My husband's two previous generations are from France but we always knew they probably came from Belgium as Helsen is a popular name there. My Granddaughter has now discovered that they come from a place called Echt in the Netherlands.
My husband's Great Grandfather was Gerard Hubert Helsen (1835-1901) who married Jeanne Catherine Pittoors in Paris in 1863.
However, it appears now that Gerard was born in Echt and had a lot of siblings. His name is written as Gerard Hubertus Helsen in the Dutch records and his father, whose name is written as Jean Francois Helsen in the French records is listed as Joannes Franciscus Helsen (1805-1870) in the Dutch records. Jean Francois/Joannes Franciscus was married to Maria Anna de Marteau (1802-1876) who was born in Loenhout in Belgium. When researching her family my Granddaughter has discovered all their names sound Latin too.
Could someone explain to me why the Dutch versions of all the names sound Latin rather than Dutch? Some of my husband's family was, I believe, Catholic. Would the family have changed their names to the French version to become more acceptable in France? Also, I have no idea why the family would have moved from Netherlands to France. Gerard must have moved to Paris before 1863 as he married there in that year. Gerard was a "journalier". His son, Victor Helsen, born 1868 and my husbands Grandfather, was a Carver and Guilder and he brought his family to live in London around 1900.
I would be grateful for any help with this.
Thank you
Carole
