De Dikke van Pamel

From my earliest days on I heard stories about the "Fat Man" of Pamel. He still is part of regional legends and folk lore.
Victor De Clerck was born at Pamel on June 14 1848 and died there on February 16 1885. That was a fortnight after my maternal grandmother Maria Antonia De Vidts (Pamel, January 31 1885 - Okegem September 1949) was born. Her parents, Felix De Vidts (Pamel, April 12 1853 - Pamel, June 8 1940) and Blondine Muylaert (Denderhoutem, June 4 1849 - Pamel February 10 1942), were close neighbours of Victor. Felix was a distant relative (see further).
Victor's exact weight is unknown but is reported to have been up to 300 - 350 kg. Even during his lifetime he was famous and much sought after as a curiosity. As a result he became progressively an unsociable and withdrawn, probably even embittered, individual. His life - at least the later part of it - must have been hell.
Folk lore has it that on hot days he floated on the Dender river, and that children used him as a small island to sit on. He was so big that the front door had to be broken out in order to get the huge casket out of his house.

Victor's paternal grandmother was Barbara Constantia Van der Sleyen (Pamel, March 25 1772 - Pamel, July 29 1847). Her grandparents were Jasper Van der Sleyen (Pamel, June 24 1686 - Pamel, July 2 1749) and Catharina Huylenbroeck (Pamel, ca 1685 - Pamel, March 7 1751).

Jasper and Catharina are my common ancestors with Victor. I descend from them, both through my mother (7th generation) and through my father (8th generation).

More information : "De Dikke Van Pamel, zijn leven, zijn tijd, zijn buurt" by Gerard Van Herreweghen, Davidsfonds Roosdaal, 1985.

3 comments:

Lebbercherrie said...

Being raised in Affligem, I as well have heard about "Den dikken van Pamel", but never knew the whole story. Thanks for clearing that up.

Pablo Carpintero said...

My pleasure.

Anonymous said...

Ter info : de gemeente Roosdaal gaf opdracht zijn standbeeld te maken. Is te bezichtigen langs de oever van de Dender (oude kaai)