at Crookston, Minnesota, while Bill
was in the service, and she gave birth to her baby at home. She was only 19 and very
frightened, but her parents were a great support to her. She shared a room with her sister,
Dora, and tiny Anita slept between them at night. Valerie is sure this is how Anita
survived. She was kept fed, warm, safe, and very loved for those crucial first months of her
life.
Val and Anita
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When Bill was in France, his friends often teased him about all the pretty French girls they
were meeting, and Bill would always answer, "I have my own pretty little French girl
waiting for me at home". He wrote Valerie often while he was overseas, and when he
returned home he brought her many gifts from France, such as handkerchiefs and
scarves, which she treasured and passed on to her granddaughters.
Bill and Val were married on July 12, 1919 at Crookston, Minnesota. They were a very goodlooking couple. She was so pretty with her hair done in the latest style and her large
brown eyes with a twinkle in them. Bill was tall and handsome, with his curly hair styled
upward, making him seem taller.
After the wedding, Bill wished to move his new family to
Saskatchewan, to the farm he and his family owned, so he
and Valerie drove to Saskatchewan in a Model T Ford
convertible, quite a unique car for that time.
Valerie and Bill had two more daughters, Blanche, born
April 30, 1920, and Viola, born November 23, 1923. Valerie
always wanted to give Bill a son, because the Boerjan
name in our branch of the family died if there were no
sons born to Nathalie and Ben's children. Valerie had a
miscarriage once, and she and Bill were very sad. The
doctor asked her if she wanted to know what sex the baby was, but she wouldn't allow the
doctor to tell her, because she would have been devastated if it had been a boy. It is likely
he told Bill, however. Val could never have any more children after that.
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Anita, Vi and Blanche
Bill added to the land the family was farming and he became very successful. The
motorcar was leading to mechanical farm equipment, and Bill’s father loved his horses. If
Ben could not farm with his horses, he decided he could not farm at all. When Bill
decided to use motorized farm machinery, Ben retired, and he and Nathalie moved into a
house in Elrose.
Bill built a new house on the farm
in 1929. It was a beautiful, large
house with lots of room for his
family. The girls loved it on the
farm - they had lots to do. They
played ball in the summer, rode the
horse, Jesse, and helped their
parents with chores. Anita helped
her mother in the house but
Blanche preferred to help her dad.
She was a tomboy and never enjoyed housework. There was always a constant battle
between Valerie and Blanche - Valerie felt that Blanche should spent more time helping
with the housework which Blanche hated with a passion. Vi, the youngest, was the baby;
she was small, with pretty blonde hair and a pretty face, and everybody doted on her.
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Bill was a very good farmer, and extremely successful businessman. Other men in the
Elrose area were taken in by crooks who travelled throughout the area selling fake stocks
in non-existent mines. Bill was one of the few men in the area to see through their
schemes, and did not participate. Others in the area lost everything. Bill survived the
Dirty Thirties quite intact, with the family surviving by raising their own food.
Bill was a very well-respected member of the community. He was on the hospital board
for many years, he belonged to the Elrose Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (a
Canadian veterans' club), and he was very active in the Roman Catholic Church in Elrose.
The priests that came to the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Elrose always sought Bill
out for his invaluable advice. Bill also had a love of the hunt, and every fall he would go
hunting for moose and deer. His grandson, Bill, has inherited this love, and hunts to this
day.
Valerie was also active in the community and very busy raising her children. She
belonged to the Legion Auxiliary and the Catholic Women's League. Bill and Valerie
always loved to travel, and they made a trip every other year to Minnesota, so that Valerie
could see her family. One form of entertainment they enjoyed very much was attending
motion pictures, and when they visited Val’s family in Minnesota, they attended the
movie theatre, often with Valerie's sisters.
When Bill and Valerie lived on the farm and the children were young, the girls would stay
in town with Ben and Nathalie (Grandma and Grandpa) Boerjan during the week and
attend school, as the roads were quite often impassable in the winter. Then on weekends
they would return to the farm. Because they spent so much time with their grandparents,
they were very close to Ben and Nathalie in many ways, especially with Nathalie.
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Nathalie learned to read and write English when Anita attended school because when
Anita worked on her schoolwork, she taught Nathalie at the same time. Perhaps this led
Anita to her decision to become a teacher when she grew up. Nathalie never could read
Belgium, however, and when she received letters from relatives in Belgium, she would
have Mrs. Verbruggen, a Belgium neighbour and good friend, translate them for her.
On Halloween, the girls would be living in Elrose during the week, and the girls were not
allowed to venture out with their school friends to trick-or-treat. Ben and Nathalie did
not want their grandchildren "begging at people's doors for candy". However, they were
encouraged to hand out candy to the children that came knocking at the Boerjan door.
When the girls got older, they rode to school in a horse-drawn wagon that went around
the area collecting children from the various farms. One cold winter day the wagon
tipped over, and the stove, which had a full-blown fire going, fell on Anita, burning her
quite badly. She had to stay home from school for many months, and her teachers sent all
her school work home for her to work on. Luckily, Anita had good self-discipline, and she
excelled in academics. She was accelerated (skipping two grades), and graduated at the
age of 16. Anita was required to remain at home for 2 years because she could not attend
any of the post-secondary schools until she was 18. She wanted to become a teacher, so
when she was old enough she asked her dad if she could attend the university in the fall.
He thought about it, and said "If we get a crop this year, certainly you may". Sure enough,
that year's crop was successful, and Anita applied for Teachers' College and was accepted.
Valerie and Bill
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Valerie set out to obtain a board and room situation for Anita in Saskatoon for the first
few months of school. Valerie wanted to make sure the accommodations were suitable for
a girl Anita's age so she travelled to Saskatoon with Anita on the bus. Valerie was always a
friendly person so she never hesitated to visit with people she was in close proximity to.
She struck up a conversation with a woman who was also travelling to Saskatoon, and
this woman owned a boarding house that was close to the Teachers' College (then called
Normal School) on Avenue A (now Idylwyld). She told Valerie to come see her if she did
not find a suitable place. Valerie and Anita investigated several boarding houses, but
Valerie did not feel any of them were suitable. She remembered the lady on the bus, so
she decided to take her up on her offer. She found the accommodations very suitable, and
Anita moved in. She worked for a portion of her room and board and attended school.
Saskatoon Normal School
Anita lived at the boarding house until the winter of 1938-39, when Bill, Valerie, Anita
and Viola moved into Saskatoon for the winter. They rented a house on 5th Avenue, a
luxurious house that belonged to Mr. Russell Wilson, once the mayor of Saskatoon, who
was spending the winter in Hawaii. Blanche visited her Auntie Marguerite in Ontario
during this time. Vi attended the convent to complete high school and then went on to
Robertson's Business College. Anita and Vi always walked home together for lunch. They
used to walk across the railway tracks because it was a shorter route, and one day they
were flashed by a man passing by. It was quite scary for them.
In the spring, Bill and Valerie moved back to the farm as it was time to plant the crop,
and Anita moved in with the Angus family, where she could work for her room and
board.
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Britain went to war with Germany in 1939, and Canada entered on the side of Britain
within a week of the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939. Blanche and Vi enlisted.
Blanche was an ambulance driver and chauffeur for the officers. While she was in the
services, she met her husband, Carl McCallum, who was a cook. They fell in love and were
married. After the war they settled on the east coast, where Carl's family was located, but
they weren't happy there. They moved to Elrose, and Carl joined the family farming
operation. Carl was a maritimer so he had lots to learn about farming but he was smart
and willing. Blanche worked right alongside him on the farm throughout their marriage.
They had two children, Carl William, born in 1943, and Judy, born in 1946. Blanche died
in the winter of 1989 of lung cancer. Carl lived until 2005 even though he only had one
lung and one-third of his stomach. He was a scrappy little fellow with a magical
personality. Both he and Blanche were very witty and a joy to visit with.
Carl, Blanche and Tay
Judy and Billy
Valerie and Bill lived on the farm until 1946, when they moved to Elrose. Their daughter,
Blanche, and her husband, Carl, took over the day-to-day operation of the farm. Valerie
and Bill decided to travel, and drove to Texas for the winter of 1940. In 1953, they went to
Florida on holiday. In 1955, they went to Texas on vacation to do some reconnaissance for
their future.
Vi met Donald McDonald right after the war and she married and moved with him to
British Columbia. They had three daughters, Bonnie, Sandy and Joanne. Between the
births of Sandy and Joanne, Vi contracted breast cancer. She was being successfully
treated, with hopes that her cancer would go into remission. The doctors told her not to
get pregnant, or the cancer would spread very quickly. However, her husband did not get
the message, and she became pregnant with Joanne. The cancer spread throughout her
body and she was very sick. Bill and Val felt really bad that Val did not live near them so
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they could be of assistance to her. However, they did drive to British Columbia to spend
as much time with her as possible after her cancer diagnosis. Anita also joined them
whenever she could. On September 19, 1962, Viola died of breast cancer in Vancouver,
British Columbia, which was very sad because she was so young –she was only 34. She was
Bill's baby, as well, and he grieved for her in a significant way.
Val and Bill decided to settle in McAllen, Texas, for the winter months. They did this
every year until Bill's death on August 19, 1981, and Valerie continued to travel to Texas
for the winter until 1989, when her health prohibited it. Bill's brother, Tay, and his wife,
Mary, also lived in Texas in the same trailer park as Bill and Valerie. Many other people
from the Elrose area also wintered in the southern United States, and many spent time
with the Boerjans at McAllen. They lived in the Trailer Town park and thoroughly
enjoyed living in the Rio Grande valley, which was sub-tropical and very close to the
border between the U.S. and Mexico. Their daughters continued the tradition, and spent
many winters in Texas, and the tradition has been passed on to their grandchildren, who
are now just beginning to spend their winters in a warmer place in the winter. At that
time, Texas was very safe near the border. Their park was small compared to the trailer
parks that exist there today. The park was kept very clean and there were fruit trees and
tropical plants all over the park. There was also a small community center where they
held dances and pot luck dinners. They enjoyed driving to Whataburger once in awhile.
They also enjoyed excursions to Mexico to the town of Reynosa and Progresso where they
could purchase items much cheaper than in Texas. The border towns were quite clean
and safe at that time.
Trailer of Bill and Val – April 1958
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Bill and Val had a routine during the summer when they were home. Bill would rise early
and have breakfast. Then he was off to the farm for a full day’s work. Val would do her
chores around the house and work in the garden, which was very abundant. Val was a
good gardener. She would lay down after lunch for about an hour, then she would walk
downtown to get the mail. On her way back, she always stopped at Anita’s home, which
was on Main Street, just down the street from the post office. On those days when
Blanche was not living on the farm, she would also come downtown to get the mail and
join Anita and Val for coffee. I remember Val smoked Du Maurier cigarettes. I always
enjoyed listening to the adults visiting, and I remember many afternoons sitting with
Mom, Blanche and Grandma after I got home from school.
Bill died on August 19, 1981 just after his birthday. He had experienced chest pains and
the doctor told him to take it easy and not to do any strenuous tasks. Val and Anita were
scheduled to drive to Minnesota to visit Val’s family. Bill seemed to be feeling well so he
told Val that she and Anita should go on their trip. While they were away, he was cutting
tree branches in the backyard and he collapsed - he had an aneurysm on his aorta and it
was leaking. He was rushed into Saskatoon University Hospital by ambulance and lived
through surgery to repair the artery; however, his blood pressure never rose enough to
keep him alive, and he passed away. Fortunately the RCMP were able to reach Anita and
Val and they had arrived before Bill died so were able to spend some time with him. All
the grandchildren had travelled to Saskatoon on hearing Grandpa was in the hospital, so
everybody was home for the funeral.
Val travelled to Texas a few times after Bill died. The first year after Bill’s death, I drove
Grandma down to McAllen in Bill's car. We travelled with Carl and Blanche, and it was a
wonderful adventure. The trip lasted 4 1/2 days. I remember the morning we left for
Texas. We woke so early that it was still dark. The alarm hadn't gone off for some reason
and I suddenly woke up and jumped out of bed. I woke Grandma and we hastened to get
ready. We washed as fast as we could and rushed to put our clothes on. Poor Grandma she put her pants on inside-out and didn't even realize it in the dim light. Fortunately I
had loaded the car the night before, so it was just a matter of making sure that everything
in the house was secure, then headed for Blanche and Carl's house.
The travel days were long. We had prepared lunches in advance, and stopped on an
approach (to a field) to eat our lunch. I remember I asked Blanche how many miles she
got per gallon in her car, and she replied "40 bushels to the gallon". I guess she was still
thinking of home. We usually drove for another 5 or 6 hours, then stopped for the night.
Blanche, Carl and Grandma had made the trip so many times that they knew exactly
where to stop. However, one day we travelled too long and arrived in a small Texas town
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too late to get two rooms in the motel. There was a lot of drilling for oil going on in the
area, and all the rooms were rented by drilling companies. We managed to get one room
with two queen-sized beds. Grandma was quite uncomfortable with sleeping in the same
room with a man who was not her husband, and insisted that she sleep as far from him as
she could, with me and Blanche in between. We all had a shower; the shower curtain
didn't keep the water in and we were slipping and sliding on the bathroom floor. We
were so tired we were giddy. We all got the giggles as we sat up in bed telling jokes and
family stories and eating chocolate bars. It was such fun! I will always remember that
night. I am so blessed to have experienced that time with my grandmother, aunt and
uncle.
That year, Anita had made the trip south with her youngest daughter, Cheryl. They
travelled down the west coast, stopped in Los Angeles and enjoyed the sites through the
southern United States, and arrived in McAllen the same time as we did. Anita had
rented a little trailer, and she and Cheryl stayed there. Patricia stayed with Val.
Val lived very near Anita's trailer and was across the street from Carl and Blanche. Trailer
Town was a small, beautiful trailer park in those days, and you could easily walk around
and visit everybody. The weather was beautiful, about 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. One
day was spent at Padre Island, sitting on the beach and sun tanning. Another day was
spent in Reynosa, Mexico, a border town. After about a week, Cheryl and I flew back to
Canada. All in all it had been a very memorable trip.
After Bill's death, Valerie lived in their house as long as she could but felt she should
move into the Golden Years Lodge due to her increasingly frail health. She sold the house
to the new Alliance minister, who was a young married man with small children. She was
extremely happy that it went to such a pious person as she was always very spiritual. He
was a kind man, and often visited her in the Lodge.
Val was never happy in the Lodge. She had made the decision to go into the Lodge herself
but she had lost her independence. She didn't fit into the regimen; she had been so
independent since Bill died. She had come into her own, learning how to manage money,
how to manage day-to-day and monthly expenses - she had enjoyed making decisions for
herself. Now she was back to having decisions made for her by somebody else. She broke
her wrist and the doctor didn't set it properly; she got arthritis and experienced continual
pain in that wrist for the rest of her life. She became more frail as time went on.
Valerie’s favorite times were when the family all got together for Easter and
Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was our traditional "Little Christmas" when Anita prepared a
huge turkey dinner, and the family exchanged gifts. Then in the spring, when Anita
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returned from Texas, the family would all journey home again for Easter.
In 1995, Val suffered a stroke and had to be rushed to the hospital in Rosetown. At the
time Anita was living in the United States. Anita's daughter, Adrienne, made sure that
Val was admitted to the hospital in Rosetown. Anita drove to Rosetown as soon as she
could, and the rest of the family was called home and arrived in time to say goodbye
before Val slipped away. She is buried alongside her husband in the Elrose cemetery. She
is missed by her grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to see Val blossom into an independent
woman after Bill's death. She really missed him but after the mourning period was over
she readily adapted to being on her own. Bill had such an overpowering, attractive
personality that Val would often stay in the shadows, and her grandchildren never got to
really know her until after his death. She was a sweet, funny, loving person, and we were
all privileged to have spent lots of time with her.
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Chapter 16 – Boerjan Girls
Anita successfully completed teachers' college and returned home, looking forward to a
summer of fun with her friends at the lake. Bill and Valerie had a summer cottage at
Clearwater Lake, about 25 miles from Elrose, where the family often spent their summers.
Clearwater Lake had many attractions for young people of the day: swimming, boating,
fishing, and dancing in the evenings. Earl Olson and his brother, Ernie, operated a barber
shop and pool hall during the day and Earl played in the dance band in the evening. It
was a summer fun spot for the whole area, as the lake was a spring-fed lake, and very
clean. There was a large dance hall, a beach store and café, a hotel, many cottages
surrounding the lake, boat rentals, an ice cream parlour, and a children’s park, with rides
for the young ones.
Anita and Blanche both had many friends at Clearwater Lake. Anita was impressed with
one young man in particular, Earl Olson. He played saxophone in the dance band and
entertained dancers on the circular dance floor in the evenings.
Earl was a favourite of all the girls, and he had even gone on a date
or two with Anita's sister, Blanche.
When Earl saw Anita and she saw him, sparks flew! The day they
met, Anita had a date with another young man she had been seeing
named Carlyle Richardson, but she forgot all about it and ended up
standing Carlyle up. Blanche was quite annoyed with Anita because
she liked Earl and would have liked to continue going out with
him.
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Anita and Earl dated for two weeks and became engaged. In the winter Earl operated a
barbershop and pool hall in Elrose. The business was located in the old Quebec Bank
building located on Main Street, across the street from the hotel, in the four-block
commercial area of the town. In the residential section of the town, one-story homes,
some with front verandahs, were spread out. They were attractive little houses, with
flower gardens, caragana bushes, and prairie grass lawns. Prairie grass was the best grass
at this time because many people did not have the water to keep a lawn looking nice, and
prairie grass was very hardy. There was always a vegetable garden located in the back
garden. The modern convenience of that time was a clothesline in the back garden – on
laundry day you could never replace the fresh smell of clothes just taken down from the
clothesline. Grandma Boerjan had a huge garden with large cabbages and rows of
potatoes, carrots and onions. The prettiest tree in everyone’s yard was the lilac tree – it
was beautiful plus it produced the loveliest flowers in the spring. It also made a great
hedge. Who could resist the small yellow flowers on the Caraganas – they were so sweet.
Elrose also sported wooden sidewalks. The roads were topped with gravel, which could
make it quite dusty some days. The Elrose Hotel, across from Earl’s business, was quite
impressive with a veranda surrounding the front, with chairs located all along it. People
could sit and visit – it was usually the old folks that sat there and watched the activity on
Main Street. There was a Chinese café, operated by Moon Chow – they made the best
chips and gravy of anywhere. Moon had a large showcase in his café with all kinds of
candy treats and chocolate bars for the little ones.
When Bill met Earl, he was impressed with him – he could see how he and Anita felt
about each other. However, he worried about how this would affect Anita's future
teaching career. He wanted to see a return on the investment he had made in her
education, so when Anita and Earl told him of their desire to be married, he told Anita
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that he wished her to teach school for three years before she was married. Then, she
could get married with his full blessing.
Anita and Earl were engaged for three years – Earl was trying to save enough money for
their life together after they were married. Anita always said those three years were some
of the hardest years of her life. She couldn't bear to be away from Earl, yet she couldn't
bear to be with him, anticipating when they would have to part.
The first year of their engagement, Anita taught at Kyle (the Clearwater Lake School). The
second year she taught school in a small, one-room school at Biggar, Saskatchewan
(Louvain School). The conditions were far from good. She taught Grades 1 to 12. She
either boarded out with a family or stayed right in the school. At Biggar she taught
children who did not even speak English, with the exception of one student, who acted as
her interpreter when he could. It was a Russian and Ukrainian community, and the
Russians and Ukrainians were feuding. Anita was often caught in the middle as the
parents would come and complain to her about how their children were treated by a child
from the other faction. The third year she taught at Eston (Cascaden School District).
Children will be children, and these children played tricks on Anita – one trick was
putting a mouse in her drawer in her teaching desk. It gave her quite a fright when she
opened the drawer. Her last school was so bad that halfway through the year she could no
longer stand it – her nerves were so bad that her dad feared she would have a nervous
breakdown so he drove to Eston and brought her home.
Anita and Earl set their wedding date for July 19, 1942, with the marriage taking place at
the family farm. Earl was Lutheran, so they could not be married in the church. The priest
came to the farm and married them. All those years of saving resulted in Earl not having
much more money than when he started.
In 1942 the Allied Forces landed in North Africa and German
forces reached Stalingrad where they would be involved in a long
siege. Many young men from Elrose joined the Army, Navy and
Air Force, among them Earl Olson, Jack Maines, Gordon McKellar
and Willard Bale. Earl and his brothers, Ernie, Lawrence and
Everett, all joined the Canadian Air Force.
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Earl was stationed in at RCAF Station Victoriaville in Quebec and was a member of the
Air Force Band. Their duties consisted of entertaining the troops throughout the country
and promoting the sale of War Bonds. He also was an airplane mechanic when he wasn’t
off with the Band. RCAF Station Victoriaville was Training School #3.
Anita lived in the nearby town of Victoriaville, while Earl lived on base. Their first
daughter, Elaine, was born in Victoriaville in April 1943. Anita shared a flat with the wife
of an army buddy of Earl's. Elaine was a very collicky child, and Anita a very nervous firsttime mother. Earl obtained a 1-month leave when Elaine was
about 3 months old, so they decided they should visit
Saskatchewan. They rode the train across Canada with their
small baby. Elaine had cried most of her first three months, as
Anita followed "The Canadian Mother and Child" to the
letter, which only allowed feeding every four hours. While on
the train, Anita fed Elaine as much as she wanted so her
crying would not disturb the other passengers. Elaine drank
three 8-ounce bottles at one feeding, quite a lot for a 3-month
old baby, and slept for 24 hours straight. Anita threw away
"The Canadian Mother and Child" and thereafter depended
on her instincts, which were very good. Elaine was a pretty
baby – Anita used to do her hair in ringlets; Elaine’s hair was
very thick.
The flat where Anita and Elaine lived was located in a two-story house in Victoriaville.
They were situated on the second floor with a veranda surrounding the house, where
Anita, Elaine and her roommate could sit and watch life go by. In the winter, Anita would
follow the example of the Quebecois mothers and put Anita to sleep in her carriage on
the verandah. She would be snuggled up in lots of blankets and she would go right to
sleep in the fresh air.
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Anita found it hard being so far from Earl and not seeing him as often as she would have
liked to. However, she kept busy with Elaine, and one of her roommates was a very good
friend. Her husband was also stationed in Victoriaville and lived on base. They were from
Saskatoon so she and Anita had much in common.
When Anita became pregnant with her second child, she and Earl decided she should
come home to Saskatchewan to give birth. Their second child, Julianne, was born in
EIrose in June 1945. As Earl was still in the service, Anita lived in a small house in EIrose
with Blanche and her son, Billy - Blanche's husband, Carl, was overseas. Blanche had
mustered out of the service when she married. The little house that Anita and Blanche
lived in was located next to Nathalie and Ben's house. Anita lived there until Earl was
released from the RCAF in August of 1945.
Julianne was a pretty blonde baby – the opposite in coloring to Elaine. She was a good
natured baby with blue eyes. Elaine was a bit jealous of the new baby. She had always
been the apple of everyone’s eye – now she had to share the spotlight. One day she
thought she found a solution – the family was sitting in the yard at the farm one beautiful
summer day visiting, and Elaine took the little Julianne out of her carriage and placed her
in one of the window wells. When Anita discovered that Julianne was not in the carriage,
she was frantic. Everyone looked for Julianne and she was finally discovered, quite happy
in the window well, with her hair sticking up and grass sticking to her face.
Elaine, Julianne, Billy
When Earl was released from the RCAF, he had two career paths to follow – he had been
offered a job in Ottawa with Central Band, RCAF, which would have allowed him to
pursue his music career, or he could settle back into life in Elrose with Anita and the
children, and operate the barbershop and pool hall once again. Anita did not want to live
so far from her family, so they decided to settle in Elrose to raise their children.
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Earl Olson’s Band
This young couple’s business and home were located on Main Street,
just across the street from the Elrose Hotel. The front of the building
consisted of two pool tables and a barber chair in the enclosure at the
front. The windows in that part of the building were huge and let in lots
of light. The back consisted of a large living space, with a large living
room and kitchen, and four bedrooms upstairs. There was a large
picture window overlooking the backyard. The two windows in the
kitchen faced the automotive shop next door.
At that time, there was no running water or indoor plumbing in Elrose,
so they had to use an outside toilet in summer. For the winter, Earl built
a small water closet on the 2nd floor, with a portable toilet that he had to
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empty every night. There was a huge wood-burning stove in the kitchen that filled one
whole wall at the end of the kitchen. Bath night was Saturday night, so all the family
would be clean for church the next day. The tub was placed in front of the stove, where it
was very warm. The stove held warm water in a storage tank which would be used for the
Saturday night baths. Everybody had a bath in succession.
The house also had a large yard for the children to play in and a garden in the back
surrounded by a 6 foot high fence so they would have privacy. There were large trees in
the yard to climb and a sand pit, which the cats used to take advantage of quite often.
Earl had built a playhouse for the kids, very similar to the one in
the picture. It was quite large, with two rooms and real windows.
The family always had cats .. sometimes 2 or 3 at once. Earl loved
cats! If there was a kitty in distress, or abandoned, we would
adopt it. If a cat followed us home from church, we adopted it.
Anita did not like cats as one had given birth to her kittens in
Anita’s bed when she was little, and she never cared for them after
that. I think that she grew more fond of them as she got older.
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Anita and Blue
The family in the 1950s was very busy. Elaine and
Julie were in figure skating and in band at school. The
kids attended the same school as Anita did - the
Elrose School was a beautiful brick building. There
were four classrooms on each floor, with hardwood
floors and large windows. The building is still
standing.
Due to Earl's long hours in the pool hall, which was
open from 10:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night, Earl
did not get to spend as much time as he wanted to
with his family, so in the early 1960's, he converted the Pool Hall to a Laundromat. The
barbershop closed at 6:00, so Earl finally had his evenings free. However, at that time, he
developed a bad case of asthma, and was quite ill from that time until his death. He was
able to take his family on many camping vacations, however, which they enjoyed very
much. They vacationed in such places as
Cypress Hills, Good Spirit Lake, and Banff,
Alberta.
Grand Opening – Earl always wore a white
shirt and tie.
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Earl played in two dance bands, the Hugh MacDonald orchestra and the Corbet band, all
his married life. Anita used to request this song when they went to dances, "Don't Get
Around Much Anymore" to tease him because Earl was always in the orchestra pit and
she was left with no dance partner. It used to annoy Earl no end.
Earl was also leader of the Legion Band, which marched in the annual parades in Elrose
and at towns all over Saskatchewan. Anita also was in the Elrose Legion Band as was
Elaine. The photo below shows Anita, Earl, Elaine, and other members of the band eating
a picnic lunch on one of their parade days. Earl loved marching – he had marched several
times with the Air Force Band and you could tell he was enjoying every minute of it. He
was a very good marcher, and he even walked in a similar fashion.
Legion Band Members
Anita and Earl had a further five children, three girls and two boys. Patricia was born in
1948, Murray in 1953, the twins, Adrienne and Evan in 1955, and Cheryl in 1960. Anita used
to joke that she spent a lot of time in the Elrose Hospital; she had six of her children there
(one set of twins) and eventually worked there. In fact, when she first started working at
the hospital, her office was the old delivery room where she had spent many hours in
labour. She could never forget staying in the hospital when Patricia was born – they were
building a new wing, and there was constant construction noise.
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After having three girls, finally a boy came along, Murray Earl Olson. He was a beautiful
baby – he won a baby contest once he was so pretty. Murray was about 18 months old
when Anita gave birth to twins! A pretty little girl, Adrienne Gay, and a beautiful blond
boy, Evan William. Evan was a plump, full term baby, and Adrienne was a skinny
premature baby. What was the reason for this? The doctor told Anita she had conceived
them a month part – a rare occurrence. Adrienne was bright as a penny and constantly on
the move while Evan was a quiet, contented little baby who enjoyed watching the world
go by. Anita said she used to have to wake Evan up to feed him.
Anita became pregnant in 1959 and she and Earl were both surprised. I remember the
afternoon she was informed that she was pregnant. She had company and there was a
knock at the door. Anita answered the door and was surprised to find the doctor in the
porch. Anita had been experiencing quite a bit of bleeding and when she initially went to
the doctor, he told her that she had fibroids and she would need a hysterectomy. He did a
pregnancy test just to be sure she was not pregnant. When he examined her, he was sure
he felt something else besides fibroids in her uterus. The test was negative but he was
convinced there was something else there. He performed another pregnancy test and this
one came back positive. He thought he better go see Anita as soon as possible and give
her the news. He was optimistic that the fibroids would disappear after the pregnancy
and she would not need a hysterectomy. Six months later Anita gave birth to a beautiful
little girl, Cheryl Lee Olson. She was the apple of everybody’s eye! Earl doted on her – she
was such a sweet little baby with wispy blond hair and blue eyes.
Cheryl was born the same year that Elaine left home to attend beauty school in
Saskatoon. One new bird in the nest and one leaving the nest. I remember when we drove
Elaine into Saskatoon – we have a picnic at the Forestry Farm. It was a beautiful day and
we sat on blankets and enjoyed our picnic - Cheryl in her carriage and the other children
running around and playing games. After about a year in Saskatoon, Elaine met John
Bergen and they became engaged. They married in April – the weather was fine and the
bride beautiful. John and Elaine had two daughters, Crystal Marie and Jacqueline Lynn.
In September 1962, Anita’s sister, Vi, passed away. Her husband, Mac, was an alcoholic
and in no condition to take care of their three daughters so Anita and Earl offered to take
the two oldest girls, Bonnie and Sandy, into their home, and Blanche and Carl would take
into their home the youngest, Joanne. Bonnie and Sandy were going into adolescence and
dealing with that plus the death of their mother was extremely hard on them. They acted
out for reasons they did not know – they just knew they were hurting and they needed
somebody to pay attention to them. They missed their father and the friends they left
behind in British Columbia.
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This was a very hard time for Anita because she had a hysterectomy about 9 months after
Cheryl was born. They did not have hormone replacement therapy in those days, and
Anita was in a bad way. She experienced all the physical symptoms of menopause as well
as the emotional ones. She became extremely depressed and her health deteriorated. She
found it hard to focus and there was so much that needed her attention. After about a
year, Anita and Earl acceded to Bonnie’s and Sandy’s request to return to Vancouver and
live with their dad.
Julianne was given the option by Bill Boerjan to attend the convent in Moose Jaw for the
last two years of high school. She loved the convent – she made many friends there and
she enjoyed her classes. She often said if she had not attended the convent, she would
probably not have completed Grade 12. She went on to nursing school, where she earned
a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certificate
after two years. She met Francis Ordog just as
she started nursing school, and they became
engaged to be married.
Julie and Francis were married in July 1966 on
the long weekend. There were about 100 at the
wedding. It was a beautiful day – the sun was
shining and it was quite warm. Their reception
was in the church basement and their wedding
dance was at King George Hall outside of
Dinsmore.
Earl died in July 1966 just two weeks after their Julianne was married. Anita had been
quite ill for some time, and was exhausted after Julianne's wedding. She went to the lake
in northern Saskatchewan with Valerie and Bill to rest and recuperate. They had a holiday
trailer at the lake. At that time and right up to his death, Earl was in good health, so his
death came as a surprise to all his family. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had to be
called to find Anita at the lake, and Valerie, Anita, and Bill came home immediately.
There were still young children at home when Earl died. Cheryl was just 5 years old. It
was a struggle emotionally and financially for Anita to take care of the children. Earl left
no life insurance – he always said the house they lived in was their life insurance. Anita
worked part-time at the post office for a few years, and then was employed as the Elrose
hospital administrator. She is a very talented lady. She was hospital administrator the
year the new hospital in Elrose was built, and she was involved in that operation on a dayto-day basis.
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Elaine, Julie, Trish, Murray, Adrienne, Evan
Anita and Cheryl - 1966
Patricia left home in the fall of 1967 to attend Saskatoon Business College. Murray worked
at the grocery store across the street from our home – he was delivering groceries in the
grocery van from the time he was about 15, before he even had his drivers’ license. All of
Anita’s children had jobs when they were older. Murray and Evan both delivered papers
from the time they were about 12, and Adrienne had lots of babysitting jobs. Eventually
Murray completed school and moved to Saskatoon to work. Evan also left home after his
finished Grade 12 and eventually settled in Calgary. Adrienne met the young man she
wanted to marry while she was in Grade 11, and when she graduated from Grade 12, they
were married. By this time, Patricia had moved to Calgary and was working for the
Calgary Board of Education.
Anita followed the tradition of her parents and grandparents, and was always very active
in the community - she is a long-standing member of the Royal Canadian Legion and the
Catholic Women's League. She also belonged to the church choir for many years, and she
and her daughter Patricia sang in the choir as well – Earl was the leader of the church
choir for many years. Anita played saxophone in the Elrose Legion Band, under the
leadership of her husband. At one time, she was Brown Owl in the local Brownies troop.
Anita had a very good career – she enjoyed working at the hospital. Then in 1981 her dad
died and left his estate to Valerie and his daughters and Vi’s children. Bill was an
extremely astute business man, and was considerably wealthy, so Anita had enough
money so that she could retire.
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Upon retirement, Anita began to spend the winters in the
Rio Grande Valley, in McAllen, Texas, after her youngest,
Cheryl, left home to attend Red Deer College. She met
Claude Treinen there. He had just begun to travel south for
the winter, and lived in the same trailer park as Anita. He
was from Remsen, Iowa - a very handsome and
distinguished looking man. He was a widower with seven
children. They were married on December 11, 1982.
Cheryl and Larry (standing, right)
Elaine, Claude, Anita, Adrienne, Francis, Patricia, Julianne, Evan,
Shirley and Murray (seated on floor),
Thanksgiving
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Anita and Claude spent many winters in Texas and summers at Palliser Regional Park, on
Lake Diefenbaker, in Saskatchewan. Rusty's Coulee Marina, on Lake Diefenbaker at
Palliser, was operated by Anita's daughter, Julie, and her husband, Francis, for quite a few
years. Anita and Claude moved to Saskatoon because Anita was required to undergo
dialysis treatments at St. Paul's Hospital. They have lived at Caleb Manor for the last three
years; however, in the spring of 2007 Claude's health deteriorated to the point where he
was moved into a seniors' home in Remsen, Iowa, so he would be close to his family.
Anita missed Claude very much, but many family members and friends from Caleb visited
her. Claude died on September 23, 2007. He could not live without Anita.
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Blanche Beatrice
Blanche was a tomboy all her life, and she loved nothing more than working with her
father on the farm. She never was a fan of housework as a child, although she was an
extremely good housekeeper when she was an adult.
Blanche joined the Armed Forces during the war, where she met her husband, Carl
McCallum. She was a part-time ambulance driver and part-time chauffeur for the officers.
Carl was a cook. After the war was over, the young couple moved to the east coast, where
Carl's family was, but they weren't happy there. They decided to move west, and Carl
joined the Boerjan farming operation. This was a new skill for him because he was a
maritimer, but he was smart and willing, and it didn't take him long to learn the ropes.
Blanche worked right alongside him. Their first child was a son, Carl William, whom they
called Billy, born in 1943. They had a daughter, Judy, in 1946. They had a medical problem
known as the RH factor, so they were never able to have any more children. They felt
lucky to have two children.
Carl, Earl, Julianne, Judy, Billy, Elaine with Patricia
The 1950 Chevrolet was owned by Earl.
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Carl and Blanche lived on the farm in the summer and in their house in Elrose in the
winter. This allowed the children to attend school without worrying about inclement
weather. Their house was 1 block from Anita's, and Blanche and Anita were always very
close. Billy was a quiet child, but Judy was very active. In Grade 1 the teacher had to tie
her to her desk because she liked to wander around the classroom visiting with the other
children rather than attending to her studies.
Blanche died on December 18, 1989, at age 60. This was one of the coldest winters in
history in Saskatchewan. It was about -40 the day of her funeral. She died of lung cancer,
which was ironic, because her husband had had a lung removed due to cancer 20 years
before. It was thought they may both have been exposed to chemicals in the farming
operation over the years that led to the cancer. Their son, Bill, operated the family farm
until his health dictated a change of lifestyle. The land was sold but Bill still lives in the
main house. Carl lived in Elrose for many years before his death on June 21, 2003, at age 81
– Carl certainly was a success in the treatment of his lung cancer. It is so sad that
Blanche’s cancer could not have been treated as well.
Viola Marguerite
Viola joined the Armed Forces during the war where she met her future husband. She
married Donald McDonald right after the war and moved with him to British Columbia.
They had three daughters, Bonnie, Sandy and Joanne.
Vi had a very tragic, troubled and unhappy adult life. Her only solace was her religion and
her children. She was far from her family, and her husband was a chronic alcoholic who
could become violent and abusive. Vi developed breast cancer at a young age and it
spread rapidly. She died on September 19, 1962. Mac died an old withered man in 1990.
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Resources
Belgium Travel Network
Translations from Boerjan Book, prepared by Urbain Boerjan, Sluiskill, Nederlands
Wikipedia
Ancestry.com / Ancestry.ca
Prairie to Wheat Fields – Our Roots – www.ourroots.ca – Elrose History Book
Hillman Story: Elrose III: History Book Excerpts – www.hillmanweb.com
New York Passenger Arrival List – https://familysearch.org/
www.Belgiumview.com
Belgium History
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Belgium
http://www.infoplease.com/country/belgium.html
History of Ghent
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent
In Your Pocket - http://www.inyourpocket.com/Belgium/Ghent/History
Stad Gent - http://www.gent.be/eCache/STN/1/62/771.html
www.trabel.com – Travel Info on Belgium - http://www.trabel.com/gent-history.htm
Eupedia - http://www.eupedia.com/belgium/ghent.shtml
King Arthur and Ghent
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Belgium
The Burgundians
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundians
Emperor Charles V
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
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Catholicism and Trade in Belgium
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Belgium
City of Textiles
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent
Team Flanders - http://teamflanders.org/?page_id=317
Ghent Travel Guide - http://www.eupedia.com/belgium/ghent.shtml
Living Conditions
In Your Pocket – http://www.inyourpocket.com/Belgium/Ghent/History
Visit Flanders US - http://www.visitflanders.us/discover/cities/ghent/ghent-history/
Daglners – Rootsweb http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~belghist/Flanders/Pages/dagloners.htm
Emigration
Belgian Canadian - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Canadian
Torsten Feys – Licentiate Thesis - http://www.ethesis.net/emigration/emigration.pdf
Rootsweb - http://belgium.rootsweb.ancestry.com/bel/1ant/11/11002/800a3307.pdf
Red Star Line Museum - http://www.redstarline.be/en
Where Our Ancestors Lived
Infoplease – www.infoplease.com > World > Countries > Belgium
Timeline Belgium – Timelines in History –
www.timelines.ws/countries/BELGIUM.HTML
Genforum - Genforum.genealogy.com > Regional > Countries
Lembeke – Wikipedia
Maldegem – Wikipedia
Ghent – Wilipedia
Eeklo – Wikipedia
Oosteeklo - Wikipedia
Staf Eeklo – www.eeeko.be
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Religion
Religion in Belgium – Wikipedia
Saint Nicholas’ Church, Ghent – Wikipedia
St. Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent - Wikipedia
Ghent Altarpiece - Wikipedia
Roadside Chapels - www.flickr.com
Gaelens
Ancestry.com
Ancestry.ca
www.padraigan.com
Urbain Boerjan, Sluiskill, Nederlands
Boerjans
Ancestry.com
Ancestry.ca
www.padraigan.com
Life Together for Nathalie and Ben
Lanigan History Book – “Our Lanigan” 1905-55 History Book – VirtualMuseum.ca
Saskatchewan Homestead Index – www.saskhomesteads.com
Land Records – Saskatchewan Archives Board – www.saskarchives.com
Dominion Lands Act – Wikipedia