The States-General was the governing body of the Dutch Republic between 1576 and 1796. The body was composed of representatives of the seven participating provinces. The States-General formed both the legislative and executive branch of the government. Their political decisions are called resolutions. The resolutions of the States-General dealt with a range of issues: from international treaties to individual appointments. Digitization and Transcription Between 2019 and 2024, the resolutions … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – Famous Events in the Netherlands
1 April 2025 by Leave a Comment
For April Fools' Day, let's look at a whimsical map. This map of the Netherlands, created in 1930, shows various historical and (then) current events. Highlights include: The light bulb factory in Eindhoven, representing Philips. The reclamation of land in the Zuiderzee. The prison in Veenhuizen. Jan van Schaffelaar jumping from the tower in Barneveld. The fruit orchards in the Betuwe. The invention of herring preservation. Coal mines in southern Limburg. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for March 2025
28 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
This is an overview of the new sources, websites, and other news of the past month. Sources Birth, marriage, and deaath records of Avereest and birth records of Bathmen have been digitized and indexed. They are available via Open Archieven. Notarial records of Haarlem and the regions Kennemerland and Amstel- en Meerlanden in North Holland for 1811-1925 have been automatically transcribed. They are now full-text searchable. The orphanage registers of Bolsward 1660-1925 have been … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Voorschreven
26 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
Voorschreven (literally: before written) means "aforesaid." You may come across the term in notarial or court records. If someone is mentioned as "Jan Jansen, voorschreven" it means it is not just any Jan Jansen, but the Jan Jansen whose identity was established earlier in the document. … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Video about New Amsterdam
19 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
The YouTube channel Defragged History just published the first episode of a series about Uncovering the Fascinating History of New Amsterdam: New York's Origin Story. The video, which is 70 minutes long, gives the historical context, including about the West India Company, Eighty Years' War, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Pilgrims, and many other topics that are relevant to understanding New Netherland history. I am impressed by the depth of the analysis, the beautiful images, and the humorous … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – Groningen, 1895
17 March 2025 by 1 Comment
This week, we are looking at a map of the city of Groningen from 1895. The map shows the streets in the center, the cemetery outside the wawlls, and the surrounding countryside. An inset map displays the changes between 1863 and 1888, when the city walls were demolished and new streets created on the southside of the city. Groningen was one of many places in the Netherlands where the old fortifications and town walls were demolished in the second half of the nineteenth century. Improvements … [Read more...]
New Additions To My Library
14 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
A large library gives a genealogist or historian strategic depth. It is where we can retreat to increase our understanding and sharpen our arguments. I have been doing genealogy since 1991 and have collected a large library, spread across the four floors of our house. Some items are directly related to genealogy, such as genealogical journals and publications, or research guides. I also have many books about history, including local history of places in the Netherlands and Dutch colonies or … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – Limburg, 1659
10 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
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 Duchy of Limburg. In the east, we can see the river Meuse [Maas in Dutch, "Mosa Fluvius" on the map] connecting the cities of Maastricht ("Maestricht") and Luik ("Luyck vel Liege"). Limburg is in the higher part of the Netherlands, so we see more woods and hills, … [Read more...]
New Netherland Ancestors Seminar
7 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society is hosting a one-day virtual seminar about New Netherland ancestors on 2 May 2025. John Blythe Dobson will share how to discover New Netherland settlers in published sources, and how we are developing sketches fo rthe New Netherland Settlers project. I will be giving presentations about tracing New Netherland Ancestors in the Netherlands and researching enslaved and native people in and around New Netherland. For details, fees, and … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Vaandrig
5 March 2025 by Leave a Comment
A vaandrig is an ensign, the lowest officer rank in the army. From the 1800s, the term is more specifically used for officers-in-training. The rank was also used in civil militias. You may come across the term in a range of records, including military records, church records, and town records. … [Read more...]
