Chapter 11. The Deschachts, from Tielt to Zedelgem, 1660 to 1916
Godelieva Deschacht, the wife of Sidon Dewulf (chapter 8), came from a family that lived for two and a half centuries in the villages between Tielt and Brugge. This chapter follows her father's line back, act by act, from her birth at Zedelgem in 1916 to a wedding at Tielt in 1660. The name moved with the family. The clerks wrote Schaeck, Schaecht, Schaeght and Schacht at Tielt, de Schacht at Wingene and Jabbeke, De Schaght and De Schaghe at Zerkegem. Only in the nineteenth century did it settle into Deschacht, which is the spelling used here except in quotations.
Tielt, 1660 to 1671
On 25 April 1660 Joannes Schaecht married Catharina de Vos in the church of Saint Peter at Tielt.1 The priest wrote the groom's surname in a cramped hand that could be read Schaet or Schlet, but the baptisms that follow leave no doubt about it. A year later, on 22 May 1661, the couple brought their first child to the font: Antonius, "son of Joannes Schaeck and Catharina de Vos". Joannes followed on 3 June 1663. He had been born on 20 May at four in the morning, and the clerk wrote his name in the margin as Jan Schaecht. Carolus was baptised on 8 February 1665 and Ester on 7 October 1666.2
![Tielt, 25 April 1660: marriage of Joannes Sch[a]et[?] and Catharina de Vos (entry 13) - the marriage the online tree gives Joannes Deschacht's parents](../records/tielt-1660-marriage-joannes-schacht-catharina-devos.jpg)
Transcription and translation
[margin: 13. Joannes Schlet[?]; Catharina de Vos] 25a [Aprilis 1660] Annoti[?] s[un]t matrimonio Jo[ann]es Schlet[?] et Catharina de Vos, testibus Petro Potelet[?] et Andrea Poillie[?].
On the 25th [April 1660] were joined in marriage Joannes Schlet[?] and Catharina de Vos, witnesses Petrus Potelet[?] and Andreas Poillie[?]. The clerk's cramped hand allows 'Schlet', 'Schaet' or 'Schaecht'; the online tree takes this couple as the parents of the Joannes who married Maria Van Dierdonck in 1692, but that Joannes was 'about 84' at his burial in 1738, i.e. born about 1654, six years before this wedding - the link is unproven (grade A for the act; the link grade D).
Transcription and translation
[margin: Jan Schaecht] 3a Junij 1663 baptizatus est Jo[ann]es f[iliu]s Jo[ann]is Schaect[?] et Catharinae de Vos con[iugum], natus 20 May hora 4a mat[utina]. Susceptores fuerunt Stephanus de Meulen[aere?] et Elisabeth Voorteboo[?].
On 3 June 1663 was baptised Joannes, son of Joannes Schaecht and Catharina de Vos, a married couple, born on 20 May at four in the morning. The godparents were Stephanus de Meulen[aere?] and Elisabeth Voorteboo[?]. The only Joannes Schacht baptised at Tielt in the years read (1653-54 and 1660-71): probably the Joannes Schaeght who married Maria Van Dierdonck at Tielt in 1692 and died at Wingene in 1738, though his burial calls him 'about 84', nine years older than this date gives (grade A for the entry; the identification is grade C).
In May 1670 two more Schacht children were baptised at Tielt within a week. Petronilla, on 4 May, was the daughter of a Franciscus Schaeck and Arnolda vanden Bussche: a second household of the name, perhaps a brother of Joannes. Joanna, on 11 May, was the daughter of a Joannes Schaecht, but her mother is written Catharina E[..]arde, not de Vos.3 Either Catharina de Vos had died and Joannes had married again, or there were two men of the same name in the town. The burials and marriages of those years have not yet been read.
The Tielt baptisms were read name by name from September 1655 to June 1671, and in 1653 and 1654 as well. They hold no other Schacht child.4
Transcription and translation
[margin: esther schacht] 7a Ester f[ili]a Jo[ann]is Schaect[?] et Catharinae de Vos con[iugum], nat[a] 5, 2 pom[eridiem]. Susc[eptoribus] Martino Sch[..]teus[?] et Maria de Meyere.
On the 7th [October 1666]: Ester, daughter of Joannes Schaecht and Catharina de Vos, a married couple, born on the 5th at two in the afternoon; the godparents were Martinus Sch[..]teus[?] and Maria de Meyere. An Ester Schacht, wife of Bartholomeus de Clercq, had a son baptised at Wingene in April 1705, in the same month as a son of Joannes de Schacht and Maria van Dierdonck - evidence that the Wingene Joannes belongs to this Tielt family (grade A for the entry).
Which Joannes?
The family tree online makes the next ancestor a Joannes baptised at Tielt on 28 May 1667. There is no such baptism. The whole of 1667 was read, and no Schacht child was born at Tielt that year.4 The tree's date may be a misreading of the entry of 1663, "born 20 May", but that cannot be checked.
The Joannes who matters was buried at Wingene on 22 November 1738 as "husband of Maria van Dierendonck", and the priest gave his age as "about 84", which would put his birth about 1654.5 In the years that were read, Tielt baptised only one Joannes Schacht: the boy of 1663, who would have been seventy-five. Three things make him the man of Wingene, though no single record says so.
- His wife, Maria van Dierendonck, was "about 75" when she died in 1740, so she was born about 1665.5 A husband born in 1663 fits her better than one born in 1654.
- He married her at Tielt, not at Wingene, on 30 April 1692, and the witnesses were a Joannes and a Joanna Schaeght: most likely his father and a sister.6
- His sister Ester turns up at Wingene. On 16 April 1705 "Ester Schacht", wife of Bartholomeus de Clercq, had a son baptised there, nine days after Joannes and Maria van Dierendonck had their son Egidius baptised in the same church.7
Ages at burial were often overstated for the old: the priest who buried his grandson Emmanuel in 1782 added a dozen years. The link from Joannes of Wingene to Joannes Schaecht and Catharina de Vos is therefore grade C: probable, not proved. The papers of the Tielt orphan court survive on film and should settle it (see the end of this chapter).
Wingene, 1692 to 1740
Joannes had been married before. On 11 February 1690 Wingene buried "Elizabetha Naesens, wife of Joannes De Schaecht".8 Two years later, after three banns, he married Maria van Dierendonck at Tielt.6 They settled at Wingene. The index of baptisms lists a Josephus Schacht in 1695 and a Joanna in 1698, without their parents, and the register itself names Egidius, called Gillis, born on 6 April 1705, and Joannes Baptista, born on 21 August 1707 at about three in the afternoon and baptised the next day.79 A son Jan, who died at Zerkegem about 1748, is named in an index of estate inventories as "son of Jan De Schacht and ... Van Dierendonck".10
Transcription and translation
[margin: 10 Aprilis, 13 Aprilis, 17 April; Joannes Schacht, Maria Vandierdonck] Die 8 Aprilis 1692 contraxerunt sponsalia Joannes Schaeght et Maria Van Dierdonck, factisque tribus bannis contraxerunt matrimonium die 30 Aprilis 1692, testibus Joanne Schaeght et Joanna Schaeght. [Bruijmans?] pastor.
On 8 April 1692 Joannes Schaeght and Maria Van Dierdonck contracted their betrothal, and after three banns (10, 13 and 17 April) they contracted marriage on 30 April 1692, witnesses Joannes Schaeght and Joanna Schaeght - presumably his father and a sister. The parents of Joannes Baptista, baptised at Wingene in 1707 (grade A).
Transcription and translation
22a Baptizatus est Joannes Bap[tista] fil. Joannis Schacht et Mariae Van Dierendonck conjugum, tenentibus Francisco Gembrecht[?] et Jacoba Hertsoone[?]; natus heri circa 3 post meridiem. a me J. B. P[ermuel?] P. Cap. in W[inghene].
On the 22nd [August 1707] was baptised Joannes Baptista, son of Joannes Schacht and Maria Van Dierendonck, a married couple, held at the font by Franciscus Gembrecht[?] and Jacoba Hertsoone[?]; born yesterday about three in the afternoon. By me, J. B. P..., chaplain at Wingene (grade A).
Joannes died on 20 November 1738, "fortified with the sacraments of the Church", and was buried two days later with a solemn mass in the churchyard on the west side. Maria died on 24 June 1740 and was buried the next day, also on the west side of the churchyard.5
Transcription and translation
20 munitus Ecclesiae Sacramentis obiit et 22 missa solemni in coemiterio versus occidentem sepultus est Joannes Schacht maritus Mariae van Dierendonck; aetatis erat circiter 84 annorum.
On the 20th [November 1738], fortified with the sacraments of the Church, died, and on the 22nd with a solemn mass was buried in the churchyard on the west side, Joannes Schacht, husband of Maria van Dierendonck; he was about 84 years old. That puts his birth about 1654, thirteen years before the baptism of 1667 that the online tree gives him; either the priest overstated or the tree has the wrong baptism (grade A for the act).
Jabbeke, 1729 to 1782
The sons left Wingene for the villages west of Brugge. On 7 July 1729 Joannes Baptista de Schacht married Cornelia Charle at Jabbeke; her name is also written Scharle, Sarley and Serlé. The witnesses were Judocus and Jacoba de Schacht, and six weeks later Joannes, Judocus and Joannes Baptista de Schacht all stood witness at another wedding in the same church.11 Judocus, called Joos, married Amelberga De Beele and died at Jabbeke in 1749. Gillis married her sister Agnes and lived at Zerkegem.12
That the Joannes Baptista of Jabbeke is the child baptised at Wingene in 1707 rests on three things. He married in 1729, so he was born by about 1709, and of the three boys called Joannes Baptista Schacht baptised at Wingene, in 1707, 1718 and 1723, only the first is old enough.9 He was sixty-six when he was buried at Jabbeke on 23 January 1774, which points to 1707 or 1708.13 And the orphan registers of the Brugse Vrije name the mother of his brother Gillis as "Van Dierendonck Marie", as the estate index does for his brother Jan.1012 The register calls Gillis's father "Joseph", a slip: Gillis's own baptism names Joannes. The link is grade B.
Transcription and translation
Julius. 6 Contraxerunt sponsalia Joes Baptista de Schacht et Cornelia Charle, testibus Francisco Pauwels et Jacoba Rijnaerts[?]. 7 Contraxerunt matrimonium de praesenti Joannes Bapta de Schacht et Cornelia Charle, testibus Judoco de Schacht et Jacoba de Schacht.
July [1729]. On the 6th Joannes Baptista de Schacht and Cornelia Charle contracted their betrothal, witnesses Franciscus Pauwels and Jacoba Rijnaerts[?]. On the 7th Joannes Baptista de Schacht and Cornelia Charle contracted marriage by words of the present, witnesses Judocus de Schacht and Jacoba de Schacht - his kin: a Judocus de Schacht baptised a daughter at Jabbeke in 1734 (grade A).
Joannes Baptista and Cornelia had Emmanuel, baptised on 5 April 1734, born the day before at three in the afternoon, and Isabella Theresia in 1736.14 The orphan register of 1784 adds two more sons, Jacob and Bernardus. When Jacob died that year, his children were placed under the guardianship of "De Schacht Bernardus, paternal uncle", and the register calls Jacob "son of Jan Baptiste & Serlé Cornelie".15 Joannes Baptista died on 22 January 1774, "husband of Cornelia Sarley", aged sixty-six.13
Transcription and translation
Aprilis. 5a Baptizatus est Emanuel fil. leg. Joannis Baptistae de Schacht et Corneliae Scharle conjugum, susceptoribus Victore La Maire et Carolina Den Bade[?]; natus est pridie hora 3a post meridiem.
April [1734]. On the 5th was baptised Emmanuel, lawful son of Joannes Baptista de Schacht and Cornelia Scharle, a married couple, the sponsors being Victor La Maire and Carolina Den Bade[?]; born the day before at three in the afternoon (grade A).
Emmanuel married Joanna Mestdagh of Snellegem, the next village, on 23 January 1759, and they had at least seven children between 1759 and 1775. When their son Bernardus Jacobus was baptised on 12 May 1769, the priest wrote down where the parents had been baptised and how old they were: Emmanuel "baptised at Jabbeke, aged 37", Joanna "baptised at Snellegem, aged 34". Joanna's baptism, on 27 December 1734, is in the Snellegem register. Emmanuel was in fact thirty-five.16 The boy's two names are those of two of Emmanuel's brothers, Bernardus and Jacob. The godfather was an Anselmus de Schacht, who would be a witness at Bernardus's wedding twenty-five years later. Emmanuel died at Jabbeke on 21 June 1782 at seven in the morning, "baptised in this parish ... husband of Joanna Mestdagh". The age the priest wrote, sixty-odd, is wrong by a dozen years.17 He is the only Emmanuel de Schacht baptised at Jabbeke, so the link to Joannes Baptista and Cornelia is grade B: no act says "son of Joannes Baptista" of the man who married Joanna Mestdagh.
Transcription and translation
12a baptizatus est Bernardus Jacobus fil. legitimus Emmanuelis de Schacht baptizati in Jabbeke aetatis 37 annorum et Joannae Mestdagh baptizatae in Snelleghem aetatis 34 annorum. Susceptores fuerunt Anselmus de Schacht et Barbara Theresia de Jaghere. natus heri circa 9am vespertinam.
On the 12th [May 1769] was baptised Bernardus Jacobus, lawful son of Emmanuel de Schacht, baptised at Jabbeke, aged 37, and Joanna Mestdagh, baptised at Snellegem, aged 34. The sponsors were Anselmus de Schacht and Barbara Theresia de Jaghere. Born yesterday about nine in the evening. Emmanuel was in fact 35 (baptised April 1734); the godfather Anselmus stood witness again at Bernardus's wedding in 1794 (grade A).
Zerkegem, 1794 to 1842
Bernardus married Helena Kerckhove at Zerkegem on 29 April 1794, "both under age but with the consent of those concerned". Petrus Kerckhove and Anselmus de Schacht were the witnesses; none of the four could write, and each made a cross.18 They stayed at Zerkegem. When Bernardus died there on 1 February 1842, at two in the night, aged seventy-two, his son Samuel reported the death, and the act names his parents as Emanuel and Joanna Mestdag. With the baptism of 1769, that makes two independent acts for the same link.19
Transcription and translation
Sterfgeval N. 5. Een jaar achttien honderd twee en veertig, den eersten februarij, om tien ueren voormiddag, is voor ons Petrus Carolus Verbrugge, Burgemeester ambtenaar van den burgerstand der gemeente Zerkeghem, arrondissement Brugge, provincie Westvlaanderen, gecompareerd Samuel Deschacht, werkman, oud vier en twintig jaren, geboren te Zerkeghem, zoon van den overledenen, en Joseph Vermeersch, veldwagter, oud vijf en vijftig jaren, beyde alhier woonachtig, welke comparanten ons verklaard hebben dat Bernardus Deschacht, arbeyder, oud twee en zeventig jaren, geboren te Jabbeke en woonende in dit gemeente, zoon van Emanuel en van Joanna Mestdag, echtgenoot van Helena Kerckhove, arbeydster, oud acht en zestig jaren, geboren in dit gemeente, overleden is op heden ten twee ueren s'nagts, in zijne woonste staende binnen dit gemeente. Den eersten comparant verklaard bij onkunde niet te konnen schrijven, en den tweeden heeft met ons naer aflezing dezen akt geteekend. [Signed:] Joseph Vermeersch; P. C. Verbrugge.
Death, no. 5. On 1 February 1842 at ten in the morning appeared before Petrus Carolus Verbrugge, mayor and registrar of Zerkegem, Samuel Deschacht, workman, 24, born at Zerkegem, son of the deceased, and Joseph Vermeersch, rural constable, 55, both living here, who declared that Bernardus Deschacht, labourer, aged 72, born at Jabbeke and living in this commune, son of Emanuel and of Joanna Mestdag, husband of Helena Kerckhove, labourer, 68, born in this commune, died today at two in the night in his house in this commune. The first declarant could not write; the second signed with us after the reading. The act names Bernardus's parents outright: the link to Emmanuel and Joanna Mestdagh is grade A from two independent acts (this and the 1769 baptism).
Pieter, 1805 to 1866
Their son Pieter was born in the thirteenth year of the French Republic. On 20 Germinal, which was 10 April 1805, Bernard De Schaghe, day labourer, aged thirty-seven, presented to the mayor of Zerkegem, "first arrondissement of the department of the Lys", a boy born the day before to him and to his wife Helene Kerckhove, aged thirty-one. He could not sign his name.20 Pieter married Anna Theresia van Moortele of Bekegem at Zerkegem on 11 February 1830. The marriage act gives his birth date twice, in the revolutionary calendar and in the ordinary one, and names his parents; his father was there and gave his consent.21 Anna Theresia died at Bekegem on 2 July 1857, and Pieter married Ludovica Moyaert. He died at Bekegem on 21 March 1866. His brother Jacobus reported the death, and the act, which calls him sixty-four when he was sixty, again names Bernardus and Helena Kerckhove as his parents.22
Transcription and translation
L'an treize de la république le vingt du mois de Germinal à deux heures de relevée, pardevant nous maire de la commune de Zerkeghem, premier arrondissement du département de la Lys, est comparu Bernard De Schaghe âgé de trente sept ans journalier demeurant en cette commune, lequel nous a présenté un enfant du sexe masculin né le dix neuf du mois Germinal courant, de lui déclarant et de Helene Kerckhove âgée de trente un ans son épouse, et auquel il a déclaré vouloir donner les prénoms de Pierre, les dites déclaration et présentation faites en présence de Philippe Scharlenken[?] âgé de vingt trois ans journalier demeurant à Roxem[?], et de Pierre Stubbe âgé de trente six ans journalier demeurant à Zerkeghem, et ont les père et témoins signé avec nous le présent acte de naissance après lecture, excepté le père et premier témoin qui ont déclaré ne savoir écrire. [Signed:] Pr Stubbe; [the mayor, Vande Kyndere?], maire.
In the year XIII of the Republic, on 20 Germinal [10 April 1805], at two in the afternoon, before us, mayor of the commune of Zerkegem, first arrondissement of the department of the Lys, appeared Bernard De Schaghe, aged 37, day labourer, living in this commune, who presented to us a male child born on the 19th of the current month of Germinal [9 April 1805], of him the declarant and of Helene Kerckhove, aged 31, his wife, and to whom he declared he wished to give the first name Pierre. The declaration and presentation were made in the presence of Philippe Scharlenken[?], aged 23, day labourer, living at Roksem[?], and of Pierre Stubbe, aged 36, day labourer, living at Zerkegem. The father and the witnesses signed this birth act with us after it was read, except the father and the first witness, who declared they could not write. Pieter's own birth act; it confirms the date given in his marriage act of 1830 (grade A).
Transcription and translation
N. 9 Huwelyk. Den Jaer achttien hondert dertig, den Elfsten der maand February om tien uren 's morgens, Compareerde voor ons Petrus Aneca, Burgemeester ambtenaar van den burgerstand der gemeente Zerkeghem, districkte Brugge, provincie Westvlaanderen, Petrus De Schaght, werkman oud vierentwintig Jaar, geboren te Zerkeghem den negentienden Germinal 't Jaar dertien der fransche republique of negenden april achttien hondert vijf, meerderjarigen zoon van Bernardus, werkman te Zerkeghem, alhier tegenwoordig en toestemmende, en van Helena Kerckhove zyne huisvrouwe, met hem wonende ter eenderen; En Anna Theresia van Moortele, werkvrouwe oud twee en twintig Jaar, geboren te Bekeghem den twintigsten January achttien hondert acht, wonende te Zerkeghem en rechterlyk te Bekeghem, meerderjarige dogter van Franciscus, werkman wonende te Bekeghem, alhier tegenwoordig en toestemmende, en van Maria Mae[rtens?] zyne huisvrouwe ter andere, welke Comparanten ons hebben verzogt voort te gaen tot het huwelyk onder hun beraemt, en waer af de afkondigingen zyn gedaen geweest voor de voornaemste deur van ons gemeentehuis, te weten de eerste den Zondag vier en twintigsten der maend January, ende tweede den Zondag eenendertigsten dezer maend, telkens op de uere van den middag, en gelyk[lyk] afgekondigd op de zelve Zondagen in de gemeente Bekeghem, woonplaets van de bruid [...] Wy verklaeren in den naem van de wet dat Petrus De Schaght en Anna Theresia van Moortele vereenigd zyn door het huwelyk, van al het welk wy dezen akt hebben opgesteld in de tegenwoordigheid van Franciscus Taecke, werkman oud vyf en dertig Jaar, Josephus Vermeersch, veldwachter oud drie en veertig Jaar, Petrus Lievens, herbergier oud twee en veertig Jaar, en Josephus Van Houcke, koster oud dertig, alle wonende te deze gemeente Zerkeghem, geene vrienden der getrouwde. Dewelke dezen akt naer gedaene voorlezing met ons hebben geteekend, behalven de bruidegom, zynen vader, de bruid, haren vader en de eerste getuige, die verklaerd hebben niet te konnen schryven. [Signed:] Pieter Lievens, Joseph Van Houcke, Joseph Vermeersch, Pieter Aneca Burgemeester.
Marriage no. 9. On 11 February 1830 at ten in the morning appeared before Petrus Aneca, mayor and registrar of Zerkegem, district of Bruges, West Flanders: Petrus De Schaght, workman, aged 24, born at Zerkegem on 19 Germinal of the year XIII of the French Republic, that is 9 April 1805, son of Bernardus, workman at Zerkegem, present and consenting, and of Helena Kerckhove his wife, living with him - on the one side; and Anna Theresia van Moortele, workwoman, aged 22, born at Bekegem on 20 January 1808, living at Zerkegem and legally domiciled at Bekegem, daughter of Franciscus, workman living at Bekegem, present and consenting, and of Maria Mae[rtens?] his wife - on the other side. The banns were proclaimed at the main door of the town hall on Sundays 24 and 31 January at noon, and on the same Sundays at Bekegem, the bride's domicile. We declare in the name of the law that Petrus De Schaght and Anna Theresia van Moortele are united in marriage. Witnesses: Franciscus Taecke, workman, 35; Josephus Vermeersch, rural constable, 43; Petrus Lievens, innkeeper, 42; and Josephus Van Houcke, sexton, 30; all of Zerkegem and not related to the couple. The groom, his father, the bride, her father and the first witness declared they could not write. The act names Pieter's parents, Bernardus and Helena Kerckhove, alive and present (grade A); the bride's mother, partly legible, is Maria Maertens in the index.
Transcription and translation
N. 10. Overlyden. Het jaer Achttien honderd zes en zestig den twee en twintigsten Maert om zes ure 's morgens voor ons Philippus Verheeke, burgmeester ambtenaer des burgerstands der gemeente Bekeghem, comparerende Jacobus Deschacht, werkman oud dry en vyftig jaren, Jan Soreyn, veldwachter oud dry en zestig jaren, beide alhier woonende, den eersten broeder en den tweeden geen bloedverwant van den hierna genoemden overledenen, dewelke ons hebben verklaerd dat Pieter Deschacht, werkman oud vier en zestig jaren, geboren te Zerkeghem en alhier woonende, zoon van Bernardus en van Helena Kerckhove, beide te Zerkeghem overleden, weduwaer van Anna Therese Van Moortel, overleden te Bekeghem, en echtgenoot in tweede huwelyk van Ludovica Moyaert, werkvrouw oud een en veertig jaren, alhier woonende, gister den een en twintigsten Maert om dry ure 's namiddags in zyne woonst staende in deze gemeente is overleden. De tweede comparant heeft dezen akt met ons onderteekend, den eersten verklarende hetzelve niet te kunnen by onkunde, tot dees verzocht na gedaene voorlezinge. [Signed:] J Soreyn; De Burgmeester P Verheeke.
Death no. 10. On 22 March 1866 at six in the morning appeared before Philippus Verheeke, mayor and registrar of Bekegem, Jacobus Deschacht, workman, 53, and Jan Soreyn, rural constable, 63, both living here, the first a brother of the deceased and the second not related, who declared that Pieter Deschacht, workman, aged 64, born at Zerkegem and living here, son of Bernardus and of Helena Kerckhove, both deceased at Zerkegem, widower of Anna Therese Van Moortel, deceased at Bekegem, and husband in second marriage of Ludovica Moyaert, workwoman, 41, living here, died yesterday, 21 March, at three in the afternoon in his house in this commune. The second declarant signed with us; the first could not write. Pieter was in fact 60 (born 9 April 1805): the age is overstated by four years, but his parents, his birthplace and both wives identify him beyond doubt. The declarant is his brother Jacobus, born at Zerkegem in 1811 (grade A).
Fredericus and August, 1842 to 1916
Fredericus was born at Bekegem on 10 May 1842. When he married Ludovica Meulemeester, a farmer's daughter of Zerkegem, on 4 August 1870, he could not produce the death acts of his grandparents, "not knowing where they died"; they had died at Zerkegem itself. At the same wedding the couple acknowledged their son Ludovicus Vedastus, born in 1868.23 Thirteen years later Fredericus kept an inn at Bekegem. On 31 May 1883 he registered the birth of August, born the day before at three in the afternoon "in his house". Fredericus and Ludovica had at least four other children at Bekegem between 1871 and 1885, and one of them, Hendrik Joseph, married at Oostkamp in 1916.24
Transcription and translation
Huwelijk N. 41. Het jaar achttien honderd zeventig, den vierden augusti, om tien uren voormiddag, voor ons Carolus Vermaut, Burgemeester, Ambtenaar van den burgerstand der gemeente Zerkeghem, arrondissement Brugge, provintie Westvlaanderen, zijn verschenen in openbare zitting in het gemeente huis alhier: Fredericus De Schacht, werkman, geboren te Bekeghem den tienden mei achttien honderd twee en veertig en aldaar wonende, dewelke ons heeft overgelegd het attest van voldoening aan de nationale militie, meerderjarigen ongehuwden zoon van Petrus en van Anna Theresia Vanmoortel, beide overleden te Bekeghem, den eersten den een en twintigsten maart achttien honderd zes en zestig, en de tweede den tweeden juli achttien honderd zeven en vijftig, dit alles blijkens de stukken hiernevens, verklarende den komparant dat hij in de onmogelijkheid verkeert de bewijzen van toestemming in dit huwelijk of de akten van overlijden te kunnen overleggen van zijne grootouders, dewijl hij niet weet waar zij overleden zijn en hunne laatste woonplaats aan hem onbekend is, welke verklaring hij met de vier hierna te noemen getuigen onder eed bevestigd, ter eender zijde; En Ludovica Meulemeester, landbouwersdochter, alhier geboren den derden october achttien honderd negen en veertig, en alhier wonende, minderjarige ongehuwde dochter van Carolus Meulemeester, landbouwer, oud zeven en vijftig jaren, alhier geboren en wonende, hier tegenwoordig en toestemmende in dit huwelijk, en van Sophia Vandaele, alhier overleden den een en twintigsten november achttien honderd acht en zestig, dit blijkens de stukken hiernevens, ter ander zijde. [...] verklaren wij in naam der wet dat Fredericus De Schacht en Ludovica Meulemeester vereenigd zijn door het huwelijk. Dadelijk hebben de gehuwden ons verklaard dat er van hun geboren is een kind van het mannelijk geslacht, ingeschreven op de registers van den burgerstand dezer gemeente den zesden december achttien honderd acht en zestig, onder de namen van Ludovicus Vedastus Meulemeester, welk kind zij erkennen als hunnen wettigen zoon; van al hetwelk wij dezen akt hebben opgesteld in de tegenwoordigheid van Carolus Carbonez, veldwachter, oud zes en dertig jaren, Ludovicus Vanpoucke, bijzonderen, oud negen en dertig jaren, Carolus Lievens, molenaar, oud zes en veertig jaren, alle drij alhier wonende, en Ludovicus Lievens, molenaarsknecht, oud acht en dertig jaren, wonende te Bekeghem, alle vier geene bloedverwanten der beide echtgenooten, dewelke met ons na voorlezing dezen akt geteekend hebben, verklarende den bruidegom bij onkunde niet te kunnen handteekenen.
Marriage, no. 41. On 4 August 1870 at ten in the morning appeared in public session at the town hall, before Carolus Vermaut, mayor and registrar of Zerkegem: Fredericus De Schacht, workman, born at Bekegem on 10 May 1842 and living there, who produced his militia certificate, of age, unmarried, son of Petrus and of Anna Theresia Vanmoortel, both dead at Bekegem, the first on 21 March 1866 and the second on 2 July 1857, as the papers show; he declared that he could not produce the consent or the death acts of his grandparents, not knowing where they died or where they last lived, which he confirmed on oath with the four witnesses named below - on the one side; and Ludovica Meulemeester, farmer's daughter, born here on 3 October 1849 and living here, a minor, unmarried, daughter of Carolus Meulemeester, farmer, 57, born and living here, present and consenting, and of Sophia Vandaele, who died here on 21 November 1868 - on the other side. [...] We declare in the name of the law that Fredericus De Schacht and Ludovica Meulemeester are united in marriage. The couple at once declared that a male child had been born to them, entered in the registers of this commune on 6 December 1868 under the names Ludovicus Vedastus Meulemeester, whom they acknowledge as their lawful son. Witnesses: Carolus Carbonez, rural constable, 36; Ludovicus Vanpoucke, of independent means, 39; Carolus Lievens, miller, 46, all of this commune; and Ludovicus Lievens, miller's man, 38, of Bekegem, none of them related; the groom could not sign. The act ties Fredericus to Pieter De Schacht and Anna Theresia Vanmoortel (grade A); that he did not know where his grandparents Bernardus and Helena Kerckhove had died - at Zerkegem itself, in 1842 and 1847 - is a curiosity of the family.
Transcription and translation
N. 23. Geboorte. Het Jaer achttien honderd dry en tachtig, den Een en dertigsten Meye, ten zes uren namiddag, voor ons Auguste Luyckx, Burgmeester Ambtenaer van den Burgerstand der gemeente Bekeghem, Provincie Westvlaenderen, Is verschenen: Fredericus De Schacht, herbergier, oud veertig Jaren, geboren en wonende te Bekeghem, den welken ons heeft vertoond een Kind zynde van het mannelyk geslacht en het welk hy verklaerd althier geboren te zyn op gisteren dertigsten Meye, ten dry uren namiddag, t'zynen huize, van hem vertoonder en van zyne Echtgenoote Ludovica Meulemeester, huishoudster, oud vier en dertig[?] Jaren, geboren te Zerkeghem, wonende in dees gemeente, en aen welk Kind hy verklaerd heeft te willen geven de voornaem van Augustus. De voornoemde vertooning en verklaring gedaen in de presentie van Armand Van hee, Molenaer, oud vyftig Jaren, en Armand Van moortel, winkelier, oud zeven en vyftig Jaren, beide inwooners van Bekeghem, aengezochte getuigen, de welke met ons Ambtenaer hebben geteekend, de komparant vader niet door onkunde. Na gedane voorlezinge. [Signed:] A Van hee; A van Moortel; De Ambtenaer A Luyckx.
Birth no. 23. On 31 May 1883 at six in the afternoon appeared before Auguste Luyckx, mayor and registrar of Bekegem, West Flanders: Fredericus De Schacht, innkeeper, aged 40, born and living at Bekegem, who showed us a male child which he declared was born here yesterday, 30 May, at three in the afternoon, in his house, to him and to his wife Ludovica Meulemeester, housewife, 34[?], born at Zerkegem and living in this commune, and to whom he gave the name Augustus. Witnesses: Armand Van hee, miller, 50, and Armand Van Moortel, shopkeeper, 57, both of Bekegem, who signed with us; the father could not write. The link August <- Fredericus x Ludovica Meulemeester is grade A. Armand Van Moortel bears the surname of Fredericus's mother, Anna Theresia Vanmoortel - possibly kin (grade C).
August married Paraïlde Allemeersch of Zedelgem; their marriage has not yet been read. On 25 August 1916 August, a man of thirty-three born at Bekegem, reported to the acting mayor of Zedelgem the birth of a daughter, born two days before at two in the afternoon. They named her Godelieva.25 Their son Camiel Joseph, born at Zedelgem the year before, had died there in September 1915.26
Transcription and translation
Geboorte-akte Nr 69 [margin: Deschacht Godelieva]. Ten jare negentien honderd zestien, den vijf en twintigsten der maand Augusty, om zes ure na middag, voor Ons Hendrik De Muyt, dienstdoende Burgemeester, Ambtenaar van den Burgerlijken Stand der gemeente Zedelghem, Provincie West-Vlaanderen. Is verschenen: August Deschacht, oud drie en dertig jaren, pachter[?] van beroep, geboren te Bekeghem, alhier wonende, die ons verklaard heeft dat eergisteren om twee ure na middag in deze gemeente geboren is een kind van het vrouwelijk geslacht van hem vertooner en van zijne echtgenoote Paraïlde Allemeersch, oud een en dertig jaren, huishoudster, alhier geboren en wonende, welk kind hij ons vertoond en waaraan hij verklaard heeft te willen geven de voornamen van Godelieva. Deze vertooning en verklaring zijn gedaan in de tegenwoordigheid van Hector Steen, oud negen en dertig jaren, werkman van beroep, wonende te Zedelghem, en van August Ryngaert[?], oud vier en zestig jaren, veldwachter van beroep, wonende te Zedelghem. En na gedane voorlezing aan den verklaarder en de getuigen hebben wij onmiddellijk met hen geteekend. [Signed:] De Schacht August; H. Steen; [A.] Ryngaert[?]; H. De Muyt.
Birth act no. 69. On 25 August 1916 at six in the evening, before Hendrik De Muyt, acting mayor and registrar of Zedelgem, West Flanders, appeared August Deschacht, aged 33, tenant farmer[?], born at Bekegem and living here, who declared that the day before yesterday [23 August 1916] at two in the afternoon a child of the female sex was born in this municipality, to him and to his wife Paraïlde Allemeersch, aged 31, housewife, born and living here; he showed us the child and declared that he wished to name her Godelieva. Witnesses: Hector Steen, 39, workman, and August Ryngaert[?], 64, rural constable, both of Zedelgem. The father signed 'De Schacht August'. This act joins Godelieva to her parents (grade A).
What is proven, and how strongly
| Link | Evidence | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Godelieva (1916) ← August × Paraïlde Allemeersch | birth act 1916 | A |
| August (1883) ← Fredericus × Ludovica Meulemeester | birth act 1883 | A |
| Fredericus (1842) ← Pieter × Anna Theresia van Moortele | marriage act 1870 | A |
| Pieter (1805) ← Bernardus × Helena Kerckhove | birth act 1805, marriage act 1830, death act 1866 | A |
| Bernardus (1769) ← Emmanuel × Joanna Mestdagh | baptism 1769, death act 1842 | A |
| Emmanuel (1734) ← Joannes Baptista × Cornelia Charle | his baptism 1734 (A); the only Emmanuel baptised at Jabbeke, "baptised in this parish" at his burial | B |
| Joannes Baptista (1707) ← Joannes × Maria van Dierendonck | his baptism 1707 (A); the only namesake old enough to marry in 1729; age at burial; his brothers' mother named in orphan and estate records | B |
| Joannes (married 1692) ← Joannes Schaecht × Catharina de Vos | the only Joannes Schacht baptised at Tielt in the years read (A); his wife's age; his sister Ester at Wingene | C |
What is still open
- Catharina de Vos. Her burial, and a second marriage of Joannes Schaecht, would show whether the Joanna of 1670 is a half-sister and whether there was a second Joannes Schaecht at Tielt. The Tielt burials of 1664 to 1683 and the marriages of 1666 to 1671 are on AGATHA and have not been read.
- The Tielt orphan court. Its estate inventories and guardianship accounts from 1472 to 1796 are on FamilySearch in eighty-seven films. An inventory made at the death of Catharina de Vos, or of Joannes Schaecht the elder, would list the children with their ages and join the two Joanneses for certain. The printed indexes of Claude Moors, "Wezerij Tielt 1479-1796" and "Wezerij Tielt-Binnen 1600-1700" (Familiekunde Vlaanderen, Tielt), give the film and page for each name.
- Earlier Tielt baptisms. The years 1648 to 1652 and February to August 1655 have not been read, and a Joannes born then would fit the burial age better.
- Jan De Schacht's estate inventory, Zerkegem 1748 (no. 1030), should name all the children of Joannes and Maria van Dierendonck. It has been added to the request to the State Archives in Bruges.
- Three acts not yet read: Fredericus's birth act (Bekegem 1842, no. 17), Emmanuel's marriage (Jabbeke, 23 January 1759, known so far from the index) and August's marriage to Paraïlde Allemeersch.
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Tielt, marriages 1655-1671 [S59], image 0_0005_r, entry 13 (grade A; the groom's surname is cramped and is read together with the baptisms of the children). ↩
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Tielt, baptisms 1655-1671 [S59]: Antonius, 22 May 1661 (image 0_0048_r); Joannes, 3 June 1663, born 20 May (image 0_0059_r); Carolus, 8 February 1665 (image 0_0069_r); Ester, 7 October 1666 (image 0_0077_r) (grade A). ↩
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The same register, image 0_0097_r: Petronilla, 4 May 1670, and Joanna, 11 May 1670 (grade A; the surname of Joanna's mother is partly illegible). ↩
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Tielt baptisms, register 2 (January 1653 to January 1655) and register 3 (September 1655 to June 1671) [S59]. The clerk wrote each child's name in the margin; every margin was read, and every Schacht entry was then read in full. Pages and method:
FINDINGS.md, 27 September 2026 (g), (j) and (k). ↩↩ -
Wingene, burials 1722-1747 [S58]: Joannes Schacht, died 20 and buried 22 November 1738, "aetatis circiter 84 annorum" (image 0_0437); Maria van Dierendonck, widow of Joannes Schacht, died 24 and buried 25 June 1740, about 75 (image 0_0447) (grade A). ↩↩↩
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Tielt, marriages 1686-1699 [S59], image 0_0165_r: betrothal 8 April, marriage 30 April 1692, witnesses Joannes and Joanna Schaeght (grade A). ↩↩
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Wingene, baptisms 1700-1714 [S58], image 0_0970: Egidius, 7 April 1705, son of Joannes de Schacht and Maria van Dierdonck; Jacobus Franciscus, 16 April 1705, son of Bartholomeus de Clercq and Ester Schacht, godfather Josephus Schacht (grade A). That this Ester is the Ester baptised at Tielt in 1666 is grade C. ↩↩
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AGATHA index [S21]: burial at Wingene, 11 February 1690, of Elizabetha Naesens, spouse Joannes De Schaecht (grade B). The first marriage itself has not been found: the Tielt marriages of 1684 and 1685 are missing. ↩
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Wingene, baptisms 1700-1714 [S58], image 0_0998: Joannes Baptista, 22 August 1707, born the day before (grade A). Index [S21]: Josephus, 4 November 1695; Joanna, 16 December 1698; Joannes Baptista, 16 February 1718 and 1 June 1723 (grade B; the index gives no parents for these Wingene baptisms). ↩↩
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Index of the estate inventories [S22]: Zerkegem, no. 1030 of the Ardooie series, 30 December 1748, Jan De Schacht, father Jan De Schacht, mother "NN Van Dierendonck" (grade B). ↩↩
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Jabbeke, marriages 1725-1755 [S57], image 0_0633: 6 and 7 July 1729; Petrus Blomme and Maria Weerbrouck, 13 and 24 August 1729 (grade A). ↩
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Orphan registers of the Brugse Vrije [S66]: register 16506 f. 158v, Jabbeke, 7 July 1750 (Joos De Schacht and Amelberghe De Beele, both died 1748-1749); register 16507 f. 229v, Zerkegem, 17 June 1761 (Gillis De Schacht, "son of Joseph & Van Dierendonck Marie", and Agnes De Beele) (grade B). ↩↩
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Jabbeke, burials 1770-1779 [S57], image 0_1273: Joannes Baptista de Schacht, died 22 and buried 23 January 1774, aged 66 (grade A). ↩↩
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Jabbeke, baptisms 1725-1748 [S57]: Emmanuel, 5 April 1734 (image 0_0563); Isabella Theresia, 20 February 1736 (image 0_0571) (grade A). ↩
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Orphan registers of the Brugse Vrije [S66], register 16513 f. 41, Jabbeke, 21 December 1784 (grade B). Index of the estate inventories [S22], Brugse Vrije, second series, no. 13418, Jabbeke, 28 January 1784: Jacob De Schacht, father "Jan Bapt. De Schacht" (grade B). ↩
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Jabbeke, baptisms 1755-1769 [S57], image 0_0959: Bernardus Jacobus, 12 May 1769; Snellegem, baptisms 1685-1755 [S63]: Joanna, 27 December 1734, daughter of Joannes Mestdagh and Joanna Jaques (grade A). Index [S21]: their marriage, Jabbeke, 23 January 1759; baptisms of Anna Maria 1759, Andreas 1761, Livinus 1763, Petrus 1766, Bernardus Jacobus 1769, Philippus Jacobus 1772 and Joannes Josephus 1775 (grade B). ↩
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Jabbeke, burials 1780-1783 [S57], image 0_1353 (grade A; the age is uncertain in the writing and in any case wrong). Index [S21]: no other Emmanuel de Schacht baptised at Jabbeke. ↩
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Zerkegem, marriages 1781-1797 [S60], image 0_1368 (grade A). ↩
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Zerkegem, civil registration [S61], deaths 1842, no. 5 (grade A). ↩
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Zerkegem, civil registration [S61], births of the year XIII, image 0_0351 (grade A). ↩
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Zerkegem, civil registration [S61], marriages 1830, no. 9 (grade A). ↩
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Bekegem, civil registration [S61], deaths 1866, no. 10, and the yearly table of 1866 (grade A). ↩
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Zerkegem, civil registration [S61], marriages 1870, no. 41 (grade A). Fredericus's own birth act, Bekegem 1842 no. 17, is known from the index [S21] and has not been read. ↩
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Bekegem, civil registration [S61], births 1883, no. 23 (grade A). Index [S21]: births at Bekegem of Eugenie (1871), Eduard (1873), Hendrik Joseph (1880) and Irma (1885), children of Fredericus Deschacht and Ludovica Meulemeester, and the marriage of Hendrik Joseph at Oostkamp, 26 January 1916 (grade B). ↩
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Zedelgem, civil registration [S65], births 1916, no. 69, image 277 (grade A). ↩
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Zedelgem, yearly table of the births of 1915 [S65], image 239: "Deschacht Camiel Joseph, 42" (grade B). Index [S21]: death act, Zedelgem, 8 September 1915, of Camiel Joseph Deschacht, son of August Deschacht and Pharailde Allemeersch (grade B). Neither act has been read. ↩