About this website

Creating a website like this is a fun activity. There are so many options, so many choices. What do visitors want? What do I want? In this blog I will describe some of the things I encounter in developing and maintaining this website.

The New Dutch Law on Last Names

As of 2024, there is a new law governing the last names of children born in the Netherlands. Parents already had the option to chose either the mother's or the father's name. Now they can also choose to give the children both names, either hyphenated or non-hyphenated. Example Let's say Peter Kamphuis and Lotte Ferwerda have a child together, a girl named Emma. They have the following options: Emma Kamphuis Emma Ferwerda Emma Kamphuis Ferwerda Emma Kamphuis-Ferwerda Emma … [Read more...]

Dutch Genealogy News for January 2024

Here is an overview of the new sources and other news that was announced in the past month. Sources Gelderland birth records 1913-1922 have been digitized and indexed and are now availble via the Gelders Archief. Registers of mortgages from the districts of Arnhem and Zutphen 1818-1838 have been digitized. The records can be consulted via the finding aids for Arnhem and Zutphen. The records for the Tiel office were already online. With these new additions, all Gelderland mortgage … [Read more...]

Dutch records that became public in 2024

Happy New Year everybody! Many records become public after 20, 25, 50, 75, or 100 years. Here is an overview of some of the records that became public as of 1 January 2024. Exceptions may exist for records that involve people that could still be alive. Just because records are public does not mean they are immediately available online. Some archives digitize the birth, marriage, and death records immediately, others do not. Some records will be online, some may be ordered via scanning on … [Read more...]

Quick tip – What is the Higher Authority?

Try finding out what higher authorities may have created records about your ancestors. A few examples: If you are researching in a specific municipality, check the records of the province to see what records they received from that municipality. If you find a court case, find out what the appellate court was to see if there was an appeal. If your ancestor worked for a school, find out who appointed the teachers. Until recent times, this typically was either the church or the … [Read more...]

Non-unique Place Names in the Netherlands

Most places in the Netherlands have unique names. But there are a few cases where places in different locations have the same name. Other towns have slightly different names today, but used the same names before spelling became standardized. This can cause problems, not just because researchers may search in the wrong place, but also because automated processes may link records to the wrong location. Places that occur in more than one location Alphen (North Brabant), Alphen (Gelderland), … [Read more...]

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 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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]