A touwslager or lijndraaier is a rope maker. The occupation can be found in many places, especially near harbors. Ropes for rigging were made in a lijnbaan, a ropeway to create long ropes. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for January 2022
4 February 2022 by Leave a Comment
This is an overview of the new sources, projects, and other news announced last month. Sources Passage lists of the Holland America Line 1900-1969 are now online at the Stadsarchief Rotterdam website. The records are called passenger lists, but they are actually passage lists: financial records showing who purchased tickets. It only includes the person who bought the ticket, not the other people in the party. Indexes of notarial records of Chaam, Gilze en Rijen, Hilvarenbeek, Loon op … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Zoen
31 January 2022 by Leave a Comment
In modern Dutch, a zoen is a kiss. Before say 1650, however, it was a legal term for a reconciliation. For example, if somebody was murdered, the family of the victim and the murderer could get together to see if they could come to an agreement. The agreement could have included payment of a compensation, banishment of the murderer, asking forgiveness in church, doing penitence, et cetera. If the families came to an agreement, there would be no criminal prosecution. For an example of such an … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Handout exhibit “Headed for Brooklyn”
26 January 2022 by 1 Comment
The Regionaal Historisch Centrum Vecht en Venen is hosting an exhibition "Headed for Brooklyn with a Packed Suitcase: Four centuries of Dutch-American culture in archival records" at their Breukelen location. They have created an English handout with all the information in the exhibition that you can download from their website. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Weerbare mannen
24 January 2022 by Leave a Comment
Weerbare mannen are able-bodied men. Some towns kept lists of weerbare mannen to know whom to count on in case they needed to defend themselves. If they exist, you can typically find them in town records, or in the archives of regional government bodies who required the towns in their region to supply these lists. … [Read more...]
Level up challenge – 2022 progress report
21 January 2022 by 5 Comments
A year ago, I issued my level-up challenge. I wanted to take my research to a higher level by gathering more complete information and documentation about my ancestors. See the original blog post for an overview of the levels. Starting point in 2021 This chart shows the starting point in January 2021. This shows how complete my research was : the higher the number the more complete. Situation January 2022 You can see here that I made the most progress in generation 4 and 5, getting … [Read more...]
Direct, indirect, and negative evidence
17 January 2022 by 2 Comments
In genealogy, we may have direct, indirect, and negative evidence for research questions. Direct evidence is like a light that shines on the possible answer. It answers the research question directly, though the answer may be partial or even incorrect. Indirect evidence is like a light that hits a mirror before it shines on the possible answer. The light wouldn't illuminate the answer if it did not hit something else first. We always need to use indirect evidence in combination with … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Canon of the Netherlands
12 January 2022 by Leave a Comment
Historians have compiled a Canon of the Netherlands; a list of fifty canonical events that everyone who is interested in the history of the Netherlands should know. This list was revised last year. The Canon website has the fifty events with background information, which is available in English. Some of the material for students, such as animations, lesson plans, and suggestions for further reading, is only available in Dutch. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Krijgsraad
10 January 2022 by Leave a Comment
Krijgsraad means "court martial." You may find a reference to a court martial in your ancestor's military records if they made severe transgressions. If the person was sentenced to a prison sentence, prison records may also refer to the court martial verdict. Court martial records are typically kept in the regional historical center in the provincial capital. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for December 2021
7 January 2022 by Leave a Comment
This is an overview of the new website projects, and other news announced last month. Sources Over 250,000 newspapers were added to Delpher, including many regional newspapers. The guild records of Breda are now available via the Breda City Archives website. Search for gilde* to get an overview of all the guild records. Then click a record group and press "hele toegang" [whole finidng aid]. If you select a call number, you will see the scans. Press photos of the De Boer press agency … [Read more...]
