This is an historical genealogic site about a family from South Limburg, a province in the south of The Netherlands, and the places where they lived. (In 1949, 269 people with the Van Wersch surname lived in South Limburg and only 14 lived outside of Limburg.)  This website will occasionally make reference to the Dutch book written by my father, Albert van Wersch († 2005) titled 800 Years of Van Wersch.  Our thanks go to everyone who has helped us make the book and the website

The Simpelveld branch

The Kerkrade branch

The Heerlen branch

The Wittem branch

The The Haque branch

Pictures

Books

Articles

I'm not mentioned

Stories of peoples life

Worth knowing

Van Wersch Web links

E-mail

History 
The history of the Van Wersch family begins around 1200 in Weerst (Warsage), a little village in Belgium near the Dutch border at Limburg. Back then, the Van Werst knights and later the country squires lived in their fortified family house, the Hof (farm) of Weerst.

In the 16th century, they moved to the Free Seigniory of Wittem (a region in Limburg) and lived there as squires at the Groote Hoff in Ten Dorp, a former hamlet of Epen. Starting in 1582, it was here that Hans van Werst, his son, Peter, and their descendants were aldermen of the local bench until 1800. They looked after the interests of the residents of Wittem during trials, transfer of goods and inheritances.  From here, their descendants dispersed to many places around the world. Today the descendants of the original Van Wersch family can be found on five continents, including the countries of Chile,The United States, Canada, France, Israel, South Africa, Belgium, England, Germany (especially near Aachen, which is near the border of Holland at Limburg), and, of course The Netherlands.  The main part of the family still lives in South Limburg.

Evolution of the Van Wersch Name
In old indices and on old maps, the name of the village Weerst and the family name, Van Werst, meaning “coming from Weerst”, is used in a variety of ways.  In the church and civil indices, starting with the mid-18th century, Van Werst evolved into Van Weers, Van Weersch and Van Wersch. Clergymen and civil servants often used in their indices the name that was used in the dialect spoken in their locales, for example Van Weers or Van Weersch.  Some members of the family calling themselves Van Weersch changed their name back to Van Wersch.

Navigation of the website.
On the left side of the first page are the different branches of the family named after the towns where the first forefathers came from. Of course, originally they all came from Weerst. But because books were burned or lost for other reasons, we cannot trace them further back than the 16th century, with the exception of the Heerlen branch, which dates to the 12th century.

Within this site you can find –

Pictures – all kinds of old pictures featuring people using the surnames of Van Wersch, Van Weers, Van Weersch, Van Weersth etc. 
Books   – written by a Van Wersch, Van Weers, Van Weersch, Van Weersth etc.
Articles  – written about a Van Wersch, Van Weers, Van Weersch, Van Weersth etc.
Stories   – This is Your Life type stories about a number of Van Wersch, Van Weers, Van Weersch, 
                Van Weersth etc. people. 
Worth Knowing – Interesting facts about events, places or things involving a Van Wersch, Van Weers, Van 
                Weersch, Van Weersth etc.
I'm not mentioned -If you cannot find your name, or the name of your mother, could you please fill in ths form and 
                send it to me?

You will note that I have not translated the Branches pages. I suggest you write down the following words or phrases that are frequently used on this site to make your use of the site a little easier:

geboren – born
overleden – deceased
getrouwd/trouwde – married to
gescheiden – divorced
ongehuwd – single
samenwonend – living together
uit het huwelijk werden geboren – from this marriage were born
dochter van/zoon van – daughter of/son of
 

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