Van der Meulen family

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The van der Meulen family from Brussels were prominent freshwater fish merchants. Many of them served as deans of the freshwater fish guild. They owned the Roetaert estate and many fish ponds and lakes, especially in the Sonian Forest, including the famous Enfants Noyés ponds. Elisabeth van der Meulen (1720–1769), wife of Jean-Baptiste van Dievoet (1704–1776), sold these ponds to the state in 1744.