Great-grand aunt Aline Sterckx and cousin Irma Sterckx

With the help of several family members I'm learning a lot lately about the siblings of my great-grandfather Louis Sterckx and some of their descendants.

 

One cousin, Leen Van Gool, sent me the incredibly beautiful picture of her grandmother, my great-grand aunt Aline Sterckx, who was a sister of great-grandpa Louis. Aline was born in 1897 and after the first World War she made some money as a model. This picture probably dates from somewhere around 1920.

Aline Sterckx

Aline and her family lived in Wommelgem in a house right next to that of Mathilde Sterckx, another sister of Louis and Aline.

 

While I initially thought the below picture is of another one of Louis' sisters, Irma Sterckx, it turns out that picture actually shows a niece of great-grandpa Louis who was also called Irma Sterckx. She was a daughter of Louis' brother Alfons Ferdinandus Sterckx and was born in 1919 and was married to Franciscus Severens.

 

Still hoping over time I will be able to get even more pictures of the Sterckx family together...

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Met de hulp van verschillende familieleden leer ik de laatste tijd veel bij over de broers en zussen van mijn overgrootvader Louis Sterckx en sommigen van hun afstammelingen.

 

Een achternicht van me, Leen Van Gool, stuurde met de prachtige foto die hierboven is weergegeven van haar grootmoeder, Aline Sterckx, die mijn overgroottante was en een zus van overgrootvader Louis. Aline werd geboren in 1897 en na de Eerste Wereldoorlog verdiende ze wat centen bij als fotomodel. Deze foto werd waarschijnlijk omstreeks 1920 genomen.

 

Aline en haar gezin woonden in Wommelgem in een huis naast dat van Mathilde Sterckx, nog een zus van Louis en Aline.

 

Hoewel ik aanvankelijk dacht dat de onderstaande foto nog een andere zus van Louis toont, met name Irma Sterckx, is inmiddels gebleken dat dit in feite een foto is van een dochter van Alfons Ferdinandus Sterckx, een broer van Louis. Deze dochter noemde ook Irma Sterckx, vandaar de aanvankelijke verwarring...

Irma werd geboren in 1919 en huwde met Franciscus Severens.

Irma Sterckx

Ik hoop hier zeker in de toekomst nog meer foto's van de Sterckx familie te kunnen verzamelen...

Great-grandfather Louis Sterckx

I never knew a lot about my great-grandfather (the father of my maternal grandmother). I decided to dedicate a blog post to him to share what I have so far...

 

His name was Louis Sterckx and he was born in the Belgian village of Wommelgem in 1883 to Josephus Sterckx and Philomena Hermans.

 



Great-grandfather Louis Sterckx

 

 

In 1902 Louis married Maria Van Hout. He was a gardener just like his father. In 1909 Louis and Maria had a baby girl they named Hilda and six years later, in 1915, during the Great War, they had a boy called Armand.

 

 



Great-great-grandmother Philomena Hermans

Great-great-grandfather Josephus Sterckx





Records show that, in 1909, great-grandfather Louis was no longer a gardener, but was now working in the Antwerp diamond industry as a diamond cutter. I've been told he was also a trader in diamonds, which is why he was traveling a lot and spent a great deal of time in France.

Great aunt Hilda Sterckx

Maria died quite young and great-grandfather Louis remarried my great-grandmother Anna and in 1928 they had a baby girl they named Hilda Jeanne, my grandmother.

 



Grandmother Hilda Jeanne Sterckx
(drawing by Ewan)



 

One of the few stories I do know about the Sterckx family relates to what happened to my great-uncle Armand. He was a cyclist. At the age of 18 he participated in a competition. He fell during the race and sustained injuries so severe he didn't survive. This was in May 1933. Louis was absolutely devastated...



Great uncle Armand Sterckx
 

1933 funeral of Armand Sterckx

 



Armand was burried in the most famous cemetery in Antwerp, Schoonselhof. When my grandmother told me about his funeral many years later, I remember she told me about the huge amount of people that had gathered to be there.

  

Regrettably Louis was only 56 years old when he died from tuberculosis. Many people working in the diamond industry suffered from tuberculosis in those days, which was caused by inhaling diamond dust...