Maison DemanHistoire familiale

Introducing Maison Deman · Family memory

The Deman Family Tapestry

Weaving memory between Flanders and Wallonia.

Villers-la-VilleFlanders · Wallonia28 September 2026
AOriginal recordBDocumented studyCWorking dataTOral testimony

Audio version · English

Listen to the story

A journey through the sounds of family memory.

1. The loom of memory

Johnny Deman’s initiative and Maison Deman

“Every recorded voice is a strand of wool, every archive a warp thread: by interweaving tones, silences and old documents, the true memory of families is woven.”

Rooted in the heart of Brabant, in Villers-la-Ville, Maison Deman stands as a place of remembrance serving rediscovered family lines. Born of Johnny Deman’s passionate commitment, this long-term project brings together research, yellowing photographs, captured voices and archival documents patiently collected over the years with the help of Jean-Marie Deman and Annie Lebon. Together, they set themselves one task: to rescue from oblivion the modest or heroic lives, daily labour and intertwined destinies that make up the fabric of our heritage.

Beyond a cold succession of dates, Maison Deman seeks to make these lives resonate across generations. By transforming the raw material of registers into a living, human story, this work of transmission gives descendants a place to listen and reflect, where intimate family histories meet the sweep and upheavals of history.

Warp and weft

At the heart of this work of memorial craftsmanship, “The Deman Family Tapestry” is formed by carefully interweaving contemporary voices, podcasts, restored images and old documents. On this virtual loom, the warp represents the factual structure: the rigour of civil records, examined parish registers, censuses and preserved material evidence. The weft brings colour, depth and emotion through the warmth of sound recordings, the subtlety of transmitted memories and the poetry of shared stories.

The project follows the Maison Deman principle: “Pass it on without telling it wrong.” Every piece of information is assigned an evidence level — from original record and documented study to working data and oral testimony. This discipline ensures that narrative energy never betrays genealogical truth.

2. The Flemish threads

The Deman & Lexhardé line

On the paternal side, the threads are rooted in the sandy, salt-tinged soil of West Flanders, shaped by the North Sea wind, work on the land and the violence of conflict.

  • Woumen, Esen and Keiem: longstanding birthplaces and major anchors of the Deman line.
  • Mannekensvere: the home of Théodoor Deman and Urbanie Baeckelandt, where the couple and their eleven children faced the First World War and the work of reconstruction.
  • Nieuwpoort, Pouillenay and Keiem: the path of Jeanne Hortensia Lexhardé, from the coast and exile in France during the Great War to her return to Flanders beside Aimé Deman.

The Borny line

The Borny branch adds maritime and popular shades to the tapestry. Along the dunes and polders between Klemskerke, De Haan and Vosseslag, the family lived to the rhythm of coastal trades and local communities. The Klemskerke windmill, known in the family as the Borny mill, remains in the albums as a symbol of daily labour and grain ground beneath the wind.

3. The Walloon and Brabant weft

The Lebon & Labart branch

On the maternal side, the weft runs through the plains of Walloon Brabant and Hainaut, where intimate family history meets the major conflicts of Europe.

  • The Lebons of Fleurus, Marbais and Brye: this family line remains connected with the house built beside the stream called “La Rose”, in a region marked by the battles of Fleurus, including that of 1794.
  • Lydie Labart in Saint-Amand: Paula Wauthy’s mother died young, but remains present in the Maison Deman archive through two family portraits.

The Wauthy backbone

The Wauthy line — also recorded as Wauthiez or Wautier in old registers — forms a major Walloon backbone of the genealogy file. Established in Wagnelée, Rèves and Sart-Dames-Avelines, it connects recent family memory with older research paths in Namur and Brabant.

Overview of the family lines

Family branchPlaces of connectionKey people and events
Deman & LexhardéWoumen, Esen, Keiem, Ostend, Mannekensvere, Nieuwpoort, PouillenayThéodoor Deman and Urbanie Baeckelandt; Jeanne Hortensia Lexhardé; Aimé Deman.
BornyKlemskerke, De Haan, VosseslagCoastal trades; the Borny mill; the Vosseslag tragedy of 1929.
Lebon & LabartMarbais, Brye, Fleurus, Ligny, Saint-AmandThe house beside “La Rose”; Lydie Labart; Paula Wauthy.
Wauthy / Wauthiez / WautierWagnelée, Rèves, Sart-Dames-AvelinesPaula Wauthy; a bridge towards older families of Brabant and Namur.
Older lines and connections — working fileNamur, Grand-Leez, Hainaut, TrivièresJacquet, de Becquevort, de La Hamaide, de Namur; medieval connections still awaiting archival verification.

4. Snags in time

A family’s fabric is not woven only from peaceful days; it also bears the marks of wars, accidents and ruptures.

  1. Mannekensvere and the First World War: Théodoor Deman, Urbanie Baeckelandt and their eleven children were caught in the conflict that devastated the Yser sector, bringing evacuation, loss and reconstruction.
  2. Vosseslag, 1929: a sudden bereavement struck the Borny branch and left a lasting scar in family memory.
  3. Keiem, 1935 — “The interrupted round”: Aimé Deman’s death is documented by his memorial card, three preserved newspaper cuttings and notes left by Jeanne Hortensia Lexhardé.
  4. Soulagnets / Germs-sur-l’Oussouet, June 2014: Jean-Marie Deman was swept away by floodwater while trying to rescue his dog. Contemporary press articles document the tragedy.

5. The threads come together

Maison Deman in Villers-la-Ville

Set in the green surroundings of Villers-la-Ville, Maison Deman is where lives once scattered between the Flemish coast and the Walloon countryside now converge. Through the work of Johnny Deman, supported by Betty, this family research and publishing centre digitises, identifies and preserves records, correspondence, sound recordings and period photographs.

Johnny Deman’s symbolic coat of arms

To give visual expression to this many-layered memory, Johnny Deman designed a personal coat of arms, graphically completed with contemporary digital tools and artificial intelligence.

Contemporary personal coat of arms designed by Johnny Deman
Johnny Deman’s contemporary personal coat of arms — an editorial symbol, not historical or hereditary arms of the family.

The shield brings together symbols Johnny chose to evoke Flemish and Walloon roots, the medieval research paths in the working tree, and the continuity between past, present and future transmission.

6. An invitation to listen and pass memory on

This story accompanies the audio creation “The Deman Family Tapestry”, available in French, Dutch and English in the Maison Deman media library.

An appeal to collective memory

A family history is a living and unfinished work, a loom on which every generation adds its own thread. Maison Deman warmly invites relatives, cousins, connected families and descendants to contribute:

  • Correct or clarify an omission, date, place or detail.
  • Enrich the tree and archives with documents, memorial cards, letters, period photographs or civil records.
  • Share testimony and memories so that Johnny and Betty can prepare future articles with the families concerned.

Every shared memory strengthens the fabric of our collective memory.