(1) Jacques Joseph Boulanger, a farmer, born around 1735-1755, probably in Olne, Liege, Belgium; married in 1772 at Liege, Belgium Marie Barbe Goffart, born around 1735-1755, probably in Olne, Liege, Belgium. They were probably residents of Xhendelesse, Liege, Belgium. Parents of:

Children (incomplete):

1. Lambert Joseph, a farmer, born 1788, probably at Xhendelesse, Liege, Belgium. He was residing at Xhendelesse in 1818 when he was named as a witness to the birth of Gilles Joseph. His identification as a child of Jacques and Marie Barbe is tentative and needs further research.
2. Cornelis Joseph, mentioned below.

        (2) Cornelis Joseph Boulanger, a farmer, born about 1771 or 1772 probably at Olne, Liege, Belgium, died before 1860 probably at Olne, Liege, Belgium; married 20 February 1800 at Olne, Liege, Belgium Marie Elisabeth Falise, born about 1772 at Liege, Belgium, died 3 January 1860 at age 88 at Nessonvaux d'Olne, Liege, Belgium, daughter of Gilles Fallise and Marie Anne Dorgeo, married 1770 at Liege, Belgium.

Children (incomplete):

1. Marie Catharine, born 3 August 1816 at Olne, Liege, Belgium.
2. Gilles Joseph, mentioned below.

        (3) Gilles Joseph Boulanger, born 31 January 1818 at Olne, Liege, Belgium, died after 1853. By the Spring of 1852, Gilles was occupied as a supervisor of railroad construction in the village of Kurzberg, Martinszell parish, Schwaben, Bavaria, Germany, in the employ of the entrepreneurs Sinne and Groven. The railroad traced the property of the family of Salome Steiner, a poor girl who on 14 December 1852 gave birth to a son fathered by Gilles. In January 1853, at Martinszell, Salome swore in an affidavit that Gilles had returned to "his home" at Nessonvaux d'Olne, Liege, Belgium, and she requested that the court appoint a guardian to provide for her boy. Since Gilles traveled for long periods of time for work, it is probably that his "home" at Nessonvaux was actually his mother's who was by then an elderly widow. There are no records for Gilles in Nessonvaux or Olne, other than his birth record. Parents of:

1. Johann Michael Steiner a.k.a. Michael Johannes Diepolder, born 14 December 1852 at Kurzberg, Martinszell parish, Schwaben, Bayern, Germany, died 16 July 1901 at Rock Island Lighthouse Station, Town of Orleans, Jefferson Co., New York.

Birth Record of Gilles Joseph Boulanger

Railroad at Kurzberg

Courtesy of Margarete Heidl, Waltenhofen, and Friederich  R. Wollmershäuser, Oberdischingen

This is lot 90 at Kurzberg. The cluster of buildings was built in 1906 and is known today as Gut Kurzberg or Kurzberg Manor, house 16 a, b and c, and is home to about 10 families. The manor was originally numbered 90 ½, the ½ meaning that it stands on the site of the original lot 90, which the family of Salome Steiner lived on for three generations. In the foreground is the railroad, construction of which was supervised by Gilles Boulanger. This photos were taken in 1908; as of 2011, they a the oldest known photographs of Kurzberg.