A vreemdeling is a stranger or an alien. The word is used in genealogical records to indicate someone who was not Dutch, an immigrant. Vreemdelingen typically had to register with the municipality. The specific regulations and resulting records depend on the time and place. … [Read more...]
Six Levels of Ancestral Profiles – Level-up Challenge!
22 January 2021 by 49 Comments
I had an interesting discussion with fellow genealogist Willem Vermeulen the other day, about the importance of going beyond the vital information to document your family and meet the Genealogical Proof Standard. I mentioned that I have different 'levels' of ancestral profiles, that I am now working to improve and expand. I have been working on my tree for thirty years, and not all of the work on my ancestors is up to my current standards. I decided to make these levels explicit to see where I … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Onbewoonbaar Verklaard
18 January 2021 by 3 Comments
In the early 1900s, a new residence law came in effect to improve the living conditions of poor people. Under this law, houses could be onbewoonbaar verklaard [declared unlivable] and the residents had to move out. … [Read more...]
Cadastre: Overview Maps and Minute Maps
15 January 2021 by 2 Comments
Several of you voted for cadastral records as the topic you would like me to write about in 2021, so here we go. This is the first article in a series. The cadastre was introduced in the Netherlands in 1832. The whole country was divided into cadastral municipalities, which did not always completely overlap with the civil municipalities. Each cadastral municipality was divided into sections, and each section into plots. The combination of cadastral municipality, section letter, and plot … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Check websites of local archives
13 January 2021 by 1 Comment
When you're researching, don't limit your research to national or international websites like Open Archives or Ancestry. Also check the websites of local archives. Every municipality in the Netherlands has a contract with an archive to keep their records. This can either be an archive specific for that one municipality, or a regional archive that keeps the records of multiple municipalities. Some recent finds I made on websites of local archives: Mill tax records of Etten-Leur showed the … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for December 2020
8 January 2021 by Leave a Comment
Here are new sources and projects that were announced last month. Sources The records of the Bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch between 1559 and 1650 have been digitized and are now available via the website of the Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum. The records of the bishop are in finding aid 2147, the old parish files are in finding aid 2074, and a separate index has been created to easily find the appointments, ordainments, and verdicts. Scans of the baptismal, marriage, and burial … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Beerwagen
4 January 2021 by Leave a Comment
A beerwagen was a cess car, a car used to collect faeces in larger cities. In Amsterdam, this was also known as a boldootwagen, which jokingly referred to Boldoot, an Amsterdam factory making perfume. Before indoor plumbing, people would use buckets instead of toilets. A beerwagen would come by to collect the waste. It did not need to ring a bell, since its smell would announce its arrival. … [Read more...]
Records that became public in 2021
1 January 2021 by 3 Comments
Happy New Year everybody! Many records become public after 25, 50, 75, or 100 years. Here is an overview of some of the records that became public as of 1 January 2021. Exceptions may exist for records that involve people that could still be alive. Civil registration records: Birth records from 1920 Marriage records from 1945 Death records from 1970 Legal records: Court records from 1945 Police records from 1945 National government records: Minutes of the council … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Vuurwerk
31 December 2020 by Leave a Comment
Vuurwerk is the Dutch term for fireworks. Traditionally, fireworks are lit at midnight on New Year's Eve. This year, fireworks are not allowed because hospitals are already overwhelmed. Fireworks is a modern version of the old tradition to make noise to scare the spirits of the old year away. Before fireworks were available, people would shoot their guns at midnight. You can sometimes find court records if people were firing their guns against local regulations, or if somebody got hurt. … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 24 – Margaret of Flanders
26 December 2020 by 8 Comments
This is the twenty-fifth post in a series about my possible line of descent from Eleanor of Aquitaine. In the first post, I explained how I discovered the possible line, and how I am going to verify it one generation at a time. In the last post, I proved that my twentieth great-grandfather Duke John II of Brabant was the son of Margaret of Flanders and John I, Duke of Brabant. Biography Margaret of Flanders was born in 1251 as the eldest daughter of Guy of Dampierre, count of Flanders, by his … [Read more...]
