Dutch term – Inkwartiering

Inkwartiering means billeting, when soldiers were quartered in civilian houses. This could happen during times of occupation. Town records may have lists of houses where soldiers were billeted, including compensation for expenses.

Knowing your ancestors had soldiers billeted at their house can be useful in different ways. Apart from being an interesting piece of biographical information, it places your ancestor in a specific time and place, which can help to determine when they died or moved, for example. It can also tell you about their economic situation, in comparison to their neighbors. A person who had twenty soldiers billeted at their house at once did not live in a hovel. If they were compensated for billeted horses as well as soldiers, that means their house had a barn or stables for animals.

Manor of Bredevoort, lists of people compensated for English troops billeted in their houses,
1763; call no. 400, record group 0098, Erfgoedcentrum Achterhoek en Liemers; image, Erfgoedcentrum Achterhoek en Liemers (https://proxy.archieven.nl/26/AF98CAD129BD4FB590F1B514461ABA2F : accessed 15 March 2023)

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.

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