Drenthe is a province in the north of the Netherlands. It borders on the province of Groningen in the North, Germany in the east, Overijssel in the south and Friesland in the west.

The capital city of Drenthe is Assen. Other large towns are:

• Emmen
• Hoogeveen
• Meppel

Work colonies

Drenthe has always been one of the least populated parts of the Netherlands. The reason for this is the natural circumstances. Especially in earlier years, Drenthe was covered by swamps, bogs and heath fields.

In the nineteenth century, the Dutch government decided to use Drenthe as a place to put 'unwanted elements' of society. Beggars and vagabonds, but also orphans that could not be placed, were transported to Drenthe to live in colonies. They were to till the land. This way, people all over the Netherlands ended up in Drenthe.

Genealogy in Drenthe

For the nineteenth century, almost all of the primary sources can be found online through Genlias. Most of the records are kept by the Drents Archief. They also have their own provincial version of Genlias: Drenlias. Select 'Zoeken' to search.

Before 1811, and for some time after 1811 as well, most people in Drenthe used patronymics instead of last names. This can make it harder to trace your ancestors.

Emigration

Although Drenthe was the least populated province, it ranked forth when comparing number of emigrants. In the nineteenth century, many people in Drenthe worked in the agricultural sector which means this province was struck particularly hard when the crops failed. Also, many people in Drenthe joined the Secession and were among the first to emigrate.

The Drents Archief has published lists of emigrants in an emigrant section of Drenlias. Select 'English' in the top right corner for the English version.

Most Drenthe emigrants settled in Holland and Grand Rapids in Michigan, and Orange City and Pella in Iowa.

Online images

There are several online resources for images about Drenthe:

• Drenthe photo archive. This site is in Dutch only. Select 'Zoeken' (search) and then 'Zoekscherm' (search form). Fill in the name of the town or person you're looking for in the field 'willekeurige woorden' (free text) and click 'Zoeken' (search).
• Drenthe provincial atlas 1865-1870. This atlas contains both a map of the entire province and maps of all the municipalities.

Map of Drenthe.

Last week, my friend Mary Risseeuw from Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and I gave a presentation at the International Congress for genealogical and heraldic Sciences in Maastricht. The title was "We're all fresh and healthy. Emigration from the Netherlands to the United States in the 19th century. The slides are now available online.

I've just added a Dutch genealogy store to the site. In this store, visitors can buy books, DVDs and prints about Dutch genealogy, history and culture. I've selected publications that I think would benefit somebody researching his Dutch roots. The store is powered by Amazon. This website receives a commission for all sales, enabling this website to remain free.

'Patronymic' literally means 'father's name'. It means that someone calls himself after his father, for example a son of Jan would call himself 'Jansen'. This is similar to the English name 'Johnson'.

Personal information cards were used from 1938 to keep track of who lived where. It is a part of the population registration.

Personal index cards are a great source of information for recent research because they cover the period from 1938 onwards. Copies of personal index cards of deceased people can be ordered for a fee.

Friesland is one of the northern provinces in the Netherlands. It borders on the province of Groningen in the east, Drenthe and Overijssel in the South, the IJsselmeer in the west and the North Sea in the north.

The capital city of Friesland is Leeuwarden. The largest towns are:

• Dokkum
• Sneek
• Bolsward
• Drachten
• Heerenveen
• Wolvega
• Franeker
• Harlingen

Evert Jan DUENK and Willemina RENSINK emigrated from Aalten to Sheboygan, WI. Later in life, they did not get along, as can be seen from an advertisement in the Dutch newspaper Nieuwsbode.

The first larger emigration wave from the Netherlands took place in the seventeenth century. A new colony was established in the Americas, which was called the New Netherlands. After a rough start, this colony attracted emigrants from all over Europe.