Dutch term – Boelgoed

Boelgoed is an estate sale. The term is typical for the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen.

Estate sales were often organized by a notary who oversaw the public auction of movable goods. The sale was usually held at the house of the owner.

You will typically find a boelgoed after somebody died, or before emigration. If the boelgoed was for the estate of a deceased, you will often find the heirs buying the majority of the items. Having a public sale was not just a way to sell items that the heirs did not want, but was also used to put a market value on the items. The heirs would bid against each other for the items they wanted, so nobody could complain about the division.

You can often find announcements of estate sales in newspapers, for example at the Delpher newspaper website. The rules and outcome of the sale was usually recorded by a notary and can be found in the notarial records. Notarial records can be found in local or provincial archives and are often not available online yet.

Example: Boelgoed in Marssum, Friesland

Announcement of a boelgoed, 1920¹.

Translation:

Estate sale – Marssum

Notary Van Hulst in Berlkum will hold an estate sale on Thursday 28 October 1920 at 11 AM, at the house and at the request of Mr. J. Landstra in Marssum:
On account of departure to America:
1 milk cow (average fat content 3.60), 1 calf cow, about 12,000 kilograms of hay, 80 stalks of beans, a hay waggon, milk waggon, new manure bin, fine leather horse rig, wheelbarrow, 2 milk cans, fine bicycle (B.S.A.) tools, furniture and household items: oak chifonnier [sideboard cupboard], linnen chest, tables, chairs, sewing machine, rugs, curtains, ladders, oven, hearth, kitchen tools, etc. etc.
Viewing at the day of the sale.

I love details like this, which tell us about the lives of our ancestors. I bet these Landstra descendants did not know that their ancestor owned a bike in 1920!