Pierre Joseph Copersmith

Lifespan: 1760 — 1828 (Ancestry-sourced; pending cross-verification)

Summary

Father of Alexis Joseph Copesmette (1811–1889) and at least 6 other children (per MyHeritage). Married Marie Francoise Vanham (1777–1851). From Mélin, Brabant Wallon, Belgium. Earliest known Coppersmith / Copesmette / Copersmith ancestor.

Per Ancestry, born 1760 — would have been ~51 at Alexis’s birth in 1811, and 17 years older than his wife Marie (b. 1777). The age gap is unusual enough to flag as a research thread (possible second marriage for Pierre, possible Ancestry error). Died 1828, when Alexis was 17 — about 7 years before Alexis’s marriage to Désirée Meuron and 28 years before the family emigrated to Wisconsin. The family was rooted in Mélin for at least two generations before emigrating.

Relationships

• Spouse: Marie Francoise Vanham (1777–1851)
• 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 — Alexis’s sister; married into the Lamine family (Walloon Brabant surname). Birth/death dates unknown.
  • Honoré Joseph Copesmette — Alexis’s brother. Birth/death dates unknown. (“Honoré” is sometimes Anglicized as Henry / Henri — worth keeping in mind if a Henry Coppersmith appears in 19th-century Wisconsin records.)
  • 4 additional siblings still unnamed — Mélin civil registers ~1798–1830 should yield them.

Sources

• Ancestry.com person record — birth 1760, death 1828.
• 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

• Earliest known generation of the Coppersmith line.
• Verify Ancestry dates: the 1760 / 1828 dates are user-tree data; should be cross-checked against Belgian civil records for Mélin commune (Jodoigne). Marriage record for Pierre × Marie would also confirm the 17-year age gap is real and not a transcription/merge error.
• 17-year age gap with Marie (Pierre 1760, Marie 1777) — unusual; possible second marriage for Pierre, possible Ancestry error, or simply demographic happenstance. Worth flagging when looking up the marriage record.
• Vanham is a Flemish/Brabantian surname.