The thirtieth ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my maternal 3rd-great-grandfather, Jean [John] Baptiste LAURENT.
He was born in 1825 on January 18th. A birthday he shares with another famous person. Me. He was born at the small town of Biez in the Chaumont-Gistoux municipality in Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Chaumont-Gistoux is located on the KW-line, which was a defensive line built during World War II to help prevent the German invasion. His parents were Constant Joseph & Marie Josephe (Bero) Laurent.
I have noted that he emigrated from Belgium in June 1856 through Detroit, Michigan, but I have no source attached, so I don’t know how true that is. I’ll need to confirm that.
In September 1856, he married Olivine Marie ST. LOUIS in Little Chute, Outagamie, Wisconsin, daughter of Ephraim and Marie DesAnges (Manseau) St. Louis. I wrote about Marie earlier in this challenge.
Together, they had nine children, including my ancestor, Mary Philomene (Laurent) DeBroux in December 1865. They lived and farmed in the same general area in central Wisconsin throughout these years. Jean passed away on 31 July 1886 in Phlox, Langlade, Wisconsin and is buried at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in nearby Norwood Township.
This post is 30 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.