I ended up with bread crumbs that should lead me to some type of conclusion. Like many genealogy puzzles the pieces don’t seem to fit together as neatly as I would have liked. While I wait for the translation on the letter written in French, I ponder the meaning of the following photo graphs and in some instances try guessing at the occupants.
The photos belonged to my great grandmother Clemence Mary Defruytier Van Houtte. She was born in Belgium and from family history was raised in an orphanage. She seems to have had a brother, but other questions arise from this “fact.”
These 2 photos are unmarked, about the same size and seem to have been taken at the same time. I would guess they may have been her parents, but if she was an orphan, it could be that they were possibly and aunt and uncle or even grand parents. They are not marked on the back.
This group photo seems to be of her brother and his family. Her obituary stated that she had a brother living and several nieces and nephews back in Belgium in 1939.
This photo also had a matching style photo of a little girl. I only have this one scanned. It is marked on the back Henri Santern and is addressed to their “Aunt,” my great grandmother. The matching photo was marked Clement Santern and also addressed to my grandmother, her “aunt.” Could this possibly be a sisters child?
These two photos also address my grandmother as “aunt.” The one is marked as Marie Defruytier and the other as Germaine, holding the violin, without a last name. The two girls resemble each other and could possibly be sisters, children of Clemence Mary’s brother.
This photo is a complete mystery but we agree that we would like to have her as a relation, she seems so cute. Look closely and you can see her wooden shoes. There is writing in French on the back of this photo and I am anxious to know its true meaning.
One more bread crumb that is included in last weeks finds is a note to my great grandmother from Augustin Beauprez Vanhaelewijn. The note was asking about Clemence’s children, stating they were probably all grown and married. This person also inquired how their godchild, my grandfather, Amos, born Aimee, Van Houtte (Clemence’s oldest son) was as they had’t seen him in years.
I am hoping someone sees these photographs and can help to identify the relatives in them.