Belgians in Alsace 1884

by Belgian Guy
(Belgium)

Hello,

Would there be a particular area of Alsace that would have had a lot of Belgian influence? My great-great grandfather, Charles Vlaminckx, leaves Belgium around 1880 and then I lose track of him until he shows up in New York City in 1886.

Family history has him marrying a Berthe Estein (Exstein) and my great grandfather being born in Alsace in 1884 but I don't have a clue where to start looking for him. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help,
Crazy Belgian Guy

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Belgians in Alsace France
by: Suzele

Hi,

From what I know, the area that's now Belgium doesn't have an easy and direct route to Alsace (if we remove railroads and cars).

Most of the influential areas for Alsace (especially for business) had direct routes by river.

While it's possible to get from Belgium to Alsace by water, it's not super straight forward.

I haven't noticed anything mentioned about this area in Alsace in my study of Alsace's history.

That certainly wouldn't stop anyone from finding their way to Alsace from there.

And certainly after railroads and canals came into existence, it would have been much easier.

I would guess that if your relatives were city dwellers, they probably would live in a city in Alsace. Strasbourg is the one I might guess first.

Although if your family was in the textile business, Mulhouse and many other parts of Alsace could have been their destination.

As for your Alsatian relative Berthe Estein, this name is no longer found in Alsace (or that I could find anywhere). I've never run into it personally either.

Maybe Erstein? That or something similar?
There are many names like this here.

In any case good luck with your searches.
The hardest part is always finding the name of the town or village (when you have no clues to help).

Suzele

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