Genealogy Chat

Hello everyone,

I have 2 friends trying to trace Belgian family, one living heirs in the French-speaking part Wallonia, the other descendants pre-1920 in the Flemish part of Belgium.
Is/are there a central registry/registries for B/M/D where enquiries may be made? Or any useful websites which may be able to help, preferably in English, though I know that is asking a lot.

Thanks,
Geoff

Have you tried googling?

I'm puzzled by the reference to descendants pre-1920...................what am I not seeing?

My friend Jan's grandfather emigrated from Belgium to England around the end of WW1 so she know's the family history since then, it's delving further back that is causing her grief. She knows roughly where they are from and has traced a few 'death cards' but can't be sure if they belong to her people, the family names are apparently fairly common.

http://www.cyndislist.com/belgium/ is a portal to many genoelogical sites. Some links may be of use.

care to give details - we may be able to find something for you

To AnnCardiff,
My other friend is trying to trace the marriage and death of Yvonne Marie Symonds, born UK 1925. She is believed to have emigrated to Belgium, her mother's homeland, sometime after the end of WW2 and married a Belgian, probably named Lenoir. She had 2 sons, Eric and Marc Lenoir who were living at 52 Rue de Beaumont 1338, Lasne Chapelle St Lambert, Brabant, Belgium in 1977. This information came from Yvonne's father's will. It would also be useful to find out when Yvonne's father married her mother, it is believed in Belgium, sometime between 1914 and 1924. Their names were John Charters Symonds (born 1891) and Gertrude Werther (born ??). Does that give you any leads?
Geoff

If John married in Belgium, the odds are that he was serving in WW1

Try looking for records on Ancestry

this must be john's birth

John Charters Symonds
England and Wales, Birth Registration Index
Name: John Charters Symonds
Event Type: Birth Registration
Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration Year: 1891
Registration District: Marylebone
County: London
Event Place: Marylebone, London, England
Volume: 1A
Page: 517
Line Number: 74

And his death

Name: John Charters Symonds
Birth Date: 26 Aug 1891
Date of Registration: Mar 1977
Age at Death: 85
Registration district: Henley
Inferred County: Oxfordshire
Volume: 20
Page: 2412

He was a civil engineer and seems to have travelled around quite a bit

Name: Mr John Charters Symonds
Gender: Male
Age: 37
Birth Date: abt 1892
Departure Date: 15 Aug 1929
Port of Departure: Southampton, England
Destination Port: Algiers, Algeria
Ship Name: P C Hooft

According to a document on Ancestry he applied to join the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in 1920.
His present occupation was 'Officer commanding Rhine forces & troops, British Army of the Rhine'.


Did he have a son called Richard?
There is an interesting obituary of John Richard Charters Symonds (MUST be a relative!), a seemingly famous man, here
http://www.oxford.gov.uk/Direct/NotablePeopleBuriedinOxfordCemeteries.pdf

Name: Yvonne M Symonds
Event Type: Birth Registration
Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration Year: 1925
Registration District: Marylebone
County: London
Event Place: Marylebone, London, England
Mother's Maiden Name (not available before 1911 Q3): Werther
Volume: 1A
Page: 623
Line Number: 115

As far as I know John C Symonds had only one child, Yvonne so possibly John Richard Charters Symonds was his younger brother?
Re Yvonne's mother these could be her death details:
Deaths Mar 1963 - SYMONDS GERTRUDE 76 WALLINGFORD 6A 264
from FreeBMD, (I don't know if Ancestry would give more detail of her DoB (I'm not a member)
But I'm really more concerned with how I could access records in Belgium, regarding Yvonne's marriage and how to trace her sons.

Did you follow up the http://www.cyndislist.com/belgium/ suggestion??

Most of us have little knowledge of European records - we'd have to read up on them . Cyndis List is a good place to start.

Yes I did have a quick look at Cyndi's List. At first glance it didn't look too promising but I will have another go so thanks for the lead.

You could also ask in the Europe forum of Rootschat, since there are a lot of European members on that forum with more specialised knowledge.

Thanks for the tip about RootsChat, I've just posted there and had a couple of leads.