Bron is the Dutch term for "source." The word also means "spring," in the meaning of a place where water naturally comes to the surface. … [Read more...]
Volunteers wanted! Indexing Dutch East India Company Records
14 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
The records of the Dutch East India Company (1602-1795) are kept at the National Archives in The Hague. The archives span 1.25 km / 0.78 miles. Many of these records are scanned and available from the finding aid. Description of the project To make the records easily findable the National Archives is participating in an ambitious project called IJsberg [iceberg]. The project uses a range of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies. I am involved in the project in a minor role, … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Noord, Oost, Zuid, West
12 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
Oost-West [East-West] is the theme of the History Month in the Netherlands this year. The Dutch terms for the cardinal directions are: noord north oost east zuid south west west You may encounter these terms in deeds, where the location of the property is described in terms of its neighbors to the north, east, south, and west. They are also used in geographical names, like Zuid-Holland [South Holland] or Noord-Brabant [North Brabant]. … [Read more...]
Source – Secret Register of Released Prisoners
9 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
A source with an intriguing name is the "Geheim Register van Ontslagen Gevangen" or the Secret Register of Released Prisoners. This register was kept from 1882 to 1896 and included the photos, personal details, and overview of crimes of the prisoners who would be released in the upcoming month even though they were still considered dangerous. This included people who served multiple sentences, or who served a long sentence for a serious crime. … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Archives Damage Atlas
7 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Metamorfoze program, a Dutch program to preserve and digitize archives and publications, published a damage atlas of archives (PDF). The atlas was published ten years ago but the contents are still relevant today. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for September 2020
2 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
Here is an overview of the new online sources, websites, and projects that were announced last month. Sources Scans and images of notarial records from The Hague (1861-1935) have been added to the The Hague City Archives website. The Regionaal Archief Tilburg added an index of "borgbrieven" [letters of indemnity] from various municipalities in and around Tilburg to their search engine. Learn more about borgbrieven here. The Regionaal Historisch Centrum Eindhoven has published scans … [Read more...]
Wanted! First families of Pier 21
29 September 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 is looking for family members of the 54 passengers who first arrived at the pier, on 28 February 1928. The first ship to arrive was the S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam, which had departed from Rotterdam carrying passengers from the Netherlands, Lithuania, Germany, Romania, Russia, Yugoslavia, Finland, and Greece, who were destined for various places in Canada. The museum is now collecting stories of the families that first arrived. See the blog post of … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Image bank at Archieven.nl
23 September 2020 by 1 Comment
The website Archieven.nl presents archival descriptions, genealogical indexes, and image collections of several archives in the Netherlands. I love searching the image collections for places where my ancestors lived. I have found maps there, old photos of the streets where my ancestors lived, even the occasional school photo though unfortunately none where I recognized an ancestor. Some archives even uploaded objects like prayer cards or business letter heads. Try searching for the … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Herfst
21 September 2020 by Leave a Comment
Herfst is the Dutch term for autumn. Autumn was the time to bring in the remaining harvests, slaughter the animals, and prepare for the upcoming winter. Many fairs were held in the autumn to sell surplus crops and proceeds. … [Read more...]
New presentation at National Archives – 15 million new scans!
14 September 2020 by 2 Comments
The National Archives of the Netherlands just rolled out a new presentation of their records. This new version of the website includes 15 million new scans. This presentation was already available in a beta version and is now the main presentation for all users of the National Archives website. … [Read more...]
