Dutch term – Landloper

A landloper was literally a “land walker,” a vagrant who roamed the countryside. Vagrancy used to be a crime, and vagrants could be incarcerated or banned. Some regions employed special “armenjagers” [pauper hunters] to drive them away.

Vagrant, by Pieter Jans Quast, 1634.

Vagrant, by Pieter Jans Quast, 1634. Credits: Rijksmuseum (Public Domain)

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. Anita maijer-schrot says

    Dear Yvette, did you write about the Maatschappij van Weldaadigheid on here yet? An important part of Dutch history and source of finding ancestors! I I did not know about Veenhuizen etc. until a facebook friend told me . It was some kind of a breakthrough as regards to my personal family research… Groetjes, Anita

    • No, that has been on my to-do list for a while 🙂 Great topic, I agree!

      • anita maijer-schrot says

        …I wonder if Americans know about this topic at all… no need to be ashamed of ancestors who have lived there… we are not ashamed that we have voorouders who did… on the contrary ! best regards, Anita

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