Petrus De Ruyver was born in Bottelare on January 19, 1698, the son of Egidius Josephus and Anna Grootaers (1). He grew up in Bottelare but left this small parish to move to Wetteren ten Ede, a rural district of the parish of Wetteren. Petrus married Susanna Catharina Claus in the Sint Gertrudischurch of Wetteren on January 5, 1727.  Witnesses were Uncle Laurentius De Winne (living in Overmere) and Antonia Beurchgrave (2). We have not been able to determine the reason he married a widow about fifteen kilometres away from his native soil. Susanna was born in Wetteren on December 7, 1702, the daughter of Balduinus and Antonia De Burchgrave, both born in Wetteren. Susanna first married Petrus Van Hyper in 1724. Petrus Van Hyper died in 1726 and Susanna could not stay alone with her daughter, Angelina Van Yper (born in Wetteren May 17, 1725 and died in Wetteren December 28, 1764). So Pieter (Petrus) was a father since the day he married.

Pieter had some trouble with his brothers-in-law. Adriaen and Michiel Van Yper brought Pieter and Susanna into court for some money-troubles (3). In the different tax-documents of Wetteren we find Pieter back until his death (4). Since 1749 when his mother died he began having to pay more taxes, so he presumably inherited some land or money at this time. He was also a tax-official for one year and there we found his signature. In 1755, Pieter was involved in a second lawsuit against Pieter Joannes Van Raelen de ter Bulcken (5).

Pieter and Susanna Claus had children, all born in Wetteren (ten Ede). Susanna Claus died in Wetteren on August 27, 1766. A legacy (6) gave us some information about the mode of life of Pieter, his wife and children. Pieter must have been a farmer and a cartwright . He was the owner of two farmsteads in Wetteren ten Ede near Dongendriesch (now Kortewagenstraat) and some land in the neighborhood. In the farmstead we found two horses, four cows, a bull, a heifer, three calves and some chickens. Pieter worked together with his neighbor Livinus Raman who also was a cartwright and Livinus' daughter married the oldest son of Pieter De Ruyver. Pieter was burried in Wetteren on September 10, 1785. He was 87 years old.

Most of his children stayed in Wetteren :

Anna Maria De Ruyver was born on December 2, 1727 and  was baptized the next day. Her godfather was Joannes Claus and her godmother was Anna Grootaert. Anna Maria married in Wetteren on February 9, 1754 with Joannes Van de Velde, son of Jacobus and Elisabeth Dierick. They had seven children. Jan Van de Velde died in 1803 (7) as a farmer. His widow died in Wetteren (district Voorde) on June 22, 1811, at 83 years of age.

Gertrudis was born and baptized in Wetteren (Sint Gertrudis church) on February 7, 1730. She was the godchild of Franciscus De Ruyver and Antonia Burggrave. Gertrude married in Wetteren on May 15, 1756, witnesses were Jacobus Van Kerckhove and Susanna De Ruyver (Susanna Claus). Pieter Braeckman, the bridegroom, gave Gertrude seven children. He was a smith and a crofter in Wetteren ten Ede (8). Gertrude was a spinster like most Flemish women in the 18th century. Pieter Braeckman ( born in Melle) died in Wetteren in 1784, Gertrude died on November 25, 1805.

Petrus Ignatius was the oldest son of Pieter and Susanna Claus. He was born in 1732 and left Wetteren.  He married twice and died in Kalken.

Joannes Franciscus was born on October 23, 1734 and baptized the day after. He was the godchild of Laurentius De Ruyver and Antonia Gertrude Claus.  Jan Frans became literate as he could later write his name in a certificate of baptism.  He went to Ghent where he worked as a baker, grocer and candlemaker (9). He was inscribed as outer-burgher of the city of Ghent on September 24, 1776 and lived with Livinus De Smet (and his aunt Joanna De Ruyver) in the corner of the Koestraet. The Koestraat still is a shopping street in the center of Ghent. He died, unmarried, in this street on January 14, 1797, a quarter past midnight (10).

On March 15, 1737 the fifth child of Pieter and Susanna Claus was born. We suppose that the child died after a few hours because no name was given, no genus was reported in the act.

Livinus De Ruyvere was born on March 14, 1738. The same day he was baptized in Wetteren and his godfather was Livinus Burggrave.  His godmother was Joanna De Ruyver. Livinus was a cartwright too. He married Joanna Francisca De Veuster, daughter of Joannes and Joanna Criel. Livinus rented the farmstead of his father (11) which he later inherited. As of  1794 he had two children and a servant (12). Another child died in childhood and his youngest son married. In 1819 Livin was the owner of two houses, two orchards, two gardens and three fields. Joanna F. De Veuster died in 1810 and Livinus died in Wetteren ten Ede on September 18, 1827 at 89 years of age!

What happened to the four children of Livinus De Ruyvere in Wetteren ten Ede ? 

Petrus Joannes was born in Wetteren ten Ede on May 17, 1769. Pieter Jan stayed with his parents where he worked as a cartwright. He died unmarried in Erondegem on March 23, 1827 (13). 

Maria Francisca was the second child of Livinus and Joanna De Veuster. She was born on June 2, 1771 and probably she died childhood. In Laarne (a parish in the neighborhood) we found an act about "Florentina De Ruijver ", daughter of Joseph, buried on Christmas day 1771 (14). Maybe the priest had forgotten the first names when he wrote down the information. We never found a Joseph or Florentina De Ruyver in the neigborhood of Wetteren. 

Anna Catharina was the youngest daughter of Livinus. She was born in Wetteren on March 13, 1776. Anna Catharina was the mother of Joanna De Ruyver (born in Gent (Sint Jacobs) September 1792). Anna lived in  Sint Jansdreve and moved to Yckstraete in the same parish where her little daughter died on February 28, 1793 (15). Later on, Anna went back to Wetteren, perhaps nobody knew that she had a baby. In the act, no father was mentioned.  Anna Catharina died unmarried in Wetteren as a spinster on May 21, 1855.

Joseph De Ruyver was born and baptized in Wetteren on February 1, 1774. He married in Wetteren on July 4, 1797 and moved with his wife, Carolina Ingels, to Ghent. There Joseph worked as a baker in the bakery of his old uncle, Joannes Franciscus. Their first child, Livien, was born there, in the Koestraet (16). After uncle Joannes Franciscus had died, they moved to Ledeberg where two daughters were born, Catharina ( born January 1, 1801 died Januaru 11, 1801) and Marie Fran�oise (born October 31, 1801, died November 18, 1801) (17). Charles was born in Wetteren (born December 7, 1802, died December 21, 1802). Only Livien survived childhood. Joseph owned a field in 1819 and his father was still alive then. Joseph made wooden shoes and his wife was a spinster. She died on October 7, 1834. Joseph died years later in Wetteren on June 7, 1844.

Livien De Ruyver didn't leave Wetteren ten Ede. In 1818, he was 1 metre 69 centimetres tall when he was conscripted in the army. On October 11, 1827, he married with Francisca Schepens, a spinster. Livien was a cartwright and father of seven children. Only Leopoldus and Rosalia grew up to adults :

Rosalia, born in Wetteren on July 5, 1835, was an embroidress. She lived in Wetteren ten Ede on the Plaats (Place in the center near the church) (18) with her younger brother, and died on March 18, 1912.

Leopold was born on May 21, 1838 and was a farmer. He stood 1 metre 73 centimetres and couldn't join the army because he had scrofulous tumors on his neck. Leopold also worked as a day-laborer, so we suppose he was a poor man who couldn't write his name. His father and grandfather had been literate, however. Leopold died in Wetteren on November 19, 1917.

Josephus Emmanuel was born and baptized in Wetteren on June 17, 1740. He was the godchild of Joseph De Ruyver (Bottelare) and Judoca Schepens. He died unmarried on January 2, 1774.

Maria Francisca was baptized on April 2, 1743, the day after her birth. Her godfather was Franciscus Claus and half-sister Angelina Van Ypre. Maria Francisca died 25 days later in Wetteren.

Amandus Ludovicus was the youngest son of Pieter De Ruyver and Susanna Claus. He was born and baptized on March 30, 1744 as the godchild of Franciscus Claus and Francisca Philippina De Ruyver (aunt). Amandus was also called Louis (Ludovicus). He was 46 years old when he married in Deinze (Petegem) in the Sint Martinus church (19) on April 13, 1790 to Livina Theresia De Buck (Deinze 1752 - 1829). They had four children. Amandus Louis was a smith and in 1819, he was the owner of a field in Wetteren. Amandus died in Deinze (district C, house 255) on May 28, 1837, 93 years old (20)! 

His oldest daughter, Maria Jacoba (born in Deinze April 28, 1791 died in Deinze August 12, 1863) was a needlewoman. She married Hyppolytus Arickx (Deinze 1795 - 1837) who was a shopkeeper. They had  six children and lived with them and Jacoba's unmarried sister Theresia Francisca (born in Deinze June 8, 1795 died in Deinze July 21, 1876) in the Kortrijkstraat (district B) (21). Theresia was also a needle-woman. 

Another daughter of Amandus Louis was a still-born child on March28, 1793. 

He had only one son, born in Deinze in the Kerkstraat 7 (Churchstreet) on June 29, 1797. He was called Livien and was a servant (22).  Later he work as baker. Livien died unmarried in Deinze on March 16, 1845, 47 years old.

Maria Theresia was born and baptized in Wetteren on January 5, 1748. She was the godchild of Livinus Bauwens and Anna Maria De Ruyver (her sister). Maria Theresia married on January 20, 1776 with Joannes Baptiste De Smet, born in Wichelen (1734) and they had seven children, all born in Wetteren. In tax-documents we found that Jan Baptiste and Maria Theresia inherited the fields and a farmstead of father Pieter De Ruyver in Wetteren ten Ede. Jan Baptiste must have been a farmer.

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Sources :

(1) Oud Archief Bottelare : Parochieregisters 1646 - 1796 (Dopen, huwelijken, overlijdens) ; Documentatiecentrum Melle - V.V.F. Oost-Vlaanderen      [return]

(2) Oud archief Wetteren, parochieregisters (dopen, huwelijken, overlijdens) 1593 - 1796, Documentatiecentrum - V.V.F. Melle      [return]

(3) Historisch Archief Wetteren (162), Processen, Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren,      [return]

(4) Historisch Archief Wetteren : ommestellingen, Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren      [return]

(5) Historisch Archief Wetteren, Civiele Processen (1150), 18 januari 1755, Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren      [return]

(6) Historisch Archief Wetteren, Staten van Goed Wetteren 1609 - 1795, W84(4-13-20), W122(26), W124(21), W139(11), Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren (copies in Rijksarchief Beveren) - Clinckspoor Joris, "Indices op de staten van goed van de prochie en heerlijkheid van Wetteren inbegrepen de aanhangsels van Ertbuer en Waterschoot 16/05/1795", Documentatiecentrum - V.V.F. Melle      [return]

(7) Modern Archief Wetteren, Burgerlijke Stand 1796 - 1900, Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren      [return]

(8) Historisch Archief Wetteren, Staten van Goed Wetteren 1609 - 1795, W84(4-13-20), W122(26), W124(21), W139(11), Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren (copies in Rijksarchief Beveren) - Clinckspoor Joris, "Indices op de staten van goed van de prochie en heerlijkheid van Wetteren inbegrepen de aanhangsels van Ertbuer en Waterschoot 16/05/1795", Documentatiecentrum - V.V.F. Melle      [return]

(9) Poorters en Buitenpoorters van Gent : 1477 - 1492, 1542 - 1796, inventaris gepubliceerd door het archief, Stadsarchief Gent, (p. 213 en 251), Documentatiecentrum - V.V.F. Melle      [return]

(10) Modern Archief Gent, Burgerlijke Stand Gent (1796 - 1900), Stadsarchief Gent, Rijksarchief Beveren      [return]

(11) Historisch Archief Wetteren, Staten van Goed Wetteren 1609 - 1795, W84(4-13-20), W122(26), W124(21), W139(11), Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren (copies in Rijksarchief Beveren) - Clinckspoor Joris, "Indices op de staten van goed van de prochie en heerlijkheid van Wetteren inbegrepen de aanhangsels van Ertbuer en Waterschoot 16/05/1795", Documentatiecentrum - V.V.F. Melle   &2bsp;  [return]

(12) Historisch Archief Wetteren, Volkstelling 1794 ( bundel 1058), Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren      [return]

(13)Modern Archief Deinze, Nationale Militie Oost-Vlaanderen, Deinze 1800 - 1900, Rijksarchief Gent      [return]

(14)Oud Archief Laarne, Parochieregisters (dopen, huwelijken, overlijdens), 1595 - 1812, Documentatiecentrum - V.V.F. Melle      [return]

(15)Oud Archief Gent, Parochieregisters Sint Jacobsparochie (dopen, huwelijken, overlijdens), 1602 - 1796, Stadsarchief Gent      [return]

(16) Modern Archief Gent, Burgerlijke Stand Gent (1796 - 1900), Stadsarchief Gent, Rijksarchief Beveren      [return]

(17) Modern Archief Ledeberg, Burgerlijke Stand 1796 - 1900, Rijksarchief Beveren      [return]

(18) Modern Archief Wetteren, Bevolkingsregisters, 1846, 1847-1857, 1858-1866, 1866-1882, 1880-1890, 1890-1900, Gemeentelijk Archief Wetteren      [return]

(19) Oud Archief Deinze, parochieregister Sint Martinus (Petegem) 1616 - 1796, Documentatiecentrum - V.V.F. Melle      [return]

(20)Modern Archief Deinze, Burgerlijke Stand 1796 - 1900, Stedelijk Archief Deinze      [return]

(21) Modern Archief Deinze, Bevolkingsregisters 1847 - 1900, Stedelijk Archief Deinze      [return]

(22) Modern Archief Deinze, Nationale Militie Oost-Vlaanderen, Deinze 1800 - 1900, Rijksarchief Gent     [return]

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