I had taken my mother Catherine (Kay) Lillie and her sister Angela (Angie) Quinn to Europe to visit some of their ancestral lands. We flew into Liege, Belgium where my grandfather Servais Joseph Rahier was born. We had visited numerous sites, succcessfully ordered and ate at French Restaurants, been hit by a bus, and stayed at a well kept, but too modern, farm house bed and breakfast, called "Le Wayai," with pastures and cows right ou
tside our door and had also stopped at a number of archives to try and add to the Rahier family information that I had. The Vervier City Hall was a particularly great experience. Not knowing beforehand what was there, I had taken in cards and papers that I had, to try and see if they could identify the location of the buildings on the front of the cards. Years before an aunt had given me a couple of postcards and letters. The postcards are to the left. I wanted to find the locations of both buildings on the postcards, the church and the house, that was supposedly "across the street from your old home (inscription on the back)." No luck, no one at the city hall recognized the house, but they did take me down narrow, rickety old steps to the dirt-floored basement of the city hall, where housed on shelves that looked like old shelves that would house preserves, they opened up leather-bound book after book. There on the pages were dates when my great-grandparents moved in and out of the city. My great-grandmother Christine Guillemine Mathilde Bornkessel from Germany to Verviers, coming as a cook, and when they went to Buenos Aires, Argentina and came back. What a find in the "cellar" of an old, but important building. I wish I had a digital camera then and had taken pictures. Off to find the "places" on the postcards! As I drove around I felt like there were a few homes that, although somewhat remodelled, may have fit the picture, but not enough time to really investigate. Geffontaine, Wegnez, Soiron, Pepinster, Cornesse, all cities and towns were my Rahier family have lived at one time or another. I didn't know all that as I entered Pepinster. At a small city hall on the main street I was given record books to look through and I found family name after family name, but again never enough tim
e. After a short period of time in Pepinster, armed with a few birth, marriage and death certificates we again got in the car and headed northwest out of town, past a small textile factory where my great great grandfather, Servais Joseph Rahier (wife Anne Marie Tonhelet) may have worked. My great uncle, George Rahier, told me that Servais was working in a textile or sawmill and the wheel seized. He volunteered to go in and fix it and he cut his finger. Poisoning set in and with no antibiotics he died. As we crested a hill, on the way into Cornesse ...
EUREKA ... my heart was pounding ... there it stood ... the church that was on the postcard that my aunt had entrusted to my care. The postcard matched the picture before my eyes. One of the churches where my family had worshipped. The church in the community where many of my Rahier family had lived and farmed and worked. Where they had married and birthed children and raised their families. My emotions peeked and my children would not be surprised to know that tears came to my eyes, many tears for a long time. I was so far away from my home, but I had come home! I spoke to the priest and he let me hand copy records from his books on his kitchen table (another time I wished we had di
gital cameras or portable scanners). Other nearby towns were also home to many of my Rahier ancestors. I had been told that my great grandparents were living in Wegnez when they moved to Buenos Aires and when they returned it is said that they returned to the home that they still owned. Again, I was home! I searched for streets that had been written on birth certificates, but could not find them. The people at the city hall in Pepinster had told me that names and number may have been changed. I was so disappointed! The sun was setting and we could no longer see signs and numbers so we had to leave. We would not get back. I still had so many questions, but at the same time I was so fortunate to have been able to go and take my mother and aunt to places that meant so much to their family. For me, these are pinch- yourself -moments. I was raised in a small home, by unassuming, hardworking parents, but we didn't have very much. I don't think we would have been considered middle class, but I didn't know that or think that at the time. I would have never thought that I would have ever been able to travel to Europe. On a day-to-day basis I still don't think I can. My mother spoke beautiful french. I would listen to her speak to her father on the telephone. She taught me french on a small chalkboard as a child ..."le chat", "le chien" ... those I remember. She spoke french as we travelled. I have forgotten so much, but words come back when you emerse yourself in your heritage and certainly feelings that you have never had emerge. I know from whence those feelings come!
tside our door and had also stopped at a number of archives to try and add to the Rahier family information that I had. The Vervier City Hall was a particularly great experience. Not knowing beforehand what was there, I had taken in cards and papers that I had, to try and see if they could identify the location of the buildings on the front of the cards. Years before an aunt had given me a couple of postcards and letters. The postcards are to the left. I wanted to find the locations of both buildings on the postcards, the church and the house, that was supposedly "across the street from your old home (inscription on the back)." No luck, no one at the city hall recognized the house, but they did take me down narrow, rickety old steps to the dirt-floored basement of the city hall, where housed on shelves that looked like old shelves that would house preserves, they opened up leather-bound book after book. There on the pages were dates when my great-grandparents moved in and out of the city. My great-grandmother Christine Guillemine Mathilde Bornkessel from Germany to Verviers, coming as a cook, and when they went to Buenos Aires, Argentina and came back. What a find in the "cellar" of an old, but important building. I wish I had a digital camera then and had taken pictures. Off to find the "places" on the postcards! As I drove around I felt like there were a few homes that, although somewhat remodelled, may have fit the picture, but not enough time to really investigate. Geffontaine, Wegnez, Soiron, Pepinster, Cornesse, all cities and towns were my Rahier family have lived at one time or another. I didn't know all that as I entered Pepinster. At a small city hall on the main street I was given record books to look through and I found family name after family name, but again never enough tim
e. After a short period of time in Pepinster, armed with a few birth, marriage and death certificates we again got in the car and headed northwest out of town, past a small textile factory where my great great grandfather, Servais Joseph Rahier (wife Anne Marie Tonhelet) may have worked. My great uncle, George Rahier, told me that Servais was working in a textile or sawmill and the wheel seized. He volunteered to go in and fix it and he cut his finger. Poisoning set in and with no antibiotics he died. As we crested a hill, on the way into Cornesse ... EUREKA ... my heart was pounding ... there it stood ... the church that was on the postcard that my aunt had entrusted to my care. The postcard matched the picture before my eyes. One of the churches where my family had worshipped. The church in the community where many of my Rahier family had lived and farmed and worked. Where they had married and birthed children and raised their families. My emotions peeked and my children would not be surprised to know that tears came to my eyes, many tears for a long time. I was so far away from my home, but I had come home! I spoke to the priest and he let me hand copy records from his books on his kitchen table (another time I wished we had di
gital cameras or portable scanners). Other nearby towns were also home to many of my Rahier ancestors. I had been told that my great grandparents were living in Wegnez when they moved to Buenos Aires and when they returned it is said that they returned to the home that they still owned. Again, I was home! I searched for streets that had been written on birth certificates, but could not find them. The people at the city hall in Pepinster had told me that names and number may have been changed. I was so disappointed! The sun was setting and we could no longer see signs and numbers so we had to leave. We would not get back. I still had so many questions, but at the same time I was so fortunate to have been able to go and take my mother and aunt to places that meant so much to their family. For me, these are pinch- yourself -moments. I was raised in a small home, by unassuming, hardworking parents, but we didn't have very much. I don't think we would have been considered middle class, but I didn't know that or think that at the time. I would have never thought that I would have ever been able to travel to Europe. On a day-to-day basis I still don't think I can. My mother spoke beautiful french. I would listen to her speak to her father on the telephone. She taught me french on a small chalkboard as a child ..."le chat", "le chien" ... those I remember. She spoke french as we travelled. I have forgotten so much, but words come back when you emerse yourself in your heritage and certainly feelings that you have never had emerge. I know from whence those feelings come!
