A Genealogy Blog

Category: Thines

Belgian Ancestors in an Excerpt of the 1656 Census

When researching ancestors in the area of Belgium and Luxembourg, “Dénombrements” that have been preserved in the Archives of Luxembourg are a gold mine of information. You might think of these enumerations as a kind of census. You can find names, but you also get great detail about the condition of the people mentioned.

The catch is that digital images of these exist, but they aren’t indexed. They have to be read, and the handwriting used is a style of cursive that takes time to learn. I have been practicing, with the help of the genealogy community online, and present here an excerpt of that translation.

The Thines Family: From Freylange to Landeck

In January of 1976, an unexpected letter arrived at the desk of the mayor of Covington, Kentucky. It was sent by Eudore Dominicy, the mayor of Saint-Legere. Dominicy was seeking help locating the relatives of music professor Sylvester Eifert. He thought there may be a family connection. Soon thereafter, a postcard made it’s way from Saint Leger to Summit Drive in Covington. “Meilleurs vœux pour la nouvelle année,” it said – best wishes for the new year. For over forty years that postcard lived in a shoebox until in 2020 it saw the daylight once more and a family line stretching back to 1600s Belgium was found.

A Peasant Revolt in Arlon, 1681

For those studying Belgian genealogy, specifically in Wallonia, a small but detailed account of a peasant revolt from the pages of The London Gazette in 1681 provides a glimpse at what life might have been like for your ancestors.

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