An advocaat is a lawyer. I am often surprised at the number of court cases my ancestors were involved in. Even some of my serf ancestors hired lawyers to defend their rights to cutting trees or taking over the farm against the landlord. Most lawyers would have had a university education. Since 1575, Leiden had a university where people could get a law degree. Other universities followed later. You will recognize these academically trained lawyers by the letters "J.U.D." behind their names … [Read more...]

A slager is a butcher. An old term for slager is 'vleeshouwer' or 'vleeschhouwer' (literally: meat cleaver). Poor people did not often eat meat. One of the recurring themes in letters written by emigrants to the United States is their surprise that everyone is able to afford eating meat. These 'spekbrieven' [bacon letters] are one of the reasons why many relatives chose to follow them. … [Read more...]

A molenaar was a miller. There were different types of mills. Besides the classic Dutch wind-powered mill, there were also horse-drawn mills and water mills. Mills could be used for different purposes, the most common being grind grain or to drain water from low-lying fields. People could not just build a mill, that right was reserved for the landlord. Before the 19th century, most millers did not own the mills that they worked, but worked for the landlord. The French occupation put an end to … [Read more...]

A bode was a messenger, which can sound like an errant boy but it was a far more important function than that. The best approximation is probably a bailiff, someone charged with delivering important documents and news and making sure that the other party receives it. They had a wide array of tasks, ranging from taking messages to organizing public tenders and contracts. Bodes were usually employed by government bodies, like city councils, poor administrations and the States-General. … [Read more...]

A brouwer is a brewer. Since most of the water was not safe to drink, most people drank beer. 'Small beer' only had a low alcohol percentage so it was safe to drink for children. In larger towns, brewers were organized in guilds. In smaller towns, they operated independently. In most places, brewers had to pay tax on the beer they produced. Some of these tax records can be found in local archives or city ledgers. Also, their measures and pints were sometimes calibrated by town officials to … [Read more...]

A knecht is a term used to describe the occupation of somebody who works for somebody else. The term does not have an exact English equivalent, but terms like servant, hand, apprentice or assistant come close. Often, the type of knecht is specified, for example timmermansknecht (carpenter's hand), bakkersknecht (baker's hand) or landbouwersknecht (farmhand). Most men started out working as a knecht to learn a trade. Some became masters in their own right, others remained a knecht for the rest of … [Read more...]