The family of Victor Vifquain: Jean-baptiste Vifquain.

The family of Victor Vifquain, whose name was spelled "Vifquin", was originating in Turned. The father of Victor, Jean-baptiste, born in Tournai on June 24, 1789, adopted the name of "Vifquain", used by error on his certificate of baptism. The grandfather of Victor, Paul Vifquin, was a small mason, building contractor and roofer. 

Jean-baptiste Vifquain lived at one disturbed time of the history of Belgium. At the time of his birth, these areas were an integral part of the Austrian Empire. Following the French revolution of 1789, they were annexed to the French Republic. They knew the Dutch domination at the time of the division of the empire of Napoleon, with the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, before the revolution of 1830 does not devote their independence.

The mother of Jean-baptiste Vifquain died in 1808, whereas he studied with the Art school of Turned. Little time after, he enrolled in the armies of Napoleon, as much by taste of the adventure that to avoid the conscription. He took share in the campaigns of Prussia and Austria. After his return in France, his regiment was sent, in 1810, to occupy Holland, in order to maintain the blockade continental issued by the Emperor of the French against England. While he supervised the coast, Jean-baptiste studied mathematics and passed the examination of entry of the Polytechnic School of Paris, where it was admitted, in November 1812, a few days before his father died. Jean-baptiste Vifquain had only his pay and of the heritage of his/her parents, which was insufficient to pay the annual pension of 800 francs, summons enormous at the time, asked by the school. His uncle, Louis (brother of his father, become rich by its marriage), intervened and paid the pension of his nephew for his two years of studies.

In Paris, Jean-baptiste became acquainted with France-Louise Bourla, girl of a family of architects, alumni of the Art school of Turned, where he had done his studies. This family, tournaisienne of origin, were established in Paris since two generations. France-Louise had already two girls, born from a first marriage with a Parisian industrialist, died in 1813.

The studies of Jean-baptiste did not proceed without incident. From 1812, the empire of Napoleon started to break down: the campaigns of Spain and Russia were disastrous for the French Armies. Attacked of any share, France was invaded in 1814. To defend Paris, one had recourse to the pupils of the Polytechnic School. Jean-baptiste Vifquain took part in the engagements. After being wounded and in spite of an interruption of more than 3 months, he went back to work and passed its final examinations brilliantly.

To the fall of the Empire, Jean-baptiste Vifquain returned to Belgium, then under Dutch domination. He married in Tournai, January 29, 1817, France-Louise Bourla, who had given him, two years earlier, a girl, Louise-Thérèse. They had two more other children, born in Brussels, a girl in 1818 and one son in 1820. Engaged in 1815 in the Waterstaat as engineer on behalf of the Dutch State, Jean-baptiste settled in Brussels and worked with the construction of public buildings of the town of Brussels. He made many alterations and embellishments to the city. He studied and carried out channels and railroads and built the first metal bridge of Belgium. He also made light with gas the large arteries of Brussels.

He supported the Belgian Revolution and, little after the independence of the country and the advent with the throne of Léopold Ier, he contributed to the creation of an international railway network, connecting the German basin of the Rhine to the Belgian ports.

The youth of Victor

Jean-baptiste Vifquain, 45 years old, lost his wife in 1834. At that time, its exceptional success had enabled him to pile up a considerable fortune. It hardly became acquainted with a young dressmaker, 20 years old, Isabelle Devuyst, of which it had two children: a son, Jean-Baptiste-Victor, known as Victor to avoid confusions, born in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (Brussels) on May 26, 1836, and, four years later, a girl, Isabelle, born on July 15, 1840. The parents not being married, the children were registered in the communal registers under the name of their mother. They lived with it with number 80 of the street of the Meridian line in Brussels, while their father resided at a few hundred meters from there, street Royale, just opposite the Botanical garden. Jean-baptiste Vifquain did not marry Isabelle Devuyst, but it recognized the children by an instrument in front of notary January 6, 1845; consequently, Victor and his sister could bear the name of Vifquain.

Jean-baptiste, true torturer of work, had supposed his forces. He had become exhausted with the task and he was pensioned, in 1846. He was old only 56 years and his/her son, Victor, did not have whereas 10 years. He died eight years later, August 31, 1854, in the Ivry-on-Seine, in a house of cure rested by Doctor Esquirol, a doctor famous for the treatment of the psychoses. Any door to believe that Jean-baptiste Vifquain had become exhausted at the point to have lost the reason of it, because he died "in a state of prohibition and intestate".

Victor had wanted to prepare the examination of admission at the Polytechnic Imperial School in order to enter the navy. However, his father had been opposed there and, in 1852, to the 16 years age, he was sent to the United States with a friend. He went in the West to trade there with the Indians and returned from there in 1854, probably recalled to the country because the health of his father worsened.

Victor Vifquain then makes a success of the examination of admission at the Military Royal School, where he entered on January 15, 1855. Burned head and amateur of escapades, he was unable to yield with the discipline in force and, May 25, 1856, was returned school and was poured as warrant officer with the 5th regiment of line where he asked and obtained his leave, November 8, 1856.

August 12, 1856 took place the division of the fortune of his father. The heirs to Jean-baptiste Vifquain sold his house of the street Royale to the Jesuits, who installed the House of Bollandistes there. A church and a convent were built in the large garden contiguous to the residence. This sale contract was used to establish the rights of the heirs to Jean-baptiste and to leave them a delicate situation. Indeed, under the terms of the legislation into force at the time, Victor and his Isabelle sister were not entitled to any share of heritage. However, it seems that a certain agreement existed between the three legitimate children and the two natural children. The first accepted each one 13/45 of immense fortune of the father and seconds 3/45, which still represented a tidy sum of money.

Caroline Veulemans

Victor Vifquain set out again for the United States in May 1857 with an aim apparently of studying the conditions of establishment of a Belgian colony in America. After having unloaded in New York, he left towards the West, passing by Round Hill, in the county of Cooper, in Missouri where, September 9, 1857, he married Caroline Veulemans (Her name, anglicized on the certificate of marriage, is Veullman), which he had met at the time of his first voyage. To finance his installation in the West, Victor Vifquain sold, December 29, 1857, an action coming from his heritage with Henri Lavallée, his brother-in-law, husband of one of his half-sisters (Henri Lavallée was a lawyer at the Court d.Appel, professor with l.University Libre of Brussels, barristers president of l.Ordre of Lawyers and alderman of the town of Brussels).

The following year, with a companion, he left for the West and, after various explorations, decided to be established to 2,5 km upstream confluence of West Blue River, close to Salt Creek, in the county of Saltworks (Territory of Nebraska), halfway between the current cities of Crete and Milford.

Caroline Veulemans had been born parents of Belgian origin, May 20, 1838, in Louisiana, close to Natchitochez, on Red River. Her father, John Francis Veulemans, had been born in Cappelen, in Belgium, February 24, 1800 and had emigrated towards the United States, embarking of Antwerp in 1835. Arrived to New York with his wife and her seven children, he went up Hudson in boat, borrowed the Channel of Erié and reached the Ohio river. There, he built a raft with the means of which he descended Mississippi to the mouth Red River, in Louisiana. He went up then Red River until Natchitochez, where he is established.

He remained there until 1840, but the unhealthy climate which reigned there having caused the death of his three younger children, he decided to go back towards North and of the regions to the more lenient climate. With two attachments of horses, he traveled to Versailles, in the area of Saint-Louis in Missouri, where he settled definitively. John raised cattle successfully there, going to foot to the market of Saint-Louis for selling to with it. He died suddenly of pleurisy, in Tipton in Missouri, January 23, 1853, at the 53 years age.

His wife, Theresa Van de Poel, had been born on November 16, 1797, in Kersbeck, in Belgium, and John Francis Veulemans had married there, May 24, 1824. She died on July 11, 1870 in Round Hill, close to Tipton in Missouri, where he was buried. Her children, Joannes, Albertine, Dominicus (a girl), Norbertus, Josephina, Maria-Phillipina and Maria-Carolina had been born in Belgium; only the junior, Caroline, future wife of Victor, had been born in the United States.