If you can't find the person you're looking for, try searching without the last name. Before 1811, last names were not fixed in many parts of the country. People may appear in records using farm names (in the eastern part of the country) or patronymics (everywhere else), or even under a different last name. By searching for other characteristics, such as the first name of the person you're looking for and their father's first name, you may find people even if they're hiding under a different … [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 – Dutch Genealogy at The Genealogy Show in Birmingham, UK
24 April 2019 by 1 Comment
Mark your calendars: on 7 and 8 June 2019, The Genealogy Show will be held in Birmingham, UK. There will be two talks featuring research in the Netherlands: On Friday 7 June, John Boeren will give a presentation about "How to Start Your Research in the Netherlands." On Saturday 8 June, Yvette Hoitink will give a presentation about "Dutch Genealogy 101: Finding Your Ancestors from the Netherlands." Please check The Genealogy Show's website for the full program, which include … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 17 – Barbara Willems Pijlijser
19 April 2019 by 10 Comments
This is the eighteenth 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 thirteenth great-grandmother Claesken Peters die Paep was the daughter of Peter Claesen die Paep and Barbara Willems Pijlijser. Barbara Willems Pijlijser, daughter of Johanna van Wijfliet Research into Claesken Peters die Paep turned up … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – What happened to the population registers from the 1900s?
12 April 2019 by Leave a Comment
Several readers have asked me about population registers from the 1900s that they used to be able to view, but are no longer available. In May 2018, a new privacy law was introduced that was more strict about sharing information about people who may be alive. As a result, the Association of Municipalities in the Netherlands (VNG) recommended to take the population registers offline, and the archives association BRAIN recommended that they only be made public after 110 years. As a result, most … [Read more...]
Quick tip – “Alhier” and “Elders” are not place names
10 April 2019 by 2 Comments
Sometimes, you will encounter the term alhier and elders in a record to indicate a place of origin or residence. These are not place names, but mean "in this location" and "somewhere else," respectively. Hattip to Ellee Brooks who gave the "elders" tip in a comment. … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for March 2019
5 April 2019 by 1 Comment
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Online sources "Time machines" for various towns in Friesland (Leeuwarden, Sneek, Sloten, Balk, Joure) were added to HisGis. This geographical information system allows you to see who owned which properties through time. Zelandia Illustrata, a collection of the Royal Zeeland Society of Science, has been digitized and published online. The collection contains maps, prints and … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Is that an every-name index?
27 March 2019 by Leave a Comment
Not all indexes include everybody in the record. Examples of indexes that miss people are: Indexes of baptisms, that include the child and parents but not the witnesses Indexes of deeds, that only index the grantor but not the grantee, or list both the grantor and grantee, but not the neighbors mentioned in the record Indexes of wills, that only include the first testator, but not the spouse. Why indexes may be incomplete Indexing is time-consuming, and there's far more … [Read more...]
Column – Digital Correspondence
22 March 2019 by 1 Comment
"National Archivist wants to store emails and WhatsApp messages," was the headline of the Volkskrant newspaper on 2 January after an interview with National Archivist Marens Engelhard. The records that became public that day were all made of paper, but going forward, digital correspondence also needs to be preserved. Emails of civil servants working on important files—even the WhatsApp messages about the acquisition of Rembrandt paintings. Article 1 of the Archive Law defines archival records … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 16 – Claesken Peters die Paep
15 March 2019 by 6 Comments
This is the seventeenth 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 twelfth great-grandmother Barbara Peter Goijaert Pulskens was the daughter of Peter Goijaert Pulskens and Claesken Peters die Paep. Claesken Peters die Paep, daughter of Barbara Willems Pijlijser Research into Barbara Peter Goijaert … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Browse the Whole Book
13 March 2019 by Leave a Comment
When you're researching a family, indexes may help you to find the exact record you need. But it can be worthwhile to browse the whole book. Here are some things I learned from browsing the whole book: I've found records of my ancestors that I didn't find in the index, either because the name was spelled differently in the record, or because the indexer made a mistake. My ancestors were mentioned as the owners of neighboring property in many deeds that were only indexed by the buyer … [Read more...]
