Quick tip – Newspapers as gateway to other records

Newspapers sometimes announced important events in our ancestors' lives. Knowing that an event took place can lead you to other records. Examples: A family announcement may lead you to birth, marriage, or death records. An announcement of a public auction of real or personal goods may alert you to possible notarial records. A call for creditors to come forward may alert you to a bankruptcy. A notice by a company that someone is no longer their agent may alert you to company … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Ab Intestato

Ab intestato means "without a will." The ab intestato heirs of a person are the people who would inherit by law if the person did not have a will. It is a Latin term you may find in Dutch documents regarding someone's estate, for example in a will or estate division. If a person writes a will, sometimes they may refer to the ab intestato heirs to indicate what (if anything) was left to them. It is just a shorthand for saying "to the people who would have inherited had I not made a will." If … [Read more...]

Dutch Genealogy News for December 2023

Here is an overview of all the new sources, websites, and other news of the past month. Sources The Red Cross Archives about Forced Laborers in World War II have been scanned and indexed. The records can be searched via the Nationaal Archief. Unfortunately, not all records survived so the index does not include all Dutch persons who were forced to work in Germany during the war. 6000 photos of the water board De Dommel can now be viewed at the website of the Brabants Historisch … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Xber or Xbris

In old records, you may find the word Xber or Xbris for the month. This means December or Decembris [Latin]. The names of the months were established when the start of the year was in March and December was the tenth month. Do not confuse Xber for October, the tenth month of our current calendar. … [Read more...]

Quick tip – Follow up on unusual death places

If your ancestors died in a place where they did not live, there could be a story there. Perhaps they were committed to a mental hospital, like Thomas Cammenga or Gerrit Jan van Nijkerken. Perhaps they met with an accident, like Adriaan Marijnissen. Perhaps they were in jail, or visiting relatives. You can check the links articles for examples of how you can approach such research. … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Vakblad

A vakblad is a trade journal. Trade journals became popular in the early 1900s, though some go back further. Trade journals can have interesting information about your ancestors, such as: information about completed education or achieved diplomas membership of unions, committees, organizations publications by our ancestors information about their employers images of the trade they were in. You can find trade journals by searching the Tijdschriften [magazines] section at … [Read more...]

New Dutch Evidence for the Missing Princes in the Tower

In 2012, Philippa Langley stunned the world by leading the successful search for the body of King Richard III of England. One mystery remained to be solved: the fate of Richard's nephews, Edward and Richard; the sons of his older brother King Edward IV, and pretenders to the throne. They were last reported in the Tower of London in 1483, aged 12 and 9. Some argued the boys were killed by their uncle, while others argued they escaped or died of natural causes. Centuries of biased reporting from … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Zolder

A zolder is an attic. You may come across the term in estate inventories, that describe the items per room. People often used zolders for storage. In some cases, the zolder would be used to sleep. Attics were often poorly insulated, so this could be cold unless you slept next to the chimney. I heard a story of a Frisian family where the older boys had to sleep in the attic over a cow shed, which was very cold in winter. The house was not big enough for all the children so only the younger … [Read more...]

The 10 Most Important Record Groups for Dutch Research

Here are the ten record groups I use for virtually any research project where I want to know more than just names, dates, and places. When you find an ancestor in a new-to-you place, try finding out where all of these records are kept. See the post on Which archive keeps the records of your Dutch ancestor to learn how to find the archives for a particular place.  Many of these records have been scanned and indexed and can be consulted on the websites of the archives where they are kept, at … [Read more...]

Dutch term – 9ber or 9bris

In old records, you may find the word 9ber or 9bris for the month. This means November or Novembris [Latin]. The names of the months were established when the start of the year was in March and November was the ninth month. Do not confuse 9ber for September, the ninth month of our current calendar. … [Read more...]