MyHeritage introduced Genetic Groups, a new way to predict your ethnicity. I manage four Dutch kits from people from four different parts of the Netherlands, and they're all spot on. For my own kit, it predicts three genetic groups with high confidence: Netherlands (Gelderland and Overijssel) Netherlands (North Brabant) and Belgium (Antwerpen) Netherlands (South Holland, North Holland, Gelderland and Utrecht). This is consistent with my tree: my father's ancestors are from … [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.
Six Levels of Ancestral Profiles – Level-up Challenge!
22 January 2021 by 49 Comments
I had an interesting discussion with fellow genealogist Willem Vermeulen the other day, about the importance of going beyond the vital information to document your family and meet the Genealogical Proof Standard. I mentioned that I have different 'levels' of ancestral profiles, that I am now working to improve and expand. I have been working on my tree for thirty years, and not all of the work on my ancestors is up to my current standards. I decided to make these levels explicit to see where I … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Check websites of local archives
13 January 2021 by 1 Comment
When you're researching, don't limit your research to national or international websites like Open Archives or Ancestry. Also check the websites of local archives. Every municipality in the Netherlands has a contract with an archive to keep their records. This can either be an archive specific for that one municipality, or a regional archive that keeps the records of multiple municipalities. Some recent finds I made on websites of local archives: Mill tax records of Etten-Leur showed the … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for December 2020
8 January 2021 by Leave a Comment
Here are new sources and projects that were announced last month. Sources The records of the Bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch between 1559 and 1650 have been digitized and are now available via the website of the Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum. The records of the bishop are in finding aid 2147, the old parish files are in finding aid 2074, and a separate index has been created to easily find the appointments, ordainments, and verdicts. Scans of the baptismal, marriage, and burial … [Read more...]
Records that became public in 2021
1 January 2021 by 3 Comments
Happy New Year everybody! Many records become public after 25, 50, 75, or 100 years. Here is an overview of some of the records that became public as of 1 January 2021. Exceptions may exist for records that involve people that could still be alive. Civil registration records: Birth records from 1920 Marriage records from 1945 Death records from 1970 Legal records: Court records from 1945 Police records from 1945 National government records: Minutes of the council … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 24 – Margaret of Flanders
26 December 2020 by 8 Comments
This is the twenty-fifth post in a series about my possible line of descent from Eleanor of Aquitaine. In the first post, I explained how I discovered the possible line, and how I am going to verify it one generation at a time. In the last post, I proved that my twentieth great-grandfather Duke John II of Brabant was the son of Margaret of Flanders and John I, Duke of Brabant. Biography Margaret of Flanders was born in 1251 as the eldest daughter of Guy of Dampierre, count of Flanders, by his … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Check notaries in neighboring towns
25 December 2020 by Leave a Comment
If you are looking for notarial records, be sure to check in neighboring towns too. Unlike civil registrations or court records, there was no requirement to go to the notary in your own town. Sometimes, people lived in the countryside and the notary of a neighboring town was more convenient. Your ancestor could also appear in notarial records in another town if the seller or purchaser lived elsewhere and created the record there. When looking for notarial records of my ancestors Martinus … [Read more...]
Quick tip – “De” Names do not mean Huguenot
16 December 2020 by 2 Comments
The prefix "de" in a name can be confusing. It means "the" in Dutch but can also mean "de" in French. People who have done Huguenot research often assume a "de"-name indicates a French or Huguenot origin. But when you're dealing with a Dutch family, think horses not zebras: your Dutch ancestor with a "de" name was probably Dutch. The most popular Dutch "De"-names are: De Vries [the Frisian] De Jong/Jonge [the younger] De Boer [the farmer] De Groot [the great/tall] De Wit … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Who was the previous owner?
9 December 2020 by Leave a Comment
When you hit a brick wall and the ancestor whose parents you're looking for owned property, try and find out who owned the property previously. The previous owner may have been related, if the ancestor inherited the property, or may have created a sale or conveyance record that mentions your ancestor. For an example of how useful tracing the previous owner can be, read my article "Griete Smith's Parentage: Proof in the Absence of Vital Records" (PDF) as it appeared in the December 2016 issue … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for November 2020
4 December 2020 by Leave a Comment
Here are new websites and sources that were announced last month. Sources The Historisch Centrum Overijssel has digitized several Overijssel notarial records 1836-1925. The scans are now available via the finding aid. The contemporary indexes ("repertoires") of the notarial records from The Hague (1843-1935) have been scanned and are available online via the finding aid. The notarial records themselves can be ordered via free scanning-on-demand after January 1st, 2021. The Amsterdam … [Read more...]
