When researching ancestors we did not know personally, we rarely see them on an average day. We may see them at the best of times: when they get married, when they have a child, or when they receive a medal. Or we may see them at the worst of times: when they lose a child, when they go bankrupt, or are prosecuted for a crime. Average days typically do not create many records. If we are lucky, we might find a witness statement where they were going about their normal work when something … [Read more...]

Legacy Family Tree Webinars is having a sale this week, through to Friday the 6th of December. You can now get a year-long subscription with 50% off, for $24.98. This gives you access to 2,311 webinars including the following webinars I presented: Researching Your Dutch Ancestors Lesser Used Records for Research in the Netherlands Using MyHeritage to Find Ancestors From the Netherlands Dear Me - Writing Research Reports to Yourself If you use one of these links to purchase a … [Read more...]

I recently took Dr. Sophie's Pharos Course Critical Thinking Approaches for Genealogy. One of the things that she encouraged us to do is identify our biases, so we can find ways to address those and minimize the impact on our research. That led me to thinking about the cultural biases I may have as a Dutch researcher. I grew up with the idea that the Netherlands is a tolerant country. We were the first country in the world to legally allow same-sex marriages, for example. In school, we are … [Read more...]

When I was a child, I played badminton for a couple of years. I liked playing but was never any good and did not play in competitions. However, like all members, I did participate in the annual badminton club championships. There were different categories, based on gender, age, and whether or not you played competitively. One year, I was one of only two girls in my category. We played a match, I lost. And then I got the silver medal for coming second in my category. I sometimes think … [Read more...]