Bourggraff meeting

Second family tree meeting of the Bourggraff family together with relatives from America

On July 19,the second meeting of the Bourggraff family took place in Troîne and Hachiville in the north of Luxembourg. The roots of the Bourggraff family can be traced back to the end of the 16th century in the local stock house Burkes-Sondag. In the morning, members of the family gat hered for a solemn Mass in Troîne. The service was celebrated by Joseph Burgraff, the rector of the monastery Gentinnes in Belgium, the music was performend by members of the family as well. Also the deceased were commemorated, particularly Professor Pierre Bourggraff, who had been Professor of Oriental Languages ​​and Literature at the Université catholique de Liège in the 19th century and who had be queathed his library to the Lycée classique Diekirch. His grave is in Troîne. Other famous people from the family are Prof. Jean-Nicolas Bourggraff, who had also been a professor at the Athenaeum Luxembourg in the 19th century and his granddaughter, the writer and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir.

After the service there was in Hachiville a champagne reception and a lunch for the approximately 70 members of the family present. Just like five years ago it was very inspiring to see how big the family is and what different personalities come together at such ameeting. From Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and even from the United States of America Bourggraffs had arrived.

The celebrate Joseph Burgraff

For the organizer and family tree researcher Arno Bourggraff it was a special event to welcome the American descendants of Jean Bourggraff, once born in Hachiville and emigrated to Americain the 1860s. His descendant Tracy Burggraff from South Dakota/United States had established a "Facebook group Bourggraff Family all over the world" a few years ago, and so the connection between the American and the Luxembourg branches of the family had been prepared. The American Bourggraffs also helped to find the descendants of Joseph Bourggraff. The fate of this very Joseph Bourggraff had once been the trigger for Arno Bourggraff for researching the family tree. Arno had found in his youth in the atticof his parents'house a letter by that Joseph Bourggraff, in which he told how he had found a considerable quantity of gold together with another young Luxembourg emigrant during the American Gold Rush and how his friend had cheated him to this gold. Last year, Arno Bourggraff and his wife travelled to America and participated there in a meeting of the American Bourggraff family.

So they were all the more delighted to welcome the Americans now on the Luxembourgish meeting.

The participants of the meeting had the opportunity to explore the family branches on about 15 meters long banners with over 2700 names and to read the history of the family in a 200-page chronicle in German and French containing all members of the family since the 16th century. The meeting was also attended by many children who will pass on the family name to future generations.

 

 Written by Mireille Bourggraff

 Translation: Elisabeth Bourggraff

Frank Burggraff with Lynda an his daughter Tracy