Quick tip – Check websites of local archives

When you’re researching, don’t limit your research to national or international websites like Open Archives or Ancestry. Also check the websites of local archives. Every municipality in the Netherlands has a contract with an archive to keep their records. This can either be an archive specific for that one municipality, or a regional archive that keeps the records of multiple municipalities.

Some recent finds I made on websites of local archives:

These finds were all made in unindexed records, that are not available in the national or international websites. Archives often provide scanned records that have not been indexed yet.

Birth record of Hendrik Hoitink, born Winterswijk 14 March 1914

Many websites of local archives can be found via the website Digital Resources in Netherlands and Belgium. It has links for online resources for the place of interest, which includes records at local archives.

About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, MLitt, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist, writer, and lecturer in the Netherlands. She has a Master of Letters in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee, and holds the Certification of Genealogist and Qualified Genealogist credentials. Yvette served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Genealogists and won excellence awards for her articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly. Yvette has been doing genealogy for over 30 years. She helps people from across the world find their ancestors from the Netherlands and its former colonies, including New Netherland. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

Comments

  1. Daar ben ik het zeker mee eens, er is zoveel bij de lokale archieven, bijvoorbeeld schepenakten, en ik vind het prettiger om daar te kijken dan bij de grote sites, want die zijn soms zo groot, dat niet duidelijk is wat er nu wel en niet instaat; ook geeft het bladeren door de originelen een aardige impressie van de lokale bevolking.

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