It was my dad’s fault. He should have known. You can never keep family secrets secret from a curious and nosey daughter like me
This is how it all began..
My father told me his mother was French. He told me his mother’s parents were from France. He did mention his grandmother might have been from Belgium. . He shared that my Grandmother, Mathilda Nicolle, had a smattering of brothers scattered here and there, and one horrible sister she was close to. He flinched when he told me his mother died when he and his twin brother were about 12 years old. And yes, they were left in the hands of that horrid aunt to be raised and abused by her while her passive husband went into another room. <p>
End of Story.. That was all of the story and details, I could harvest from him
<p>
Thus starts the 25 plus years of research into what I eventually found to be sad and tragic stories of my grandmother, Mathilda née Nicolle Hootman, and the equally sad and tragic stories of her parents and direct siblings.<p>
Today, the male lines of Jules Nicolle & Leopold Morenier have died out. None of the sons from both sides of two families ever married. Only the female line exists
<p> So here I am, with my computer in front of me, I’m on a mission to document what I have found out, and write out their histories so those of us who are descended from them, will have an introduction into their ancestors’ lives. obscurity…
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