On 17 November, a new online database "Voyages of New Netherland" will be launched. It documents 300 ship voyages to New Netherland between 1609 and 1664. The New Netherland Institute and New York Genealogical and Biographical Society organizes a virtual launch session on 17 November 2020 at 5 PM. See the NYG&BS website for more information and registration. … [Read more...]
New book: Dutch Children of African American Liberators
9 November 2020 by Leave a Comment
A new book was just announced, written by Mieke Kirkels and Chris Dickon: Dutch Children of African American Liberators: Race, Military Policy and Identity in World War II and Beyond. … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Spanish Flu in the Netherlands
28 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 hit the Netherlands hard. Researchers have now used the information from civil registration records to analyze the data, including providing maps that show which areas were most affected. Unlike what you might think, rural and less densely populated areas were hit harder than the big cities. Read the analysis of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Archives Damage Atlas
7 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Metamorfoze program, a Dutch program to preserve and digitize archives and publications, published a damage atlas of archives (PDF). The atlas was published ten years ago but the contents are still relevant today. … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Image bank at Archieven.nl
23 September 2020 by 1 Comment
The website Archieven.nl presents archival descriptions, genealogical indexes, and image collections of several archives in the Netherlands. I love searching the image collections for places where my ancestors lived. I have found maps there, old photos of the streets where my ancestors lived, even the occasional school photo though unfortunately none where I recognized an ancestor. Some archives even uploaded objects like prayer cards or business letter heads. Try searching for the … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Use Different Types of Death Records
9 September 2020 by Leave a Comment
In the period after 1811, the civil registration death records are the most reliable and informative records to use. In the period before 1811, there are different types of records that can act as substitutes for death records: Burial records kept by the churches Account books by the churches or deacons where fees are recorded for renting a pall, ringing the bells, or paying for the grave. Records of the death duties levied by civil authorities. Not all records exists in every … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Van der Aa’s Biographical Dictionary
26 August 2020 by Leave a Comment
A biographical dictionary from the 1800s is available online: Van der Aa's Biografisch Woordenboek. The 21 volumes contain thousands of lemmas about more or less famous people in the Netherlands. The dictionary is in the public domain so you can use it for your own research. To find entries, select the first letter of the last name and then browse alphabetically. The names have links behind them that will show the corresponding imaged book in the right pane. You can click the 'transcription' … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Use Google Translate App to Translate Publications
12 August 2020 by 3 Comments
Did you know you can use the Google Translate app on your phone to translate publications? Just click the camera icon in the app and point it at a printed text. Google Translate will show the translation in place. I first saw this when one of my clients used it to translate a Dutch plaque next to a monument and a Dutch menu. You can also use it to translate Dutch books, newspapers, or magazines. As long as the text is printed, Google Translate should be able to handle it. … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Friesland Memorabilia
29 July 2020 by Leave a Comment
If you have ancestors from Friesland, you want to check out the website of Hessel de Walle: Memorabilia uit Friesland [Memorabilia from Friesland]. Hessel collects references to Frisian memorabilia with people's names on them, like mourning boards in churches, inscribed silverware, grave monuments, etc., and generously made his database available online. You can search the database in different ways: Gemeente - Municipality Plaats - Town Typen - Types Achternaam - Last name … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Magazines and Journals at Delpher
22 July 2020 by 1 Comment
The website Delpher is famous for its newspapers, but also has a large collection of magazines and journals. This includes many trade and professional journals that have information about people in these occupations, such as teachers and farmers. The majority of the periodicals dates from the 1850s to 1950s. … [Read more...]
