Many archives or other repositories will have an online archievenoverzicht, a listing of their collection. The word archievenoverzicht literally means "overview of archives." It will give you a list of the collections, usually organized by categories like population records, court records or tax records. Some archives will only have the archievenoverzicht online, but most will have the finding aids (inventaris) for the underlying collections as well. That will tell you which records are … [Read more...]
Dutch term – gemeente
18 February 2014 by 3 Comments
A gemeente is a municipality, the lowest administrative unit. The Netherlands currently has 408 municipalities in 12 provinces. Over the last couple of decades, many municipalities merged. In 1812 there were 1,100. Archives of municipalities can be found at a local archive; either a municipal archive specific for that municipality or a regional archive where the collections of several municipalities are kept. For an overview of all the gemeentes, check the website Gemeentegeschiedenis … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Bibliotheek
10 February 2014 by Leave a Comment
Bibliotheek is the Dutch word for library. Unlike in the US, most libraries don't have a large genealogical collection. Most will just have one or two general genealogical reference books in their collection plus some local history books. Only major libraries will have a subscription to genealogical journals such as Gens Nostra or De Nederlandsche Leeuw [the Dutch Lion]. To find genealogical collections, visit an archive (archief) instead. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Sprokkelmaand
3 February 2014 by Leave a Comment
Sprokkelmaand is the old word for February. Literally, it means "wood gathering month." … [Read more...]
Dutch term – volkstelling
27 January 2014 by Leave a Comment
Volkstelling is the Dutch word for census. The first national census was held in 1795 but some local censuses go back to the 16th century. Between 1830 and 1930, a national census was held every ten years. Since then, there have only been four censuses: 1947, 1956, 1960 and 1971. Since the Dutch government keeps the information about its citizens up to date, there is no need to take a census anymore. The census was officially abolished in 1991. For genealogical purposes, Dutch census … [Read more...]
Dutch term: metselaar
20 January 2014 by Leave a Comment
A metselaar is a bricklayer. Since the Netherlands doesn't have many quarries, and all the more mud, brick was and is a popular building material. Brick has been used for buildings since the Middle Ages, first for churches and later for houses too. To prevent fire, many chartered towns issued ordinances that required people to use brick instead of wood or wattle and daub to build their houses. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: Register van naamsaanneming
13 January 2014 by 2 Comments
A register van naamsaanneming is a register of name taking. In 1811/1825, people that did not have a last name yet, like people from the northern provinces or Jews, had to register their new name. See the article about name taking records for more information. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: Louwmaand
6 January 2014 by Leave a Comment
Louwmaand is the old name for January. The origin of the word louw is unknown. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: Nieuwjaar
30 December 2013 by 2 Comments
The term Nieuwjaar means 'new year.' If you want to wish people in the Netherlands 'Happy new year,' you say 'Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!' The new year did not always start on January 1st. During the French occupation (1795-1815), the year started on 22 September. During the Middle Ages, some people used the Christmas style while others used the Eastern style calendar, named after the day that was considered the first day of the year. The Eastern calendar is particularly cumbersome since the timing … [Read more...]
Dutch term: Kerstmis
23 December 2013 by Leave a Comment
The word Kerstmis means Christmas. Traditionally, Christmas was celebrated in the Netherlands by going to to church and celebrating at home by having extra nice food. Dutch people did not give each other gifts for Christmas, as that was done on St. Nicholas' Eve (5 December). Over the last couple of years, Christmas has grown in popularity in the Netherlands so today it is not just a holiday but also a time when many people share gifts. … [Read more...]
