Several of you voted for cadastral records as the topic you would like me to write about in 2021, so here we go. This is the first article in a series. The cadastre was introduced in the Netherlands in 1832. The whole country was divided into cadastral municipalities, which did not always completely overlap with the civil municipalities. Each cadastral municipality was divided into sections, and each section into plots. The combination of cadastral municipality, section letter, and plot … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Beerwagen
4 January 2021 by Leave a Comment
A beerwagen was a cess car, a car used to collect faeces in larger cities. In Amsterdam, this was also known as a boldootwagen, which jokingly referred to Boldoot, an Amsterdam factory making perfume. Before indoor plumbing, people would use buckets instead of toilets. A beerwagen would come by to collect the waste. It did not need to ring a bell, since its smell would announce its arrival. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Vuurwerk
31 December 2020 by Leave a Comment
Vuurwerk is the Dutch term for fireworks. Traditionally, fireworks are lit at midnight on New Year's Eve. This year, fireworks are not allowed because hospitals are already overwhelmed. Fireworks is a modern version of the old tradition to make noise to scare the spirits of the old year away. Before fireworks were available, people would shoot their guns at midnight. You can sometimes find court records if people were firing their guns against local regulations, or if somebody got hurt. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Winter
21 December 2020 by 3 Comments
The Dutch word winter means the same in English: winter. Wintertime was traditionally the time to do indoor activities, such as finishing wooden shoes, weaving, making mats, etc. In many parts of the Netherlands, it was hard to get around in the winter since the roads were too boggy. As soon as it was cold enough for the ice to become reliable, many people used frozen creeks to get around, either on skates or on sleds. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Voornoemd
14 December 2020 by Leave a Comment
In records, you sometimes see a reference to someone, "voornoemd." That means "aforesaid," the same person as mentioned before. For example, the beginning of the record may introduce Jan Jansen as the guardian of Janna Derksen. Further on in the record they may refer to "Jan Jansen, voornoemd," which refers to the Jan Jansen that was already introduced. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Verklarende niet te kunnen schrijven
7 December 2020 by Leave a Comment
In civil registration records, the informants of birth and death records and the bride and groom and their parents in marriage records, as well as the witnesses, are asked to sign the record. If the people were illiterate, this will be noted in the final sentences of the record. Often you will see a sentence like "verklarende de moeder van de bruidegom uit hoofde van ongeleerdheid niet te kunnen schrijven" [the mother of the groom declares not to be able to sign, as not having learned … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Stemmen
2 November 2020 by Leave a Comment
Stemmen means to vote. In the Netherlands, the right to vote was originally tied to owning property or personal wealth. It took until 1917 for all men to be allowed to vote. Women had to wait until 1919. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Beleg
26 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
A beleg is a siege. During the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648), many cities were besieged by either Dutch or Spanish troops. In several cases, whole cities were burned to the ground, an in some cases the population was massacred. Read Five Ways the Eighty Years War Affected Your Ancestors for more information. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Bron
19 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
Bron is the Dutch term for "source." The word also means "spring," in the meaning of a place where water naturally comes to the surface. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Noord, Oost, Zuid, West
12 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
Oost-West [East-West] is the theme of the History Month in the Netherlands this year. The Dutch terms for the cardinal directions are: noord north oost east zuid south west west You may encounter these terms in deeds, where the location of the property is described in terms of its neighbors to the north, east, south, and west. They are also used in geographical names, like Zuid-Holland [South Holland] or Noord-Brabant [North Brabant]. … [Read more...]
