Five Brothers and a War

The van Pelts—1400 to 1500 AD

The written history of families usually does not go further back than the 1400s, as records for ordinary people were rarely kept during the preceding times. In fact, the dates of birth are hard to come by for centuries, as people had children as a simple matter of life, and not so much an event worthy of note. It was only when they went to the Church for baptism shortly after a child was born that a record was made. The churches were the record-keepers, not the government. Children were born at home, typically without assistance outside of midwifery. Simple notations in church registries are often the only records, and during times of war or natural disaster, even these sparse records were often lost. There is some dispute as to the origins of the van Pelt name, with one argument saying that it stems from the northern region of what is now Belgium (though at the time it was part of Holland) in the towns of Overpelt and Neerpelt (loosely “Past Pelt” and “Near Pelt”). A study of genealogy shows a number of van Pelts did indeed, as the name suggests, come “from Pelt”.

van Pelt

Overpelt and Neerpelt are just across the Dutch-Belgian border. Neerpelt is only about 3 km (2 miles) from Holland.

Through the ages, the towns were actually just one town—at various times called Paleth, Pelte, and Peelte. Since the French Revolution, the name Overpelt has been in use.

Five Brothers and a War

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