Volunteers who are indexing 1950s death records from Gelderland have come across several records relating to the deportation of a large part of the male population in Putten during World War II. The Gelders Archief published a blog post about the find. Here is an English translation of the article (with permission). Volunteers find death records of victims of Putten raid On 2 October 1944, the German occupiers arrested 659 men between the ages of eighteen and fifty in Putten in Gelderland. … [Read more...]
Checklist – Are you Ready To Start Research in the Country of Origin?
29 September 2017 by 1 Comment
When you find an immigrant ancestor, it is tempting to immediately start looking in the country of origin. But doing so too soon can cause you to misidentify your ancestor. Here is a checklist to make sure you're ready to start the research: Do you know who the immigrant ancestor was? I've had many people ask me for proposals just based on the rumor that their family was Dutch. You need more than that; you need to have actually gone back far enough to know who the immigrant ancestor was. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Klompenmaker
25 September 2017 by 3 Comments
A klompenmaker is a wooden shoe maker. For many people in the Netherlands, wooden shoes were the common footwear. Wooden shoes were sturdy, protected toes when something fell on it, and made from material that's easily available. And if they broke beyond mending, you could always use them for firewood! Nowadays, some farmers still wear wooden shoes because they're practical. They're also part of traditional costumes. … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Check what’s available online
20 September 2017 by Leave a Comment
There are HUGE digitization projects going on in the Netherlands. So if it's been a while since you've checked what's available online, check again. The record you need may be waiting for you. For an overview of online records, see Digital Resources Netherlands and Belgium. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Veer or Veerpont
18 September 2017 by Leave a Comment
A veer or veerpont is a ferry. If you can't find a person, try looking in the records on the other side of the ferry. People living on one side of the river may have normally used a ferry to go to church, but if the ferry was out during the winter or bad weather they might have had to go to another church to have their children baptized. People could have used the ferry to go to a market on the next island, and perhaps met a spouse there. If your ancestor was a ferryman, you may find an … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for August 2017
15 September 2017 by 1 Comment
Here is an overview of new records and projects that were announced in the past month. Online Dutch records The register recording the poor of Gorssel, Gelderland, that was discovered earlier this year, has been digitized and added to the website of the Zutphen Regional Archives. The West-Fries Archief published indexes of the old notarial records. See the Genealogische bronnen [genealogical sources] page for a complete overview of the sources. You can filter by "Notariële akten" … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Women in New Netherland conference
13 September 2017 by 1 Comment
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in New York State, there will be a conference about "Women In New Netherland." Organizer: New Netherland Institute Dates: 22-23 September 2017 Where: Albany, New York More information: Women in New Netherland Conference page … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Talk to your oldest family members
6 September 2017 by 2 Comments
About ten years after I started doing genealogy, I was talking to my grandmother about her family. She asked me if I'd ever found out when her two aunts died. The last time she'd heard from them was about twenty years earlier, when they were in their 80s. In those days, I was focused on going back in time. I had blazed right through the 1900s and 1800s, back to the 1700s and 1600s where the research became more "interesting." No, I had not researched my great-grandmothers siblings in detail. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Gemengd huwelijk
4 September 2017 by 1 Comment
A gemengd huwelijk is a mixed marriage. The term typically refers to two people with different religions, but is sometimes also used for two people of different racial backgrounds. Until recently, many churches would not perform a mixed marriage ceremony and required the other party to convert and promise to raise all their children in that church's faith. A civil marriage before the court was an alternative for couples who did not want to convert. Some couples chose to raise the boys in the … [Read more...]
How to Find Your Dutch Ancestor’s Occupation
1 September 2017 by 2 Comments
Do you want to know what your Dutch ancestor did for a living? Here are five different sources you can check to find out. Civil registration records The civil registration records of birth, marriage, and death will include the occupation of the adults in the records (parents, spouses, deceased). These records are available for the whole country since 1811, and since 1794/6 for parts of Limburg and Zeeland. Most of these records can be found online. Census records and population … [Read more...]
