The province of Noord-Brabant lies in the south of the Netherlands. It borders on Limburg to the east, the country of Belgium to the south, the province of Zeeland to the west and the provinces of Zuid-Holland, Utrecht and Gelderland to the north.

The capital city of Noord-Brabant is Den Bosch, also known as 's-Hertogenbosch. Other larger towns are:

• Breda
• Eindhoven
• Tilburg
• Roosendaal
• Oss

Genealogy in Noord-Brabant

Most people in Noord-Brabant used fixed family names long before the civil registration was introduced. In addition to a last name, many people used patronymics as well. Often, more than one generation of ancestors was named which can be very useful in genealogical research.

Most genealogical records of Noord-Brabant are kept by the Brabant Historical Information Center. Unfortunately, the website is only available in Dutch. They have a large online database with church records and civil registration records. Many of the marriage records and death duties files from Noord-Brabant can be found in Genlias.

Emigration from Noord-Brabant

Noord-Brabant has always been a predominantly Roman-Catholic province. This means the emigration pattern differs from the reformed regions. In the nineteenth century, people from the east of the province emigrated to the United States. They settled in places like Little Chute, WI.

Online images

There are several online resources for images of Noord-Brabant:

• Topographical-Historical atlas. This atlas covers the entire province.
• Image database Noord-Brabant. Select 'Afbeeldingen' (pictures) and then type in the name of the person or town you're looking for and press 'Zoek' (search).
• Photo database Noord-Brabant. Select 'Zoeken' (search) and then type in the name of the person or town you're looking for and press 'Zoeken' (search).
• Noord-Brabant provincial atlas 1865-1870. This atlas contains a map of the entire province as well as maps of the municipalities.

Map of Noord-Brabant