Family Branches

The Main Branches – An Overview

No matter at what point one enters the web of nodes and paths linking long dead fellow humans and their genetic connections, in order to build a family tree, one finds oneself on a branch. To make sense of what came before your chosen point and what happened afterwards it helps to have some context. The links below provide a brief overview of each of the branches whose node is Jane Louisa Lejeune, chosen because she is the matriarch of the three non-European Lejeune family branches.

The Lejeune Family Branches (Brown – Canada; Green – Australia; Blue – California)

The Lejeune Family – Australia

Although Russell Lejeune is shown as the root of the Australian Branch, earlier ancestors of his made a mark on the country, especially David McCLaren (1785-1850) who was a Colonial Manager for the South Australia Company

The Lejeune Family – California and other US states

Arnold Lejeune and family emigrated from England to California in 1924. Although Arnold and his wife Gladys had spent nearly a decade in British Columbia, Canada,, both before and after their marriage, they chose to settle in California because Arnold had suffered lung damage by posion gas in WWI and was advised to seek a warmer, drier climate.

The Lejeune Family (Enke, Chambers) – British Columbia, Canada and other Provinces

As a boy Max Enke had been captivated by stories of western North America and told his wealthy father that he wanted to be a farmhand in Canada. Instead, he travelled to BC in 1906, purchased a number of adjoining farms on Galiano Island and set the 13 Belgian workers who had accompanied him, men and women, to do further work developing the properties. He travelled back, to Quebec City where he met up with Marion Lejeune and her mother Louisa Lejeune, married Marion in the Cathedral there and they both returned to Galiano Island to live.

Family Surnames

As children grow up and marry, their mates bring new surnames into the family web. Here’s what we have so far (June 1, 2025):

  • MacLaren, McLaren, Maclaren and other variations
  • Lejeune (England, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, California and other US states)
  • Meade
  • Enke, Armstrong, Baucus
  • Chambers, Lemaire, Luchin, Diment, Kereszti, Wilson, Rickman, Cook, London, Volpe, Molnar, Lazeroff
  • Davis, Percy, Heal, Sewell, Thom, Singleton
  • (many more to be added)