Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Online sources Open Archives started a pilot to search scans by content. This works for typed records only. It uses Optical Character Recognition technology to make the records searchable. You can submit your own URLs of records hosted on Archieven.nl or that use the software by Picturae (e.g. Tilburg, West-Brabant, Zutphen, Alkmaar archives). Scans of criminal verdicts of the court … [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 – What Interpretations Were Added to the Abstract?
8 August 2019 by Leave a Comment
I recently came across a publication that abstracted Dutch records. In the publication, the compiler had grouped a marriage record and two baptismal records together. The parents of the child in the first baptismal record, a year after the marriage, had the same names as the married couple. The name of the child in the second baptismal record matched the bride's, and that child was baptized 22 years before the marriage. By the way he grouped the records, the compiler of the abstracts implied … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Use Scanning on Demand
31 July 2019 by 2 Comments
Research in original sources can be difficult if you do not live near the repository. Good news: several archives in the Netherlands offer scanning on demand from their finding aids. They will scan the records for you. Often, they're put online for everyone to use, while other archives choose to send you the files personally. Some archives charge a fee, others provide this great service for free. See the list of archives that provide free scanning-on-demand. … [Read more...]
10 Tips for Doing On-Site Research in the Netherlands
25 July 2019 by 1 Comment
Are you planning a trip to the Netherlands and want to do some on-site research while you're here? Here are ten tips to make the most of the time you have available. 1: Check if the record is already online There is little research that requires on-site research anymore in the Netherlands. Many of the popular genealogical records have been scanned and are available online for free. Once records have been digitized, the originals are not available anymore. You can check the website Digital … [Read more...]
Q&A – Lesser Used Records for Research in the Netherlands
17 July 2019 by Leave a Comment
After the webinar on Lesser Used Records for Research in the Netherlands I did earlier this week, there were several interesting questions. I answered some of them in the Q&A session after the webinar. Since several of those referred to websites, I thought I'd answer them here as well. [Note: If you use the link to the webinar to view it, I will get a small commission and you will be sponsoring this free website and newsletter.] When did the Dutch stop using patronymics? Hereditary … [Read more...]
Webinar Lesser Used Records for Research in the Netherlands online (limited time)
17 July 2019 by 3 Comments
On Tuesday 16 July 2019, Yvette Hoitink presented a BCG webinar on "Lesser Used Records for Research in the Netherlands." The webinar is now available for free for a limited time. You can watch the webinar at FamilyTreeWebinars for free for a week after the recording. After that, it is available via pay-per-view or subscription. The webinar comes with a 6-page-hand-out full of tips for researching Dutch ancestors. Note: If you view or subscribe using these links, Yvette will receive a … [Read more...]
Coming up – Webinar about Lesser Used Sources for Research in the Netherlands
10 July 2019 by Leave a Comment
On Tuesday 16 July 2019, Yvette Hoitink will present a webinar about "Lesser Used Sources for Research in the Netherlands." The webinar is part of the Board for Certification of Genealogist series of webinars at FamilyTreeWebinars. The Netherlands has excellent records. Records of births, marriages, and deaths were kept by the civil registration since 1811 and by churches since the early 1600s. Genealogists who don’t look beyond these records may create trees that go back ten generations, … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for June 2019
5 July 2019 by Leave a Comment
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Online records The burgher records of Zierikzee for 1302 to 1810 are now available via the Zeeuwen Gezocht section of the Zeeuws Archief website. Tholen prison records (1830-1888) have been scanned and indexed and are now available at the Tholen archives website. The Schiedam marriage records 1576-1811 have been scanned and can be browsed at the Schiedam genealogy website (DTB … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Some records may be in French (1795-1813)
3 July 2019 by Leave a Comment
From 1795 to 1813, the Netherlands was under French rule. As a result, some of the records created in this period were in French. This includes the earliest registers of the civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths. The civil registration was introduced in 1811 in most parts of the country, and as early as 1794 or 1795 in parts of Zeeland and Limburg. The records for the period up to 1813 are in French. The census taken around 1811 is also in French. … [Read more...]
Records of Pilgrims in Leiden now on DutchGenealogy.nl
28 June 2019 by 1 Comment
When the Pilgrims fled religious persecution in England, they settled in Leiden. They lived and worked in Leiden, and some married there or had children baptized there. They left for America on the Mayflower in 1620, but not after leaving traces in Dutch records. The Leiden Archives has transcribed several of these records. They used to be available on a separate website, which has been offline for several years. The transcriptions and English abstracts of these records have now been made … [Read more...]
