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Please feel free to browse and learn about the family's histories linked to this page. We welcome your interest and would love to hear from you, if there is anything that you can add to the continuously growing information about our families or their ancestors. Because of the sensitive nature of the data about living relatives, only data about deceased members of the family are available on-line. However, if specifics about certain families are required please contact the author (histories that are off-line are marked with an asterix "*". If you have any information to contribute or inquiries about these family histories, please e-mail: Richard M..Balza.
Navigation through this family history collection is based upon the ancestor branches of each individual family. EXAMPLE: From this summary page the surnames ANGST. BALZA, FLAHAUT, LEURQUIN, MARTIN, VAN LANEN, STREIT, SCHEMMER, WESCHE, and BREININGER are presented. There are many more families (3055) and individuals (8824) including their known branches in this web site ( (see the surnames list at the bottom of the page). Below you will find a summary of the ancestry for each of the families named in the title of this page. The flags represent the surname's country of origin and as in the case below the country in which the family resides.
For those looking for specific family connections there is also and alphabetical index (People) and a surname list (Surnames). See bottom of page.
ANGST Ancestry
The ANGST (literally "fear" in German) surname appears to originate in Wil, Canton Zurich, Switzerland. The earliest identified Angst ancestor in our research is John Joseph ANGST who married (Mary) Anna WIDMER (1819 - ?). This family is the current focus of our research, and very little is known about them (John Joseph Angst Family History). They did, however, have at least one child John ANGST (1850 - 1916) who married Mary Forena JAGGLI (1864 - 1920). They were blessed with three children (John Angst Family History) the first of which was Joseph Valentine ANGST (1895 - 1965) who married Mary Ann (Marion) VAN LANEN. Joseph and Mary Ann had seven children (Joseph Valentine Angst Family History) the second of which was Grace Mary ANGST who married Gall Anton (G. Tony) BALZA.
BALZA Ancestry 
The surname BALZA is a derivation (Belzer, Balzac, Balzer, etc.) of the ancient name "BALTHAZAR" (one of the three wise men). The country of origin for this Balza family is Belgium more specifically Sart-Walhain in Namur Province where we've traced our earliest known ancestors. At this time the earliest known family group with the Balza surname is Jean BALSA who married Adele (?) DE GLIMES ( Jean and Adele had at least one child Jean BALSA (1626 - ?) who married Marie HODY (1654 - ?) and Catherine BRASSEUR. Jean had one child Jacques BALSA (1685 - 1762) who married Marie Francoise SCAMPART (? - 1727) and had four children. The First born was Francois Joseph BALSA (1715 - 1792) who married Therese TOISON (? - 1754) had four children then married Jeanne HUBERT and had two children the first of which was Philippe Francois BALSA (1775 - 1804) who married Marie Catherine HENRY (1754 - 1822). Phillippe and Marie had eight children the second of which was Jean Joseph BALZA (1778 - 1836) who married Marie Therese BRABANT (1778 - 1851) see (Jean Joseph Balza Sr. Family History). They had at eight children the second of which was Jean Joseph Balza (1804 - 1889) who married Virginie BERO (1807 - 1882) and they where blessed with eight children (Jean Joseph Balza Family History). The youngest of these was Antoine BALZA (1845 - 1927) who married Marie Antoinette FLAHAUT (1845 - 1927). Antoine and Marie Antoinette had ten children (Antoine Balza Family History) six of which were born in Belgium. s Jean Joseph BALZA who married Marie Therese BRABANT. Very little is known about this family - it is still a subject for on-going research (Jean Joseph Balza Sr. Family History). They had at least one son Jean Joseph Balza (1804 - 1889) who married Virginie BERO (1807 - 1872) and they where blessed with eight children (Jean Joseph Balza Family History). The youngest of these was Antoine BALZA (1845 - 1927) who married Marie Antoinette FLAHAUT (1845 - 1927). Antoine and Antoinette had six children while living in Belgium. They and five of their six children immigrated to Duval, Door County Wisconsin in 1880 and became U.S. Citizens. They had four more children in Duval (Antoine Balza Family History). Their sixth foreign born child was Theophile Antoine Joseph BALZA (1878 - 1941) who first married Mathilda FINENDAEL (1882 - 1917) and later Mary Louise LEURQUIN Boncher ( 1894 - 1967) (Theophile Antoine Joseph Balza Family History). The childern of Theophile's second marriage are Donald Joseph Balza who first married Sylvia Brienan and secondly married Dora Hannon and thirdly married Eilane Wettstein Peters see (Donald Balza Famliy History); Gall Anton (G. Tony) BALZA who married Grace Mary ANGST and whose family is described in the (Gall Anton Balza Family History): and Firman Joseph Balza who married Nathalie Mildred Larsheid see (Firman Balza Family History).
FLAHAUT Ancestry
LEURQUIN
Ancestry
The LEURQUIN surname is very much a research in progress. The origin of the Leurquin family like the Balza family is Belgium. According to the immigration records they come from the area around the city of Temploux. Our earliest known Leurquin ancestor is Desire LEURQUIN (1824 - 1910) who married Cecelia BOURNONVILLE (1830 - 1918). Together they had four children (Desire Leurquin Family History). The third child of this union was Dieu Donni LEURQUIN (1865 - 1935) who married Victoria MARTIN (1871 - 1936). Dieu Donni and Victoria raised ten children (Dieu Donni Leurquin Family History). The second of these children was Mary Louise LEURQUIN (1894 - 1967) who first married Joseph Henry MASSEY Boncher and had three sons. After his death Mary met and married Theophile Antoine Joseph BALZA (1878 - 1941) and together they were blessed with three more sons; Donald Joseph Balza who first married Sylvia Brienan and secondly married Dora Hannon and thirdly married Eilane Wettstein Peters see (Donald Balza Famliy History); Gall Anton (G. Tony) BALZA who married Grace Mary ANGST see (Gall Anton Balza Family History); and Firman Joseph Balza who married Nathalie Mildred Larsheid see (Firman Balza Family History).
The
MARTIN surname is also assumed to originate in
Belgium. The earliest known MARTIN ancestor in this history
is Daniel MARTIN
who
married Theresa NOREAN.
This couple had at least one son Felix , see (Daniel Martin Family
History).
Felix (Felician) MARTIN
(1849 - 1909) who married Theresa
CORBISIER (1849 - 1912). Felix and Theresa (Felician Martin Family
History) had at least one daughter Victoria MARTIN
(1871 - 1936)
who married Dieu Donni
LEURQUIN
(1849 - 1935). Victoria and Dieu Donni had ten children (Dieu Donni Leurquin
Family History) the second of which was Mary Louise LEURQUIN who married Theophile Antoine Joseph BALZA.
VAN LANEN
Ancestry 
The VAN LANEN surname originates in the towns of Boekel and
Uden, Noord Brabant, Holland and means "from the
lanes". The earliest Van Lanen identified to date is Peter VAN LAANEN
who was
married to Wilhelmina
VAN DEN
ANKER. This couple had at least one son Gerardus VAN LANEN (1788
-
<1870) who married Johanna
Adriaan Giele VAN DER HEIJDEN (1790 -
<1870).
Gerardus and Johanna had at least 7 and possibly as many as 11
children (Gerardus
Van
Lanen Family History) who immigrated to Green Bay, Brown
County Wisconsin in 1849. Of the 7 children who survived
the trip to the United States, our direct ancestor was Peter VAN LANEN (1817
- 1881)
who was married to Wilhelmina
JANSENS (1819 - ?). Peter and Wilhelmina were
blessed
with six children (Peter
Van Lanen Family History) the forth born was Godfrey VAN LANEN
(1854 -
1939). Godfrey married Hannah
HERMANS (1858 - 1899) and they had ten children (Godfrey Van Lanen
Family
History). Godfrey and Hannah's ninth child was Mary Ann (Marion) VAN LANEN
(1896 - 1972) who married Joseph
Valentine ANGST (1895 - 1965) and had seven children (Joseph Valentine ANGST
Family
History). To this family the second child was Grace Mary ANGST who
married Gall Anton (G.
Tony) BALZA see (Gall
Anton Balza Family History).
STREIT Ancestry 
The STREIT surname originates in Germany (Prussia) in the town
of Erdorf. The eldest STREIT ancestor currently known is Peter STREIT
(1779-1845) who
married Elizabeth
BEWINKEID
(1777-1845). Peter and Elizabeth had at least one son (Peter
Streit Family History) Michael
STREIT (1815-1900) who married Helena STRAUT (1820-1900).
They had four children in Germany and then emigrated to the
United States in 1857, settled in Kenosha county, Wisconsin
and had two more children (Michael Streit Family History).
The last of their children was Anton
STREIT (1858-1947) who married Mary M. JOHANNES
(1858-1885). Anton and Mary had three children (Anton
Streit Family History), the second of these was Michael Anthony STREIT
(1883-1958) who married Katherine
SCHEMMER (1884-1920). Michael and Katherine raised six
children (Michael
Anthony
Streit Family History) the fifth born was John Henry STREIT
(1918-1967)
whose family is describedin the John and Irene Streit Family History. John and Irrene had three children James Anton STREIT who married Ann Marie RALSTEN; John Edward STREIT; and Charoltte Kay STREIT who married Richard Micahel BALZA.
SCHEMMER
Ancestry
The SCHEMMER surname is an area for further research. Currently, the eldest known is Heinrich SCHEMMER (1812 - 1883) who married Elisabeth MENGELKAMP. Their 8th child is Henry SCHEMMER ( ) who married Katherine Kramer ( ). They had at least one daughter Katherine SCHEMMER (1884-1920) who married Michael Anthony STREIT (1883-1958). Michael and Katherine had six children (Michael Anthony Streit Family History) the fifth of which was John Henry STREIT (1918-1967) who married Irene Catherine WESCHE. John and Irrene had three children James Anton STREIT who married Ann Marie RALSTEN; John Edward STREIT; and Charoltte Kay STREIT who married Richard Micahel BALZA.
WESCHE Ancestry
The earliest WESCHE ancestors are from Erdorf, (Prussia) Germany, a small town in the Eiffel region (near Tier). The earliest known Wesche ancestor is Johann Albrecht WESCHE (1720-1756) who married Katherine WEIHE (1722-1751). Johann and Katherine had at least one son Henning Andreas WESCHE ( 1754-1805) who married Anna FRIEDERICHS (1753-1815). Henning and Anna had three children. Their third son was Andreas Friederich WESCHE (1795-1873) who married Johanne Lucie F. BRANDES (1798-1887). Andreas and Johanne had five children (Andreas Friederich Wesche Family History), and immigrated to the United States in 1858 with their children. Their fourth child was Johann Friederich WESCHE (1839-1925) who married Carolina Fredericka MARTENS (1848-1894). Johann and Carolina had fifteen children (Johann Friederich Wesche Family History). Their eleventh child was Carl John William WESCHE (1884-1946) who married Emma Renetta BREININGER (1886-1964). Carl and Emma had eight children (Carl John William Wesche Family History). The fifth of these was Irene Catherine WESCHE (1918 - 2020 ) who's family history is found in the John and Irene Streit Family History. John and Irrene had three children James Anton STREIT who married Ann Marie RALSTEN; John Edward STREIT; and Charoltte Kay STREIT who married Richard Michael BALZA.
BREININGER
Ancestry
Very little is known about the BREININGER surname. The eldest known Breininger is Michael BREININGER who married Catherine SCHIMPF. Thier foruth Child was Emma Renetta BREININGER (1886-1964) who married Carl John William WESCHE (1884-1946). Emma and Carl had eight children (Carl John William Wesche Family History). The fifth child was Irene Catherine WESCHE (1918 -2020 ) who's family history is found in the John and Irene Streit Family History. John and Irrene had three childre James Anton STREIT who married Ann Marie RALSTEN; John Edward STREIT; and Charoltte Kay STREIT who married Richard Micahel BALZA.
Last
updated: Nov 10th, 2020
Copyright 1999-2020, Richard M. Balza
To make corrections or obtain more information contact: Richard M. Balza