Here is an English translation of my article #17 about the descendants of Johann Frederick BOODE whom we know well thanks to the work of two genealogists B.J. Buma and Le Jonkheer D. W. Sickinghe who published a book on the BOODE family in 1964.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The BOODE Family - Ascendants of Sophie BOODE sp. HOUEL
Johan Frederick BOODE (Sosa 308)
The work
of Buma & Sickinge was taken over by my aunt Jacqueline Arnoul sp. Certes
in her book "Réminiscences" in the chapter relating to our ancestor
Sophie Eulalie BOODE, wife of Jules HOUEL.
Excerpt
from Réminiscences :
We had to go back to 1749 to learn that a certain Johan Frederik BOODE born in Blankenberg in Brunswick (Germany) on February 17, 1733, a Lutheran, whose family belonged to the magistracy embarking on board the sailing ship Jacob Daniel had served as the starting point for the immense fortune of this family.
He
left Amsterdam on November 27, 1749 as a drum pupil and arrived in Surinam on
February 16, 1750. Since 1744, many intellectuals with advanced ideas tried to
go as soldiers to the Dutch Indies. It is easy to understand that the young
BOODE went to seek his fortune in a part of the world where the threat of war
was less imminent than in a country where the Silesian Wars were decimating the
population. Fortune smiled upon him, in fact, thanks to his courage and innate
business sense.
At
the age of twenty-eight, having already amassed a small fortune as a planter,
he emigrated to British Guiana, founding huge plantations in Essequibo and
Demerary and amassing an immense fortune.
In
1765, he married Anna Maria van VROOM, born in Guyana on January 31, 1738, who
gave him six children, four of whom were sons, to whom he gave a solid
education: two studied in the Netherlands, two in Halle, Prussia.
On
February 7, 1780, he made a mutual will with his wife. He died after her on
December 26, 1796. At the time of his death, his fortune consisted of five
coffee plantations, estimated together at 5,828,149.49 francs, with a surplus
of movable assets amounting to a similar sum.
Our
ancestor Eduard Gustaaf BOODE, Johan's fifth child and father of Sophie,
inherited the estate called "De Kinderen en Boode's Rust" (i.e.: the
children and the rest of the BOODEs) estimated at 780,765.17 francs, not
including movable property and black slaves.
Honoré
HOUEL, son of Sophie, was legally entitled to one sixth of this share. His
mysterious trips to Germany may well have had no other purpose than to reunite
the "co-heirs" of his German cousins, to group together and claim
compensation provided by the government which had taken over these plantations
abandoned by their owners.
Later
generations of BOODEs managed to maintain themselves both socially and
economically, but the debacle in the West Indies, followed by the abolition of
slavery in the British colonies in 1855, dealt a terrible blow to these
planters. The ten-year transition period during which the owners were
reimbursed three sevenths of the sale value (twenty million pounds in all) did
not provide a solution. The abolition of slavery - the freedmen lived under the
illusion that they no longer had to work for a living - brought the final ruin
of these then flourishing lands.
The
BOODEs were people who were gifted by nature and looked good. Gifted with a
remarkable energy that made the prosperity of the colony.
Taking
into account, at the time their fortune was fabulous and of an enormous return.
(From
"Reminiscences" by Jacqueline ARNOUL ép. CERTES)
A
bit of Geography
Wikipedia gives us some information about the Essequibo and Demerary colonies founded in 1615 by New Zealand Jews; the colony was protected by Fort Kijkoveral. It was taken by the English during the Napoleonic Wars and in 1814 the Dutch officially ceded the colony to them, as well as those of Berbice and Demerara, which in 1831 formed British Guyana, today Guyana.
Guyana
is located on the northern coast of South America between Venezuela to the west
and Surinam to the east, itself located west of French Guyana.
 |
| Map of the Essquibo and Demerary colonies in 1798 |
The
BOODE plantations were located between the estuaries of the Essquibo River in
the west and the Demerara River in the east. This territory is made up of flat
coastal plains and swamps.
Demerary,
was located opposite the present town of Georgetown, on the mouth of the
Demerara River and Essquibo further south on the Essquibo River.
On
Google Maps you can find the names of the plantations " La Grange ",
" De Groote en Kleine Uitvlucht ", and " Cornelia Ida "
noted CI, as well as " Anna Catharina " named after Anna Catherina
BOODE, inherited by the BOODE children of the second generation.
Note:
The links on the names point directly to places in Google Maps.
Johann Frederick BOODE
The BOODE family is of German origin (Blankenburg). They probably spoke German at the plantation. The generation of his children then moved to Europe, to Germany, of course, but also to the Netherlands and France as we will see.
Johan
Berend Christoffer Frederick BOODE (Sosa 308) was born in Blankenburg,
Brunswick, Germany, on February 11, 1733. He arrived in Surinam (Dutch Indies,
then British Guiana) in 1750, he was a planter in Essequibo and Demerary. He
was also an adviser to the Police and Criminal Justice. He died in Demerary on
December 28, 1796. He was a Lutheran.
To
this day, it has not been possible to trace him back to his parents, in spite
of the research that was done in the sixties by various people cited by Mr.
Buma and Mr. Sickinghe. He was originally from Brunswick during a period
preceding the Seven Years' War, and following the Silesian Wars in which
contingents from Brunswick were also involved, so it is easy to understand that
young BOODE went to seek his fortune in a part of the world where the threat of
war was less imminent.
However,
neither in the church records of Blankenburg in Brunswick, which are now kept
in Wolfenbüttel, nor in those of Blankenburg in Thuringia can we find his
baptism. These two cities were at the time of research located in East Germany.
Source:
"Johann Frederik BOODE and his descendants" by B.J. Buma and Le
Jonkheer D. W. Sickinghe 1964
I
have since done some research on the Internet on Genealogy web sites, but nothing
came up. I
just found the record of Johan Frederick BOODE on the site of a Dutch
genealogist who quotes me as a source and with whom I had some mail exchanges:
Johan
Frédéric BOODE married Anna Maria HEISEN STRAUSEN von VROOM (Sosa 309) in
Essequibo in 1763, born there on 31 January 1738. Of reformed faith, she was
the daughter of Jacob Hendrik HEISEN STRAUSEN van VROOM and Agnita JANGSE,
widow of Willem WILLEMSEN. She died in Demerary on 17 January 1783.
The
couple had 6 children :
(308-1) Jacobus Hendrick BOODE, born in 1764, died in 1826, who married in 1791
Catherine Antoinette MARTIN, born in 1767, died in 1848, with 6 children.
308-2 Andreas Christian BOODE, born in 1765, died in 1825, who married :
- (2A) in 1790, Antonia Hendrika Johanna van NOORT, born in 1772, died in 1795,
- (2B) in 1800, Phoebe DANNET, born in 1778, died in 1825, with 2 children.
- (2B) in 1800, Phoebe DANNET, born in 1778, died in 1825, with 2 children.
(308-3) Anna Catharina BOODE, born in 1767, died in 1808, who married :
- (3A) in 1786, Johan Cornelis BERT, with 4 children,
- (3B) in 1802 Petrus Gerardus DUKER, one daughter.
(308-4) Lodewijk Willem BOODE, born in 1772, died before 1800, married Margaret
DANNET in 1798, one daughter Ann.
(308-5) Eduard Gustaaf BOODE (Sosa 154), born in 1774, died in 1837, who
married :
- (5A) in 1796, Anna Maria Deborah ROSEBOOM, born in 1776, died in 1798, with 2
children,
- (5B) in 1799, Catharina BOURDA (Sosa 155) born in 1780, died in 1837, with 6
children, the last one being Sophie Eulalie BOODE our ancestor (Sosa 77), who
married Jules Victor HOUEL (Sosa 76) in 1837.
(308-6) Gysbert Christian BOODE, born in 1776, died in infancy in 1776.
Excerpt from Buma & Sickinge's book
Johan Frederick BOODE was most certainly a man
of great stature. After setting sail at the age of 16 on board the sailing ship
"Jacob Daniel" which left Amsterdam on 27 November 1749, he arrived
in Surinam on 6 February 1750, and settled in present-day Guyana at the age of
28. He not only succeeded, thanks to his indomitable energy and tenacity, in
building up a considerable fortune, which we shall speak of again, but he also
gave his four sons a solid education and scientific instruction. He sent them
all to university in Leiden, and the two eldest children attended the Gymnasium
in Middelburg (Zeeland, Netherlands) and the Paedagogicum in Halle, Prussia.
Due to their age, both cadets studied under the supervision of a governor. Only
the two eldest children completed their studies with a thesis.
As for his fortune, we can get an idea of it
from what Dr. George Pinckard says in his "Letters from Guiana"
1796-1797, reprinted at Georgetown in 1942:
"The number of Slaves, at this period, in
the united colony of Essequebo and Demerara is about 55,000. The greatest
number possessed by an individual is nearly 2000. These are the property of
Mijnheer Boode, a planter living upon the western coast of the Demerara River;
a man of immense fortune, who is said to have been originally a drum-boy, in
the Dutch service, and to have come to this colony from Surinam, where he had
arrived with the troops from Holland. Here, by a steady perseverance in
successful industry, he has enabled acquire a fortune which is represented as
princely indeed; it's being said to amount to nearly £ 50,000 sterling, per
annum. »
On February 7, 1780, he and his wife made a
mutual will and finally, on December 22, 1796, he wrote his last will and
testament in Essequibo. He was a witness at the baptism of his grandson and
godson Jan Frederik BOODE (308-1A.4), born in Amsterdam on October 5, 1796, and
died shortly afterwards in Demerary on December 28, 1796.
When he died, after his wife, his fortune
consisted primarily of five coffee plantations, with an additional capital of
movable property amounting to approximately the same sum.
Taking into account the fact that the children
had successively settled in Europe and that the period was very turbulent and
unfavorable, it is easy to understand that the liquidation of the inheritance
was not easy. The distribution of the plantations was therefore carried out in
several phases. After the first valuation reports were received in Amsterdam, a
drawing of lots with reciprocal compensation was carried out. However, it had
been agreed that Greenwich Park would go to the heirs of the deceased son
Lodewijk Willem BOODE (308-4), namely his widow and daughter (Margaret DANNET
and Mary-Ann), so that in reality only four plantations were drawn and the
heirs received - thanks to the reciprocal compensation - the most property in
cash or also in securities. The draw was made by the wives of the male heirs
and by the sole heiress, and small ivory eggs were used, each containing a
small note with the name of a plantation on it.
The result of the draw was as follows:
- Jacobus Hendrik BOODE (308-1) got "La Grange",
- Andréas Christiaan BOODE (308-2) had "De Groote en Kleine Uitvlucht",
- Anna Catharina BOODE (308-3) sp. DUKER had "Cornelia Ida",
- Eduard Gustaaf BOODE (308-5) had "De Kinderen en Boode's Rust".
The last step was the division of the estate of
Johan Frederick BOODE and Anna Maria van VROOM in London on 17 June 1825.
Source: "Johann Frederik BOODE and his
descendants" by B.J. Buma and Le Jonkheer D. W. Sickinghe 1964
Translated
with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(free version)
Descendants of Johan Frederick BOODE (Sosa 308) - Part 1/2
 |
| Descendants of Johan Frederick BOODE (1/2) |
308-1 - Jacobus Hendrick BOODE
Jacobus Hendrick (Frederick) BOODE, born in Rio Demerary on April 12, was baptized there on April 13, 1764. His godparents were Hendrick BOODE and Anna Catharina BOODE, both Lutherans and inhabitants of the Duchy of Brunswick. He was a doctor of law, a coffee planter, a counsellor at the Court of Justice and a member of the Electoral College in Demerary. At the time of the division of his father's inheritance on July 17, 1825, he was administrator of the family property in British Guyana. He lived on the plantation "Cornelia lda" (belonging to the heirs of his late sister Anna Catharina BOODE), who died in Rio Demerary on November 2, 1826.
 |
| Jacobus Hendrick BOODE and Catherine Antoinette MARTIN |
He married Catherine Antoinette MARTIN, born in Amsterdam on 10 July 1791, Catherine Antoinette MARTIN, born in Amsterdam on 18 November 1767, daughter of Jean François MARTIN and Élisabeth Louise MOLIÈRE. She died on 28 October 1818. They had 6 children together, including Anne-Marie BOODE (°1794 + 1864), who married Pierre Firmin de LESTAPIS (°1786 +1866) in 1816.
(Source: B.J. Buma and Le Jonkheer D. W. Sickinghe 1964)
Anne-Marie BOODE called "Annette" whose beautiful portrait we have below with that of her husband, is the first cousin of our Sophie BOODE.
 |
| Pierre Firmin de LESTAPIS and Anne Marie BOODE |
The photos of the paintings in this article were provided to me by Hugues de Lestapis, a descendant of this family.
308-2 - Andreas Christian BOODE
Andreas Christian BOODE, born in Rio Demerary on 27 December 1765, Doctor of Law, founder, together with his brother-in-law Johan Cornelis BERT, of the trading house "Boode & Bert" in Amsterdam, executor of his father's will. On 17 July 1825 he lived in Bryanstone Square in the parish of Saint-Marylebone, co. Middlesex (now London), who died in Lucknam Park, Colerne (Wiltshire) on 24 October 1844. He married :
- 1° in the Walloon Church in Leiden (South Holland. ) on 12 October 1790, Anthonía Hendrika Johanna van NOORT, born in Leiden on 30 November 1772, was baptised there in the Hooglandsche Kerk on 6 December 1772, died in Amsterdam on 1 June 1795, buried (together with her daughter, stillborn on 1 June 1795) in the Hooglandsche Kerk in Leiden on 5 June 1795, daughter of Jacob van Noort and Megthalina Stratenus.
- 2° on 12 March 1800, Phoebe DANNETT, born in Childwall, Liverpool, on 5 June 1778, was baptized there on 3 July 1778, died in London on 16 May 1825, daughter of the Reverend Thomas DANNETT and Ann OGDEN. Phoebe was the younger sister of Margaret DANNET wife of Lodewijk Willem BOODE.
The couple had 2 children : Phoebe BOODE in 1803 and John Chistian BOODE in 1805.(Source: B.J. Buma and Le Jonkheer D. W. Sickinghe 1964)
308-3 - Anna Catharina BOODE
Anna Catharina BOODE, born in Rio Demerary on February 24, 1767, was baptized there (Reformed Church) on March 21, 1767 (Godfather: Hendrik Boode; godmother: Anna Catharína Boode). Died in Amsterdam on 18 October 1808. She married :
- 1° in Río Essequibo on February 15, 1786, Johan Cornelis BERT, baptized in Buren (Holland-Meríd.) on November 20, 1757, "Ritmeester" (cavalry captain) in the regiment Dc Famars, then commander of Essequíbo from 1784 to 1787, commissioner of the "Wisselbank" (Discount Bank) in Amsterdam. Trader and co-founder of the trading house "Boode & Bert" in Amsterdam, lived in summer at the estate "De Rijp" near Bloemenclaal (Holland-Sept.) from 1793 to 1796. He died in Amsterdam on 27 October 1500. He was the son of Ian Anthony BERT and Anna María TULLEKEN.
The couple had 4 children: Johann Frederik BERT, born in Leiden in 1788, died in Demerary in 1817, who took over from his uncle as administrator of property of the plantation "Cornelia Ida", Corneille Chrétien Henry BERT, born in Amsterdam in 1792, Pierre Ambroise BERT, born in Amsterdam in 1794, and Anna Suzanna Louisa BERT, born in Bloemendaal in 1797.
- 2° in Amsterdam on March 13, 1802, Mr. Petrus Gerardus DUKER, born in Rio Demerary on 12 October 1746, doctor of law, "advocaat-fiscaal" in Rio Demerary (known for his energetic repression of the slave revolt in Rio Demerary in September 1789), then planter and trader, lived in England during the First Empire, then in Amsterdam where he lived in the Prínsengracht opposite the Amstelveld, and later in the Keízersgracht. He left a considerable and interesting correspondence to posterity. He died in Amsterdam on 15 February 1837. He was the son of Arnoldus DUKER and Johanna van KNAPEN.
The couple had a daughter RAnna Catharina DUKER, born in 1803 in Amsterdam.
(Source: B.J. Buma and Le Jonkheer D. W. Sickinghe 1964)
308-4 BOODE Lodewijk
Lodewijk Willem BOODE of Pover Hall (Cheshire), was born in Rio Demerary in 1772, and died at the "Huis Ten Wegen" estate in Sassenheim (South Holland) where he stayed with his brother Eduard Gustaaf in 1800.
He married in Childwall, Liverpool, on December 6, 1798 Margaret DANNETT of Leasowe Castle since 1802, born in Childwall in February 1774, was christened there in March 1774, died in Wallasey (Cheshire) in 1826, victim of a car accident. She was the daughter of the Reverend Thomas DANNETT and Ann OGDEN, and the elder sister of Phoebe DANNETT. The couple had a daughter Mary Anne BOODE, born in Amsterdam in 1803.
Margaret DANNETT bought Leasowe Castle in 1802, built in 1593 by the fifth Earl of Derby. Sir Edward CUST, Margaret DANNETT's son-in-law, enlarged the castle considerably and increased the size of the estate. From the year 1843 Lady CUST born Mary Anne BOODE often stayed at Leasowe Castle.
Today the castle is used as a convalescent home for railway employees. In 1825 Margaret Dannett had a memorial stone with the following inscription placed in the Reformed Church of Sassenheim (South Holland):
"In a vault below are deposited the remains of Lewis William BOODE Esq.
He was born in the Colony of Essequebo in 1772 and married in 1798 Margaret DANNETT of Wavertree in the Country of Lancaster, he died in 1800 at Huis ten Wegen in this township, leaving issue and only child Mary Anne, afterwards the wife of the hon.ble Ewd Cust, M.P.".
Lady CUST born Mary Anne BOODE erected a Gothic style monument at the Break Road in Wallasey (Cheshire) and had a memorial stone placed near it with the following inscription :
"Near this place, Mrs. BOODE of Leasowe Castle was killed by a fall from her pony carriage on April 21st. 1826. May those who pass by respect this monument of terrible dispensation and the loving tribute of an only child to perpetuate the memory of his dear mother beyond the existence of this womb which will never cease to cherish him. Ah, may the sad memory of this place make everyone understand this salutary warning: "In the midst of life, we are in death".
(Source : B.J. Buma et Le Jonkheer D. W. Sickinghe 1964)
Descendants of Johan Frederick BOODE (Sosa 308) - Part 2/2
 |
| Descendants of Johan Frederick BOODE (2/2) |
308-5 Eduard Gustaaf BOODE (Sosa 154)
 |
| Eduard Gustaaf BOODE (1774-1837) |
1° in Lisse (Holland-Meríd.) on 17 September 1796, Anna María Debora ROSEBOOM, christened in Amsterdam on March 3, 1776, died at the Leeuw-en-Hooft estate near Heemstede (Holland-5ept.) on August 9, 1798, daughter of Mr. Ian Hendrík ROSEBOOM and Françoise Wijnanda Elisabeth van der NOOT de GIELER, of whom 2 children :
- (154-A.1) Anna Maria Deborah BOODE, born in 1797, died in 1847, who married in 1819 Aimé Antoine COMTE de BIRAGUE, born in 1799 ;
- (154-A.2) Eduard Gustaaf BOODE (son), born in 1798, died in 1871.
2° at Sassenheim (South Holland) on 9 February 1799, Catharína BOURDA (Sosa 155), born in Demerary in 1780, died in Mainz on 23 August 1837, daughter of Joseph BOURDA and the free woman Polly, with 6 children:
- (154-B.3) Catharina Elisabeth Adélaïde BOODE, born in 1800, died in 1873, who married in Paris in 1826 Elisha Mills ELY, born in 1783 in Connecticut, died in 1832, of which a daughter Wilhelmine (1827+1900) and a son James Ernest Joseph ELY husband of Anna Pheobe HORLOCK, of which 2 children Edouard Auguste ELY and Mary Alice ELY whose portraits we have ;
- (154-B.4) Lodewijk Willem BOODE, born in 1802, died in 1839, who married in 1827 Eliza PESCOTT, born in 1801, died in 1842 ;
- (154-B.5) Julius Theophilus BOODE, born in 1803, died in 1848, who married in 1829 Josephine Napoleone de SALUCE ;
- (154-B.6) Augustus Deodatus BOODE, born in 1806, died in 1869, who married in 1838 in Düsseldorf Mathilde Friederike TEUWSEN, born in 1819, died in 1858;
- (154-B.7) Eugénie Clémentine BOODE, born in 1808, died in 1849, who married in 1837 in Düsseldorf Hermann Johann Karl Friedrich von GRIESHEIM, born in 1811, died in 1882;
- (154-B.8) Sophie Eulalie BOODE (Sosa 77), born in 1811, died in 1840 in Paris at the age of 28, who married in 1837 in Düsseldorf Jules Victor HOUEL (Sosa 76), born in 1812, died in 1894 in Boussy-Saint-Antoine, of whom one only son Honoré Désiré Jules HOUEL (Sosa 38), born in 1839 in Paris 6°, died in 1911 in Algiers.
 |
| Catharina BOURDA sp. BOODE (1780-1837) |
Eduard Gustaaf BOODE had bought in 1798 the estate of "Huis ten Weegen" near Sassenheim (South Holland). This property, formerly called Beresteyn, had belonged to his father-in-law Jan Hendrick ROSEBOOM, who had to sell it in 1793. The country house was a long one-storey building, quite high, with access to the middle by a round staircase. The ground floor was spacious. In the front of the house there were niches, where busts and statues were placed. In 1808, the total area of the estate was about 49 hectares.
Born in the "Dutch Indies" colonies of Essquibo and Demerary between 1764 and 1774, the children of Johan Frederick BOODE all married or remarried in the Netherlands between 1791 and 1799, where the third generation, their children were all born. They therefore lived mainly on their pensions while residing in the Netherlands, their property being administered by their elder brother Jacobus Hendrick BOODE who had stayed there with his wife Catherine MARTIN and their 6 children. They lived on the plantation "Cornelia Ida", where he died on 2 November 1826.
The area of the colonies where the plantations were located was taken by the English during the Napoleonic wars, and the Dutch ceded it to them in 1814. This area later became "British Guiana" in 1831. The abolitionist ideas brought by the English at that time made it difficult to continue the exploitation of the Dutch colonies, which led to the definitive flight to Europe of these large plantation-owning families.
Eduard Gustaav BOODE's family used to stay away from these wars on their property in Sassenheim in the Netherlands (located between Amsterdam and The Hague where Sophie was born in 1811). But, after having finally (in 1825) received their share of their father's inheritance, and probably after having sold their Sassenheim property, the BOODE family, Eduard, his wife and their 10 children, a governess and 3 servants, landed in Dieppe on July 26, 1816, with a passport issued in London by the French Ambassador, in order to settle in France, first provisionally in Paris, then in 1821 in Soisy-sous-Étiolles.
 |
| BOODE's family passport |
 |
| Entry visa to France, in Dieppe |
Indeed, in 1821, Eduard Gustaaf bought the Château du Haut Soisy, in Soisy sous Etiolles, and the BOODE family settled in France until 1836, when the estate was sold following serious financial difficulties. In 1832 he applied for French naturalization, which earned us a whole file of correspondence with the administration. An order of April 12, 1933 made official the positive decision of the royal administration (July Monarchy with Louis-Philippe). (Source René DOREL)
After the sale of this estate, they finally settled permanently in Germany, in Düsseldorf where Sophie married Jules HOUEL in October 1837, and where Eduard died shortly afterwards in December 1837. His wife Catharina had already died in Mainz in August 1937, she probably had family there.
 |
| Property of the BOODE family from 1821 to 1836 |
 |
Letter from E.G. BOODE to the Garde des Sceaux, with a view to obtaining French nationality
|
In 1803, the Prefect of the Seine had acquired a park, former property of Père-Lachaise, Louis XIV's confessor, at the request of Napoleon who wished to honour the memory of the too many soldiers who had died for his personal glory. All the families were in mourning after the reign of the emperor and it was to whom the most important monument was built, both to honour the dead and to satisfy the family's vanity. The BOODEs were no exception, and Edouard Gustave BOODE, Sophie's father, had this imposing Greco-Roman temple built according to his own plans, surmounted by an enormous pine cone [cited in the Blue Guide, Div. 59] for the burial of his family. He brought the remains of his father back from Guyana to bury them there. The descendants of this family were fighting over the honor of being buried there.
 |
| "La Pomme de Pin" (the pine cone) at the Père-Lachaise, BOODE's famliy grave (Photo Hugues de Lestapis) |
However, the BOODE-BOURDA couple were buried in Mainz (Germany) at the "Hauptfriedhof" (Field 10, row 12, grave 22). Their daughter Eugenie Clémentine von GRIESHEIM née BOODE (154-B.7) was buried in the same grave. According to the book "Der Mainzer Friedhof" by A. Boerekel, there was a Gothic style grave monument made of Heilbronn sandstone. This monument, which still existed in 1923, has since disappeared.
(Source: B.J. Buma and The Jonkheer D. W. Sickinghe 1964)
Sophie Eulalie BOODE (Sosa 77)
 |
| Sophie Eulalie BOODE (1811-1840) |
Sophie
Eulalie BOODE, the youngest daughter of Edouard Gustaaf, was born in
The Hague (Netherlands) in 1811. She married Jules Victor HOUEL in
Düsseldorf (Germany) on 7 October 1837 at the age of 26. Jules Victor
HOUEL was 25 at the time. She died at the age of 28 in 1840, a few
months after the birth of her son Honoré Désiré Jules HOUEL. Her
brothers and sisters wanted to keep a memory of her and had several
miniatures made, one of which was recovered in Berlin by her son Honoré
and is currently in the possession of Geneviève Arnoul in Paris.
(cf. Reminiscences, by Jacqueline Certes-Arnoul).
During
the siege of 1870, the Germans surrounding Paris occupied the houses of
the inner suburbs. Thus the house of my great-great-grandfather Jules
Victor Houel was occupied and looted. The miniature of Sophie, which was
the only memory he had of his wife among others, had disappeared.
One
day, while his son Honoré was going through the streets of Berlin for
his business, he saw in the window of an antique shop this small
portrait that he knew so well, but without its frame. Surprisingly, he
found the frame alone in another antique shop. It was a joy for him to
bring the complete painting back to his father. (after Geneviève Arnoul)
 |
| Sophie BOODE's miniature in its frame |
Jean-Paul Arnoul
