Belgium Lost And Found: The Naming Of The Belgian Community In Northeast Wisconsin

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Citation preview

BELGIUM LOST AND FOUND: THE NAMING OF THE BELGIAN COMMUNITY IN NORTHEAST WISCONSIN

by Lisa LeGrave

William Laatsch, PhD. Lost and Found Landscapes January 29, 1992

1

OUTLINE

I.

Introduction A.

II.

III.

IV.

Current description of lhe Belgian community

What's in a name? A.

Significance of place names

B.

History of the Belgian selllemenl

C.

Naming by selllement

D.

Cultural trails that shape the village

Cultural rebound: Belgian identity

from Americanization to renewed

A.

Process reflected in naming: Namur

B.

Belgian village and historical landmark

Conclusion

2

I.

INTRODUCTION;

DESCRIPTION OF THE BELGIAN C0\\1MUNITY

The nation's largesl rural settlemenl of Belgian-Americans is located

in

the

Door

peninsula,

Kewaunee, and Brown counLies.

encompassing

The main wave of

parts

of

Door,

inu1ligraLion Look

place between 1853 and 1857, primarily from the Walloon provinces of

Brabant

and

Namur.

Holand

(1917)

notes

thal

wilhin

Door

County, Belgians occupied all of Gardner, Union, and three-fourths of Brussels.

Of the 3,812 foreign-born Belgians settling in this

three county area by 1860, 70% settled in the rural area while the rest settled closer to Lhe city of Green Bay (Laatsch, See Figures 1 and 2 for area of settlement.

in press).

Laatsch adds that this

Belgian cultural area has remained persistent and is well-defined; 80% of the farmland (150 square mi·les) belongs to Belgians and the

population is estimated al 10,000 persons. In the Door peninsula, small Belgian villages and hamlets dot the countryside.

Along with the farmsteads, most conununi Li es had

at least a church, a school, and a general store; a post office and small businesses such as a mill and a tavern sprang up later. it

seems

that

before

these

buildings

were

built,

the

Yet first

inclination of the first pioneers was to name the land they chose as their home.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the place

names of the Belgian settlements that we may better understand the place, .II.

the people, and .the culture .

WHAT'S IN A NAME? Place names, or top onyms, are not only aspects of the cultural

3

BELGIANS - 1860

BORN

FOREIGN as•

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CENSUS

SCHEDULES - WISCONSIN,

1860

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Used by permission of Dr. Wm. Laatsch and Dr. Chas. Calkins. In Hall, s. (1984). Farewell to the homelarn' Brown County Historical Society. Figure 1

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Figure 2 LAWAFNCE

DENMARK

-- -

WISCONSIN

i

(

5 landscape as they are placed on signs around Lhe counLryside; they are also reflections dialect,

of

and naLional

cultural

origin

traits,

patterns of

(Jordan & Rowntree,

language,

1'386).

Th.us,

toponyms noL only tell one someLhing about the plac~ named;

they

tell us somelhing about the namer. According Lo Calkins (1954), all naming of places stems from the desire to identify a place and distinguish it from others.

To

carry out this basic motive, nine different mechanisms may be used: (1)

DescripLive names describe a quality of the place named;

(2)

Possessive names stem from the feeling that some person or group possesses/owns the place; (3) Incident names identify the place by some incident that occurred at or near it;

(4) Commemorative names

give a new application to an already established name to honor or perpetuate the old name;

(5)

Euphemistic names give reference to

the future and portray an idealized environment in order lo attract settlers or shape its goals;

(6)

Manufactured names are constructed

to form new words from recombined sounds, letters, fragments of old words, initials, etc.; (7) Shift names shift the specific part from one

generic

part

to

another

Mountain, White River);

(8)

in

the

same

region

(i.e.

While

Folk etymologies transform an old folk

name resulting in a wholly new name (i.e. L'eau Froide becomes Low Freight);

and

(9)

Mistake

names

result

from

a

mistake,

typographical error, illegible writing faulty pronunciation, etc. The origin of a place name may have utilized more than one mechanism; and it is sometimes difficult - to infer lhe motive(s) of the namer(s), making classification complex (Calkins, 1954). In addition,

many place names

consist of

two parts:

a

specific

6

parl,

and a generic part such as ville, burg, cape--, elc. which is

indicaLive of specific cultures and regions, and thus Lhe direction of migration (Jordan & Rowntree, 1986).

For example, "burg" is a

German generic suffix;

whaL does thal tell us about the origins of

the name "Luxemburg"?

Religion also often inspires place names.

Thus, there is a special significance in a place name often overlooked by a generation who surroundings.

Place

names,

as

is seldom required lo name other

elements of

the

their

cul Lural

landscape, are both a mold and a mirror of the inhabit.ants. In order to understand lhe naming of Belgian seltlements in Northeastern Wisconsin,

let us begin with a

Belgian immigrants began arriving in 1853. Mai· tin

(1895),

a

Belgian

irrunigrant

who

short history.

The

According to Xa.vier went.

to

college

in

Philadelphia, learned English, and taught and held public offices on his return to the Belgian settlement, ten families (mostly from the commune of Grez Doiceau, county of Wavre, Province of Brabant, Belgium)

sailed to America in search of cheap land and freedom,

for in Belgium they were eking out a meager living as farmers on small farms.

Tlachac (1974) notes that landlords owned some of the

best land and the prospect of

becomi~g

independent landowners and

keeping the entire crop was alluring. These Walloon Belgians could speak French and the Walloon ( a Latinized Patois, said to be a relic of the Roman empire) (Martin, 1895).

After arriving in Sheboygan, they were discouraged because

they could not speak the language,

and on Lhe advice of a French

speaking gentleman there, they went to Green . Bay.

They would have

settled in the Kaukauna area if it · were not for the death of one of

7

their c hildren,

f or

al the

funeral

Edward Daems , a Belgian prie s t, resided over Lhe funeral.

they happened-l o meeL

Father

who was visiting the priesL who

Fr. Daems persuaded them Lo seLLle near

him; here there was good land and he would help them find places to seLtle, would be able to administer the sacraments, and hold mass in lheir native language.

In fact, he walked many miles to hold

mass in the various areas laLer settled (Marlin, 1895). They

settled

on

Sec.

1,2,3;

T24N,

R22E,

and

also

Sec.

34,35,36, T25N, R22E, known as "Aux Premier Belges" or "The First Be·lgians" p~imeval

(see Figure 3).

The

place

they settled was

a

deep,

forest and they had Lo clear many acres, first for homes

and then for farmland. Other Belgian settlers arrived and organized new Lawns, established school districts, petitioned the government for post offices, and built churches (Marlin, 1895). According to Martin (1895), most inunigrants were tillers of soil,

a

few

were

mechanics

(masons,

carpenters,

tailors,

shoemakers, machinists, etc.); some came from cloth factories or industrial jobs, but all seemed tired of their trades and wanted to become farmers on land they could call their own. The Belgian immigrants named their settlements: La Riviere Rouge,

La Riviere des Loups,

Rosiere,

Walhain,

L_' Union,

Granlez,

and

settlements, Casco, Namtir, having a

A la

Petite

Tishler Euren,

(1986)

Brussels, Baie

La Sucrerie,

La Misere,

St.

Sauveur,

Thiry Daems,

Aux

Flamand,

(Martin,

1895).

cites Marchand,

Beside

Duvall,

Forestville, New Franken,

Lhese

Luxemburg,

and Green Bay as

significant Belgian population (although some of

these

places were noL originally established or named by Belgians).

(See

Figure

,j

Historical Atlas of Wisconsin 1881

Chicago: H.R. Page & Co. Adaptation of Brown, JX>or, and Kewaunee County maps

!--

"

~

j

R23E

9

Appendix 1 for map of places and current names). In researching these and other place names, il must be noted that townships are named by the authority of the County Board, and villages may incorporated by such names as designated in accordance with the court. It is unclear how hamlets get their names, but it seems -·that

it

was often

the

practice

that

the

name

given

the

settlement was different than the name given the post office which was

established - later

(it -

w~s

usual 1 y

named

after

or

by -the

postmaster); and often the settlement then became known by the post off ice name as

time went on.

This may have been because post

offices are an ancillary body of the federal government, and this government may have identified these towns by their post office names instead of their Belgian names which were less official and maybe less understandable.

This is the case with Champion. CHAMPION

This village is

the site of the first

Belgian settlement.

Shortly after their arrival here, the immigrants from Grez-Doiceau, Belgium wanted "Damsvi l le";

the

and

name

in

the

fact,

area

the

"New Grez",

report

from

"Dams

the

Grez",

Belgian

or

Consul

Henrotin in 1858 and Masse in 1962 states that the first arrivals named their which

settlement "Grez-Daems"

(Smet,

1974).

These names,

commemorated lheir native city and the incident of which Fr.

Daems' leading, , were never official and they were soon forgotten. The

earliest

name

was

Aux

Premier

Belges,

meaning

"The

First

Be 1 g ians" or "The First Belgian Sett 1 ement", another incident name. At that time, Aux Premier Belges was located in the town of Green Bay which contained what is now Green Bay, Scott, Preble, Eaton,

10

Humboldt townships and a part of the city of Green Bay

(Martin,

1895). The first church, established in 1858, was the Chapel of the Holy Virgin (Tishler,

1986), · nam~d

of

received

the

Virgin Mary

after the incident of the vision

by Adele

According to Martin (1895),

settler.

Brice,

a

young

Belgian

upon application of

the

settlers to the general government, a post office was established called Robinsonville or Robinson.

This was in 1860 (WSGS, 1985f. ---

According to school district records, the post office was named for Charles D. Robinson, editor of the Green Bay Advocate and an early political leader (Donovan, 1948).

Since Martin states · that he was

appointed the first postmaster, il is difficult to ascertain why this name was chosen; Robinson is not a name of Belgian descent (L'empereur, 1976). The name Sorden

(1988)

was

then changed

state

that

to

Champion;

Champion was

named

explorer, residents know the real reason. built

in 1892

(WSGS,

1985),

a 1 though Gard after

an

and

English

Another post office was

and had to be named

(two were now

operating in this settlement, built to find out which would get the most

use)

account,

(Dodge, Kle inme ir

1991a). ( 1971)

Because

there

interviewed

a

is

no

1oca1

ear 1 y

writ ten

resident,

the

"postmaster lady", who states: "Well, really we didn't know what to do. The Post Office Department had refused so many of our names. One night we were sitting around ... talking about it and thinking what name we could give that they would accept. And one man pointed to an agricultural implement--a plow or cultivator I think it was--and the trade name on it was Champion: 'We've tried everything; let's try that'" (pg. 8). In accordance with this account a local resident, Richard Renier

11

states that is grandfather had a Champion brand swather which was in the vicinity at naming of

. the

the time of a dispute over

the location and

post office (Dodge, 1991a).

One interesting point was a statement about the naming of a post office in the Lark Schdol District;

the residents chose the

name s ·a enger, but were told by "officials" that it was unlawful for such a small settlement to have a name greater than one syllable (Donovan ·, - 1948).

Apparently, Champion had similar problems. THIRY DAEMS

This name

is commemorative and descriptive of an

incident.

This hamlet is named after a Belgian surveyor named Constant Thiry and a Belgian Catholic pr.iest 1988).

named · Fr.

Daems

(Gard

&

Sorden,

Constant and Amelia Thiry settled her in 1857 (their log

cabin still standing)

(Van Boxel, 1990), and they donated the land

for the church, while Fr. Daems pastored it (Rununel, 1976). St. Odile's was built in 1881 and the post office was established in 1969 (Ti·shler, 1986). WALHAIN According to Gard and Sorden (1988), Florian Strickman settled here in the 1850's and came from Walhain, Belgium; thus, is probab 1 y c onunemor at i ve . (Heming,

1896),

and

the

.St.

post

Amands was established

office

was

established

the name in 1975 in

1858.

(Tishler, 1986). SUGAR BUSH Originally

La

Sucrerie,

a

word

meaning

"sugarworks"

or

"sweetmeats" in French (Chevalley, Chevalley, & Goodridge, 1974), this hamlet was established in 1854 by Belgian founders and got its

12 name from the

''sugar bushes"

found in the area

(Sumter,

1990).

Sugar bushes were patches of hardwoo~ trees including maples that

.

grew in an area of pine forest; in autumn, they looked like steaks of gold against

the dark green

(Gard

&

Sorden,

1988).

Martin

(1881) notes that there were large forests of sugar maples when the country first began to be settled. 1 and.

This name is descriptive of the

In this case, it seems that the name "La Sucrer i e", a 1 though

translated, has remained through the years .

For a

time however,

early plat maps identify this hamlet as Schiller, the name of the post office; according to L'empereur (1976), this is not a name of Belgian descent.

TO NET This hamlet was originally Aux Flamand (Tishler, 1986), whi_ch means "The Flemish", probably due to the heritage of many in the settlement.

Antoin de Smet (1957) notes that a Flemish protestant

group may have founded Aux Flamand. Then the name was

changed to Martinsville.

· Heming

(1896)

notes that this Walloon and Flemish congregation (St. Martins of Martinsville) Demeuth,

was

established

states that

in

1878.

A

resident,

Marjorie

this settlement was named after the Martin

family (Dodge, 1991b) and Smet (1974) states that the name of the first postmaster was probably Constant Martin, brother of Xavier; finally,

L'empereur

(1976)

Belgians migrated from.

states that

St.

Martin

is one place

The post office was established in 1887

(T i shler, 1986). Later, the name was changed to Jonet, after a prominent local family.

Marjorie Demeuth's great-great grandfather was Peter Jonet

-

13

who arrived in the area in the late 1800's, developed it and built /

a saloon which is still operating (Dodge, 1991b).

Smet

( 1957)

notes

that

Jonet

was

a

postmaster.

But

alas,

mapmaker either did not understand Belgian or misread the letter, changing il to a "T" (Gard & Sorden, 1988). says the post office made the mistake.

a

first

Mrs. Demeuth

This is an example of a

mistake name. UNION L'Union, or Union, means the same in French as in English. In 1865, the County Board set off a portion of Brussels township under the name "Union," lhus named because the people in Union

h a

d

been united in their public matters, and "pulled

together·· · (Martin, 1881). This is an example of an incident name.

DUVALL According to Gard & Sarden (1988), and abandoned post office was named for Joseph Duvall, a merchant, banker, and elevator owner who

had

made

a

fortune

in

lumbering.

The

post

office

was

14

established

in

1890

(Tishler,

1986).

Another

name

for

this

settlement was probably Marchand. Though not located by Tishler, the St. Francis de Paul church in the Duvall area still bears the

name

"Marchand" It was built

sign. (Tishler,

1986)

references

to

a

Belgian

other

church

in

There is a

located half

Marchand

away.

its

in 1910

and no

Duvall was found. cemetery

on

a

mi le

is a name of

descent

noted

by

L'empereur (1976). EUR EN Euren is a corrunemorative name.

It was named after Euren in

Bavaria, Germany by the Bottkoll Brothers who established a trading center and operated a sawmill, elevator, general store, and cheese factory (Gard & Sorden, 1988).

The post office was established in

1879 (Tishler, 1986). ST. SAUVEUR St.

or San Sauveur i s one place noted by Tishler

(1986)

as

having a significant Belgian population, though he could not locate this settlement.

Apparently,

San Sauveur was

a mission of

the

French Presbyterian Church in Robinsonville, along with missions al Wequiock and Grace Presbyterian church in Green Bay (Hall, 1981). Sauveur means

saver, deliverer,

rescuer,

savior,

or redeemer

in

15 French (Chevalley, Chevalley, & Goodridge, 1974).

There is also a

place

emigrants

in

Belgium

according

to

called St.

L' empereur

commemorative, euphemistic,

Sauveur

from which

( 1976) . or

Thus,

incidental

the

name

(a remembrance

left

may

be

of

the

savior's act of salvation, ot possibly signifying a feast day on which ·the town may have been founded). ROSI ERE According to Gard and Sorden (1988), Rosiere is a French word for "Queen of Roses" and was chosen by ijelgian settlers.

Other

interpretations include "rose wreath" (Smet, 1974) and "winner of the rose as . the best

behaved girl

Chevalley, & Goodridge, 1974).

of

her village"

(Cheval ley,

There is also a Rosiere,

from which immigrants came (L'empereur, 1976).

Belgium

Thus, the name is

probably commemorative, but may also reflect the spirit of respect and honor toward Mary, . the mother of God. The first

church

was

built

in

1871,

mission ten years prior (Heming, 1886).

but was

served

as

a

The church was named St.

Hubert's (also the name of the church in Sugar Bush).

This name is

significant for Belgians, for he is the patron saint of hunting, and thought to be the patron saint of Belgium by Harry Chaudoir and others, although the church lists St. Joseph as Belgium's saint. MI SERE In French, Misere means "misery, distress, wretchedness, to complain of bad times" Goodridge,

1974).

Although there

Belgian settlements and poverty

extreme poverty,

(Chevalley, Chevalley, &

were very hard

times

in

and distress were common,

the Smet

(1974) states that La Misere was named thus after a hamlet of this

16

name near Beauve Chain, Brabant, Belgium. exactly when it was named, organized in 1881 and Roseire (Heming,

the congregation of St.

attended as a

18'36).

Although it is not known Michael's was

mission by St.

Although nol

Hubert's

located by Tishler

of

(1986),

remnants of this hamlet are found on Misere Road.

LINCOLN The original pl ace 1976).

in

Be 1 g i um

name was from

Grand-leez

which

some

or

Grandlez,

immigran ls

1 ef l

which was

a

( L' empereur,

According to Harry Chaudoir from the Belgian-American Club,

Grandlez means 1/18/92).

"tall and homely" in Belgian (Personal

According to

the French dictionary,

Interview,

"Grandelet" means

biggish, tallish; and "laid" means ill-looking, plain, unsightly or ugly (Chevalley, Chevalley, & Goodridge, 1974).

Since the Belgian

language was not written until a few years ago, this interpretation sounds correct.

He went on to say Lhat the name was soon changed

to Lincoln "who was tall and homely."

This name may be an example

of a commemorative name, or a folk etymology.

17 change~

On asking Mr. Chaudoir why lhey

it, he said that the

Belgians were proud of being Americans, and lhey also did nol want to talk about or be reminded of their pasts because they had to leave everything behind and such memories were painful. LUXEMBURG Although

Tishler

(1986)

states

that

this

area

has

significant Belgian population and Gard and Sorden (1988)

a

state

that the people who settled here were from Luxembourg, Belgium, it is noted by Heming (1886) thal in 1864, a church was erected by the German

~ettlers

in

the

area

and

that

French

Canadians

were

encouraged to build a church of their own which -was built in 1865. Nothing is mentioned about Belgian settlers in this church history. Also note

that

"burg"

is

a

German :suffix,

and

lhe

country

of

Luxemburg is German. RED RIVER According lo Gard and Sorden (1988), the town of Red River was named thus because it found its way over red clay into the waters of Green Bay--a descriptive name. earliest county maps;

It was named Red River on the

the Belgians called it Riviere Rouge.

The

posl office was established in 1858 (Tishler, 1986). DYCKESVILLE This village was named afler Mr. Louis Van Dycke, who donaled the land the church was built on in 1863 and was the founder and resident store keeper; he 1988).

l~ter \

moved to Green Bay (Gard & Sorden,

He was one of the first white men to settle in that area.

Laler, a rapid tide of immigration, mostly Belgians from Brabant and Liege, inhabited and cleared the land.

18

NAMUR According lo Sl.

Mary of the

Snows church records

stemming

from 1874, lhis place was originally called Delwich(e) because mass was said in the house of Gillaume Delwich(e), one o f the Belgian original settlers, until 1860 when the first church was built. congregation (Holand,

continued

1933).

to

be

called

Delwiche

even

up

The village was called Delwiche un t il

office was established in 1872 and given

The

to

1933

the

post

Lhe name Namur

by

the

first postmaster, Clement Geneise, which was appropriate since many of the early pioneers came

from Namur, Belgium (Green Bay Press

Gazette, 1975). Church records go on to say that, named lhe public school Fairland,

the school board officials

which was then adopted by

the

cheese factory opposite lhe street and apparently adopted by the town.

The name was officially changed in 1905 by the Chairman of

the Town of Union (Green Bay Press Gazette, 1975).

Harry Chaudoir

(Personal Interview, 1/18/92) corroborates lhis account, and states that Fairland was the name chosen because the surrounding land was good and fair and because it was a nice name.

Below is a photo of

Fairland school and the general slore/cheese factory next d o or.

19

The name was changed back to Namur when plans were made

.

1963 for the development of a Belgian Village.

in

Renewed optimism

and ethnic pride motivated the name change, although plans for the village did not materialize due to lack of funding. BRUSSELS The village of Brussels had

long been called Five · corners

because five roads met at the junction which formed the nucleus of business activity (Holand 1933).

The town and village of Brussels

was named after the capital of Belgium.

In 1858, the County Board

set

greater

off

Brussels

as

a

township;

the

portion

of

the

population was Belgian, and it was named Brussels in their request (Martin,

1881).

Originally,

the

town

of Brussels

covered

the

territory now divided into Brussels, Union, and Gardner. GARDNER The founders

town was · named after (Gard

Supervisors Gardner,

set

&

Sorden, off

Freeland B.

1988) .

this

In 1862,

township,

who carried an extensive

and

Gardner,

one of

the County Board

named

it

in

lumbering business

honor in

the of of

Little

Sturgeon (Martin, 1881) and owned a saw mill, grist mill, shipyard, lime kiln s , and ice houses, and employed hundreds of men. LITTLE STURGEON The Belgians called this hamlet La Petite Baie.

Smet (1974)

notes that they called Sturgeon Bay "Grande Baie" and so they named this place "La Petite Baie" in a comparative description. TORNADO Originally

known as

Williamsonville,

and

named

after

the

20

Williamson

bro~hers

who established it,

the name was changed to

Tornado after the fire of 1871 which burned 60 people to death here in the middle of a three acre field (Holand, 1933). survived (Holand, 1917). A "whirlwind of

flame,

The fire is described by Holand · (1917): in great clouds,

from above the tops

trees; fell upon them enveloping everything. of

fire ... Almost

all,

both

victims

and

of

It was an atmosphere

survivor

thought--" it must be the en9 o{ the worldn fi~e

Only 17 people

(p.

had

42).

but

one

A sheet of

rolled over the treetops, a shower of sparks, large and thick

as rain drops is described.

Martin (1881) saw the destruction;

after it was over, they found 35 people on one heap; what was left fell to pieces when moved.

The stench of burnt flesh moistened by

the rain was unbearable. Thus, it was named Tornado after the "tornadoes of fire" that accompanied the inferno; large wildfires such as this often spawn such intense fire vortices (Moran & Somerville, 1990). Finally,

one

must

note

that

the

physical

villages also reflects the Belgian culture. researched had Catholic church.

a

tavern

immediately

next

layout

of

the

Nearly every village to

or

across

from

a

Holand (1917) states:

"the Belgians are a very sociable people, loving nothing better than to get together in a throng and gossip. As the church is held too sacred for such indulgence, the natural result is the nearby tavern ... Here the people after mass gather in great numbers, talking, gesticulating, laughing, and treating each other to a mutual glass of beer. There is however, comparatively little drunkenness among the Belgians" (pg. 418). Early purveyors of liquor discovered a good place for a saloon was near a church. Another trait

of . Belgians noted

by

historians may

be

the

21 reason why there are miles

of each

Gardner,

other

so many Catholic churches within a (i.e.

Rosiere and Mi sere,

Brussels and Namur).

Belgians are stubborn

side

Holand

their

chatacter

churches

(1933) notes that

particularly good-natured to

the

couple

people ... But

which

cannot

be

in

" ... the

there

is

overcome

a by

argument" (p.

97), and he notes that the building of churches so

near

to

attests

this

fact,

for

they

could

not

agree

on

the

location. Finally, it must be noted that in several sources including Holand (1933) and Martin (1895), the strength of the Belgian people is noted; through distress and hardships they endured, trusting in providence for their strength.

Their faith is noted as the driving

force behind their tenacity and endurance. women is often cited, the mill with a

The strength of

for they walked thirty miles round trip to

sack of wheat on their heads.

inhabited the forests

the

they walked through.

Wolves and bears

Even when a

bout of

Asiatic cholera spread through the early settlements killing many within hours and days of its onset, fire

took

their homes,

they

the Belgians endured.

began building

the next

day.

When The

Belgians have a heritage to be proud of. III.

CULTURAL REBOUND:

FROM AMERICANIZATION TO RENEWED IDENTITY

These name changes also reflect a identity of the people.

There

are

Americanization of Belgian settlers.

change in the

many

references

collective to

the

Martin (1895) notes that when

the Belgians left Belgium, they "renounced their allegiance to the king, and declared their intention to become citizens of the United States ... and were proud of their citizenship.

They were adopting

22 many American

ways ... they

machinery" (pg. 392).

were

farming

with

new

and

improved

Martin says that the upcoming generation is

fast becoming Americanized; "their modes of living and dressing are changing;

the young generations

shoes ... "(pg. 392).

are casting aside

their

wooden

And agaih, the people of Browh, Kewaunee, and

Door counties are "electing Americanized Belgians in whose honesty, intelligence,

and

(Martin~ ~ 1895,~

p. 393).

More recently,

capacity

they

have

implicit

Francoise L'empereur

Walloon language has fallen into disuse.

confidence ... "

(1976). notes As of 1976,

that

the

the 35-50

year age group could speak Walloon but prefer English, and the 2035 year age group can only educational system,

~peak

a few words.

The fault of our

the children were forced to speak English in

school or they were punished for their ignorance.

Wishing to spare

their children, the parents spoke English at home. The trend toward Americanization is seen most clearly in the case of

the naming of sett 1 emen ts

1900's,

the

American

name

such as Namur.

Fairland

was

given.

In the ear 1 y Many

of

the

settlements became known by their more American post office names or the English translation was used.

In 1963, however,

Namur's

name was revived with the planning of a Belgian village, including a senior citizen's home to be named "Villa Madonna", a restaurant (the Belgian Inn was to fulfill this purpose), a museum, an pioneer Belgian farm, a retirement village of separate bungalows for older people, and a large hall used as an administration building, with a souvenir shop operated by residents of the retirement village. Though the land was purchased (a few acres near St. Mary of the

23 Snows), the money could not be raised and it never materialized. But the name remained, and the sense of ethnic identity and pride which conceived these

ideas was

bolstered by

the

outside

interests of historians, researchers, and interested people. project at UWGB to collect culture

would

awareness these

and

Landmark,

not

among

be

in~ormation

lost

also

the Belgians

other

efforts

which

includes

about these Belgians so the

increased

the

sense

they· interviewed.

Namur

has

natural

The

become

a

landscapes,

of

ethnic

Today,

National

through Histoi-ic

farmhouses,

other

agrarian ·structures, residential dwellings, a local parish and its cemetery, and two commercial establishments.

The Belgian cultural

landscape is being found. IV.

CONCLUSION This

changes

paper

has

attempted

in the Belgian

to

examine

the

history

of

settlements of Northeast Wisconsin,

name the

motives behind the names, and the significance of the name as it is a reflection of Belgian culture, identity, and pride.

The Belgian

cultural area discussed in this paper is both a link to our past, performing an identity function, and a living example of a European ethnic group and functions to educate. expression

of

these

roots,

as

some

Continued search for and attempted

conception of the Belgian Village is recommended. of these roots, place names, people who name them.

to

do

in

the

One expression

are both a mold and a mirror of the

24

WORKS CITED Chevalley, A., Chevalley, M., & Goodridge, G.W.R.F. (1974). ~ concise Oxford French dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. Dodge, G. (1991a, November 161; "Kermiss is their big celebration. Qreen Bay Press Gazette, p. 1B. Dodge, G. (1991b, June 1). Mistaken identity fits to a "T". Bay Press Gazette, p. 1B.

Green

Donova-n, J.D. _ (19~8). Incidents in the history of Brown County. (School project). UWGB--ARC. Gard, R. & Sorden, - L.G. (1988). The romance of Wisconsin place names. Minocqua: Heartland Press. Green Bay Press Gazette (1975, May 31). Lack of money for proposed tourist attraction. Belgian Village file--UWGB Special Collections. Hall, S. (1984). Farewell to the homeland: - European immigration to N.E. Wisconsin 1840 to 1900. Brown County: Brown County Historical Society. Historical Atlas of Wisconsin (1881). Chicago: H.R. Page & Co. Heming, H.H. (1896). The Catholic Church in Wisconsin. Catholic Historical Publishing.

Milwaukee:

Holand, H.R. (1917). The history of poor Countv: beautiful. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing.

The

Holand, H.R. (1933). Wisconsin's Belgian community. Door County Historical Society.

county

Sturgeon Bay:

Jordan, T.G. & Rowntree, L. (1986). The human mosaic: introduction to cultural geography (4th ed.). Harper & Row.

A thematic New York:

Kleinmeir, J. (1971, October.). Deciphering local place names far from a snap. Wisconsin Then and Now, 18(3), 2,8. L'empereur, F. (1976). Les Wallons d'Affierigue du Nord. Editions J. Ducolet, S.A. Laatsch, W.G. (in press). University Press.

To build a new land.

Gembloux:

Johns Hopkins

Martin, C.I. (1881). History of Door County. Wisconsin. Bay: Expositor Job Print.

Sturgeon

25

Mart in , X . ( 18 9 5 ) . . ., T....h....e:....-_.,B....e....1..g.......... i a.. . .,n_..s_ _.i,.,.n...._........N.,,,o...r""'t,..h.,..e.._a_s_..t,___.W.._1...,·s.._c..._o....n...,s._.i,...n , Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. 13, pp. 375-396. Moran, J.M. & Somerville, E.L. Williamsonville, Wisconsin Sciences. Arts and Letters. Runune 1 , Rev . L (1976). Wisconsin. Madison: Columbus. St. Mary of the Snows (1925). of Namur, Wisconsin.

of fire Academy

at of

History of the Catholic church Wisconsin State Council Knights

in of

(1990). 1871,

Tornadoes Wisconsin

Historical sketches 1922-1941.

Town

Smet, A. de (1974). La communaute Belge du Nord--est du Wisconsin, ses origins, son evolution jusque vers 1900, Album Antoin de ~(pp. 461-506). Brussels: Centre National d'Histoire des Sciences. Stewart, G.R. (1954, March). A classification of place names. C. Calkins, (Ed.) Names (pp. 1-13).

In

Sumter, L. (1990, September 8). Sugar Bush's roots inspired: entrepreneurial spirit thrives in Belgian farm community. Green Bay Press Gazette, Community Profile section. Tishler, W.H. (1986). Architecture and landscape characteristics of rural Belgian settlement in Northeast Wisconsin. Madison: University Wisconsin Madison. Tlachac, M.S. (1974). The history of the Belgian settlements in Door. Kewaunee. and Brown counties. Algoma: Belg.ian American Club. VanBoxel,l K. (1990, August 4). Church unites Thiry Daems. Bay Press Gazette. Community Profile section. Wisconsin State Geneological Society place names. WSGS Newsletter.

[WSGS]

(1985).

Green

Wisconsin

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