I started doing genealogy when I was fifteen years old, but there were early warning signs. From about age 4 to 12, I loved playing with LEGOs. We had an old dining room table in the attic that was exactly 3x5 LEGO street plates large, that I used to build my LEGO city. Originally, I liked building the houses, but pretty soon I was making up whole stories in my LEGO city. I especially liked designing the city, thinking about which facilities would go where and where the houses would … [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.
Quick tip – Achterhoek resources at Genealogiedomein
15 April 2020 by 1 Comment
The website Genealogiedomein has resources for research in the eastern part of Gelderland, the area known as the "Achterhoek." Available resources include: Transcribed church records before 1811 Transcribed civil registration records after 1811 Indexed census records Indexes or transcriptions of court records Indexes or transcriptions of tax records Indexes or transcriptions of notarial records Links to online scans on other websites. The resources are organized by … [Read more...]
Finding Maritime Ancestors from the Netherlands
10 April 2020 by Leave a Comment
People from the Netherlands have always lived with water. Many of our ancestors made a living from the sea: as sailors, marines, fishermen, or traders. Here are some websites and sources that can help you find your maritime ancestors. Websites VOC sailors, database of people who sailed on ships of the Dutch East India Company. West India Company muster rolls no longer survive. Marine personnel records at the National Archives, search indexes that start with "Marine." Note that many … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Blaeu atlas
8 April 2020 by Leave a Comment
I love to use old maps to see where my ancestors lived. One of the highlights in the history of cartography is the world atlas created by Willem Blaeu in 1662. Erfgoed Leiden, the archives in Leiden, have digitized their Blaeu atlas. You can browse the atlas via Bladeren door Blaeu [Browse Blaeu]. Klik the pink button "Start met Bladeren" to browse the atlas. You can filter by: album [volume] werelddeel [continent] land [country] plaats [town] The names of the geographic … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for March 2020
3 April 2020 by Leave a Comment
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Sources The National Archives has made several of their publications available online, in the finding aid of the archive-of-the-archives. Publications include atlases for the Dutch East Indies and West India Company, archival guides to Japan, Ghana, and South Asia, and several other publications. The Regional Archives Tilburg have added 1000 charters to their charter bank, over half … [Read more...]
Free Websites for Finding Amsterdam Ancestors
27 March 2020 by 1 Comment
Amsterdam has been the largest city in the Netherlands since the late Middle Ages. The records are vast: the Amsterdam City Archives keeps more than 50 kilometers (over 30 miles) of records. A small but growing part of these records are available online. Here are the best free websites for genealogy research in Amsterdam. Amsterdam City Archives The Amsterdam City Archives keeps the records of the municipality of Amsterdam and the municipalities it annexed (Buiksloot, Nieuwendam, … [Read more...]
Effects of Corona on Dutch Genealogy
20 March 2020 by 4 Comments
The Dutch government has implemented several measures to contain the spread of the corona-virus. This affects people researching their ancestors from the Netherlands in different ways: Archives are closed. On-site research is not possible. Scanning-on-demand may not be possible. Many archives sent their staff home. Even if you can still order scans, orders may not be fulfilled but will be in the queue until people get back to work. Some archives do still offer this service but this … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Check if the Archives are Open
13 March 2020 by Leave a Comment
If you are planning to do on-site research in the Netherlands, check their website or contact the archive to make sure they are open. Most archives have announced their reading rooms are closed until further notice, to prevent spreading COVID-19. Check the opening hours ("openingstijden") and look for news announcements mentioning COVID-19 or corona. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy Services – COVID-19 Measures
12 March 2020 by 1 Comment
The Dutch government announced new measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 (corona virus). Large events are cancelled, people with a cold, cough, or fever are asked to quarantine themselves, and all people in the Netherlands are asked to work from home as much as possible. Dutch Genealogy Services will abide by these instructions. That means that on-site research in archives and libraries will be postponed until after the isolation period (until 31 March 2020 at least). Thankfully, many … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – How to Record Transgender People?
8 March 2020 by 2 Comments
In the Netherlands, it's legal for transgender persons change their gender and names on their birth records and in the population registration. You need to be at least sixteen years old and need a declaration by a gender specialist before you can go to the municipality to have your information changed, so it's not an easy process. In recent years, the requirement to have gender confirmation surgery was dropped, so transgender people can now have their gender changed without undergoing forced … [Read more...]
