The origins

The ancestors of Brazilian Lem Family Lem came from Madeira Isle (PT). Before, They came from Brugge, Belgium today.
That town was one important metropolis of Flanders, the country which occupied the west of Germany, northwestern France, Belgium and Holland. Because the commercial importance of that place, Brugges was a point where they were merchants worldwide. Thus, as Portugal is highlighted in maritime trade, the Portuguese there also marketed the products they brought their caravels, such as spices, timber and later, the sugar that would be produced on the island of Madeira, after Brazil. That was a point of trade and generation of wealth, and inevitably the Lem with their boats have become common visitors in Lisbon. With the Portuguese, our relatives have signed contracts, including a monopoly on the transport and marketing of “cortices”( product used in cap of wine bottles) from the portuguese lands. The first of these data Lem is still unclear, and will unlikely be clarified. Through several researchers have some information, but full of assumptions, based on calculations of time, estimate the lives and some records and citations on our most remote ancestors of the family. Pedro Taques of Ameida Leme, Luiz Gonzaga da Silva Leme, and others are devoted a lifetime to find those sources based on other studies such as Manoel Soeiro in their Anaes of Flandes. Later this matter back to the surface with Jose (Silva Lemes) Guimaraes, in research on its origins that with the help of Monsignor Jose Patrocinio Lefort, from Campanha, the first founded town in south of Minas Gerais State (Brazil), the mother of many others towns, Cambuquira, for exemple.
Today, many of the descendants of Lem, in Europe, America and elsewhere try to find out more details about the origin in remote times.
In Brazil, we are many descendants of the first Leme ( Portuguese form of the name Lem). In our country We have the Leme Blood from island of Madeira, where the first Lem arrived in XV Century.

Bruges (Brugge in Dutch; pop. 45,000, or 117,000 with the suburbs) is the capital of the province of Western Flanders and Belgium most touristic city, with 2 million annual visitors.This perfectly preserved (or actually restored) medieval town of little canals has been called the Venice of the North and certainly deserves this reputation.

History

Bruges was founded in the 9th century by a group of Vikings. The name 'Bruges' probably comes from the old-Norse word 'Bryggja', which means 'landing stage, or mooring place'. In the late 9th century, Baldwin the Iron Arm, first Count of Flanders, fortified the city, ironically against other raiding Vikings.

Bruges developed as a port, directly accesible from the sea until about 1050 AD. Then the natural waterways silted up, but Bruges remained connected to the sea via a the Zwin canal until the 15th century, although via outports like Damme and Sluis.

Bruges grew as one of the main textile manufacturing and trading centre in Europe, along with Ghent and Ypres.

In 1300, Flanders was annexed to France by King Philip IV the Fair. The king visited Bruges the next year, and his wife, Joanna of Navarre, was so impressed by the prosperity and opulent attires of the locals that she said "I thought I alone was queen, but I see that here I have 600 rivals".

See More informations:
http://www.eupedia.com/belgium/bruges.shtml

Dear Cousin "Primos" Lem and others Lem/Lems/Lemm

Dear Cousin "Primos" Lem and others Lem/Lems/Lemm

We were very honored to receive so important relatives
from Europe, Ruud Lem and his wife Louisa.

The LEME family in Pindamonhangaba as Ruud could see
has brought important traces of Lems from Brugges,
bringing straight way of living in society, catholic
ones, keeping their importance to be a LEME and
developing business.

The Captain Antonio Bicudo Leme' soul, my ancestor, I
am sure from his tomb could see us when visiting him,
remembering the history of the family.

This Ruud's trip gave us a sensation of returning to
past times when we came to Brazil coming from Portugal
and from Brugges.

We could feel the Lem's members are connected using to
discover their ancestors, because as I said in
Pindamonhangaba during Ruud visit , "The future
depends on the past" it means our future depends we
can collect the best examples from our relatives have
experienced in the past and becoming each of us nearer
to be not lost in the middle of billions of people.

The best and most important two authors about
genealogy and families' histories in Sao Paulo State
were both LEME, Pedro Taques Paes Leme and Luiz
Gonzada da Silva Leme. The books are very real and a
legend.

We have united our families to become a small world,
so at this point my yougest son, Fernando Bueno, 27
old, a young lawyer is studing in London, England, and
he will have an opportunity to visit Ruud's family in
New Milton.

We hope organize a meeting in Brugges inviting several
Lemes from Brazil and Lem /Lems/ Lemm from Europe, to
celebrate the importance of the past, since our new
world is not going very well about war, terrorism, and
other sins, so perhaps we can build a chain of love to
spread to mankind.

We, Benjamin Bueno family would like to say thank you
for Ruud and all Leme relatives have received this
very nice couple in Brazil in 2008. This trip was
memorable.

Sincerely

Benjamin Bueno

GENEALOGIA LEMNIANA

THE BOOK
The first Lem in this century searching for the history of the Lem family was Rvd. Leon Lem. He was born in Brugge (Belgium) but lived in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). He contacted a lot of Lem Lemm and Leme all over the world.In the Netherlands he corresponded with Dr. Piet Lem in Nijmegen which started ( ca. 1935) the research in the Netherlands.In 1982 Ruud Lem ( a son of Piet, living in Lymington U.K) and Wil Lem ( Maastricht NL) restarted in co-operation the world wide research. They could use all the information found by Leon and Piet Lem.After visiting a lot of archives, contacts with many institutes and individuals all over the world they decided in 1992 to produce a book with all the information which was gathered together and include all the family branches which were found.In 1993 they published: Genealogia Lemniana The world history of Lemm; Lem and Lems

FAMILY LEME

The history of Leme Family, from Brazil, begins in XVI Cent. in S.Vicente Town, after the first Portuguese men arrived in my country. The father of all Brazilian Leme(s) was Pedro Leme, born in Madeira Isle, Portugal.
Pedro Leme was son of Antonio Leme and Maria Adao Ferreira, the first Leme arrive in that isle.
Antonio Leme, son of Martim Leme, grandson of Maeten Lem from Brugge, Belgium.
This is the link of Leme and Lem from Belgium, Holland, Germany and Great Bretain.
Ruud Lem, in his Genealogia Lemniana, tell us that the surname Lem comes from Willem, comum name after Willem I (William I of England).
In Brazil, this family was more important to conquist land to Portugal. Leme, of Fernão Dias Paes Leme and others "Bandeirantes" made the conquist indian lands in XVI Centuries.
Pedro Leme and his son in law Braz Esteves was more important in the sugar factory (engenhos) in that time. The family was very rich with that business.

E-mail from Ruud Lem (UK) to Gilberto Leme (Brazil)

Dear Gilberto : I will try to answeryour letter more in detail, but would like to make you aware that so many genealogists and historians have made a search for this family LEM/LEMS and in particular to the person of Martin or Martim LEM.

1+ 2: We are not certain about the father as there are a few Willem (William/Guilhermo) possible :

We know from the archives in Brugge/Bruges in French, that the father of Martin LEM (I) was Willem LEM.

Also is known that young Martin had several properties in Brugge and was selling them. Contracts we have in copy.

It therfore is possible that Willem LEM died before 1415.

There is no certaunty as the birthdate of Martin, we assume about 1395. As young Martin was selling various properties, he might have become an orphan. He is supposed to have gone to Lisboa in 1420, so when he was 25 and that can make sense. Very likely his father Willem LEM had some dealings and business, both in Lisboa and in Brugge.

We have found a mention of a Willem/Guillaume LEM who married in 1391 with Claire de Beernem. So that could make that Willem was born around 1350.

To make matters more complicated : we found that a certain Claire de Beernem had founded in 1372 a chapel for her disceased husband Jean Golebeters. This chapel was no. 35, the St.Julien-chapel in the Catherdral St, Donatius in Brugge. This cathedral was savagedly demolished by the French in 1801 and nothing is left!

So, we have a possibility that Willem LEM married in 1391 to the widow Catherine (called also Claire??) and that she is the mother of Martin LEM (I) This information was supplied by the historian Gailliard.

Another mention we found for a Willem LEM who was married to a Catherine ......nn.... She was burried in the Eeckhout Abbey in Brugge in 1393.

When we make a connection, we could say that Martin LEM could have been born in 1393 and maybe his mother died in childbirth!?

We have also a mention by Manuel Soerio (Anaes de Flandres, TM.2a anno 1471 and of Henrique Henrigues de Noronha.p.351) about the origin of the LEM-family from the town Bergues St.Winochs in (now French) Flanders, but in those days in west-Flanders. We find there 3 Lem's :

Willem, Raem and Jan (Jean/Joao) in 1390. This town was a very flourishing cloth-making town with much exports.

So you see that it is possible that Willem, Raem and Jan LEM were living in Bergues St.Winoch in 1390 and that Willem (re-) married in 1391 to Claire de Beernem.

There is another point which makes this possible : the later Chapel of the LEM-Family in Brugge in 1480 and 1500 plus was the St.Julien no. 35! QED we might say!

3) Martin LEM x Joana de Barros is not proven

4+5: I already reported on 08.10.07

6) : Pedro Leme was the son of Antonio LEM(e) who settled on Funchal,Madeira.