In official records in the Netherlands, women are usually referred to by their maiden names. This makes it much easier to find them. When looking for a record, try searching for both last names of the spouses or parents. Chances are this will quickly return several records that are relevant for the family you're researching. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: jongedochter
8 July 2013 by Leave a Comment
"Jongedochter" literally means "young daughter". The term is most often used in marriage records, to indicate that the bride was a spinster; somebody who had not married before. Even though the word jong suggests differently, the use of the term had nothing to do with the age of the bride: even spinsters in their 50s could be called jongedochter. … [Read more...]
Column: land movers
6 July 2013 by Leave a Comment
In the nineteenth century, thousands of people emigrated from the area around Winterswijk to the United States. "Land movers", they were called. Some left because of their religion, most in the hope of a better future. Among them there were several siblings of ancestors of mine. Curious what happened to them, I contacted their offspring on the internet. What began as a simple question ('What happened to Gerrit Jan Droppers') quickly turned into several long contacts and one of the closest … [Read more...]
Case study: subtle clues in population registers
2 July 2013 by 13 Comments
On the very first day I started doing genealogy, I found a birth record saying that my grandfather’s grandmother was born as an illegitimate child, father unknown. Three years later, her mother married and the groom acknowledged the child as his. The three-year-gap made me dismiss him as her biological father. In the 23 years since then, I’ve collected all documents I could find about this family but never found any viable candidates. Inspired by Dr. Thomas Jones' and Elizabeth Shown Mills' … [Read more...]
Dutch term: kadaster
1 July 2013 by Leave a Comment
The kadaster is the government body responsible for the registration of property (real estate). Introduced in 1832, the kadaster records the owners of all plots of land and ships. In addition, the kadaster records any rights attached to the property and any mortgages against the property. The kadaster information is used as the basis for property tax. … [Read more...]
Quick tip: cleared graves
1 July 2013 by 13 Comments
Did you know that in the Netherlands, graves are routinely cleared after a couple of decades? Graves cannot be bought, only rented. The usual period is 20-30 years. After that term is up, the grave is cleared if nobody renews the lease. … [Read more...]
Gelders Archief at new location
18 June 2013 by 2 Comments
The Gelders Archief, the regional historical center for the province of Gelderland, moved to a new building. On the very first day it was open to the public (18 June 2013), I went there for some research. … [Read more...]
Slides from presentation at Maastricht genealogy conference
5 October 2012 by 1 Comment
In September 2012, my friend Mary Risseeuw from Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and I gave a presentation at the International Congress for genealogical and heraldic Sciences in Maastricht. The title was "We're all fresh and healthy. Emigration from the Netherlands to the United States in the 19th century. The slides are now available online. … [Read more...]
Workshop Dutch Genealogy
26 April 2012 by Leave a Comment
On April 9th, I gave a workshop "Dutch Genealogy" at the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. Since it would be a bit much to travel 4,000 miles to do so, I gave the presentation using Skype. I've now uploaded my slides so all of you who weren't there can see what the presentation was about. … [Read more...]
Patterns of emigration from the Achterhoek
12 June 2011 by 4 Comments
This week I gave a presentation about patterns of emigration from the Achterhoek, based on my genealogical research. The presentation was part of the conference 'The importance of history for Dutch-Americans', organized by AADAS (the Association for the Advancement of Dutch-American Studies). Because I was not able to attend the conference in person, I pre-recorded it. I've now made the recording available online. … [Read more...]
