October 12 1729

On that day, Joanna Maria Janssens was born in Pamel where she died on April 29 1790. Her first husband was Augustinus Van Eeckhoudt (Pamel 1727 - 1775) with whom she had seven children, including Petronella Van Eeckhoudt (Pamel 1771 - 1828).

Petronella's daughter Maria Elisabeth Van der Sleyen (Pamel 1811 - 1860) was the mother of my great grandfather Felix De Vidts, and her daughter Antonia De Vidts was the great grandmother of my father. This link has been described many times before.

The families Van der Sleyen and Van Eeckhoudt were neighbors in lower Pamel (the old center of the village). Apparently, my mother was not aware of her distant family link with the Van Eeckhoudt's : in the fourth generation, it is not uncommon that the link gets lost from memory.

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