52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Ancestor # 15

Florence Cobert (1847-1929)

Florence Cobert was born in Eeklo, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium on 27 March 1847ⁱ and died in Kaprijke, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium on 29 May 1929ⁱⁱ. She was the daughter of Jan Baptista and Sophie (De Vriese) Cobert. She married Bruno Dobbelaere in Kaprijke on 19 April 1876ⁱⁱⁱ. Bruno was born in Kaprijke on 11 March 1849^iv and died there on 16 November 1926^v.

Florence was the oldest child. Her parents had 3 other children who died as infants and then her mother died just before her 10^th birthday. Her father married again and had 4 more children with his 2^nd wife. As a young woman, she moved to Sint Laureins, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium and on 11 October 1876 to Kaprijke and worked as a diensmaid^1vi or a housemaid in English. In Kaprijke she met and married Bruno Dobbelaere.

Their first child was born in 1877 and their youngest in 1892. They had 8 children in total and all but 1 outlived them. Florence continued to work as a housemaid while raising her children. She appears in the Kaprijke population registers in the 1867-1880 period first living by herself and then after her marriage living with her husband. I have not found this family in the 1880-1890 registers yet but I have located them in 1890-1900 registers. In this period Florence is listed as Bruno's wife^vii and children Jules, Charles Louis, Maria, Elodie, Clementine, Ivo and Seraphina also are listed.

Florence is in my direct maternal line. So, my mitochondrial came directly from her via my grandmother Elodie Dobbelaere. Florence is haplogroup J1c2c2.

Children of Bruno and Florence (Cobert) Dobbelaere, all born in Kaprijke:

i. Jules Joseph Dobbelaere. b. 3 Feb 1877, d. 24 Sep 1954 in Newark, Wayne, New York, m. in 1899 in Belgium Louise Meulbroeck b. 1878.

ii. Charles Louis, b. 22 Dec 1878 and d. 14 Jan 1967 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, m. in 1909 in Kaprijke Julie Pacquet, b. 1888 and d. 1934 in Canada.

iii. Maria, b. 26 Mar 1881 and d. 19 Jan 1964 in Eeklo, m. 5 May 1906 in Brussels, Belgium, Josef Richard Cornelis, d. 1964.

iv. Elodie, b. 28 Sep 1882 and d. 5 Aug 1955 in Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey, m. 8 Oct 1900 in Kaprijke Peter Bernard Van De Veire, b. 18 Nov 1877 in Sint-Jan-in-Eremo, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium and d. Oct 1955 in Paterson.

v. Clementina Maria, b. 9 Feb 1885 and d. 9 Mar 1975 in Manitoba, Canada, m. Jan 1906 in Belgium, Nestir Bertouille, b. 29 Nov 1884 in Knesslaere, Belgium, and d. 28 Jan 1969 in Swan Lake, Manitoba, Canada.

vi Emilie Marie, b. 9 Feb 1886 and d. 30 Aug 1886 in Kaprijke.

vii. Ivo, b. 27 Feb 1888 and d. 8 Nov 1972 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, m (1) Louise Eeckhout on 14 Oct 1919 in Chateau, Kent, Ontario, Canada, divorced 31 Oct 1939 in Detroit and (2) Lucy Lycke on 3 Jun 1936 in Lucas County, Ohio.

viii. Seraphina Alolphina, b. 11 Mar 1892 and d. Sep 1991 in California, m. Edward Neyt, b. 23 Jan 1887 in Lembeke, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium and d. 24 Jan 1955 in Alameda, Alameda, California.

   Footnotes:

i“Registers of the Burgerlijke Stand, 1796-1870”, digital images, FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 21 Mar 2018), birth of Florence Cobert 27 Mar 1847, film # 786547, citing Eeklo, East Flanders, Belgium town records obtained from the Gerechtshof te Gent..

iiFuneral card for Florence Cobert, widow of Bruno Dobbelaere, 1929, in the possession of the author.

iii“Belgium, Oost Vlaanderen, Kaprijke, Registers van de Burgerlijke Stand, 1861-1920”, digital images, FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 24 Mar 2018), Dobbelaere-Cobert marriage 19 Mar 1876, Marriages 1871-1880, film # 5205626, 1876 marriage #2, citing Kaprijke town records.

iv“Registers of the Burgerlijke Stand, 1796-1870”, digital images, birth of Bruno Dobbelaere, 11 Mar 1849, film #785215, citing Kaprijke, East Flanders, Belgium town records.

vFuneral card for Bruno Dobbelaere, 1926, in the possession of the author.

vi“Kaprijke (Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium), Bevolkingsregisters, 1847-1910”, digital images, FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 2 Mar 2018), Florence Cobert, 1867-1880, film # 1783928, book 2, p. 367.

vii“Kaprijke (Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium), Bevolkingsregisters, 1847-1910”, digital images, FamilySearch.org ,household of Bruno Dobbelaere, 1890-1900, film 1783930, Book 3, p. 548.