Dutch term – Poorter

2 February 2015 by 2 Comments

A poorter was a burgher or freeman of a chartered town. Being a poorter conveyed several privileges:

  • Guild membership was often limited to poorters
  • Poorters often were exempt from paying tolls
  • Being a poorter was a requirement for many public offices

People could become poorters by being born to a poorter, by marrying a poorter’s daughter or by paying a fee. For some cities, the poorterboeken [burgher books] for people who paid to become poorters have survived and can give information about the place of origin.

Row of books with names of poorters

Index of poorterboeken, Amsterdam City Archives. Photo by author.

Filed Under: Dutch terms
About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands. She holds the Certified Genealogist credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has a post-graduate diploma in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee. She has been doing genealogy for over 30 years and helps people from across the world find their ancestors in the Netherlands. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

Comments

  1. Sherrie Todd says
    11 February 2015 at 9:50 pm

    Trying to do a Name Meaning report for my step-father Karl Krauter Poorter… he is turning 90 in March…Is Poorter a Dutch name or a German Name. What is the meaning of Krauter?

    Reply
    • Yvette Hoitink says
      20 March 2015 at 2:56 pm

      Hi Sherry,
      Poorter sounds Dutch (citizen). Karl and Krauter sound German. I don’t recognize the word Krauter, but I do know the German word Kräuter, which means herbs.

      Reply

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