Hi all,
I've been having some trouble tracing my Belgian descendants. My Great grandfather was Alfons Liessens, who I believe was from Temse, East Flanders, son of Joseph. He married a war widow, my great grandma in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1919 and lived in the north east of England until his death in 1939.
However, I've no further substantiated evidence about his family who he left behind, other than some possible links to two soldiers who unfortunately were killed during WW1.
Marc Arthur and Pierre Francois Liessens were both born in Temse - Pierres record actually had him living in the same street as Alfons had been (according to his UK marriage certificate) - his father was also called Joseph and mother Philomena (my Great Aunt, one of Alfons children was also named Philomena).
The trouble is, on the records I've found for Marc and Pierre, the surname of their father is Amedee or Amedee Van Zoon, yet his childrens surnames were Liessens. Is this normal? Am I barking up the wrong tree? Do Belgian naming traditions differ to those in the UK?
I'm a tad confused!
Thanks for any advice, wisdom or help offered in advance.
