When you are using a Dutch website, you may come across the term niet beschikbaar, which means "not available." For example, you may see an image "bestand nog niet beschikbaar" [file not available yet] in an image bank where the description of the photo or map is available online, but the image itself isn't, either because of copyrights or because it hasn't been scanned yet. You can also see niet beschikbaar in finding aids if the record is not available to the public because of poor material … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Not all records of your 1800s ancestor may be public
23 May 2018 by Leave a Comment
If you are researching an ancestor who was born in the 1800s, you might assume that all their records are public because they were born more than 100 years ago. But that may not be the case. If your ancestor married after 1942, their marriage record is not public yet. Similarly, court records, notarial records, prison records, and many other records have a 75-year limit before they become public. If your ancestor died after 1967, their death record is not public yet. An example is my … [Read more...]
Dutch records that are public as of 1 January 2018
1 January 2018 by 2 Comments
Happy New Year everybody! Let's take a look at some of the records that have become public today: Birth records from 1917, which includes my maternal grandmother Catharina Flooren. Marriage records from 1942, which includes my grandparents Hendrik Hoitink and Gesiena Wilhelmina Woordes. Death records from 1967, which includes my great-grandmother Janna Geertruid Droppers. It's a good day for my family tree! Not all archives immediately scan and index those records, so … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Openbaarheid
9 October 2017 by Leave a Comment
Openbaarheid means the status of a document as a public record. Records can have different statuses: Openbaar [public]: the record is public and can be accessed without restrictions. Beperkt openbaar [limited public]: the record is not public but can be accessed under certain conditions. Niet openbaar [not public]: the record is not public and cannot be accessed. Common reasons for records to not be public are to protect the privacy of living people or in the case of state secrets. … [Read more...]
Dutch Records That Just Became Public
6 January 2017 by 5 Comments
2017 has arrived, and that means that many records have become public. Many records are closed for 25, 50, 75, or 100 years. Records that can now be consulted include: Birth records of people born in 1916 (hi, grandma!) Marriage records of people married in 1941 Death records of people who died in 1966. Court and notarial records of 1941. Government records from 1991, 1966, 1941, 1916 (depending on the nature of the records). Most of these … [Read more...]
