The Van Aliquam – De Loremans family
Sluis, around 1800
Joannes Van Aliquam was born in 1789. He and Catharina De Loremans raised a family near Sluis. Their children were Pieter, Margaretha and Cornelis. Cornelis died in infancy. Pieter became a farmer and married Johanna Verdolor, whose father Wouter was the village baker of Sluis. Every register mentioned here is fictional.
The twins, 1859
Pieter and Johanna had five children. Maaike and Marie were twins, born on 12 June 1859. Maaike married the teacher Hendrik De Loremans and moved to Eeklo. Marie married the brewer Jacob Verdolor. Jacob's parents are unknown; a shared surname alone is no proof of a family link.
A life along the canal
Jan Van Aliquam moved to Schoten in 1878, to the Kempen canal (Dessel-Schoten), and worked on the quays. His wife Sophie came from a family of lock keepers. Their son Lodewijk married the teacher Emma De Loremans in 1911. They stayed married until his death in 1974, more than sixty-two years later. Their children were the twins Lieve and Leen, Henri, and Karel. Lodewijk's sister Gerarda worked as a seamstress.
Jan's birthday illustrates conflicting evidence: the family book gives 12 March 1854, while the fictional civil record gives 14 March. His page follows the record and keeps both versions visible.
Across the ocean, 1912
Georges Van Nemo, son of Ida Van Aliquam, married the seamstress Anneke Dolorsit in 1907. In 1912 they left for Detroit, where Georges found work in a brewery. An invented newspaper notice tells of their departure. Their son Harold and grandson Norbert later worked at the same brewery until it closed in 1979.
Anneke's brother Felix moved to Antwerp and disappeared from the family's account. A possible death record has a matching initial and occupation, but no parents or other identifying details. It is listed as a possibility and has not been accepted as his death.
The brewery and the classroom
Henri Van Aliquam, Lodewijk and Emma's son, learned to brew in Sluis. A fictional newspaper says his homemade lemonade won a competition when he was ten. He later married Maria Ipsenbeke. Henri's younger brother Karel chose teaching and married his colleague Juliana De Loremans.
Some stories come only from Griet De Loremans. Those are labelled family story, rather than documented. Several guessed identities carry a question mark. The sources and confidence labels demonstrate the difference between a record, a plausible link and a remembered tale.
Today
The youngest people have names and family links, with personal details hidden. Explore the map, the people list or the fun facts. All names, dates, records and family events are invented. The towns on the map are real.