William Joseph Balza &
Clarissa Elizabeth Arendt
William Joseph BALZA was born on June 30th, 1909, in the town of Duval, Door county, Wisconsin. William was the second child of Theophile Joseph Antoine BALZA and Mathilda FINENDAEL. Like his brothers, Bill was educated through the eighth grade, and helped his father run the family farm and blacksmith shop.
Clarissa Elizabeth ARENDT was born in Luxemburg, Kewaunee county, Wisconsin, on May 26th, 1917, the first child of Peter ARENDT and Elizabeth RUEKEL.
William and Clarissa were married on October 5th, 1938 in St. Mary's Church, Luxemburg, Wisconsin. After their marriage they moved to the Arendt farm in Luxemburg, just off highway 54 going to Algoma. Bill and Clarissa had three children:
- Edmund William BALZA, who married Janet Rose GUILLETTE and had three children (Robert Edmund, Kathleen Mary, and Nancy Jo).
- Raymond Joseph BALZA, who married Linda May PREVOST and had two children (Lisa marie, and Gregory Raymond).
- Michael George BALZA, who never married and died unexpectedly (obituary) on November 14th, 1985.
William and Clarissa eventually took over the Arned family farm in Section 10 and farmed it until their sons Raymond and Michael took over.
William died on May 22nd, 1980 in Luxemburg, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin (obituary).
Clarissa died in a Milwaukee hospital, Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, on April 30th, 1991, and is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Luxemburg (obituary).
Memories: History of Luxemburg
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 first married Mathilda
FINENDAEL (1882 - 1917). Theophile and Mathilda had 6
children (Theophile Joseph Balza Family History) the second child
a son was William Joseph BALZA
(1909 - 1980) whose family described above.
FINENDAEL Ancestry
The oldest known FINENDAEL ancestor is Henry FINENDAEL ( 1850 - ?)
who married Adolphina MONFORT
(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.
ARENDT Ancestry
The ARENDT family originates in ???. The eldest known Arendt
at this time is Peter ARENDT
( ) who married Elizabeth
RUEKEL ( ). The had at least two children one of which
is Clarissa Elizabeth ARENDT
(1917 - 1991) whose family is described above.
RUEKEL Ancestry
Elizabeth RUEKEL ( ) is the only known member of this family at this time.
Last updated: January 8th, 2000.
Copyright 2000, Richard M. Balza
To make reproductions, corrections or obtain more information
contact: Richard M. Balza