Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Sources The National Archives launched a beta version of their new presentation of archives, which includes millions of new scans. See the blog post for more information and instructions on how to participate. The Rotterdam City Archives added almost 400,000 scans and indexes of birth, marriage, and death records from the 1800s and early 1900s from Rotterdam and the surrounding … [Read more...]
National Archive Launched New Presentation (Beta)
1 July 2020 by Leave a Comment
The National Archives just launched the beta version of its new catalog to search and view their records. This happens to be a project I have been working on myself, in the one day per week I do IT projects for archives. I have been managing the migration of 14 million scans from the new system to the old, and consulting on building the new presentation which will have 30 million scans by the official launch. The beta already provides access to millions of new scans. Try the new … [Read more...]
Quick tip – It’s All About the Dash
24 June 2020 by Leave a Comment
When we research our ancestors, it's easy to focus on the vital events. When was a person born, when did they marry, when did they die? If we're not careful, this reduces our ancestors to names and dates. Take my ancestor Johannes Marijnissen (1806–1844), for example. That dash between his birth and death date represents a full, though short, life. A life in which he went to school long enough to be able to write, married, lost his mother, had children, lost a child, lost his wife, married … [Read more...]
Friesland Genealogy Research Guide
21 June 2020 by 77 Comments
Friesland is one of the northern provinces in the Netherlands. It borders on the province of Groningen in the east, Drenthe and Overijssel in the South, the IJsselmeer in the west and the North Sea in the north. The capital city of Friesland is Leeuwarden. The largest towns are: Bolsward Dokkum Drachten Franeker Harlingen Heerenveen Sneek Wolvega The province also includes several of the Wadden Islands: Vlieland Terschelling Ameland Schiermonnikoog. … [Read more...]
Accessing Records that are Not Public Yet
19 June 2020 by Leave a Comment
Dutch privacy laws are strict and restrict access to recent records. Sometimes, it may be necessary to consult these records because you are researching a person who was born less than 100 years ago, or because you need your own or your families' records for legal purposes. I have written an article on how to obtain certified copies of birth, marriage, and death records. This article will focus on accessing non-public records in a reading room. Why are records restricted? There can be … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Gevangene
15 June 2020 by Leave a Comment
A gevangene is a prisoner. Imprisonment as punishment became popular in the 1800s, after corporal punishment was largely abolished. For information about prisoners, see Source - Prison records. … [Read more...]
Dutch Research that Can (and Can’t) be done Online
12 June 2020 by 3 Comments
People don't always realize how many Dutch records are already available online. I do most of the research for my own family and for clients online. Even before most archives closed because of corona, I only had to go to the archives a couple of times per year despite being a full-time researcher. Here is an overview of the record types and their typical online availability. The links lead to articles that give more information about the records. Can usually be found online Civil … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Inwoner and bewoner
8 June 2020 by Leave a Comment
An inwoner is a resident of a location. For example, someone could be an inwoner of Amsterdam, or of the Netherlands. The word does not imply citizenship, just residence. A bewoner is a resident of a building. For example, someone could be a bewoner of a house or nursing home. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for May 2020
5 June 2020 by Leave a Comment
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Sources The Drents Archief finished digitizing the notarial records from Drenthe in the 1800s. Some of them are already indexed and can be searched at AlleDrenten. The scans of the unindexed records can be consulted via the finding aids at the Drents Archief website. Detailed city plans from the 1950s have been added to the image bank of the Cultural Heritage Service. The images may … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – West-Friesland is not in Friesland
3 June 2020 by Leave a Comment
In the early Middle Ages, the whole area between the Zwin and Weser rivers was called Frisia/Friesland. The current province of Friesland in the Netherlands is in the middle of that region, but the former area of Frisia was much larger. To this day, part of the province of Noord-Holland is known as "West-Friesland" [West Frisia] and part of northern Germany is known as "Ostfriesland" [East Frisia]. So West-Friesland is in the province of Noord-Holland, not in the province of Friesland. … [Read more...]
