If you're really stuck, try finding someone who is familiar with research in the area and ask them to take a second look at your brick wall. They may know about local naming traditions, obscure sources or notice unusual patterns. Just this week I was able to solve a client's brick wall using the knowledge of a local expert. I traced the New Netherland ancestor back to his home town, and then consulted a local expert. Within hours, he found a record that placed the New Netherland immigrant in … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Proclamatieboek
21 September 2015 by Leave a Comment
In the province of Friesland, a proclamatieboek is a register in which the court records the proclamations of real estate sales that took place. This allowed people who had Naastingsrecht the opportunity to match the purchase price and buy the property for themselves. Proclamatieboeken can be found in the archives of the local courts, which are kept at the provincial archives of Friesland, Tresoar. The Friends of the Frisian Archives (Stichting FAF) have created indexes and abstracts of some … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy Webinar – Questions about Records
17 September 2015 by 15 Comments
During the webinar "Researching Your Dutch Ancestors," the viewers had the most interesting questions. I got to address some of them during the webinar, but thought they all deserve a reply so I'm dedicating this post to answer some more. There were so many great questions that I will have inspiration for several follow-up articles, so please stay tuned and follow this blog or newsletter to read them all. In this first article, I will answer the questions about records in the … [Read more...]
Researching Your Dutch Ancestors webinar now available online
16 September 2015 by 3 Comments
The recorded version of my webinar "Researching Your Dutch Ancestors" is now available online. It will be available for free until Tuesday 22 September. After that, the recording will remain available for Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscribers. View the recorded webinar If you are a subscriber, you can view the recording anytime using the above link and you will also be able to download the syllabus. [Disclaimer: If you do this, you will be sponsoring me since I will get some royalties :-) … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Landloper
14 September 2015 by 3 Comments
A landloper was literally a "land walker," a vagrant who roamed the countryside. Vagrancy used to be a crime, and vagrants could be incarcerated or banned. Some regions employed special "armenjagers" [pauper hunters] to drive them away. … [Read more...]
Amazing find: Image of the Murder of my 16th-century Ancestor
11 September 2015 by 11 Comments
Last week I made a fantastic discovery that underlines why you should always check the records of neighboring towns and not limit your research to the place where your ancestors lived. On a German map, I found a drawing of the killing of my ancestor Tonnis Willinck. Many of my ancestors lived in Winterswijk, on the Dutch-German border. As you can imagine, there were several border disputes over the centuries. As a result, many records and maps about the boundaries were created on both sides … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Was your ancestor the first to use the surname?
9 September 2015 by 1 Comment
Let's say you've gone all the way back to the 1500s, 1600s or 1700s and can't find the parents of your brick wall ancestor. Could it be that your ancestor was the first one to use the name? Perhaps your Van Etten really was from Etten, and his parents only used a patronymic. Perhaps your Hoitink ancestor was born on another farm, and only called himself Hoitink after he married a Hoitink daughter and moved into her farm. Perhaps your Marijnissen ancestor was the son of Marijnis, whose … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Loteling
7 September 2015 by 1 Comment
A loteling was a conscripted soldier, whose number came up. This 19th century term literally means "lottery person," which refers to the lot numbers that were assigned to all eligible young men. The ones with the lowers numbers had to serve. Until 1896, you were allowed to switch numbers, and the person who had to serve in another's place would be called a nummerwisselaar. … [Read more...]
The Sinister Amsterdam Orphan Trade
4 September 2015 by 25 Comments
While doing research at the Amsterdam City Archives, I came across a ledger of orphans working for the Dutch East India Company. The register was part of the records of the Burgerweeshuis, the Citizens' Orphanage. I was fascinated to read how the orphans would learn a trade like carpentry or sail making, and were able to find employment in one of the most prosperous companies of the era. But while browsing the pages, a more sinister picture presented itself. Let's take a look at a … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Dutch Genealogy Webinar
2 September 2015 by 1 Comment
On Wednesday 16 September, I'll give a webinar about "Researching Your Dutch Ancestors." I hear the virtual seats are filling up quickly so grab yours while you can and register today. See the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website for more information and registration. Tip: If you are a Family Tree Webinar Subscriber or purchase this webinar after it airs, you can watch the episode whenever it suits you and you can download the syllabus. The syllabus contains ten pages of links, tips, … [Read more...]
