A geboorteakte is a birth record. Births have been recorded by the government since 1811 (or 1794-1795 in parts of Limburg and Zeeland). Birth records of people born more than 100 years ago are public. Read more about using birth records to find your Dutch ancestors. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: bidprentje
2 December 2013 by Leave a Comment
A bidprentje is a prayer card. Prayer cards are a Roman-Catholic tradition to commemorate the dead. Read more about finding prayer cards and using them for your research. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: boerderij
25 November 2013 by Leave a Comment
A boerderij is a farm. Sometimes, you will find boerderij doende (doing farm) as an occupation, which means that the person was a farmer. Most farmers were tenants who did not own their farms. Some farms are very old; not necessarily the buildings, but the agricultural business at that location. The buildings got renewed, the property got sold, tenants moved in an out, but a farm may have existed on that location for hundreds of years, perhaps even more than a thousand. Tracing the … [Read more...]
Find your ancestors by understanding how records are created
23 November 2013 by 1 Comment
Searching for records using Google or Ancestry will only get you so far. You will just find records that have already been indexed and put online. If searching does not give you the records you need to answer your research question, try to think like an archivist to understand what other records may exist. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: Uitgebreid zoeken
18 November 2013 by Leave a Comment
The words uitgebreid zoeken mean "advanced search" (literally: elaborate search). You will often find the term on websites with genealogical databases where the "uitgebreid zoeken" link will take you to a search form with more options to formulate your query. Beware that most search engines only find exact matches, so don't fill out too much information. … [Read more...]
Name taking records
15 November 2013 by 5 Comments
The French occupation from 1795-1813 introduced many new types of administration, including the civil registration. To properly record people, it was necessary that they all had a last name. In 1811 and 1813, Napoleon decreed that everybody had to register their last name. After the French occupation ended, the Dutch government decided to keep the obligated last name. In 1825 they required that everybody who had not registered his name yet should do so. You can find information about … [Read more...]
Dutch term: weduwnaar
11 November 2013 by Leave a Comment
The word weduwnaar means widower. In most marriage records, even the early ones, the fact that groom is a widower will be mentioned. If you're lucky, the name of the previous spouse is mentioned too, but that has only been required since the civil registration (1811 or slightly earlier). … [Read more...]
Quick tip: surnames database
6 November 2013 by 13 Comments
The Meertens Instituut (Institute) has a database of surnames in the Netherlands where you can search for a name to get a map that shows where people by that name lived in 1947 and 2007. This can be a great way to find out where in the Netherlands your ancestors may have come from, as many names are specific to a certain area. The example shows that the Hoitink name was most common in the eastern part of the Netherlands. This matches my genealogical research, that proved that the family … [Read more...]
Dutch term: begraafboek
4 November 2013 by Leave a Comment
A begraafboek is a burial book. Begraafboeken are the primary source of information about deaths before 1811. They can be found at the archives in the capitals of the provinces. Many burial books have been digitized and are available on Familysearch.org. … [Read more...]
Dutch term: Dopen
28 October 2013 by 4 Comments
The Dutch word dopen means baptisms or to baptize. Doopboeken (baptize books) are the main source for birth information prior to the introduction of the civil registration (in 1811 for most of the Netherlands but as early as 1796/1797 for Limburg and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen). … [Read more...]
