Dutch Genealogy Services

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Looking for your ancestors from the Netherlands? Yvette Hoitink is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands who does research throughout the country. Read about our services, fees, and example projects or read testimonials by clients like you.

If you want to learn more about researching Dutch ancestors, make sure to read the blog.

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Map of the week – Holland in 1832

This map of Holland appeared in an English atlas in 1832. This is two years after the Southern Netherlands split off to found the independent country of Belgium in 1830, but seven years before the Dutch government acknowledged the loss of these provinces and recognized Belgium as an independent country. The map shows ten provinces. […]

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Group of cousins, all grandchildren of Cornelis Trouw and Maria Gommeren

Ask Yvette – How do I find all the children?

A reader asked me how to find all the children of an ancestral couple. The strategies and sources depend on the period. 1600s, 1700s Sources: Search baptismal, marriage, and burial records to find the baptisms, marriages, and burials of all the children. If one of the parents died before the youngest child was 25, check […]

Map of the week: Slangenrode farm near Utrecht

This map shows the Slangenrode farm with its meadows (green) and farmland (green). The farm was located in the Lageweide area between the Huppeldijk and Lageweidsdijk in Utrecht. The map dates from 1718. Although the catalog description does not tell us the purpose of the map, such maps are often created during court cases, for […]

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Bodegraven map 1664

Map of the Week – Bodegraven around the church, 1664

Sometimes, maps are created in civil lawsuits, for example in boundary disputes. I love these maps for the details they provide, not just about the location but about the people in the community. This week we are looking at a map of Bodegraven that shows the houses around the church in 1664. The map was […]

Dutch girls laying flowers on the graves of a temporary graveyard for killed Canadian soldiers. Edderwolde, The Netherlands, 1945.

Dutch Genealogy News for April 2024

Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and other news from the past month. Sources The stories of 2100 Engelandvaarders [England sailors] are now available at the National Archives website. Engelandvaarders were Dutch citizens who went to the United Kingdom during World War II, where they were debriefed by British and Dutch security services. The interrogation […]

Tip of the week

Father and his children, Pieter de Mare, 1768 - 1795.

Quick tip – Who was your ancestor the guardian for?

I have written before about using guardianship records for genealogical research. Most often, we use these records to find out who became the guardian over minor children after our ancestors died. Less often, we will check those records to see for whom our ancestors were guardians. Since guardians were often close relatives, this can be […]

Term of the week

Dutch term – Gepasporteerd

Gepasporteerd (literally: passported) means a passport was issued. You will typically come across the term in military service records in the 1800s. At the end of service, a soldier received a passport to show he fulfilled his military duties. Since these passports were given to the soldiers, they may have survived in private collections but […]