Léonie Bersou

Leonie Pauline Marie Bersou was born in Courtrai on August 8th 1855 as the daughter of Aimé Théodore Bersou and Marie Louise Vanhalmé. She married brewer Albert Aimé Marie Vandewalle in Courtrai on October 4th 1879. The couple settled in Izegem. On April 28th 1894 the family moved from Izegem to Schaarbeek, Rue des Palais. The couple had four daughters. Magdalena (Izegem, 30.11.1880 – 12.01.1881), Albertine (Izegem, 03.01.1882-), Germana (Izegem, 04.03.1884 – Izegem, 06.06.1888) and Marcella (Izegem, 24.07.1888-). Guido Gezelle wrote a French and Dutch occasional poem on the event of Magdalena’s (Madeleine’s) untimely death, this was included on the obituary cards: ‘O vous que j’entrevis’ and ’t Was ’t uwe en ’t onze, eilaas’ ('It was yours and it was ours, unfortunately'). The Dutch poem was published in Gezelle’s poetry collection “Churchyard Flowers”.