How to Find Out Where Your Dutch Ancestors Were Buried

So you know where your ancestor lived in the Netherlands, and you know where and when they died. How do you find out where they are buried, and if the grave still exists? Graves are routinely cleared in the Netherlands after a few decades, so even knowing where a person was buried is no guarantee that the grave is still there. Burials in churches Until 1828, it was legal to bury people in churches. This was more expensive, so usually only richer people were buried inside the church while … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Gedetineerde

A gedetineerde (literally: detained) is a prisoner. You may find them in prison records. From the late 1800s, some prisons took photos of their prisoners. You can find those in the records of the prison, usually kept at the archives in the provincial capital. You can also check the secret register of released prisoners. … [Read more...]

Quick tip – Were They the Only Immigrants in the family?

If you are researching an immigrant, they may not have been the only one in the family to immigrate. People often travelled in groups, consisting of friends and family members. Once an immigrant was established, they often encouraged others to follow. If you research their family back home, you may discover several others who also emigrated. Sometimes passenger lists will mention that they were joining a relative. … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Huwelijkscontract

A huwelijkscontract (literally: marriage contract) is a prenuptial agreement. Sometimes, they are called huwelijkse voorwaarden (conditions of marriage). Whether a couple had a prenuptial agreement depends on their social status. Richer families were more likely to draw up a marriage contract than poorer families. It is also more common to find a marriage contract if one of the spouses is widowed with children, in which case the marriage contract may make provisions for the children. Whether … [Read more...]

Dutch Genealogy News for February 2024

Here is an overview of the new sources, websites, and  other news from the Netherlands last month. Sources The notarial records of Hilvarenbeek, Geertruidenberg, Baarle-Nassau, Oisterwijk, and Raamsdonk from the 1700s have been automatically transcribed. The results can be searched on the Transkribus website. Various Utrecht tax records can now be searched at the Rijnstreek en Lopikerwaard archives. Court records of Berghem, Kessel, Lith, Oss, and Ravestein in North Brabant can now … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Doopboek

A doopboek is a baptismal register. Baptismal records are especially useful in the period before the introduction of the civil registration in 1811 (in most parts of the Netherlands). Baptismal records are often the earliest record created about our ancestors. You may come across the term in finding aids and genealogical indexes, or on the covers of the imaged baptismal records. See the article about baptismal records for more information on how to use and find these records.   … [Read more...]

Source – Royal Decree

A Royal Decree (Koninklijk Besluit) is a formal decision by the King or Queen. In the Netherlands, royal decrees started in 1813. Contents Royal decrees covered a range of topics. Some were of (inter)national importance, such as treaties, laws, and abdications. But many dealt with individual citizens, employees, or service personnel. These can be a great source for information about your ancestors. Examples of information about your ancestors you may find in royal decrees: Marriage … [Read more...]

Quick tip – (Not) Naming Children After Parents

Traditionally, many Dutch children were named after family members: grandparents, deceased siblings, deceased spouses of their parents, or aunts and uncles. Though some children were named after their parents, this is rather rare. One instance where it is common for a child to be named after their parent is when the parent had died. For example, if a father died when the mother was pregnant, a son would often be given the father's name, and a girl might receive a variation of the father's … [Read more...]

Quick tip – Were the parents really deceased?

In marriage records, you may often find a note that the parents had died. Depending on the time and place, this was not necessarily the truth. Saying the parents were dead was an easy way to avoid having to prove parental permission. If it is a civil registration marriage record (after 1811 in most places), you may find proof of death in the marriage supplements. The law stipulated that a person under the age of 30 had to provide parental permission or proof of death of the parents, or even … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Rol

You may encounter the Dutch word rol (role) in two ways in genealogy: In archival descriptions of records, a rol is a list, for examples of all the cases the court heard that year. In genealogical search forms, rol indicates the role of the person you are searching for in the record. For example, searching for a person with the role bruidegom (groom) will only find results where the search terms apply to someone indexed as a groom. … [Read more...]