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There is a family of James William Van Billiard of North Wales PA (Montgomery County) during this same time period; James was a marble and monument merchant and was active in civic affairs. James's son, Austin Van Billiard, born in 1877, went to Europe in 1900, and after a number of adventures, became a diamond merchant in South Africa after the Boer War. He married an Englishwoman named Maude Murray in 1900 and had six kids. When they wished to return to America in 1912, Maude had just given birth to a son and was not up to travel, so Austin and the two eldest sons James W., aged 10, and Walter, aged 9, decided to sail back to PA and surprise everyone back at home. However, they chose the Titanic, and none of them made it back alive. Austin is buried in Whitemarsh Union Cemetery in Montgomery County PA.
The fact that Montgomery and Northampton Counties aren't that far away from each other (less than an hour by car) shows that you're probably related to these folks. I think there are some of the family left, as Maude died in January 1968 at the age of 94.
Drop me a line.
Reg Pitts
KDAD40@aol.com
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