A while ago I was a speaker at the annual reunion of the Van Valkenburg family. Members of this family – with branches in the United States and in Canada – have united in The National Association of the Van Valkenburg Family. This association started in 1970 and has since organized many activities for its Read more…
We spent a few days in one of the most southern town of the Netherlands, Noorbeek in the province of Limburg. Every year young men in this town honor Saint Brigida with a special pine tree. Perhaps Simon Deneij was one of them. Transcription and translation 28 7bris bap[tizatus est] Simon fil[ius] leg[itimus] Petri Deneij Read more…
What happens when (distant) cousins fall in love and want to get married? Canon law says they need marriage dispensation. Let us take a look at an example of a couple that lived in Roermond, Limburg, in the 18th century. Transcription 27 februarii habita mea Licentia Contraxerunt matrimonium Cum dispensatione in tertio et quarto mixto Read more…