Archives for January 2014

Using Alle Friezen to find your ancestors from Friesland

If you have ancestors from Friesland, the website Alle Friezen is a must. The website contains indexes and scans of almost all the public records of the civil registration and some population registers as well.  … [Read more...]

Quick tip: WieWasWie now available in English

WieWasWie (WhoWasWho) is the most comprehensive genealogical database in the Netherlands. Archives in all the provinces participate in this website to publish indexes and sometimes even scans of their records. Up until now, WieWasWie was only available in Dutch but an English version is now available. >>Go to the English version of WieWasWie<< When using the English version, keep in mind that the actual contents of the database are not translated. For example, occupations will … [Read more...]

Dutch term – volkstelling

Volkstelling is the Dutch word for census. The first national census was held in 1795 but some local censuses go back to the 16th century. Between 1830 and 1930, a national census was held every ten years. Since then, there have only been four censuses: 1947, 1956, 1960 and 1971. Since the Dutch government keeps the information about its citizens up to date, there is no need to take a census anymore. The census was officially abolished in 1991. For genealogical purposes, Dutch census … [Read more...]

How Software Errors Corrupt Our Trees

Infographic The article I wrote about major problems with new Dutch records on Ancestry.com sparked some great discussions both here and on several Facebook groups. People were especially appalled by the error that caused 'Burgerlijke Stand' (Civil Registration) to be included in the place name. But this isn't the biggest error caused by software. I found almost 1 million records for people who lived in Reusel-De Mierden, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands in Ancestry Member Trees, many going back … [Read more...]

Major problems with new Dutch records on Ancestry.com

Through its partnership with Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com added millions of records from the Netherlands to their website this week. Just search the Card Catalog for databases with 'Netherlands' in the title. The new record sets include: Netherlands, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1910 (in Dutch) [6.2 million records] Netherlands, Select Marriages, 1565-1892 (in Dutch) [1.4 million records] Netherlands, Select Deaths and Burials, 1668-1945 (in Dutch) [0.6 million records] Great … [Read more...]

Quick tip: Dutch is not the language of Denmark

If you're familiar with Dutch genealogy, today's tip will not come as a surprise: Dutch is the language and adjective of the Netherlands, not Denmark. But you would be surprised how many people end up on this site if they find out they have ancestors from Denmark! I must admit that the combination Dutch-Denmark sounds a lot more logical than Dutch-Netherlands, but that does not make it correct. Just as a quick reminder, here's some things that the Dutch do different than the … [Read more...]

Dutch term: metselaar

A metselaar is a bricklayer. Since the Netherlands doesn't have many quarries, and all the more mud, brick was and is a popular building material. Brick has been used for buildings since the Middle Ages, first for churches and later for houses too. To prevent fire, many chartered towns issued ordinances that required people to use brick instead of wood or wattle and daub to build their houses. … [Read more...]

Sources for Dutch genealogy – post 1811 cheat sheet

Looking for information about Dutch ancestors in the 19th or 20th century (after the introduction of the civil registration)? This cheat sheet will tell you which sources to consult. … [Read more...]

Quick tip: US Dutch Reformed Church Records Online

Ancestry.com has just published a new record set: "U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, 1660-1926". This record set was created by the Holland Society and currently contains records of Dutch Reformed churches in New York and New Jersey. Records from Dutch Reformed churches in other states will be added in the future. The record set consists of an index and images. Beware that the images are not of the original church records, but of later transcriptions, some done by hand … [Read more...]

Dutch term: Register van naamsaanneming

A register van naamsaanneming is a register of name taking. In 1811/1825, people that did not have a last name yet, like people from the northern provinces or Jews, had to register their new name. See the article about name taking records for more information. … [Read more...]