52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Ancestor #6

Elodie Dobbelaere (1878-1955)

Elodie Dobbelaere was born in Kaprijke, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium on 28 September 1882¹ and died in Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey on 5 August, 1955. She was the daughter of Bruno and Florence (Cobert) Dobbelaere. She married Peter Bernard Van De Veire in Kaprijke on 8 October 1900². Peter was born in Sint-Jan-in-Eremo, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium on 18 November 1877³ and died in Paterson in October 1955.

Elodie whose name translates into English as “Alice” was the fourth child of eight. The Dobbelaeres were not wealthy and the children were expected to go to work at an early age to help support the family. Elodie had two years of school⁴ and by the time she married at 18, she was working and probably had been working for several years as a maid⁵.

After her marriage, she and Peter left Belgium in 1901 and settled in Paterson where all of their children were born. The Van De Veires had friends in Paterson and quickly settled into the Flemish community there. They had a total of 8 children; the first was born in 1901 shortly after they arrived in New Jersey. After the birth of her fourth child, Jules, Elodie took and baby and returned to Flanders for a visit with her parents and siblings. She returned to Paterson through New York on 4 September 1910⁶. This is the only time she went home for a visit.

Elodie’s three brothers and two of her sisters followed the Van De Veires to North America. One brother settled in Newark, New York, one in Detroit, one sister in California and one brother and sister settled close to each other in Manitoba, Canada.

Elodie is my maternal grandmother so she and I share mitochondrial DNA. I have tested and fall into the J haplogroup, specifically J1c2c2. This haplogroup is believed to have originated in the Near East about 50,000 years ago and is linked to the Neolithic spread of agriculture. It is widespread throughout Europe from Iberia and along the Mediterranean Coast through Germany, England and Scandinavia. I have not identified any close relatives from my mitochondrial matches as yet. I have, however, using the results of autosomal testing, identified 2 second cousins, descended from my grandmother’s brother who settled in Newark, and a first cousin twice removed. Since my mother’s family settled in North America in 1901, most of the matches I have are paternal side matches. Europeans do not seem to be as eager to DNA test as North Americans and Australians. I am hoping this reluctance to DNA testing does not last.

The family was listed in the 1905 New Jersey Census⁷ living on Martin Street. Peter and Elodie had 2 children, Edward born in October 1901 and Mary born in November 1902. Peter is listed as a laborer. This family was enumerated in Paterson in every census through 1940.^89101112

Peter built 2 houses in Paterson, both duplexes. He lived on the second floor of one of them and rented the other 3 units. The family home was on Pennsylvania Avenue. They moved into this home in late 1917 in time for the birth of their sixth child, my mother Madeline, in January 1918. This is the home I remember from my childhood. When WWII broke out, my father had just graduated from medical school and my mother from nursing school. During the time my father was overseas, my mother and I lived in Paterson with her parents. She worked while my grandparents took care of me. Like most grandparents, mine doted on me. I was a welcome diversion from the worry of the war and over the 2 sons and 1 son-in-law who were fighting.

Elodie had fallen in the 1920’s resulting in an injury to her back. In 1955 it was decided that surgery to relieve the pressure of a ruptured disc was advisable. The surgery was a success but Elodie died of complications – a blood clot to the lungs. Peter was also in failing health and died shortly after she did. They are buried in Paterson with their youngest child, William, who died of a ruptured appendix at the age of 12. All of their other children outlived them.

Children of Peter Bernard and Elodie (Dobbelaere) Van De Veire, all born in Paterson:

i. Edward Bernard Van De Veire⁶. b. 14 Oct 1901, d. 28 Feb 1988 in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, m. (1) on 16 May 1921 in Plattsburg, Clinton, New York Rose MacDonald and (2)on 24 Jul. 1930 in Connecticut, Mary Agnes Burns, b. 17 Oct 1895 in Rhode Island, d. 30 Apr 1975 in Alameda, Alameda, California.

ii. Mary Van De Veire. b. 18 Nov 1902, d. in Paterson on 31 May 1990. m. 18 Nov 1942, John Kerrigan.

iii. Martha Van De Veire b. 7 Sep 1905, d. 4 Dec. 1994 in North Haledon, Passaic, New Jersey, m. 22 Feb 1933 in Paterson James Blair , b. 30 Oct 1907 in Clifton, Passaic, New Jersey and d 19 Jul 1989 in North Haledon.

iv. Julius Van De Veire. b. 29 Sep. 1908, d. Feb 1987 in West Milford, Passaic, New Jersey, m. 28 Aug. 1937 Edith ( ), b. 12 Mar 1907, d. 6 Jan 1997 in West Milford.

v. Margreth Van De Veire. b. 1 Apr. 1914, d. 1 Jan. 2010 in Randolph, Orange, Vermont, m. (1) Mitchael Orbeck and (2) Joseph Morgan

vi Madeline Van De Veire, b. 29 Jan 1918, d. 26 May. 2012 in Largo, Pinellas, Florida, m. 21 Sep 1941 William Howard Baldwin in Marysville, Marshall, Kansas, b. 29 Nov 1908 in Grand Forks, Grand Forks, North Dakota and d. 20 Jan 1988 in Largo, Pinellas, Florida.

vii. Charles Van De Veire. b. Apr 1921, m. Marjorie Cornish 20 Apr 1947.

viii. William Van De Veire, b. 19 Oct 1925, d. 1937.

Footnotes:

1 Municipality of Kaprijke, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium. birth certificate for Elodie Dobbelaere, provided by Paul Cornelis.

2 Municipality of Kaprijke, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium, 1900 marriage certificate, Van De Veire-Dobbelaere, provided by Paul Cornelis.

3 Municipality of Sint Laureins, subsector of Sint-Jan-in-Eremo, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium, birth certificate of Peter Van De Veire, provided by Paul Cornelis.

4 1940 US census, Passaic County, New Jersey, population schedule, Paterson, Enumeration District (E.D.) 26-125, Sheet 10B, page 1584 (printed), number of household visited 223, Peter VanDeVeir; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 Sep 2014), citing National Archives and Record Administration microfilm T627, roll 2433.

5 Mun. of Kaprijke, Van De Veire-Dobbelearte marriage.

6 “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957”, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 Nov 2016), Lapland manifest, 4 Sepm1910, Elodie Van De Veire, citing National Archives and Records Administration, T715, microfilm roll 1546.

7 1905 New Jersey state census, Passaic County, Paterson 10^th ward, Enumeration District (E.D.) 2, sheet 14B, dwelling 172, family 284, Peter Van De Vere: digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 6 Jan 2015) citing New Jersey State Archives Reference # L-06, film # 37.

8 1910 US census, Passaic, New Jersey, population schedule, Paterson Ward 10, Enumeration District (E.D.) 150, Sheet 13A, page 186 (stamped), dwelling 141, family 271, Peter Van De Vere; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 Nov 2015), citing National Archivesw and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 907.

9 1915 New Jersey state census, Passaic County, Paterson 10^th ward, sheet 8B, dwelling 109, family 173, Peter Vanderveer: digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 Nov 2017), citing New Jersey State Archives Reference # L-10, film # 56.

10 1920 US census, Passaic, New Jersey, population schedule, Enumeration District (E.D.) 141, Sheet 23B, p. 220 (written), dwelling 282, family 509, Peter Van De Veire; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 Nov 2015), citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 1066.

11 1930 US census, Passaic, New Jersey, population schedule, Paterson, Enumeration District (E.D.) 77, sheet 34A, page 2017 (written), dwelling 330, family 476, Peter Vander Vere; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 Nov 2015), citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm, T626, roll 1381.

12 1940 US census, Passaic Co., pop. Sch., Paterson, E.D. 26-125. Sheet 10B, family 223, Peter VanDeVeir.