Quick tip – It’s Never Been Easier to Verify Information

searchbookDid you find your ancestor in an online index or tree? It has never been easier to verify the information using original records. Here are five places where you can find images of online records.

  • WieWasWie, database with civil registration records and much more. Not all have images attached. Requires a subscription to view the images.
  • Persons index at Archieven.nl, database with indexes and images from many archives in the Netherlands.
  • Open Archieven, contains indexes and scans of many archives in the Netherlands that published their information as open data.
  • Familysearch, contains browsable images and some indexes of civil registration records and church records. Convenient waypoints, organized per province/municipality/source are available at Geneal-IX (Dutch only).
  • Digital Resources Netherlands and Belgium, links to many online available sources.

Many of these databases have overlapping content, but they all have some content that the others don’t so it is worthwhile to check all of them if you can’t find a record.

By going back to the original records, you can make sure there were no copy errors and see all the extra information that the original record has to offer you. But remember: even original records can have mistakes, and you need to make sure that the record is actually about the person you are looking for.

About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands. She holds the Certified Genealogist credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has a post-graduate diploma in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee. She has been doing genealogy for over 30 years and helps people from across the world find their ancestors in the Netherlands. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

Comments

  1. Mary Muir says

    I also find that some regional archives like bhic.nl (Brabant archives) also are useful. I just found one record on Ancestry where they have the baptismal date of a sister, Antonia for the brother Antonius…

    On the flip side, checking these records found me at least two more children of this couple.

Leave a Reply to Mary Muir Cancel reply

*