Marie Francoise Vanham

Lifespan: 1777 — 1851 (Ancestry-sourced; pending cross-verification)

Summary

Mother of Alexis Joseph Copesmette (1811–1889). Married Pierre Joseph Copersmith (1760–1828). Born in Hoegaarden, Flemish Brabant, Belgium in 1777 — about 15–20 km north of Mélin and across the Flemish / Walloon linguistic line. She was Flemish; her husband and son’s family were Walloon. This is the only documented cross-linguistic marriage in the Coppersmith / Meuron line so far, and it explains the Flemish surname Vanham appearing in an otherwise Walloon Brabant lineage.

Per Ancestry, born 1777 — 17 years younger than her husband Pierre (b. 1760). Would have been ~34 at Alexis’s birth in 1811. Outlived Pierre by 23 years (he died 1828, she died 1851), so was widowed for over two decades. Lived to see at least two of Alexis’s children born in Mélin: Ferdinand Désiré Joseph (b. 1835) and Isidore Joseph (b. 1844) — her direct-line grandchildren. Died 1851, five years before the family emigrated to Wisconsin (March 1856) — meaning the emigration may have been triggered in part by her passing (no surviving parents holding the family in Mélin).

Relationships

• Spouse: Pierre Joseph Copersmith (1760–1828)
• Children: ≥7 total (per MyHeritage: Alexis + 6 siblings). Three named so far:
  • Alexis Joseph Copesmette (1811–1889) — direct line; emigrated to Wisconsin 1856.
  • Constance Josephe Copesmette — married into the Lamine family.
  • Honoré Joseph Copesmette — sometimes rendered Henry / Henri.
  • 4 additional children still unnamed — Mélin civil registers ~1798–1830 should yield them.

Sources

• Ancestry.com person record — birth 1777 in Hoegaarden, Flemish Brabant; death 1851.
• MyHeritage person record — confirms 6 siblings of Alexis, names Constance Josephe (m. Lamine) and Honoré Joseph.
• FamilySearch / WikiTree (via Alexis Joseph Copesmette’s record).

Research Notes

• Verify Ancestry data: the 1777 / 1851 dates and Hoegaarden birthplace are Ancestry user-tree only; should be cross-checked against primary sources. Birth → Hoegaarden civil registers / parish records (not Mélin). Death → likely Mélin civil register (where she lived as Pierre’s widow). Marriage → could be either parish, but typically the bride’s home parish (Hoegaarden) for Catholic weddings of the period.
• Cross-linguistic marriage: Hoegaarden sits in Flemish Brabant; Mélin (her husband’s home) is in Walloon Brabant. The two are only ~15–20 km apart but separated by the Flemish-Walloon language line. A Flemish bride marrying into a Walloon family in the late 1700s / early 1800s is uncommon but plausible — the Brabant linguistic frontier was permeable around small market towns and trade routes. Possible the families connected through trade (Pierre’s stone-cutting? Hoegaarden’s beer/brewing trade?).
• Widowed 23 years if dates are correct — would appear in 1830s/1840s Mélin records as Veuve Copersmith / Veuve Copesmette.
• Possible emigration trigger: her death in 1851 left Alexis without surviving parents in Mélin; the family emigrated five years later (March 1856). Worth checking whether Désirée’s parents were also gone by 1856.
• Vanham is a Flemish surname — confirmed by her Hoegaarden / Flemish Brabant birthplace. Earlier note about “mixed Walloon/Flemish heritage in the Brabant border area” is now resolved: Marie was straightforwardly Flemish.