Jos was born on March 7th, 1700 in Beringen.1 His godfather was Jos Vanderheyden and his godmother was Maria Gaethofs. Jos' father was Arnoldus (Jacobus) Gathoffs and his mother was Christina Vanderheyden. His paternal grandparents are <Unknown> and <Unknown>. He had a brother and two sisters, named Antonius, Maria and Helena. He was the oldest of the four children. He had two half-brothers named Petrus and Andreas .