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. … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – Graves in Wons, 1831
21 April 2025 by Leave a Comment
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 a town. The law required each town with a population over 1000 to designate a cemetery outside the town proper. The map shows the locations of the graves around the church, and gives a list of names of owners of … [Read more...]
12 ways to use tax records to prove relationships
18 April 2025 by Leave a Comment
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 burial registers, this can help to rule that person in or out as a prospective parent. For example, if a marriage record mentioned that the parents were deceased, but the tax records show a … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Echtelijke Staat
16 April 2025 by Leave a Comment
Echtelijke Staat means marital status. You may come across the term in some pre-printed forms, like prison registers or military service records. Possible answers are: Gehuwd (married) Ongehuwd (unmarried/single) Weduwe (widow) Weduwnaar (widower) Gescheiden (divorced). … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – Shooting of Tonis Willinck, circa 1590
7 April 2025 by Leave a Comment
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 across the border from Winterswijk, that depict the border between Gelderland and Münster. The border ran through a swampy area and was not well-defined in the Middle Ages. … [Read more...]
Source – Resolutions of the States-General
4 April 2025 by Leave a Comment
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 treaties to individual appointments. Digitization and Transcription Between 2019 and 2024, the resolutions … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – Famous Events in the Netherlands
1 April 2025 by Leave a Comment
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. The fruit orchards in the Betuwe. The invention of herring preservation. Coal mines in southern Limburg. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for March 2025
28 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
This is an overview of the new sources, websites, and other news of the past month. Sources Birth, marriage, and deaath records of Avereest and birth records of Bathmen have been digitized and indexed. They are available via Open Archieven. Notarial records of Haarlem and the regions Kennemerland and Amstel- en Meerlanden in North Holland for 1811-1925 have been automatically transcribed. They are now full-text searchable. The orphanage registers of Bolsward 1660-1925 have been … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Voorschreven
26 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
Voorschreven (literally: before written) means "aforesaid." You may come across the term in notarial or court records. If someone is mentioned as "Jan Jansen, voorschreven" it means it is not just any Jan Jansen, but the Jan Jansen whose identity was established earlier in the document. … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Video about New Amsterdam
19 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
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 that are relevant to understanding New Netherland history. I am impressed by the depth of the analysis, the beautiful images, and the humorous … [Read more...]
