When you get stuck, ask yourself what other records were created in the time and place your ancestors lived, for example: Did the town or village create records? Often, you can find townsfolk in town minutes, tax records, records about the town's defense, etc. Was there a landlord or manor that created records? Were there tax records, either at the town or provincial level? Were there charities or orphanages that left records? For my article “Griete Smith’s Parentage: Proof in … [Read more...]
About this website
Creating a website like this is a fun activity. There are so many options, so many choices. What do visitors want? What do I want? In this blog I will describe some of the things I encounter in developing and maintaining this website.
Dutch Genealogy News for March 2021
2 April 2021 by 1 Comment
This is an overview of the new sources, websites, and projects that were announced last month. Sources Automatically generated transcriptions of Amsterdam notarial records from the 1600s and 1700s can now be searched via a website. These transcriptions were created using handwritten text recognition. The artificial intelligence used for this project was trained using data created by volunteers. Notarial records of several notaries and surveyors in Limburg between 1544 and 1842 have been … [Read more...]
Level 3 Checklist – Occupations, residence, children, spouses
26 March 2021 by Leave a Comment
Two months ago, I issued my Level-Up Challenge, challenging you to assess how complete your research is. By level 2, we know the names of our ancestors and where and when they were born, married and died. To reach level 3, we also have to know their occupations, places of residence, and their children and spouses. In this blog post, I will explain which sources I feel I need to have found or searched for in order to say I have reached level 3. Occupation I want to find at least one source … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – What happened to the Digitale Stamboom?
17 March 2021 by Leave a Comment
One reader contacted me to ask: I have lost a Dutch records site. It was called Dutch Municipal Records, and the URL was http://digitalestamboom.nl. That site now appears to be totally dead, because even the home page gives a 404 result. Can you refer me to a current URL? Or is the site simply gone? What was the Digitale Stamboom? The Digitale Stamboom, the Digital Family Tree, was a website created by a vendor of website software for genealogical information. Several archives used … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – How did they Meet?
10 March 2021 by Leave a Comment
When you're researching your ancestors, ask yourself how they met their spouse. If they're both from the same town, you will probably not be able to figure it out, since there would have been many opportunities. Even so, you might find them working for the same farmer, as I did for my 2nd great grandparents. If they lived in different towns, maybe even in different parts of the country, asking yourself how they met can trigger a whole new research plan. Often, their occupations can be a … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for February 2021
5 March 2021 by Leave a Comment
This is an overview of all the new sources, projects, and websites that were announced last month. Sources The genealogy database of the Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum now has more than 20 million records of persons from Noord-Brabant. This includes a wide range of records: church records, civil registration records, population registers, death duties files, prison records and militia records. New sources are added every month. The Noord-Hollands Archief published scans of … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Free DNA Upload to MyHeritage
21 February 2021 by 1 Comment
If you are interested in using DNA to find your Dutch ancestors, make sure your DNA is in the MyHeritage genetic database. MyHeritage is the most popular DNA service in the Netherlands, and as a result, it is the place where you are most likely to find Dutch matches. MyHeritage also offers great tools for analyzing your DNA, such as Theories of Relativity, a clustering tool, and chromosome browser. This week, uploads to MyHeritage are free. Normally, there is a fee to unlock the Ethniticy … [Read more...]
Level 2 Checklist – Vital Statistics
19 February 2021 by Leave a Comment
Last month I issued my Level-Up Challenge, challenging you to assess how complete your research is. Level 2 is vital statistics only. In this blog post, I will explain which sources I feel I need to have found or searched for in order to say I have reached level 2. For each vital event, I want to have found at least one of the sources indicated here so I know where and when a person was born, married, and died. Date and place of birth Birth record (civil registration) I want to find … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Dutch Topics at RootsTech Connect
17 February 2021 by 1 Comment
RootsTech, the largest genealogy show in the world, will be going virtual this year. The event will take place from 25 until 27 February 2021, non-stop. You can watch live, or catch the recordings later on, via RootsTech.org (no special software needed). Registration is free. Dutch topics The following topics should be of interest to people with Dutch ancestors: Dutch Parish Registers from the 17th and 18th century, by John Boeren Dutch Research in the 19th and 20th century: Civil … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 25 – Guy of Dampierre
12 February 2021 by 2 Comments
This is the twenty-sixth 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 twenty-first great-grandmother Margaret of Flanders, Duchess of Brabant, was the daughter of Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders. Biographical information Guy of Dampierre was born in 1226 as the second son William of Dampierre and … [Read more...]
