Zaterdag is the Dutch word for Saturday. In the early to mid 1900s, Saturday was a work day for men and a half school day for children. It wasn't until the 1960s that the five-day work week became common. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Nageslacht
25 June 2018 by 1 Comment
The Dutch term nageslacht means offspring or progeny; the descendants of a person. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Kenteken
18 June 2018 by Leave a Comment
A kenteken is a license plate. The first license plates for cars and motor bikes were issued in 1898, a national registration. From 1906 to 1951, the provinces issued license plates. Some provinces have published databases with the issued license plates, sometimes with photos of the cars. License plate databases National license plates, issued 1898-1905 (Excel named "overzicht van de Rijksnummerbewijzen") Drenthe database Friesland database Groningen database Noord-Brabant … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Landmeter
11 June 2018 by 2 Comments
A landmeter is a surveyor. Landmeters were not only called in to record new borders, but also when there was a dispute about borders or property ownership. Their records can often be found in town records or in the court records. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Woensdag
6 June 2018 by Leave a Comment
Woensdag is the Dutch term for Wednesday. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Armenjager
4 June 2018 by 1 Comment
An armenjager is a poor hunter, an official charged with driving away beggars. By the end of the 1600s, poor economic conditions caused many people to turn to begging. Churches and towns provided for their own people, but strangers had no choice but to beg. To prevent these strangers from taking charity that could be used by the towns' own folks, some towns hired an armenjager to get rid of them. They were usually put across the border of the municipality or province to make them somebody … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Gracht
14 May 2018 by 3 Comments
A gracht is a canal, usually in a city. Merchants liked living on the grachten since it made it easy to get their supplies delivered to them. The grachten were often the wealthiest parts of town, and also attracted other well-to-do families. Grachten also drained the water from the surrounding area. The Amsterdam grachtengordel [canal belt] is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Boekhandelaar
7 May 2018 by Leave a Comment
A boekhandelaar is a book trader or bookstore owner. Until recent times, a large part of the population was illiterate and book traders could only be found in larger cities. Many book traders were also publishers. Estate inventories in notarial records can show us if our ancestors owned any books, sometimes including the titles. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Donderdag
3 May 2018 by Leave a Comment
Donderdag is the Dutch term for Thursday. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Onderduiker
23 April 2018 by 1 Comment
An onderduiker literally means "under diver" and is somebody who went into hiding. The term was used during World War II to indicate Jews and other people who went into hiding to avoid deportation to the German concentration camps. The most famous onderduiker was Anne Frank, who went into hiding with her family in the annex of the building where her father's office was located. … [Read more...]
