When researching ancestors we did not know personally, we rarely see them on an average day. We may see them at the best of times: when they get married, when they have a child, or when they receive a medal. Or we may see them at the worst of times: when they lose a child, when they go bankrupt, or are prosecuted for a crime. Average days typically do not create many records. If we are lucky, we might find a witness statement where they were going about their normal work when something … [Read more...]
Using Occam’s Razor in Genealogy
Occam's Razor is a philosphical tool that helps you zoom in on the most likely explanation. A lot has been written about Occam's Razor, but it boils down to "the simpler explanation is usually correct." We can use this in genealogy in different ways: We can use Occam's Razor to determine the most likely hypothesis. If we find a combination of unusual circumstances, Occam's Razor tells us that a single cause that explains all events is more likely to be correct. This can allow us to … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – Groningen, 1659
In 1659, the famous mapmaker Joan Blaeu published his world atlas Tooneel des Aardrycks [Display of the Realm of Earth]. The archives in Leiden have made their atlas available online. This week we are looking at Blaeu's map of the province of Groningen. It shows its largest city as the same-named Groningen ("Gronningen" on the map), connected to the North Sea by the Reitdiep. The map shows the roads and rivers that connected the smaller towns. See the research guide for Groningen for more … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for January 2025
Here is an overview of all the new sources, projects, and other news annnounced this month. Sources The index to the Central Archives of Special Jurisdiction came online. See this blog post for more information. Birth records of Bathmen (1881-1902), Olst (1884-1891), and Raalte (1846-1855) in Overijssel are now available via Open Archives. The burial register of the Dutch Reformed Church of Welsum (1836-1907) is now available via Open Archives. The Zeeuws Archief finished … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Look at laws and ordinances
Looking at laws and local ordinances can help us understand the information in records we find. These can typically be found in the series of town records in the local or regional archives. For example, when the hospital bill of my ancestor Cornelia Platschart was sent to the police, I initially thought she was incarcerated. It was not until I looked at the local ordinances that I realized that the police oversaw prostitutes and sent women who were ill to the hospital. See Using Hospital … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Universiteit
An universiteit is a university. In the medieval period, the area which is now known as the Netherlands did not have its own universities. People who wanted to pursue academic studies had to go to Paris, Cologne, Oxford, Bologna, or further afield. In 1425, the University of Louvain was founded in modern-day Belgium. Leiden has the oldest university of the Netherlands, founded in 1575. Other places that had universities were Franeker, Groningen, Utrecht, Harderwijk, and Nijmegen. Leiden, … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Koninklijk Besluit
A Koninklijk Besluit is a royal decree. Read the article about Royal Decrees to learn how to use them as a source to find out more about your ancestors' lives. … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Popular First Names Per Location
The Corpus of Given Names in the Netherlands is a website by the Meertens Institute for research and documentation of the Dutch language and culture. It has a database of almost half a million Dutch first names, taken from civil registration records. The website has Lists of Popular Names. For each municipality or province, you can see the most popular first names from 1880 to the present. I like using these lists to see whether my ancestors gave their children popular names or not. If not, … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – World War I map
This week's map dates from World War I and is part of a larger series showing military activity. This particular map shows the activity until 7 October 1914. The Netherlands was neutral during World War I, as shown by the green color on the map. The map shows how close the activity got, with a sunken U-boat off the coast of Scheveningen, and various battles just across the border in Belgium. Although the Netherlands did not participate in the war, it did affect the lives of Dutch … [Read more...]
Dutch term – El, Palm, Duim, Streep
In physical descriptions, you may come across the terms el, palm, duim, and streep. You may see these in military records, prison records, or other types of registers that recorded the person's height. The English translations are: El (abbreviation: e.) - ell Palm (p.) - palm Duim (d.) - inch Streep (str.) - line. How much is meant by these depends on the date of the record. Before 1816, measures were not standardized, and different regions used different measures. See the … [Read more...]