Dutch Genealogy reader Linda had the following question: In my research, the locations for some births/deaths, etc. are confusing. I'm finding, "Lellens, Ten Boer, Groningen, Netherlands" or just "Ten Boer, Groningen, Netherlands". ALSO "Stedum, Loppersum, Groningen, Netherlands" or just "Loppersum, Groningen, Netherlands", and once, "Stedum, Groningen, Netherlands." Could you please address the correct way to list the locations of births/marriages/deaths? Ten Boer, Loppersum, and Lellens … [Read more...]
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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 – Use “Netherlands” rather than Holland or NL
20 June 2018 by 5 Comments
When recording Dutch place names in your genealogy program, use "Netherlands" rather than "Holland" or "NL." "Holland" is not the name of the country, but of a former province, now split into North-Holland and South-Holland. Some programs in the past tried to resolve Holland and ended up changing it to "Reusel-De Mierden, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands" since there is a street called Holland in that tiny village. It led to millions of corrupt trees. "NL" is sometimes used as an abbreviation … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 7 – Laurens Smulders
15 June 2018 by 8 Comments
This is the eighth 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 third great-grandmother Dorothea Smulders was the daughter of Laurens Smulders. Laurens Smulders, son of Hendrik Smulders Dorothea's baptismal, marriage, and death records named her parents as Laurens Sm(e)ulders and Joanna Maria de Bont and … [Read more...]
Illegal adoptions in Ireland
8 June 2018 by 1 Comment
Last week, news broke that at least 126 illegal adoptions took place in Ireland since 1952. Fellow genealogist Fiona Fitzsimons from Ireland has posted guidelines how genealogists can assist in tracing Irish children in these circumstances on the Facebook page of the Britain, Ireland & the Isles Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Some of these children were adopted overseas, perhaps in the Netherlands too. As a genealogist without a private investigator license, I am … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for May 2018
1 June 2018 by Leave a Comment
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Offline records Normally, we start this monthly overview by listing all the records that went online. Last month, most of the news has been about records that have gone offline: Many archives took the population registers for the period 1910-1938 offline because of new privacy laws. Many archives took photographs of unknown photographers offline, after a judge ruled in favor of a … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Rijksmuseum Public Domain Images
28 May 2018 by Leave a Comment
If you're looking for images to illustrate your family tree or give you a sense of what life was like for your ancestors, check out the website of the Rijksmuseum. Many paintings, drawings, and etchings from their collection have been scanned and may be downloaded for free and reused for any purpose since they are in the public domain. Try searching for the name of a town where your ancestors lived, or of an occupation they had. Use the Dutch words, since the collection is described in Dutch. … [Read more...]
Column – Privacy
25 May 2018 by Leave a Comment
Today, a new privacy law went into effect: The General Data Protection Regulation, or its Dutch implementation, the "Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming." The new law requires a solid foundation for processing data of living people, especially when it concerns special personal data such as race or religion. The new law has larger fines, and requires better processes to prevent data leaks. Genealogists already know we have to be careful when sharing information about living people. We are … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Not all records of your 1800s ancestor may be public
23 May 2018 by Leave a Comment
If you are researching an ancestor who was born in the 1800s, you might assume that all their records are public because they were born more than 100 years ago. But that may not be the case. If your ancestor married after 1942, their marriage record is not public yet. Similarly, court records, notarial records, prison records, and many other records have a 75-year limit before they become public. If your ancestor died after 1967, their death record is not public yet. An example is my … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my ancestor? Generation 6 – Dorothea Smulders
18 May 2018 by 2 Comments
This is the seventh 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 second great-grandfather Gerardus van den Heuvel was the son of Dorothea Smulders and Gerardus van den Heuvel. Dorothea Smulders, daughter of Laurens Smulders The birth, marriage, and death records of Gerardus van den Heuvel (generation 5) … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for April 2018
11 May 2018 by 2 Comments
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Online records The Rotterdam City Archives have made the information about 1.2 million people in the population registers for 1850-1930 available via Archieven.nl. The information was entered by volunteers at Vele Handen. The Amsterdam City Archives published an index and scans of the population registers of municipalities that have been annexed by Amsterdam for the period … [Read more...]
