Fest Cultural Forum

Luxembourg Ancestral Houses

Friday, August 11, 2023

10AM – 12PM

Ozaukee Nonprofit Center – 2360 Dakota Drive, Grafton, WI
Virtual Viewing Option Available

About the Event: 

Join us for an educational forum as Jean Ensch presents Luxembourg House Names: Heritage Studies and Genealogical Research. Jean will share on the duality of house names as a location and as a family name, and the relation of house names to genealogical research, archival and bibliographic resources, linguistics, and typology. He will also speak on the aspects of the revival and promotion of house names in Luxembourg, as well as possible house names regarding the Luxembourger community in the United States. Following the presentation, Jean will delve into specific case studies and examples of Luxembourg House Names, while answering any questions from the audience.

Light refreshments and educational materials provided for in-person attendees. Virtual attendees will receive digital educational materials and be emailed the link to join three days before the event. A recording of the forum will be available to both in-person and virtual registrants for a limited time following the event.

In-Person Option:  Ozaukee Nonprofit Center (2360 Dakota Drive, Grafton, WI 53024)

• LACS Member Ticket: $30
• Non-Member Ticket: $35  

Virtual Option: Live stream via Zoom, limited tickets available

• Ticket Cost: $15

About Our Speaker: 

LACS board member Jean Ensch is a founding member of the Luxembourg Genealogical Society (ALGH), President of the Institut Grand-Ducal (Section of linguistics, ethnology, and onomastics). In 2014 he retired from his public service position with the City of Luxembourg after 41 years with the Population Bureau. Jean has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of history, genealogy, demographics and emigration, specifically to the United States. His most recent works include a bibliography on Luxembourg local history dealing with houses and their inhabitants, “A la recherche de maisons,” and was a contributing author to a biographical and genealogical history of the Luxembourgers in the La Crosse area (Sandra L. Hammes: From Luxembourg to La Crosse and Beyond, 1851-1910), both published in 2017. “Letzte Heimat in der Fremde,” an essay on Luxembourg emigrants’ tombstones in the Midwest, was published in 2019. In 2021, he published in the exhibition catalog Pour Élise of the Luxembourg-City Museum, “L’environnement familial d’Elise Hack,” a genealogy on the family of Elise Hack, an art donator to the City of Luxembourg and also in the Luxembourg-City magazine Ons Stad: “Le don de la Ville de Luxembourg à la Ville de Dormans,” a report on reconstruction help by the City of Luxembourg to the City of Dormans (Champagne), severely damaged in WWI. In 2023, he published in the art magazine of the Institut Grand-Ducal, Section of Arts and Letters, of his research on Luxembourg painter Frantz Seimetz, who lived in the New World from 1889-1896, “Seimetz au Nouveau Monde.”

Special This Year!

Jean Ensch will be at the LACS Research Center on Saturday, August 12 from 10 AM – 3 PM to assist with historic translation and genealogy research. No appointments necessary, but researchers will be helped on a first come, first serve basis.

The LACS Museum and Research Center will be open Wednesday August 8 through Sunday August 13 from 10 AM – 3 PM with Free Admission! No appointments necessary in the Research Center during Luxembourg Fest Week.

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors: 

The Michels Family Trust

Madeleine & Roger Dooley