Henry Joseph Balza,
Minnie Vanden Plas,
Louise Nejedlo &
Lorraine (Dart) Laurent
Henry Joseph was born in the town of Duval, Door county, Wisconsin, on June 17th, 1904. He was the first child born to Theophile Antoine Joseph BALZA and Mathilda FINENDAEL. Henry had a rudimentary education (through the eighth grade). After his schooling he went to work for the Scheffards Cheese Company.
Henry first married Minnie Vanden Plas and worked for the H.C. Prange Company as a furniture salesman.
He then married Louise Minor Nejedlo and worked as a driver for Leath's Furniture.
Lorraine Dart LAURENT was born July 3rd, 1914 in Rio Creek the daughter of John and Catherine Laurent. She married Henry Dart in October of 1931, and together the had three children: Mary Dart who married Maynard Dupont. Beatrice Dart who married Raphael Rollin, and John Dart who married Lois ?. Henry Dart died on January 5th, 1949.
Henry married Lorraine Dart Laurent on June 30th, 1956. After 25 years at Leath Furniture, he worked for Home Furniture for a time until his retirement in 1969.
Henry died at the age of 80 on August 11th, 1984, in Green
Bay, Wisconsin. Lorraine died at the age of 75 in
Green Bay, Wisconsin on September 5th, 1989.
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 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 married Mathilda
FINENDAEL (1882 - 1917) Theophile and Mathilda had six
children (Theophile Balza
Family History). Their first born was Henry Joseph BALZA whose
family is described above.
FINENDAEL Ancestry
The oldest known FINENDAEL ancestor is Henry FINENDAEL ( 1850 - ?) who married Adolphina ? (1850 - ? ). Henry and Adolphina had six children. Their third child was Mathilda FINENDAEL (1882 - 1917) who married Theophile Antoine Joseph BALZA (1878 - 1941). Mathilda and Theophile had 6 children together (Theophile Balza Family History). The eldest was Henry Joseph BALZA whose family history is detailed above.
VANDEN PLAS Ancestry
NEJEDLO Ancestry
LAURENT Ancestry
The oldest known LAURENT ancestor at this time is John LAURENT ( ) who married Catherine ? ( ) and fathered four children. One of them was Lorraine LAURENT (1914 -1989) who first married Harvey DART (? - 1949). Harvey and Lorraine had three children. After Harvey's death, she married Henry Joseph BALZA whose family is described above.
Last updated: January 5th, 2000
Copyright 2000, Richard M. Balza
To make corrections or obtain more information contact: Richard M. Balza