I am looking in Antwerp for relatives of my husband's grandfather. We are quite sure that VanWanderham was not the name. Possibly VanWonterghem. He was born 1-29-1863. Came to the US as a young man of about 20 or so. Came to the state of Alabama and married Ella Knighton. I would appreciate any information that anyone may have. It could be that someone out there would know the "real" name. Thanking you in advance. Shirley

my husband's grandfather's name was henry van wonterghem. hie dad's name was fred van wonterghem. henry went to notre dame we know, and he married a bernadette nesselhoff. i don't know if they could be the same as your family as that is really all i know. if interested, i could ask my mother in law, if you have any other names that i could talk to her about. she grew up in birmingham, michigan, and i was just fooling around typing in names to see what i might find.

by the way, email me, because i might not find this site again!!

My grandfather was Robert Van Wonterghem and his dad was Fred Van Wonterghem who was born in Belgium or Germany. One of my grandfather's brothers was named Henry. Clearly, we're related. What is your name? Are you related to Tom Van Wonterghem?

Thanks, Bob

My name is Shirley VanWanderham. My husband's grandfather, Caniel or Cornelius came to the US w/o papers from Antwep, Belgium. We are not sure of the spelling of the name VanWanderham. Your name sounds very close, however. When Caniel got off the boat, he only spoke Flemish and no doubt said his name (whatever it was) and the authority heard it as VanWanderham. I am not related to Tom Van Wonterghem. How do you figure that we are related ? I am curious.

Thanks, Shirley

Hi Shirley,

Thanks for your prompt response. I wasn't sure I'd ever get a message from one of these postings.

I'll pass some information on to you from Sandy Van Wonterghem in Belgium. I corresponded with her after I found her resume on the Internet. Fortunately, she wrote English very well. Sandy and I are not related.

Sandy explained to me how the naming system works or used to work in Belgium. Your family name was the name of the town you lived in. In our case the town name was Wonterghem. It is still there, but now part of a larger city. If I remember correctly it is Ghent. The Van part of the name means from. So Van Wonterghem means from the town of Wonterghem.

In our family we also had the problem of not knowing if the name was changed. There was a story that my dad told me about his grandfather, Fred Van Wonterghem. Fred's name was supposed to be Von Wonterghem and he owned a bar by that name in Moline, Illinois. During World War I there was a lot of dislike of the Germans for starting the war and my great grandfater's business went down. He decided to change his name and the name of the bar to Van Wonterghem, a Dutch-sounding name. Business went up. I found out the story can't be true because Fred died more than a decade before the war started.

I believe we know very little of Fred Van Wonterghem because he and his wife died at an early age. The kids probably didn't think of saving any family records. With the help of Sandy and the records on this Web site I have begun to piece together a much better picture of what happened in the late 1800s. Our family story may help you unravel your story.

Last weekend, I found a copy of a ship's record on this Web site showing when Fred came to America. I was lucky. Fred arrived in New York in 1886, something I've wondered about for some time, but never thought I'd find the answer. In the ship's record Fred's name is listed as F Van Wonterghem, so I know the name was never changed. Also, it listed his destination as Kansas City, where my grandfater was born. Unfortunately, I cannot find Fred or his family in the 1900 census. The previous census in 1890 was destroyed by a fire.

You may wish to try searching the census records for your family name if you haven't done so already. Be sure to try different years and different spellings. Due to a typo I found Van Wonterghem was typed in as Van Vonterghem. Also, try the ship records. You never know - you may get lucky!

I don't think we are related, but I'm sure the other person who responded, Val, is related to me.

Good luck,

Bob

Hi Bob,

I got your message this am, thank you very much. What an interesting story of your grandfather. I wish I could be so luck. I would love for my children, grown now, to know their real last name.

I would so much like to confer with Sandy in Belgium. I would also like to e-mail you privately, if you care to. My e-mail is shirleyvanwanderham@comcast.net

I will try the ships lists and see what I can find.All your information is helpful, thank you.

Regards, Shirley

The name will have been Camiel (with "m") or Cornelius Van Wonterghem. But the reference to the town of Wontergem (no "h" anymore)is from the time before Napoleon, who urged people to have an Identity Card, and a surname.

Most with this name originate from Ruiselede, Belgium.

I am the greatgranddaughter from a male Van Wonterghem, who's 2 brothers went to USA end 19th century.

I have a family tree (somewhere in the attic, have to go look for it, if I get response from this).

Greetings,
Janina Vanwonterghem, Antwerp, Belgium