Last Tuesday Catharina Meessen died at the tender age of 106.
105. Almost 106.
Link (sorry. Dutch only).
I am looking at the birth certificate - I find interesting the header of the form:
Birth Certificate said:
Nr. 37 - Geburts-Urkunde - Geburtsurkunde von Meessen Catharina Cäzilia
Bürgermeisterei Neutral-Moresnet - Kreis Eupen - Government- and State Court District Aachen
The second line describes the place, Neutral-Moresnet, as belonging (administratively) to county Eupen, district Aachen - a part of Germany. This is not quite right: It was governed by two Royal Commissioners, one appointed by the Belgian King, one by the Prussian King. The Royal Commissioners in turn appointed the mayor.
Neutral-Moresnet had no own courts of justice, so its inhabitants would take any cases to courts in either Germany (Aachen, usually) or Belgium (Verviers or Liège). The law was neither Belgian nor German but still the Napoleonic Code Civil as it was 1815. Keeping tab on inhabitants by recording certificates of births, marriages and deaths was an important introduction of the Code Civil.
...
With her passing, the existence of this remarkable place, Neutral Moresnet, passes into the realm of history and away from living memory.
Of the 60 border stones that once marked Neutral-Moresnet, 50 are still in place. The mining company that essentially ruled it for most of its existence (N-M had the only large mineable zinc deposits in continental Europe as of 1815) is still in existence (or rather it can be traced to the presence through a series of mergers and stuff).
[Edited to add:]
The birth certificate informs us that Catharina's father, 21 years young, was a "Bergmann" (miner) by profession - despite zinc mining having been discontinued 29 years earlier. I would guess he may have worked in coal mining in the Aachen black coal mining district. The two witnesses named on the certificate were "Tagelöhner" and "Gehilfe" - day laborer and helping hand.
The certificate has two notes on the right margin in French. My French is very basic, and I have to look up words, so take what I translate with a grain of salt.
The first note, dated 04. May 1947, states that Catharina, whose husband is on a list of people who had their Belgian citizenship revoked, has her own Belgian citizenship revoked.
The second note, dated 30. September 1949, I think says that the aforementioned note is to be considered null and void. Could someone confirm this whose French is better than mine?
