Amerikaans onderzoek naar emigranten uit Knokke

In de Verenigde Staten wordt momenteel onderzoek verricht naar de geschiedenis van families die rond 1890 uit Knokke zijn geëmigreerd naar Gladstone in de staat Michigan. Het gaat hier met name om de afstammelingen van Louis, Eugena en Frank (Jan-Frans) Schram. Zij waren de kinderen van het Knokse echtpaar Franciscus Schram en Lodewijca Waeghe. Het is de bedoeling van Joseph Schram om binnenkort meer genealogische informatie online te zetten over de nazaten van deze Knokkenaars op de site “Knokke-Gladstone Belgians”.

Dit is alvast één van de postings:
Peter Waeghe was in the Belgian cavalry. His father passed away at a young age. (Grandpa always said that his father "died dancing" at a dance hall), and as a result he had to help provide for his mother and sisters. He snared rabbits for food, and at that time (and the law still stands) if you were caught poaching it meant a jail sentence. Well, Grandpa was caught poaching on the King's Property. So many people were caught and sentenced to jail, they had to wait their turns to get into jail. Grandpa's turn came just days before he was to be discharged from the Army. He packed, took Grandma, Irma and August, and came to America and to Gladstone. As a result, Grandpa was never able to go back to Belgium as he had been labeled a deserter by the Army and would have had to face a military court. However, Grandma did go back for a long visit, but never returned to Belgium again.

En een posting over Louis Schram...