In the Facebook group Goeree-Overflakkee History, Genealogy, and DNA, Rene Luijkenaar asked me a question: What can be counted as a source? Can an online tree be counted as a source? I thought I would answer in a blog post, since I know other people have the same questions. Sources are containers of information. There are three types of sources: original, derivative, and authored. I will discuss each type, with examples from the Netherlands. Original source An original source is the first … [Read more...]
About this website
Creating a website like this is a fun activity. There are so many options, so many choices. What do visitors want? What do I want? In this blog I will describe some of the things I encounter in developing and maintaining this website.
Quick tip – Online seminar Revisiting Dutch Brazil and Johan Maurits
16 February 2022 by Leave a Comment
On 15 March 2022, the Mauritshuis will organize an online seminar about Dutch Brazil and Johan Maurits. Attendance is free, registration is required. See the Mauritshuis website for details about the program and registration. … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Which baptisms did your ancestor witness?
9 February 2022 by 2 Comments
Baptismal witnesses were often close relatives or friends of the parents of the child. Knowing their associates and relatives can help you prove their identity and parentage. You should look at baptismal witnesses from both sides: Check the people your ancestors chose as baptismal witnesses for their children Check for whom your ancestors acted as baptismal witnesses. Most researchers do the first, since the information is there when they look up all the children. Fewer researchers … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for January 2022
4 February 2022 by Leave a Comment
This is an overview of the new sources, projects, and other news announced last month. Sources Passage lists of the Holland America Line 1900-1969 are now online at the Stadsarchief Rotterdam website. The records are called passenger lists, but they are actually passage lists: financial records showing who purchased tickets. It only includes the person who bought the ticket, not the other people in the party. Indexes of notarial records of Chaam, Gilze en Rijen, Hilvarenbeek, Loon op … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Handout exhibit “Headed for Brooklyn”
26 January 2022 by 1 Comment
The Regionaal Historisch Centrum Vecht en Venen is hosting an exhibition "Headed for Brooklyn with a Packed Suitcase: Four centuries of Dutch-American culture in archival records" at their Breukelen location. They have created an English handout with all the information in the exhibition that you can download from their website. … [Read more...]
Level up challenge – 2022 progress report
21 January 2022 by 5 Comments
A year ago, I issued my level-up challenge. I wanted to take my research to a higher level by gathering more complete information and documentation about my ancestors. See the original blog post for an overview of the levels. Starting point in 2021 This chart shows the starting point in January 2021. This shows how complete my research was : the higher the number the more complete. Situation January 2022 You can see here that I made the most progress in generation 4 and 5, getting … [Read more...]
Direct, indirect, and negative evidence
17 January 2022 by 2 Comments
In genealogy, we may have direct, indirect, and negative evidence for research questions. Direct evidence is like a light that shines on the possible answer. It answers the research question directly, though the answer may be partial or even incorrect. Indirect evidence is like a light that hits a mirror before it shines on the possible answer. The light wouldn't illuminate the answer if it did not hit something else first. We always need to use indirect evidence in combination with … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Canon of the Netherlands
12 January 2022 by Leave a Comment
Historians have compiled a Canon of the Netherlands; a list of fifty canonical events that everyone who is interested in the history of the Netherlands should know. This list was revised last year. The Canon website has the fifty events with background information, which is available in English. Some of the material for students, such as animations, lesson plans, and suggestions for further reading, is only available in Dutch. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for December 2021
7 January 2022 by Leave a Comment
This is an overview of the new website projects, and other news announced last month. Sources Over 250,000 newspapers were added to Delpher, including many regional newspapers. The guild records of Breda are now available via the Breda City Archives website. Search for gilde* to get an overview of all the guild records. Then click a record group and press "hele toegang" [whole finidng aid]. If you select a call number, you will see the scans. Press photos of the De Boer press agency … [Read more...]
Records that became public in 2022
1 January 2022 by Leave a Comment
Happy New Year everybody! Many records become public after 20, 25, 50, 75, or 100 years. Here is an overview of some of the records that became public as of 1 January 2022. Exceptions may exist for records that involve people that could still be alive. Just because records are public does not mean they are immediately available online. Some archives digitize the birth, marriage, and death records immediately, others do not. Some records will be online, some may be ordered via scanning on … [Read more...]
