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Dedicated to Emma De Boom Witzel

How do we know that Cornelius De Boom was looking for business opportunities in 1849, not gold, when he sailed his own ship into San Francisco Bay? Only because Emma, his nephew’s youngest daughter, was fiercely proud of her family – both past and present.  She saved hundreds of  “precious family documents,” photographs and paintings which form the basis of this website, dedicated to her memory.

Her Ancestry of the Witzel Brothers provides the single best overview of the Witzel and De Boom family histories, while the Napa Daily Register of August 27,1885 article she preserved summarizes many of Cornelius De Boom’s accomplishments as a California pioneer. She also documents the business acumen and bravery of Cornelius’ brother, Peter Romain De Boom, for whom De Boom Street was named.

To family and friends – please continue to send comments, corrections and additional materials. While Emma saved a lot of documents (those who knew her know how true that is!), her collection is only a beginning.  Internet search tools have enabled De Boom, Marsily and Gerhardi relatives living in France, Belgium and the UK to find and enhance this site. Emma would be so pleased, and amazed. The correspondence continues!

TIPS FOR THE USER –  First, you can enlarge all the tiny thumbnails of photos and documents, usually to 200% of the original size. Just click on the thumbnail, then enlarge. Second, the top menu items (Cornelius, Genealogy, etc.) have data on them.

51 thoughts on “Home

  1. Hi what a wonderful story thank you for sharing.
    I’m writing because I came into possession of a beer tray from what I believe is your family’s history.
    At first I thought it was a reproduction, but the more I looked at it, I felt different.
    It’s oval shape measures about 14″ wide by 18″ in height.
    There are two ladies portrayed. One is seated on a bench playing a harp. The other is standing and leaning over with her elbow on the same bench. In front of them is what appears to be an incense burner producing a lot of smoke that they are enjoying.
    Writing is as follows.
    Top:
    WREDEN’S LAGER
    Bottom:
    OAKLAND CAL
    I recently retired and I’m going to tour the United States for 2 years, seeking treasures. Before I left, I purchased my first storage unit which contained nothing but art and advertisement, which is how I obtained the piece I’m sharing with you. A lot of fruitless searching, led me here to you.
    Would you like to see a picture of this tray or can you share any type of history with me and when it was made? Thank you
    ~Steven
    Sacramento, CA

    • Hi Steven,
      Thank you for contacting me! I would love to see a picture of the tray and will look for contacts who know the Wreden Brewery history. Will write you privately.
      Best regards,
      Chris

  2. I live in Belgium and search information upon the Belgians in California during the Gold Rush. I have seen the correspondance exchanged between the Belgian consuls in Valparaiso and San Francisco and Belgium during that time but some/a lot information is missing. On the other hand, I don’t know if you have copy of the letters exchanged by the De Boom and Belgium during that time.
    I’ll be happy to be in contact with you to see what are our knowledges of that era.
    Thanks,

    • Hello Guy,
      Thank you for offering to exchange information. Unfortunately, all the De Boom correspondence I have is shared on the website. I would be very interested to see the correspondence exchanged between the Belgian consuls in Valparaiso and San Francisco and Belgium. Can you provide links? Also, can you help me find the name of the ship Cornelius De Boom sailed to San Francisco in 1849? Do you have access to a database of shipping records (commercial shipping, not passenger liners) from that time?
      Best regards,
      Chris

  3. Chris,
    Thank you for posting your family history. It is clear from all of the replies that many are connecting the dots thanks to you. Well we are one more of those families. We are descendants of William Jean Noe Marsily and Emma Gerhardi as well as you. We have a picture of their 50th Wedding Anniversary if you are interested in having a digital copy. Thanks again and hope we can connect to fill in more gaps. I would love to connect with Alain Marsily as well.
    All my best,
    Erika Imhof Lundquist

  4. Hello,

    I am a local politician interested in the history of my little town “Denderleeuw” (Belgium). Recently we discovered a grave tomb near the church of Denderleeuw. Until now, nobody knew who was burried here because it was difficult to read the text on the grave thomb. Until we started searching on the web and found some more information about it. We found the name of Jean Corneille De Boom, died in Paris 21/09/1870, and reburried in Denderleeuw 16/03/1871. This man has to be the starting point of your family history in the USA. We are now studying the traces of the life of Jean Corneille De Boom. Here in Denderleeuw we found the exact place where the family lived. https://www.molenechos.org/molen.php?nummer=911 .

    I am trying to find the official documents where he was named as the first General Consul of San Francisco by the Belgian King Leopold 1. I hope you understand my writing. I’m dutch speaking. Please contact me via mail. I wil send you a photo of the grave tomb.

    Jan De Nul

    • Hello,
      Thank you for contacting us. I will reply personally. By the way, your English is excellent.
      Best regards,
      Chris
      Christine Witzel

  5. Hi! My great grandfather was Charles Henry Albert Wreden, the brother of Claus Wreden. My great grandfather Charles bought the ranch after he retired from the partnership with Claus Wreden Brewery due to a stroke. I grew up on a portion of that ranch after it had been split up between family members after Charels’ death. I have info on the Wreden family along with documents and photos. The only Photos I haven’t been able to find are of Claus Wreden. There is a photo my father has of the brewery with Charles in it. There’s a large group of men in it and I’m pretty sure that Claus is in that photo. However, since don’t have a reference to pick him out from, I can’t pinpoint which person he is among all the men. Do you happen to have any photos of him? (Sorry about the above post…accidently posted before I was finished)

    • Hi Paula,
      Sorry about the delay in replying – the site Admin (me) somehow let the comments notification get turned off. Am even sorrier I don’t have any pictures of Claus Wreden. I’d love to get one. Did you go to the 2005 Wreden Roundup? Don Nevins did a fantastic job researching the family history and had an expert on early SF breweries speak. Neither had a photo of Claus.

      The book “Men of California 1900-1902” includes a photo of H.M. Wreden. It was published by the Pacific Art Company of SF. They credit 25 studios and I.W. Taber who took almost 500 of the photos. We could divvy up the list and Google them to see if any (or their descendants) might have a cache of photos. Let me know if you are interested.

      Could you send me a good electronic copy of the Wreden Brewery group? I’d be very grateful.

      Best regards,
      Chris
      Anna Wreden’s great-granddaughter

  6. Hi Chris, Thanks for the wonderfull website which introduced me to a new branch of descendants of the Marsily family… My grandmothers was Elisabeth Marsily, daughter of Ferdinand Marsily and granddaughter of William Edouard Marsily, co founder and co owner of the Red Star Line in Antwerp. William Edourd Marsily’s father William James Marsily was a brother of Carolus Georgius Petrus Jacobus Marsily, the grandfather of Carolina Regina Christina Marsily – DeBoom. I hope we stay now in contact so we can together clarify and or correct some facts together. Best regards, Maurice Demblon

    • Hi Maurice, How good to hear from another European relative! I will reply via private email soon. By the way, just realized the photo labelled ‘Chris’ is actually my friend who is co-admin for this site. Best regards, Chris (Christine)

      • Thanks for your reply Chris. I wait for your e-mail. We can interchange iinformation and help each other to complete our family history…

  7. Hi Mike, Very good question. I don’t know the answer, but will see what I can find out. (Sorry for the delayed response.) Best regards, Chris

  8. My last name is deBoom. My grandfather immigrated to the USA from Holland around 1895. Any relationship between my grandfather also name Cornelius and the French/Belgium deBooms? Family tradition says that my forefathers fled France during the Huguenot persecutions.

  9. What a fantastic response you received. i hope now you’ll write another book as good as “She also Served”. You should try connecting with the Oral History project at the Bancroft in Berkeley. Historians of California urgently need more than official histories thatthey find in the Archives that are strong on institutions poor on real people..

  10. Bonjours, Hi
    I am very pleased to find this de Boom website.
    I am one of your french cousins, and i am the owner of the de BOOM’s archives of the europeen descendents of Jeanne Frédérique de BOOM and Henry de LAURENCEL.I have many original document that should be published on this website. I have letters ( one in flemish language, translate to french!!!), pictures and photos, books, and a very completed généalogie of descendants of J.F. de BOOM and H. de LAURENCEL
    May i have your E-Mail adress to simplify my documents scans transfers to you.
    Best regzrds
    Pierre-André

  11. Hello Chris,

    I talked to my Dad and he informed me that Heinrich (Henry) Wreden was my great-great grandfather. He also had 6 children (7 but one passed early). He had three sons and three daughters. My great grandmother was Carolyn. Heinrich retired from the brewry at the age of 60 following a mild stroke. If you are interested, my dad has put together our family tree, and I would be happy to foward that info to you.

    Blessings, John

    • Hi John,
      Great to hear from you! I will contact you via email and try to hook you up with some other Wreden relatives.
      Best regards,
      Chris

  12. Hi Chris,

    I believe that I am related to Claus Wreden through my father’s mother’s mother. I don’t remeber if it was Anna or Clara…I think the latter…who was my great grandmother. I didn’t know her, but I knew my great grandfather “Pottsie”. His last name was Von Heusen (SP?). One legacy of the Wredens was the 65,000 acre ranch. Does this sound like the same family? My grandmother married Eustice “Mack” McWilliams.

    Thanks, John

    • Hi! My great grandfather was Charles Henry Albert Wreden, the brother of Claus Wreden. My great grandfather Charles bought the ranch after he retired from the partnership with Claus Wreden Brewery due to a stroke. I grew up on a portion of that ranch after it had been split up between family members after Charels’ death. I have info on the Wreden family along with documents and photos. The only Photos I haven’t been able to find are of Claus Wreden. There is a photo my father has of the brewery with Charles in it. There’s a large group of men in it and I’m pretty sure that Claus is in that photo. However, since don’t have a reference to pick him out from, I can’t pinpoint which person he is among all the men. Do you happen to have any photos of him? Maybe we can switch emails safely through Chris.

  13. Hi David,
    Glad you enjoyed this site. It was great to meet you and your family. I know we will find another occasion to get together again.
    Best regards,
    Cousin Chris

  14. Hi Chris, Just spent about an hour looking at the sight you did a great jog! It was so nice meeting with all of you last week hope we can find ways to keep in touch. Thanks John David Witzel

  15. Hi. This is Ted Steele, a descendant of Joseph Camille Badarous, Marie’s father. I see that you have found some of the info on this family that I had posted on my website some years ago. Nice to have found another cousin.

    I was looking for Cornelius and Marie DeBoom becuase it is my understanding that Marie was the daughter of Dr. Badarous’ first marriage to Honorine DeRochefort and I want to see if I can find more about her (Honorine) and their marriage in Paris. I have some nice stories from my other about them, but I have found no confirmation.

    Please contact me by e-mail if you’d like to share info.

    Ted Steele

  16. Madam

    I have just discovered your website in a search on my family.
    I am great great grand daughter of Angélique de Laurencel (Louis-Henry de Laurencel and Frédérique de Boom’s daughter).
    Could you give me your personnal mail address to be able to discuss with you privately

    Best regards

    LC

  17. A great piece on Wreden Brewery. Touches on a bit of MY family history too. We have many artifacts from the Wreden Brewery. I also noticed that North Coast Brewing resurrected the Acme Brewing label. One of my favorite hobbies is making beer, and am in search of any possible recreation of the original Annabelle Lager’ and ‘Wreden’s Extra Pale Lager’

    THANK YOU!
    JEFF

    • Jeff: I am doing genealogy on my grandfather, Charles Verna Wallenberg. According to my father’s notes, Charles (aka Verna) was a Stationery Engineer for Wreden Brewery in the – 1890’s. He then went on to Rainier Brewery all in SF! Bob

  18. Chris:
    You are to ne congratulated for
    initialing the “DeBoom History”
    This is a labor of love of family and
    deserves full support of the Witzel
    branch of the DeBoom heritage.

  19. Dear Chris,
    Wonderful website of family history. Thanks for compiling the info, and making it available for posterity. I especially like the 1889 Napa photo of R.C. DeBoom, Bonmaman, and their four children. Their eldest daughter, Fanny DeBoom was to eventually marry Charles Woodward Haseltine. They were the grandparents of Chips and Art.
    My best to you and all my cousins — which I don’t see often enough,
    Art (Arthur Woodward Haseltine)
    Carmel, California
    http://www.fotosea.com

  20. Dear Chris,
    What a great site, brimming with stories, photos, links, and down-loadables. The street sign in the header is a nice touch.
    Your project must be very popular within the families, and with fans of California history. And the spirit of Aunt Emma must be pleased as punch—you are apparently the person she saved all those documents for.
    Is this a WordPress site? So is mine: http://onsbs.com/
    To exploiting this valuable tool that’s been given to us. See you around the gym.
    -Sue

    • Hi Sue,
      Thanks for the compliments. Your site is _amazing_! I will refer my writing friends to it as an excellent example for marketing a book…something I’m still thinking about.
      Regards,
      Chris

  21. Loved your family history, Christine!
    You might consider putting a button at the bottom of each page
    to take the reader to the next page; for the first time reader, like myself,
    it seems that the article ends there.
    Stu

  22. Chris,

    What a wonderful job you have done in gathering and publishing the family history!
    Cornelius deBoom’s Certificate from the Society of California Pioneers verifying that he arrived in California 163 years ago on Feb. 18, 1849, hangs in my office.

    Thanks for all your efforts,

    Ron Witzel

  23. Very interesting, Chris. Read all of your fathers stories this evening. Loved the pictures that went with them. Looking forward to viewing the rest of the sight. I applaud you. A labor of love well done… Kat St.Claire

  24. hello
    I’m a cousin of Jacques Marsily. Our fathers were brothers
    Happily Alain M. will continue the research

    I live in Brussels, were born in Antwerp 1931

    It’s very exiting you wrote with us

    so long

  25. I am truly impressed with the result of your genealogical efforts and grateful that you have included me in the mailing list. I have no memory of anything about “Bonmaman” DeBoom. I do have vague snippets of memory about Fanny’s sisters. “TanteMimi” and “TanteEmma” were some old ladies we were dragged to meet in an old, dark house somewhere in San Francisco. My main memory is the house smelled “funny”. I guess this must have been during WWII, though I have nothing to anchor these recollections.
    The WWII letter from Mrs. Gerhardi caught my interest. The origin of my nickname, “Chips” was always vaguely referred to as “some kind of distant, English cousin” of Fanny’s. The fleeting reference to “Chip”, who I guess was Alice’s brother, offers a clue to that mystery. The other explanation I got said all the other nicknames for Charles had been taken. I’m the fourth Charles in a row in the Haseltine family. And, the last one.

    • Hi Chips,
      Thank you for your comment. If you are interested in learning more about the Gerhardis, Alice’s nephew, Dave, is on that private mailing list. I’ve been pondering writing up something about them…. In any case, thanks again and take care.
      Best regards,
      Chris

      • Hi
        Just catching up. Alice Gerhardi was my Grandmother therefore I am her grandson and not her nephew. Alice is the sister of Sidney Burgoyne who left the UK for America and started Burgoyne Cards.
        Regards

  26. Hello

    I went many times in SF and was wondering why a “Marsily St” existed !

    I browse Internet time to time to catch news about my family roots. I found your site and get a nice answer to the street story. Tks

    My father (Jacques Marsily) died a few months ago but his patience and passion for our family genealogy during years was tasteful for many members of our family.

    We still have some holes in our family tree but connections, family stories on internet and documents help to fill them out.

    Thanks for your contributions… so helpful also for our children.

    If I can help, it will be my pleasure to answer any questions related to the Marsily family… My father’s boxes are full of documents and his hard drives too… I don’t over promise but if accessible… they will be yours.

    Best

    Alain Marsily
    Belgium

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