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Map of the Week – Graves in Wons, 1831
This week we are looking at a rare type of map, showing the graves in the churchyard of Wons in 1831. Wons is a small village in the west of the province of Friesland. This map was probably created as a result of the 1829 law forbidding burials in churches or the built-up area of […]
12 ways to use tax records to prove relationships
If people needed it or enjoyed it, there probably was a tax on it. Here are twelve ways I have used tax records to prove relationships between people. 1. Time of death Some taxes were registered every year. I have used real estate tax records that list when the previous owner died. In places without […]
Map of the Week – Shooting of Tonis Willinck, circa 1590
This week we are looking at a map that is directly related to my own family tree. It depicts the shooting of my ancestor Tonis Willinck at the border between Winterswijk and Münster. The map dates from around 1590-1595. This is one of several maps in the collection of the Landesarchiv Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany, just […]
Source – Resolutions of the States-General
The States-General was the governing body of the Dutch Republic between 1576 and 1796. The body was composed of representatives of the seven participating provinces. The States-General formed both the legislative and executive branch of the government. Their political decisions are called resolutions. The resolutions of the States-General dealt with a range of issues: from international […]
Map of the Week – Famous Events in the Netherlands
For April Fools’ Day, let’s look at a whimsical map. This map of the Netherlands, created in 1930, shows various historical and (then) current events. Highlights include: The light bulb factory in Eindhoven, representing Philips. The reclamation of land in the Zuiderzee. The prison in Veenhuizen. Jan van Schaffelaar jumping from the tower in Barneveld. […]
Quick Tip – Video about New Amsterdam
The YouTube channel Defragged History just published the first episode of a series about Uncovering the Fascinating History of New Amsterdam: New York’s Origin Story. The video, which is 70 minutes long, gives the historical context, including about the West India Company, Eighty Years’ War, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Pilgrims, and many other topics […]
Dutch term – Paus
A paus is a pope. Up until recent decades, about half of the Dutch population, especially in the southern half of the Netherlands, was Catholic. The Netherlands has only ever supplied one pope: pope Adrian VI (1459-1523), who served as pope for 20 months until his death.
