Aanwas means increase. The term can often be found in reference to increase in land because of river deposits. Laws specified who owned the aanwas. Sometimes neighbors argued about the rights to the newly created land, for example if one property owner lost land because of erosion while his neighbor gained land due to deposits. These conflicts can create civil court records, sometimes including old maps showing the disputed land. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Kaartenbak
11 February 2019 by Leave a Comment
A kaartenbak is a card catalog. Creating card catalogs was the popular way to index genealogical records before the computer age. Not all kaartenbakken have been made available online, so a quick survey of the available catalogs in a reading room is a good first step in a research plan. Archives often use one of three strategies to make this information available online: Using the card catalog for database entry. This creates a digital version of the catalog that is fully searchable. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Tweeling
28 January 2019 by Leave a Comment
The Dutch word tweeling (literally: two-ling) means twins. Similarly, drieling means triplets, vierling means quadruplets, vijfling means quintuplets, and zesling means sextuplets. The word tweeling is used for the set of twins. There is no singular Dutch word for a twin. You can say "ik heb een tweelingbroer" [I have a twin brother], "ik heb een tweelingzus" [I have a twin sister] or a parent can say "ik heb een tweeling" [I have twins]. You can also say "Ik ben één van een tweeling" [I am … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Schutterij
21 January 2019 by Leave a Comment
The schutterij is the citizen militia responsible for the defense of the town. In times of war, they could be called up to defend the country. Schutterijen existed throughout the Netherlands from at least the 1500s. Regulations for the schutterijen were standardized in 1814. Male residents between the ages of 18 and 50 (from 1827: between 25 and 34) were elligible to serve. By law, 600 schutters were required per 20,000 residents. Schutterijen existed until 1901. Records for schutters can … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Gulden, Stuiver, Penning
7 January 2019 by Leave a Comment
In many older Dutch records, you will find sums of money noted in guldens [guilders], stuivers [stivers], and penningen [pennies]. 1 gulden = 20 stuivers 1 stuiver = 16 penningen For example, fl. 2 : 10 : 1 means 2 guilders, 10 stivers and 1 penny. Fl. is the abbreviation for florijn [florin], an old name for guilder used to denote the currency. This system remained was in use in most parts of the Netherlands until 1816. The southern parts used Flemish pounds. In 1816, the coin … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Pokkenbriefje
17 December 2018 by Leave a Comment
A pokkenbriefje is a pox letter, given by a doctor to confirm that a child has been vaccinated against the pox. In 1823, a new law required all children to submit a pokkenbriefje before they were admitted in school. Pokkenbriefjes can sometimes be found in school records. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Selectielijst
10 December 2018 by Leave a Comment
A selectielijst literally means a selection list. Archives publish selectielijsten to announce their retention policies for records created by a specific government agency. For each series on the list, it will indicate whether it will be permantly preserved or after how many years it will be destroyed. The selectielijsten are put up for public review. After any objections have been evaluated, the minister of Education, Culture, and Science will need to formally approve it before it is … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Octrooi
3 December 2018 by Leave a Comment
An octrooi is a patent. Historically, octrooien were not just required to protect inventions, but also to enter into certain types of businesses, similar to what we'd call a permit today. An octrooi could also grant permission to publish a book in a certain area. Octrooien can often be found in the records of the landlords or the government. They typically describe the type of permission that is granted and name the patentee. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Prentbriefkaart
19 November 2018 by 2 Comments
A prentbriefkaart or ansichtkaart is a postcard. Postcards became popular in the early 1900s. Old postcards can give you a good idea of what the town looked like when your ancestors were living there. It's also worth asking family members if any of them have old postcards. Among the papers I inherited from my grandfather and grandmother were postcards they sent each other when they were engaged and he was serving in the military. Digitized postcards can often be found on websites of … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Notulen
12 November 2018 by Leave a Comment
Notulen are minutes. They can be found in the records created by many different types of people and organizations, such as church councils or the municipal government. They can contain a variety of information. Archival descriptions in finding aids often don't index the minutes but simply label the boxes as notulen and their period. You will have to view the original records to learn what their contents are. … [Read more...]
