Alexis Joseph Copesmette

Lifespan: 1811-03-06 — 1889-07-26

Summary

Born in Mélin, Brabant, Belgium to Pierre Joseph Copersmith (1760–1828) and Marie Francoise Vanham (1777–1851); had at least 6 siblings, two named so far (Constance Josephe, m. Lamine; and Honoré Joseph). Worked as a stone cutter (tailleur de pierre) in Mélin — confirmed by the 1835 Mélin civil register entry for his eldest son. Married Julienne Désirée Meuron (also spelled Julianne) on June 8, 1835 in Mélin (per Geneanet) at age 24 — Désirée was 19 and ~5 months pregnant; their first child Ferdinand was born November 22, 1835. They had 11 children per Désirée’s 1891 obituary; 9 are now named with dates (per Geneanet): Ferdinand Désiré (1835–1923), Marcel Désiré (1838–1891), Victorine (1840–), Isidore Joseph (1844–1911, direct line), Appolonia (1845–1915), Elvira (1847–1886), Stephanie (1850–1922), Ferdinand Joseph (1852–), Flora Pélagie (1854–1919). The remaining 2 are likely infant deaths the parish source missed; an additional possible 10th child (Alexis Henri Joseph) is named only in MyHeritage and currently unconfirmed.

Emigrated from Belgium with the family, arriving in New York on March 29, 1856 at age 45 (date confirmed by Désirée’s 1891 obituary; cross-checks Isidore’s “44 years in US” entry on the 1900 census). By June 1880 he and Désirée were enumerated in the Town of Green Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin — Alex listed as farmer, age 68, both born Belgium (1880 US Census, ED 7, SD 4, page 21, dwelling 142, family 152, enumerated June 22, 1880 by Victor Bader). He had transitioned from stone-cutting in Mélin to farming in Wisconsin; his eldest son Désiré had carried the stone-cutting trade to the City of Green Bay. Died July 26, 1889 at Red River (age 78). The Town of Green Bay (Brown County) and the Town of Red River (Kewaunee County) are adjacent townships across the county line — Red River sits right on that border. So the 1880 Town-of-Green-Bay enumeration and the “Red River” association at death/burial are not contradictory: the household likely sat near the border within the contiguous Walloon Belgian settlement, with Red River as the parish/cemetery community identity regardless of which side of the county line their farm fell on. Whether they actually moved across the border between 1880 and 1889 is still open.

Name evolution: Pierre Joseph used Copersmith, Alexis used Copesmette, Isidore used Coppesmette, Americanized to Coppersmith by Frank’s generation.

Relationships

• Parents: Pierre Joseph Copersmith (1760–1828, Mélin) & Marie Francoise Vanham (1777–1851, b. Hoegaarden, Flemish Brabant — the Flemish bride who married into the Walloon Copesmette line).
• Siblings: 6 siblings per MyHeritage. Two named: Constance Josephe Copesmette (m. Lamine — Walloon Brabant surname) and Honoré Joseph Copesmette.
• Spouse: Désirée Juliana Meuron (1815-12-02, Mélin — d. 1891-07-18, Green Bay). Married June 8, 1835 in Mélin (per Geneanet) at his age 24; her age 19 (~5 months pregnant).
• Children: 11 per Désirée’s 1891 obituary (5 surviving + 6 predeceased); 9 named with dates per Geneanet (the remaining 2 likely infant deaths the parish source missed):
  • Ferdinand Désiré Joseph Copesmette (1835–1923, b. Nov 22 in Mélin, d. age 87) — eldest; emigrated with family 1856; settled Green Bay 1st Ward as a stone cutter (carrying Alexis’s trade); m. Josephine Fumal; ≥8 children. Used “Désiré Coppersmith” in America. Survived his mother (one of obit’s 2 surviving sons).
  • Marcel Désiré Coppersmith (1838–1891) — died same year as his mother. Whether before or after her July 1891 death is unresolved.
  • Victorine Coppersmith (1840–?) — possibly one of the “3 surviving daughters” at her mother’s 1891 death.
  • Isidore Joseph Coppesmette (1844–1911, b. Nov 22 in Mélin) — direct line; settled the Red River / Town of Green Bay border area as a farmer; survived his mother (one of obit’s 2 surviving sons).
  • Appolonia Coppersmith (1845–1915) — likely one of the “3 surviving daughters” (lived past 1891).
  • Elvira Coppersmith (1847–1886) — predeceased her mother by 5 years; one of the “6 predeceased” in the obit.
  • Stephanie Coppersmith (1850–1922) — likely one of the “3 surviving daughters.”
  • Ferdinand Joseph Coppersmith (1852–?) — second Ferdinand. Likely predeceased his mother (not one of obit’s 2 surviving sons).
  • Flora Pélagie Coppersmith (1854–1919) — youngest known; emigrated to WI at age ~2; likely one of the “3 surviving daughters.”
  • 2 additional children unnamed (likely Mélin infant deaths between the named children, accounting for the 11 vs 9 gap).
  • Alexis Henri Joseph Copesmette / Coppesmit — named only in MyHeritage; not in Geneanet; demoted to unconfirmed pending primary source. If real, he’d be a 10th-or-later child the parish missed.

Sources

• Mélin civil register, 21 November 1835 — birth declaration of Ferdinand Désiré Joseph Copesmette. Names Alexis (24, stone cutter) and Désirée (20, seamstress) as parents, both residing in Mélin. Witnesses: Henry Joseph Larys (clerc d’église), Pierre Joseph Nelis (tailleur d’habits). Registrar: Ernest Meuleman.
• 1880 US Federal Census, Town of Green Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin — Schedule 1, ED 7, SD 4, page 21, dwelling 142, family 152. Enumerated June 22, 1880 by Victor Bader. Listed as “Copersmith, Alex,” W m 68, farmer, born Belgium, both parents foreign-born; with Désirée (W f 68, wife, keeping house, b. Belgium). Image archived at media/documents/1880-census-alexis-desiree-copersmith.jpg (full page) with row + header crops at 1880-census-alexis-desiree-copersmith-row.png and 1880-census-alexis-desiree-page-header.png.
• FamilySearch / WikiTree person record.
• Ancestry.com person record (corroborates birth/death dates, parents, spouse, 11-children count).
• MyHeritage person record — adds marriage year (1835, age 24), two more children (Flora Pélagie, Alexis Henri Joseph — the latter not in Geneanet, demoted to unconfirmed), two siblings (Constance Josephe m. Lamine, Honoré Joseph). Lists 13 children total vs. the obituary’s 11.
• Geneanet (gw.geneanet.org) — sharpens marriage to June 8, 1835 in Mélin; gives 9 named children with dates (Ferdinand Désiré 1835–1923, Marcel Désiré 1838–1891, Victorine 1840–, Isadore 1842–1911 [the 1842 is the propagated error our May 6 session corrected to 1844], Appolonia 1845–1915, Elvira 1847–1886, Stephanie 1850–1922, Ferdinand Joseph 1852–, Flora Pélagie 1854–1919); confirms Désirée’s sister Hortence Meuron (1818–1880).

Research Notes

• Both Alexis and his son Isidore were born in Mélin — family was rooted there for at least two generations before emigrating.
• Regional spread, not a single-township anchor (per Foggy’s local knowledge): the Coppersmith family was distributed across roughly a 30-mile radius of the contiguous Belgian-American / Walloon Catholic settlement straddling Brown / Kewaunee / Door counties — Town of Green Bay (Brown), Town of Red River (Kewaunee, immediately adjacent across the county line), and Town of Scott (where Foggy himself grew up) are all part of this area. The 1880 Town-of-Green-Bay census entry and the Red-River obit/death/burial references aren’t a contradiction so much as two snapshots of a family rooted in the regional Walloon community rather than any one township. Whether the household actually moved across the county line between 1880 and 1889 is a secondary question; either way the cultural/parish identity stayed the same. Plat maps and land records for these adjacent townships would still tell us which specific 40 acres they farmed.
• Occupation evolved across the Atlantic: stone cutter in Mélin → farmer in Wisconsin (by 1880, age 68). His son Désiré carried stone-cutting to the City of Green Bay; Alexis took up farming alongside his other son Isidore in the Walloon agricultural settlement.
• Children-count reconciliation (9 / 11 / 13): Geneanet (parish/civil registers) gives 9 named with dates. Désirée’s 1891 obituary gives 11 total. MyHeritage user-tree gives 13. Most plausible synthesis: obit’s 11 = Geneanet’s 9 + 2 infant deaths the parish source missed. MyHeritage’s 13 likely double-counts under name variants or includes one or two real-but-uncorroborated names (Alexis Henri Joseph). We keep 11 as the authoritative total, 9 as the named-with-dates set, and treat MyHeritage’s extras as unconfirmed.
• Henri / Honoré naming chain — speculative: if MyHeritage’s “Alexis Henri Joseph” is real (Geneanet doesn’t confirm), the name “Henri” could be the French rendering of Alexis’s brother Honoré Joseph Copesmette, dating Honoré as alive or recently deceased at the child’s birth. But since Geneanet doesn’t list this child at all, the chain is speculative until corroborated.
• Two-Ferdinand naming pattern: Alexis named both his eldest son (1835) and an eighth son (1852) Ferdinand. The elder went by “Désiré,” the younger by “Joseph.” Walloon Catholic naming custom occasionally allowed this when distinguished by middle/calling name; not a sign that the elder Ferdinand had been thought lost (he was alive at the 1852 birth and lived until 1923).
• Vanham is a Flemish/Brabantian surname. Belgian civil records for Mélin commune (Jodoigne) likely have baptism/marriage records.
• Pierre Joseph Copersmith and Marie Francoise Vanham — the earliest known generation. Born ~1770s–1780s if Pierre was ~30 at Alexis’s birth.
• Possible relative — Maximilien Desmette (b. ~1810, Mélin, also a stone cutter, m. Anne Joseph Chapelle) appears on the same 1835 Mélin register page. The “Desmette” / “Copesmette” surname pattern in the same village + same trade suggests likely kinship. Worth checking parish/civil records for shared ancestors.
• 9 of 11 children unnamed — Mélin civil registers from ~1834–1856 should yield baptism/birth records for the rest. Strong research target.