DNA testing is becoming more popular in the Netherlands. Many Dutch people test at MyHeritage, though some also test with other companies such as Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA, or 23andMe. To find Dutch cousins, you can take a DNA test. You will then get a list of people who tested at the same company who share DNA with you. The more DNA you share, the closer the relationship. See the article Dutch DNA testing strategy for more information to maximize your chance of finding cousins. … [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 September 2019
4 October 2019 by 1 Comment
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Online sources The Memories van Successie (death duties files) of Noord-Brabant are being scanned and added to the Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum website. The first batch of scans has been uploaded. Death duties files give you an overview of the property owned by people at the time of their death, tells you if they had a will, and who the heirs were. The records were already … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Don’t assume that coat of arms is yours
25 September 2019 by Leave a Comment
Many people mistakenly believe that finding a coat of arms with your surname means it's "your" coat of arms and that you're entitled to use it. That's not how it works. The coat of arms may have been used by a different family with the same name. You will have to trace your line back to find out if one of your ancestors ever used it. Even that doesn't mean that it's yours to use. For more information, see Ask Yvette - Does my Family have a Coat of Arms? … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 21 – Lijsbeth van Mieren
20 September 2019 by 6 Comments
This is the twenty-second 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 seventeenth great-grandfather Johan van Wijfliet was the son of Lijsbeth van Mieren. Lijsbeth van Mieren, daughter of Jan van Wijfliet Research into Jan van Wijfliet turned up two records that mentioned his father's wife: A 1349 … [Read more...]
English translations of French occupations
13 September 2019 by 1 Comment
During the French occupation in the Netherlands (1795-1813), many of the official records were written in French. Here are some of the occupations you can find in the records, with their English translations. Accoucheur > Obstetrician Adjoint > Aldermen Adjoint-Maire > Interim mayor Advocat > Lawyer Agriculteur > Farmer Aide > Aide Amurier > Weapon smith Apoticaire > Apothecary Apprentif > Apprentice Armurier > Weapon … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Atlas of Mutual Heritage
11 September 2019 by 1 Comment
The website Atlas of Mutual Heritage contains images of places associated with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and West India Company (WIC). These include trade posts and former colonies in Africa, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. For some of these places, the VOC and WIC archives contain the oldest surviving records and images. You can navigate the website by clicking on places on the map, or by searching for place names in the top left corner. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for August 2019
6 September 2019 by 1 Comment
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Online sources MyHeritage just added a new collection of Netherlands newspapers 1659-1899. These newspapers are available at Delpher. If you have a tree at MyHeritage, you will start receiving record matches for these newspapers. The Brabant Historisch Informatie Centrum has now published half a million notarial records from the north-east of Noord-Brabant online. The index and … [Read more...]
Tip: The Dutch: Emigration to North America Tour in 2020
28 August 2019 by 1 Comment
"The Dutch: Emigration to North America" is a tour for people from North America who want to come to the Netherlands to explore their Dutch roots. It is organized by the Association for the Advancement of Dutch-American Studies (AADAS) together with Witte Travel and will be held from 29 April to 11 May 2020. My friend Mary Risseeuw is one of the organizers, and I highly recommend this tour. Summary of the program The tour will travel through the Netherlands and visit several places where … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Was that lost record transcribed or indexed?
21 August 2019 by Leave a Comment
Some parts of the Netherlands, especially Zeeland, suffered heavy record loss during World War II. Church records and court records may have been lost as a result. Most civil registration records survive, because duplicates were made of those at the time of creation, and both copies were in different locations. Before World War II, some people created transcriptions or indexes for their own use. These derivative sources may survive even if the original records were lost. Archives have been … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 20 – Jan van Wijfliet
16 August 2019 by 10 Comments
This is the twenty-first 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 sixteenth great-grandfather Willem van Wijfliet was the son of Jan van Wijfliet. Jan van Wijfliet, son of Lijsbeth van Mieren Research into Willem van Wijfliet turned up several sources that mentioned his father Jan: Feudal … [Read more...]
