Nog Okegem

Ik heb de Rattenberg (Leopoldstraat), hier in de vroege twintigste eeuw gefotografeerd van aan de "barreel van den ijzeren weg", nog praktisch in de afgebeelde toestand gekend. Behalve dat het huis vooraan rechts in mijn jonge tijd café Astrid was. Dat was kort na de tweede wereldoorlog, toen ik mijn vakanties in Okegem doorbracht.

Mijn moeders ouders Franciscus Neukermans (Okegem 1866 - Aalst 1961) en Maria-Antonia De Vidts (Pamel 1885 - Okegem 1949) woonden juist voorbij de draai waarvan de aanzet in het midden van de foto te zien is. Ze woonden aan de linkerkant, boven op de "berg". Indien ik de gegevens van Herman Van Isterdael goed begrijp was dat kleine stukje Okegem al een paar eeuwen familiebezit. In mijn jonge jaren was er nog altijd een concentratie van Neukermansen.

Nu is die straat onherkenbaar veranderd ; om te beginnen is er zelfs geen barreel meer en werd links vooraan een straat gelegd naar de Kattestraat en naar de enige spoorwegovergang die de modernisering overleefd heeft. En het huis van mijn grootouders is al lang verdwenen, evenals hun graven, hetgeen ik erger vind.

Ja, soms is het echt zo : heimwee doet mijn hart verlangen ...

Tijd en familie

Van mijn acht overgrootouders zijn er maar twee die mijn geboorte meebeleefd hebben (Petrus en Blondine). Een derde moet nog geweten hebben dat mijn moeder zwanger was (Felix). En met de oudste van mijn overgrootouders (opnieuw Blondine) heb ik een link tot 1849, 161 jaar ver.

Weird isn't it ?

Even herhalen. Mijn geboortedatum : 3 december 1940.

De grootouders van mijn vader :

Jozef Timmermans (Meerbeke 1858 - Meerbeke 1929) en Maria Elisabeth Goessens (Brussel 1862 - Meerbeke 1934) ;
Petrus Joannes Ravijst (Nieuwenhove 1861 - Meerbeke 1944) en Joanna Maria (Leontien) De Schepper (Meerbeke 1864 - Meerbeke 1926).

De grootouders van mijn moeder :

Hermilianus Neukermans (Okegem 1855 - Okegem 1932) en Clementina Broeckaert (Okegem 1858 - Okegem 1939)
Felix De Vidts (Pamel 1853 - Pamel 1940) en Blondina Muylaert (Denderhoutem 1849 - Pamel 1942).

Maar het werkelijke geheugen reikt veel minder ver. Ik heb geen enkele persoonlijke herinnering aan die mensen. Wat ik over hen weet komt van mijn ouders of uit mijn opzoekingen ...

En toch weet ik me zeer eng met hen verbonden !

Gedachtenisprentjes

Twee gedachtenisprentjes van Bernardus-Carolus Neukermans, mijn grootoom en de oudste van de 10 kinderen van mijn betovergrootvader Hermilianus (1855 - 1932) en zijn vrouw Clementia Broeckaert (1858 - 1939).

Het linkse prentje is het "gewone" - het tweede prentje legt de nadruk op de oudstrijder (zie post Augustus 4 1914).

8 juni 1914

Op die datum, een paar maand voor het uitbreken van de eerste wereldoorlog, werd mijn moeder zaliger Margaretha Felicitas Neukermans geboren te Okegem als tweede kind en enige dochter van Joannes Franciscus Neukermans (Okegem, 24 december 1886 - Aalst, 1 juli 1961) en van Maria Antonia De Vidts (Pamel, 31 januari 1885 - Okegem, 25 september 1949).

Ons ma zou dit jaar dus 96 jaar geworden zijn indien ze ons tien jaar geleden op 26 september 2000 niet ontvallen was, na een lang en moeilijk leven, getekend door ziekte, maar ook door een sterke wil, een diep geloof en een zo goed als onverwoestbaar optimisme.

En ik kan niet over ons ma schrijven zonder onze pa Petrus Joannes Timmermans te vermelden die ons véél en véél te vroeg ontviel in 1980 (Meerbeke, 14 october 1913 - Gent, 20 april 1980) en die zijn leven volledig en totaal, zonder enige reserve, gewijd heeft aan zijn vrouw en kinderen en daar eigenlijk ook de hoogste prijs voor betaald heeft.

Mogen zij allen rusten in vrede.

Tempus fugit

Het is bijna niet te geloven dat het vandaag al zes jaar geleden is dat mijn moeder's jongste broer Eugeen Neukermans thuis overleed te Okegem. Hij werd 82 jaar oud.

Het lijkt wel alsof het pas gisteren was ...

Hij en zijn tien jaar eerder in Liedekerke overleden broer Jef waren twee van mijn jeugdhelden en beiden werden later echte vrienden waar ik veel steun aan heb gehad en waar ik véél mooie herinneringen heb aan overgehouden.

Mijn moeder had nog twee andere broers die ik spijtig genoeg nooit gekend heb : Kamiel die in 1936 op 23-jarige leeftijd overleed aan de gevolgen van een ongeluk gedurende zijn militaire dienst en Paul, wiens voornaam ik draag, die 14 jaar oud werd en overleed in 1934.

Aan al deze mensen heb ik al meermaals herinnerd in mijn blog. Ik blijf hen gedenken met veel dankbaarheid.

Facebook Neukermans

Another interesting link : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=160496024873.

This is centered on the family names Neu(c)kermans, Van den Neucker ... .

The man who created the group and myself share at least one Neu(c)kermans ancestor ; our branches link in the 17th - 18th century. It is probable that there are more links between his family tree and mine.

Opmerkingen en vragen

Een trouw lezer trok mijn aandacht op een paar reacties van een MVdn betreffende de familie Neu(c)kermans - Van den Neucker.

Mijn excuses dat ik deze vragen niet opgemerkt en dus niet beantwoord had : ik heb geen systeem ingesteld om nieuwe reacties op oude posten op te sporen. En meestal lees ik slechts de reacties van de laatste dagen.

Ik wil zeer graag contact opnemen met MVdn maar kan dat niet zonder een contact adres, bij voorbeeld een e-mail adres of een telefoonnummer. Ik begrijp dat de persoon in kwestie dat niet open en bloot op mijn blog wil zetten, maar die persoon kan mij contacteren op et pa tim (schrijf de drie lettergrepen in een woord) ad yahoo punt com.

Verder trok dezelfde lezer mijn aandacht op de vervuiling van een paar artikels over mijn stamboom. Op een artikel stonden zestien onzinnige engelstalige reacties, al dan niet leesbaar ; op een ander twee in behoorlijk nederlands, maar even onzinnig en zonder enig verband met mijn post.

Wanneer ik dat soort reacties zie, vaag ik ze onmiddellijk weg ; maar daarvoor moet ik ze natuurlijk eerst opmerken. Ik zal nooit begrijpen hoe sommige zieke zielen er toe komen dit soort reacties te plaatsen. Maar dat hoort blijkbaar bij het systeem.

Met dank aan allen die mij al geholpen hebben om dat storende afval te verwijderen.

Updates

Some updates found in the second edition of Dr Herman Van Isterdael's "Families en personen te Okegem ...".

Not only the work holds proof that my ancestor Jacobus Neukermans was born in Denderwindeke in 1695. It gives an additional generation in my ascendancy : Petrus Neukermans and his wife Anna Van den Houte, who lived in in Denderwindeke ; this is another link with the Van den Houte family, a name which pops up in different branches of my family tree. The "provenance" of Jacobus had been a mystery for years, ever since my uncle Geen and his cousin Albert started their research.

It also gives a wealth of information concerning the ascendancy of Jacobus's wife Maria De Winne. In the first edition of his magistral work, Dr Van Isterdael had not been able to link Maria to the De Winne families in Okegem. A small piece of paper in the registers has solved that mystery. He now has proof of her ascendancy which results in several additional generations in Okegem, Iddergem a.s.o., including an additional link to the Muylaert family. I haven't yet added these generations to my ancestor chart. I hope that my eye problems will be "solved" in a couple of months, which would allow me to focus on that study again : but in the meantime, I know that another small piece of the veil has be lifted ...

17 february 1916

Op die dag werd mijn nonkel Jozef Albert Neukermans geboren te Okegem. Hij was een van de vier broers van mijn moeder ; twee ervan stierven jong, de twee anderen stichtten een gezin en kregen elk twee kinderen : elk een jongen en een meisje.

Nonkel Jef werkte aan den ijzeren weg, zoals zijn vader en zijn broer. Volgens mijn moeder was hij in zijn jonge jaren wel een guitige plaagstok. Hij woonde met tante Maria en hun twee kinderen in Liedekerke, waar hij op 21 november 1994 overleed, gebroken door het verlies van zijn vrouw.

Ik heb met de twee overlevende broers van mijn moeder veel intens mooie contacten gehad toen ik in Okegem met vakantie was, en ik heb die contacten later ook bewaard en gekoesterd. Het waren twee heel verschillende mannen, maar beiden waren prachtmensen van wie ik veel geleerd en gehouden heb. En ik betreur het nog immer dat ik mijn nonkels Kamiel en Paul nooit gekend heb.

Ik zal nooit de bezoeken vergeten bij nonkel Jef en tante Maria tijdens de grote vakantie. We beluisterden samen de radioreportages van de Ronde van Frankrijk - natuurlijk met de nodige commentaar. En ik vergeet nooit de manier waarop hij intens kon genieten van de licht gepeperde moppen van zijn schoolgaande neven.

Hij ruste in vrede met zijn vrouw en zijn enkele maanden geleden schielijk overleden kleindochter.

In memory of nonkel Paul

My uncle Paul Joannes Neukermans, fourth of five children of Joannes Franciscus (Cis) and Maria Antonia De Vidts, was born in Okegem on January 25 1920 and died fourteen years and four days later on January 29 1934.

I have written a number of posts about him and his immediate family. He was a very exceptional kid, wise beyond his years. I am truly sorry that I have not known him personally.

Ancestors born and died ...

... between January 2 and January 13 :

On January 2 Catharina De Brabander died in Denderhoutem in 1746.

On January 3 Joanna Maria De Vidts was born in Pamel in 1683.
On January 3 Judoca Arnou (or Heerenhoudt) was born in Pamel in 1729.

On January 6 Elisabeth Van Overstraeten was born in Sint Kwintens Lennik in 1692.

On January 8 Jasperina De Boeck died in Impegem in 1652.
On January 8 Petronella Van Eesbeke died in Meerbeke in 1772.

On January 9 Adrianus Neukermans was born in Okegem in 1788.
On January 9 Karel Bernard Broeckaert died in Okegem in 1928.

On January 10 Bernard Broeckaert died in Serskamp in 1802.

On January 12 Catharina Asselman died in Okegem in 1892.
On January 12 Josina Van Oudenhove died in Pamel in 1668.

January 11 1939

On that day, my youngest uncle was born to my paternal grandparents. He was their seventh child. His name was Etienne Theodore Timmermans. He passed away three days later, on January 14 1939. According to my notes he was born and died in Ninove. That is possible, but not really probable : my grandparents lived in Meerbeke and it was not really usual for children to be born in a maternity. Most children were born at home.

I do not really know what happened. I always knew he had lived for a very short time, but such painful occurrences were not talked about in the family.

My second name Etienne comes from him ; my first name Paul comes from a brother of my mother who died in 1934, aged fourteen years and four days. His birthday is coming up on January 25. I remembered Paul Joannes Neukermans in earlier posts. He must have been an extraordinary boy, wise far beyond his young age.

Musings

Yesterday evening I was leafing through "Het oude land van Edingen en omliggende", number 3, july to september 1989, and I (re)discovered some interesting tracks.

-- De Vidts

I see that in 1586-1593 a Jacques De Vidts was sheriff or bailiff (meier) of the Hernegewoud. Jacques De Vidts died after 1622. He became a member of the guild of John the Baptist on June 24 1594. He was master of the guild for various periods up to 1608 (data available). He was a member of its "coninxtabel" (?) in 1598-1599. He was a vassal (liege-man) of Hainaut, and sheriff (meier) of het Hernegewoud in 1586.

De Vits Hannibal, possibly a son of Willem ("pachter" of hof ten Brugge) and Juliane Ost, was a vassal (liege-man) of Hainaut and alderman of the Hernegewoud in 1559-1570).

That means that at the time when my first De Vidts were recorded in Pamel, there already were people with the same name elsewhere in the region. Family ? Maybe yes, maybe not. My inherent hypothesis that Pamel was the cradle of the family doesn't look so solid any more ...


-- Ravijst

I still do not know where the Ravijst family came from - I am stuck in the early 19th century. There certainly were early branches around Asse and Opwijk but in 1681 a Nicolaas Ravets was mayor (burgemeester) in Tollembeek.

In the sixteenth en seventeenth century there were various Fiefvets, Fievetz, Fievetz and Fiefvetz who were aldermen (schepenen) in het Hernegewoud. I list the people whose name is very close to Ravijst :

Ravets Guillam, son of Claes, was married to Catharine Van den Leene ; he was an alderman of the Hernegewoud in 1621.

Ravets Nicolaas (Claes), was an alderman of the Hernegewoud in 1655-1662 and, as stated before, mayor of Tollembeek in 1681 (a question mark has been added to the second mention of his mayorship). He must have been the grandson of Claes, father of Guillam.

Ravetz Nikolaas was a farmer (pachter) in Tollembeek and an alderman in 1749-1752.

Ravetz Philips was married to Cathelyne Reygaerts. He was a farmer (pachter), member of the guild of Our Lady, alderman of Tollembeek in 1681 and in 1709-1711, and "maieur" around 1700.


-- Neukermans

Other aldermen in het Hernegewoud were (not in chronological order) :

Vanden Neucker Adriaen, son of Glaude and Elisabeth Lanton. Adriaen was born in Tollembeek. He lived in the "hof Van den Neucker" in the Vollezelestraat (Tollembeek). He was one of the first members of the guild of Our Lady. He was a vassal or liege-man (leenman) of Hainaut (on 05.11.1660) and an alderman of the Hernegewoud in 1685-1700.

This is the second time I see a reference to a Vanden Neucker farm, which might, or might not, be the cradle of the Neukermans family. Adriaen was a very common name in the family.

Vanden Neuckere Glaude, son of Guillaume, was born and married in Tollembeek. His wife was Elisabeth Lanton. He was a vassal or liege-man (leenman) of Hainaut (22.02.1646) and an alderman of Tollembeek in 1650 - 1652.

Vanden Neuckere Denys was alderman of the Hernegewoud in 1652.

Vanden Neuckere Jan, son of Guillaume, died before 1687. He may have been a brother of Glaude. He lived in Tollembeek and probably owned hof Hondsocht after his father's death. He was alderman of the gewoud in 1653 and member of the council to support the poor (mambour van de armen) in 1685.

Vanden Neucker Jan, lived on the hof Vanden Neucker in Tollembeek. He was an alderman of Tollembeek in 1723-1724 and mayor (burgemeester) in 1737.

Neuckerman Jan was an alderman of the Hernegewoud in 1608.

Neuckermans Joos was an alderman of the gewoud in 1628 and 1634.

These are among the very earliest mentions of the name that I am aware of.


-- Timmermans

No Timmermans were mentioned.


Conclusion : my roots in Tollembeek may (or may not) be a lot deeper than I ever expected. But let me be perfectly clear : for none of the people mentioned in this post do I have proof that they fit in my familytree.

What if I am right ?

If my hypothesis concerning the Neukermans family is right, I shall have discovered one additional generation. Digging further in the past will be very complicated if not impossible : I am getting close to the period in which the parish registers started ... before that, I shall be navigating in the mists of time !

A possible breakthrough

For years I have been trying to find where the first two Neukermans in Okegem came from. I was (and am) convinced that they were related, but I haven't yet fully clarified that link.

-- Andreas Neukermans (son of Judocus) married Barbara Van de Waterloop in Okegem in 1698.

-- Jacobus Neukermans, son of Petrus, married Maria De Winne in Okegem in 1717. They are my ancestors. Jacobus probably stranded in Okegem during a visit to Andreas and Barbara.

I have been looking a bit more closely at the data of Rik Van Hauwe (http://www.rikvanhauwe.be/) and am now almost satisfied that I have found the origins of Jacobus. I always considered the possibility that he might have been born in Denderwindeke - but up to now I had found no convincing link.

I am not fully certain still, but there is a lot of circumstantial evidence which makes me think that Jacobus Neuckermans was born in Denderwindeke in 1694.

Rik Van Hauwe has copied his birth i.e. baptism on "January 30 1694", but remarks that there must be an error in the records (he adds that it is not the only error in that period) because Nicolaas, an elder brother of Jacobus, was baptised on December 12 1693.

This Jacobus was a son of Petrus Neuckermans from Denderwindeke, who married Anna Vanden Haute. Petrus and Anna had six sons in Denderwindeke.

A Petrus Neuckermans and an Anna Vanden Haute were godparents of some of the children of Joannes Neukermans from Denderwindeke who married Joanna Asselman from Okegem. And Joanna's mother was Anna Van de Waterloop, a sister of Barbara Van de Waterloop who married Andreas Neuckermans.

The circumstantial evidence is mounting ... and keeps mounting when one looks at the godparents of the children of Jacobus and Maria De Winne.
**

By the way, I descend from two of the children of Joannes Asselman and Anna Van de Waterloop.

In this article I have omitted most of the dates : it is complicated enough as it is !

I am expecting the publication of the second edition of "Families en Personen te Okegem ... " by Dr Herman Van Isterdael. He told me he has found an additional link for the earliest Neukermans in Okegem. I am curious to discover whether my hypothesis is the correct one ...

Twenty years

I have mentioned this often times before :

on December 2 1973, it seems like yesterday, my father's mother Rosalia Margaretha Ravijst died in Ghent. Almost exactly twenty years earlier, on December 4 1953, my paternal grandfather Pieter Jozef Timmermans had passed away in Ninove.

My mother, Margaretha Felicitas Neukermans also survived my father Petrus Joannes Timmermans by twenty years. My father passed away on April 20 1980 ; my mother left this world on September 26 2000. Both died in Ghent.

My mother survived her own mother Maria Antonia De Vidts by fifty one years and a day. My maternal grandmother died on September 25 1949 in Okegem. My mother and her mother were the only ones to die in their own home.

I include the name of my maternal grandfather Joannes Franciscus Neukermans, who died in Aalst on July 1 1961, and thus come to remember the six most painful days in my life. The six days in which I lost the six most important persons in my life.

But I also recall the sea of fond and happy memories which my parents and grandparents left for me. And I remember their unending love and the sacrifices they made for their children and grandchildren.

On this day, those memories are particularly important to me. May they all rest in peace and eternal happiness.

September 26 2000

In the early afternoon of that Tuesday my dear mother Margaretha Felicitas Neukermans, born in Okegem on June 8 1914, died on her sickbed in our home, where - apart from her relatively frequent admissions to hospital - she spent the last decennium of her life. She was practically immobilised and dependent on others for almost everything, but she remained optimistic and joyful to the very end. She never once complained about her situation : she said that complaining would not have helped her a bit, but would have disturbed us.

Whenever I have to stay inside for a couple of days for some reason, I almost go mad. My mother had to stay indoors and was bedridden for over ten years ...

I was with her, and the afternoon caretaker had just arrived, when she passed away unexpectedly, almost unnoticed, just having said she did not feel too well. She had been discharged from hospital the previous Thursday and had been quite agitated since then. That was unusual for her, but I was not specially worried, because that had happened at least once before after she came home from hospital.

Since the day she died, I have suspected that the doctors let her come home to die peacefully in her own bed. But, in that case, they should have warned us, which they did not. Of course, they claimed that she was in the "best possible health" given the circumstances of her age and her general condition, and that the "lightest wisp of wind" could have blown her away. That is doctors' talk.

Our dear mother is gone for ever, but she left us the best possible message of love, dedication and endurance. However the nagging suspicion remains that we should have been better prepared ...

That terrible event happened nine years ago today ; my mother died 51 years and one day after her own mother. I still can relive both events. How time flies.

I do not have to write : may they rest in peace. I know they do.

September 25 1949

Sixty years ago today, my dear godmother and grandmother Maria Antoina De Vidts, born in Pamel on January 31 1885, died in her home in Okegem. She passed away in the presence of her husband and her three surviving children. I will never forget the dramatic story of her death as my mother told it many, many times.

My grandmother had been visiting us in Ghent, were we lived in the St Maartensstraat 5, and had fallen very ill during her visit - a very dangerous pneumonia if my memory serves me correctly. At a given moment we even thought she would never see her home again. And every single day, her devoted husband, my dear grandfather Joannes Franciscus Neukermans, came over from Okegem by train - we did not have the place to let him sleep over.

But she recovered quite well and returned home to die shortly afterwards and quite unexpectedly from a coronary disease (hartaderbreuk). She was 64 years old - I don't know why my mother always said her mother was 63 years old when she died.

In previous posts I have described how her life was filled with misery, grief and mourning and very little joy. Still she remained a shining exemple of love and devotion to the grandchildren who knew her. We will never forget her.

Remembrance

48 years ago, my maternal grandfather Joannes Franciscus Neukermans (Okegem, December 24 1886 - Aalst, July 1 1961) passed away in Our Lady's hospital in Aalst.

Please read my post "Peter Okegem" published this time last year.

---

Sweet memories of days long gone ... and of holidays spent with them.

A picture of my maternal grandparents with three of their grandchildren in their garden in Okegem in the late 1940's. Their house and barn (long since demolished) are in the background to the right.

My grandparents had four more grandchildren, one of which was born some months before the death of my grandmother in September 1949 ; the others were born in the early fifties.

I am older now than my grandparents were in that picture ...

My mother and her mother

My mother Margaretha Felicitas Neukermans (Okegem 1914 - Gent 2000) and her mother Maria Antonia De Vidts (Pamel 1885 - Okegem 1949) on their way to Sunday mass in the late 1940's. The picture has been taken on the "Plesj" in Okegem.