{"id":48040,"date":"2021-04-03T12:43:52","date_gmt":"2021-04-03T12:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/ii-herman-and-josephine-van-kerckhoven-vermaelen\/"},"modified":"2021-04-03T12:43:52","modified_gmt":"2021-04-03T12:43:52","slug":"ii-herman-and-josephine-van-kerckhoven-vermaelen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/ii-herman-and-josephine-van-kerckhoven-vermaelen\/","title":{"rendered":"II  Herman and Josephine Van Kerckhoven Vermaelen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&lt;&lt; I  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/godfried-van-kerckhoven-inleiding\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/i-introduction\/\">Introduction<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"656\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-656x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-37919\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-656x1024.jpg 656w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-192x300.jpg 192w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-768x1200.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-983x1536.jpg 983w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-1311x2048.jpg 1311w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-973x1520.jpg 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-508x794.jpg 508w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img036-scaled.jpg 1639w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/van-kerckhoven-famille-herman-2k5-752x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Deze afbeelding heeft een leeg alt-attribuut; de bestandsnaam is van-kerckhoven-famille-herman-2k5-752x1024.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Herman Van Kerckhoven<\/strong> (1853-1936) &#8211; the grandfather of Godfried<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Van-Kerckhoven-vermaelen-josephine-2k5-752x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Deze afbeelding heeft een leeg alt-attribuut; de bestandsnaam is Van-Kerckhoven-vermaelen-josephine-2k5-752x1024.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Josephina Van Kerckhoven Vermaelen<\/strong> (1857-1918) &#8211; the grandmother of Godfried<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"761\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-761x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42061\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-761x1024.jpeg 761w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-223x300.jpeg 223w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-768x1033.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-1141x1536.jpeg 1141w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-1522x2048.jpeg 1522w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-973x1309.jpeg 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-508x684.jpeg 508w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-scaled.jpeg 1902w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Cave, 2021 Michel Armitage Oil on Lubugo  (bark cloth) &#8211; Pinault Collection <\/strong> A man and a woman blow into what seem to be the reeds of an unknown, organic instrument.  Their mingled breath seems to give birth to life inside a shell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><br>Josephina Vermaelen gives Herman thirteen children, of whom nine reach adulthood: Sylvie (1878-1949), Clara (1884-1951), Maria (1882-1960), Margaretha (1890-1960), Richard (1880-1947), Arthur (1892-1958), Bertha (1894-1963), Josephine (1899-1983), Elvire (1900-\u2026.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"851\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img001-851x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img001-851x1024.jpg 851w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img001-249x300.jpg 249w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img001-768x924.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img001-1277x1536.jpg 1277w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img001-1702x2048.jpg 1702w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img001-973x1171.jpg 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img001-508x611.jpg 508w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 851px) 100vw, 851px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">A Christmas scene from Josephina\u2019s collection of fold-out 3D cards <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/van-kerckhoven-famille-9-img-1k.jpeg\" alt=\"Deze afbeelding heeft een leeg alt-attribuut; de bestandsnaam is van-kerckhoven-famille-9-img-1k.jpeg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Herman<\/strong> <strong>has something impressive about it after all<\/strong> (1853-1936) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DSCF0984-2k-1024x727.jpg\" alt=\"Deze afbeelding heeft een leeg alt-attribuut; de bestandsnaam is DSCF0984-2k-1024x727.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Herman with daughters Margaretha and Bertha<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Note the mosaic floor and the hand-split marble blocks bearing the inscription \u201cGezusters Van Kerckhoven\u201d.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"444\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/S1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/S1.jpg 444w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/S1-222x300.jpg 222w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong><em>DE MOTTE<\/em><\/strong>, oil on canvas, 80&#215;90 cm &#8211; The Aarschot painter Jacques Vanden Seylbergh (1884-1960) captures the beauty of the Demer Valley in Frie\u2019s favourite colour.  The colour that stands for wisdom, protection and self-confidence.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-10 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Herman sets up a shoe and boot making business.  He employs twelve people.  Work is also done for him at home.  \u00abma\u00eetre chaussurier &amp; bottier\u00bb is engraved on a brass nameplate on the front of Leuvensestraat 5.  Not only can you have shoes repaired there, they are also made there.  Officers ask Herman for military footwear.  \u201cHis policy transformed the Van Kerckhoven family.  He was a man of progress.  The directions he gave the family still guide our steps today.\u201d &#8211; Pieter <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"638\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img011-1024x638.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img011-1024x638.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img011-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img011-768x479.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img011-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img011-2048x1277.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img011-973x607.jpg 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/img011-508x317.jpg 508w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-11 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Aarschot, ruins of the Orleanstoren.  Remnant of the town wall built in 1288, demolished in 1782.  Now a lookout tower with orientation table<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-12 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"> Great-grandson Pieter (15) reveals years later an \u201cimportant detail\u201d that he was not allowed to investigate:  Herman\u2019s leadership, which \u201ctransforms\u201d the family, is overshadowed by a scandal after the vale of tears over the death of Josephina at the age of 60 in 1918. The Van Kerckhoven family seizes up after the patriarchal head of the family&nbsp; has an affair with Maria Nijs, with whom he has another daughter. In the face of death he marries her in church. \u201cThe one from the Buinnewaak\u201d (Bonewijk) is regarded as an illegitimate daughter. The children from Herman\u2019s first marriage feel they have more rights than their half-sister, and Maria is disinherited in good time. It is an open secret. Frie and his brothers act as if she never existed. \u201cWe know nothing. It may be that something happened&#8230; .\u201d<em> <\/em> Every time one of Frie\u2019s aunts dies, there is fear that the half-sister will come to claim her share of the inheritance. \u201cBut she won\u2019t see anything anyway. The one from Naas gets nothing!\u201d The matter leads to a street fight between Guy, Frie\u2019s cousin, and a descendant of Maria Nijs, whom he knocks out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-13 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>To conceal the truth is to bury gold. &#8211; Pythagoras<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pieter.fr singt IL EST D&amp;apos;AILLEURS\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/so9zNrd06I0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-14 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>NEXT CONTRIBUTION BY JESSE VAN KERCKHOVEN <\/strong> (Tilburg, 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-15 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Dear Pieter,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-16 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">About the Van Kerckhoven family, I can try to sketch for you what the family situation was at various points in time. I can give you an idea of the brothers and the sister of your patriarch Herman. The information I have was collected mainly from official documents such as population registers, deeds and the like. Some tidbits in turn come from a weekly such as De Arend, which I combed through at the time in the hope of learning as much as possible about a Van Kerckhoven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-17 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">In my own branch I have unfortunately found no diaries or the like anywhere. I do not have much photographic material either, although I have collected what I could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-18 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">I will begin with <strong>Carolus Josephus Van Kerckhoven<\/strong>, who was born in Morkhoven on 19\/03\/1817. He is our last common ancestor. Born in Morkhoven, then, both his parents were farmers.  I have information on two brothers of his father from their military careers.  Adrien Van Kerckhoven served (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr\/fr\/arkotheque\/visionneuse\/visionneuse.php?arko=YToxMDp7czoxMDoidHlwZV9mb25kcyI7czo3OiJhcmtvX2lyIjtzOjg6ImltZ190eXBlIjtzOjM6ImpwZyI7czo0OiJyZWYwIjtzOjM6IjUzMCI7czo0OiJyZWYxIjtpOjIzO3M6NDoicmVmMiI7czozOiI1OTYiO3M6NDoicmVmMyI7czowOiIiO3M6NDoicmVmNCI7czowOiIiO3M6MTI6ImltYWdlX2RlcGFydCI7czo3NjoiL1BBUkNPVVJTSU5ESVYvQ09OVFJPTEVUUk9VUEUvR1IyMVlDLzIxWUMwNTI5WC9TSERHUl9HUl8yMV9ZQ18wNTI5WF8wMzczLkpQRyI7czoxNjoidmlzaW9ubmV1c2VfaHRtbCI7YjoxO3M6MjE6InZpc2lvbm5ldXNlX2h0bWxfbW9kZSI7czo0OiJwcm9kIjt9#uielem_move=-178%2C-516&amp;uielem_rotate=F&amp;uielem_islocked=0&amp;uielem_zoom=128\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">63e r\u00e9giment d&#8217;infanterie de ligne, 14 octobre 1806-30 mars 1809 (matricules 3&nbsp;601 \u00e0 6&nbsp;588). &#8211; Visionneuse &#8211; M\u00e9moire des Hommes<\/a>). Petrus Josephus Van Kerckhoven was rejected because of too short a stature (&lt;1.55 m) and a limping leg covered in sores (<a href=\"https:\/\/agatha.arch.be\/search\/analyses\/results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Search results \u2013 AGATHA<\/a>; no longer accessible since the switch to Agatha). Adrien too was only 1.55 m. Those Van Kerckhovens were thus not very tall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-19 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">On 28\/08\/1838 Carolus Josephus deregistered in Morkhoven (see population register) and moved to Aarschot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"816\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-1024x816.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39014\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-1024x816.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-300x239.png 300w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-768x612.png 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-1536x1224.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-973x775.png 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1-508x405.png 508w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-1.png 1632w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-20 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">In a population register in the church archive (from 1846), of which I unfortunately have no copy or photo, his address is recorded as Neerstraat 9, where he lived with his sister Henrica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-21 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">He married in Werchter on 01\/08\/1850 Anna Rosa Coremans from Baal. He was then a rope maker, she a farmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-22 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Their offspring:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-23\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Maria Theresia Van Kerckhoven; 03\/03\/1851 &#8211; 12\/06\/1939 &#8211; she remained unmarried and childless. She had a little shop.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-24\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Alfons Josephus Van Kerckhoven; 18\/03\/1852 &#8211; 25\/04\/1917. My ancestor. He was a postman.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-25\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Herman Franciscus Josephus Van Kerckhoven; 21\/11\/1853 &#8211; 24\/04\/1936. Well known to you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-26\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Carolus Van Kerckhoven; 24\/08\/1855 &#8211; 01\/02\/1857<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-27\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Carolus Van Kerckhoven; 08\/08\/1857 &#8211; 17\/02\/1928. He became a rope maker.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-28\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Andreas Van Kerckhoven; 22\/12\/1858 &#8211; 30\/01\/1925. Shopkeeper. Sometimes also Andr\u00e9 or Henri in certain deeds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-29\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Philippus Josephus Van Kerckhoven; 04\/07\/1861 &#8211; 06\/08\/1865<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-30\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Juliana Julietta Van Kerckhoven; 27\/08\/1864 &#8211; 28\/08\/1866<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-31 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">That left: 1 daughter and 4 sons. Mother Anna Rosa Coremans died on 13\/09\/1871, only 49 years old. Address given: Mechelschestraat 21. The Van Kerckhovens had settled definitively at that address. The house was their property. Father Carolus was a rope maker, but there may also have been a little shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-32 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">On 17\/10\/1887 Carolus died, aged 70. Still living with him at that time were <strong>daughter Maria <\/strong>and son Carolus. The rest had already left home and were married. An advertisement soon appeared in De Arend for the sale of the household contents (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/archiefbankhageland.atomis.be\/uploads\/r\/stedelijk-archief-en-documentatiecentrum-aarschot\/b\/3\/7\/b37a64b3902a6c2ba650ac15b4c7739196f887a38f2285f762b2d4542ea36f5f\/A-C-K-ARE-14.pdf\">A-C-K-ARE-14.pdf<\/a>, p. 69), but I have information that on 09\/12\/1887 daughter Maria bought out her brothers. She thus stayed on in the parental home, where she continued to run her little shop. On 28\/05\/1925 she sold her property (by then number 29). If I may interpret the Gasthuis (where she died in 1939) as a care home, she will have lived there for her remaining years. Otherwise I do not know where she spent her old age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"621\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2-621x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2-621x1024.png 621w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2-182x300.png 182w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2-768x1267.png 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2-931x1536.png 931w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2-1242x2048.png 1242w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2-973x1605.png 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2-508x838.png 508w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-2.png 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"677\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-5-677x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39028\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-5-677x1024.png 677w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-5-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-5-768x1162.png 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-5-1015x1536.png 1015w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-5-973x1473.png 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-5-508x769.png 508w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-5.png 1340w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 677px) 100vw, 677px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-33 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Alfons <\/strong>married Maria Theresia Smeyers from Schaffen.  They first lived in the Diestsestraat (in a rented house?), but around 1900 along the Schaluin at number 17 (this time their own property).  He was a postman, she a housewife. Alfons also did rope making as a sideline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"749\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-3-1024x749.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39021\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-3-1024x749.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-3-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-3-768x562.png 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-3-1536x1124.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-3-973x712.png 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-3-508x372.png 508w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-3.png 1872w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-34 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">A photo of Alfons from 1898, in a group with the Aarschot postmen.  Alfons Van Kerckhoven sits at the far right of the photo.  Alfons was an active member of the Vlaamsche Broederbond. I have no idea how strong Flemish-minded sentiments were in his family, or among the Van Kerckhovens in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-35 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Alfons\u2019s house was burned down by the Germans during their dismal passage in August 1914.  Alfons and his family fled to Tilburg.  With them his sister Maria (no idea whether her little shop had also burned down).  They were registered in Tilburg on 8\/10\/1914.  His son Jules married a Dutch woman there and founded a shoe shop, which only closed its books in 2021 after 4 generations.  Alfons died in 1917 in Tilburg of liver failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"880\" height=\"734\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4.png 880w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4-300x250.png 300w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4-768x641.png 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-4-508x424.png 508w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 880px) 100vw, 880px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-36 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">His widow never returned to Aarschot (according to the safe-conduct she did, see appendix, but in reality not).  She continued to live near Ghent (youngest son Jef held a senior position at the Post Office there) and finally died in 1942 in Essen (see memorial card).  Their descendants spread across the whole of Belgium.  Only two sons founded families in Aarschot:  Karel (my great-great-grandfather), at the Braekepoort, and Edmond, also a postman, who lived in the Rumoldus Wetzstraat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-37 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Carolus<\/strong>&nbsp;was also a rope maker.  Lived in 1890 at Neerstraat 28 (advertisement De Arend).  The 1919 electoral rolls (available via Archiefbank Hageland) give Diestsestraat 6 as his address.  I do not know much about him.  He had a son, Jan, who was a teacher, and three daughters. His descendants did not stay in Aarschot.  With a grandson of his, Henri Hommelen, I had telephone contact once about 7 years ago, but not much came of it. He was already well into his 90s then and has since died as well. I know no more about him or his descendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6-788x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39052\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6-788x1024.png 788w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6-231x300.png 231w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6-768x998.png 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6-1182x1536.png 1182w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6-1576x2048.png 1576w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6-973x1264.png 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6-508x660.png 508w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-6.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-38 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\"><strong>Andreas<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>(so sometimes also Andr\u00e9, or Henri) was a cabinet maker, with wife and son in front of his shop.<\/strong>  From his first marriage he had a son, Lucien. From his second too; Ernest. He lived at Theofiel de Beckerstraat 48 (the shop was there too). His son Lucien married in 1917. The marriage certificate states that Andreas fled Aarschot in 1914 but that since then every trace is missing. This turn is recent information for me; I had not discovered it before. I have no idea what happened in that period. In the registers of arrival in Aarschot (mainly Aarschot people who had fled returning), there is no mention of Andreas anywhere. He died in Leuven. His son Lucien was one of the declarants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-39 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">A few more loose tidbits or things that struck me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-40\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">With Alfons, his sons Edmond and Jef, with Richard (son of Herman) and with Lucien (son of Andreas), the Van Kerckhoven family had 5 members who were either postmen or worked at the Post Office in a higher position. Those who did not work for the post office often had shops (Maria, Herman, Andreas, ..).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-41\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">All the children of Carolus Jos. and Anna Rosa Coremans had neat handwriting (at least when I look at their signatures on various deeds). I therefore suspect that they all had a full school career.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-42\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Sister Maria, who remained childless, was godmother no fewer than 8 times to nephews and nieces.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-43\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">The rope makers among the Van Kerckhovens (coincidentally 3 times a Carolus\/Karel\/Charles) made bell ropes for the church in Aarschot. Numerous invoices (the oldest from 1898) can be found in the archive of the church council. My great-great-grandfather was the last Aarschot man to make ropes. Somewhere from the 1930s the trade was definitively overtaken by industrialisation. The statuette at the Braekepoort is a memento of the craft and was placed there because my great-great-grandfather practised the trade there all his life as the last rope maker. His equipment was donated to the museum after his death and is, I believe, on permanent display there. The equipment, so I have been told, dates back to his grandfather, thus Carolus Josephus from Morkhoven. No idea whether this is a sentimental invention or whether the equipment really dates from, say, 150 years ago.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-44 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">So. I hope I have been able to share a few interesting tidbits. Who knows, it may help you to make an addition here and there to your website. For a coherent life story I have, at least by my own feeling, just too little concrete and\/or personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-45 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Best regards,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-46 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4f1677\">Jesse  (February, 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">III <a href=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/iii-from-christ-to-god\/\">From Christ to God<\/a> &gt;&gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&lt;&lt; I Introduction Herman Van Kerckhoven (1853-1936) &#8211; the grandfather of Godfried Josephina Van Kerckhoven Vermaelen (1857-1918) &#8211; the grandmother of Godfried Cave, 2021 Michel Armitage Oil on&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-my-father"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}