If you're not Dutch, you may wonder if a first name is male or female. You can consult the First Name Database to search for the name. It will give you statistics on how many men ("m") and women ("v") had that name in the past 100 years. You can see a graph that shows the popularity of the name over time. You can even click "verspreiding" to see the provinces where the name is most popular. Yvette is predominantly a female name, which was the most popular in the 1970s. … [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 – Names Sometimes got Shortened
21 March 2018 by 3 Comments
If you're looking for the Dutch origins of your immigrant ancestor, keep in mind that the name originally could have been longer than the name the family used in the new country. Long names were often shortened to make them easier to pronounce in another language. After some of my Esselinkpas cousins emigrated to Michigan in the 1800s, they went by Pas. Some members of the Roerdinkveldboom family went by Veldboom after emigration. Another thing to keep in mind is that there might be family … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Rivier
19 March 2018 by Leave a Comment
A rivier is a river. The largest rivers in the Netherlands are the Rhine ("Rijn"), Scheldt ("Schelde"), and Meuse ("Maas"). Rivers have always been an important mode of transportation in the Netherlands. Many prosperous cities can be found near rivers. People traveled on rivers in trekschuiten (pulled barges). Emigrants from other parts of Europe used rivers to come to the Netherlands; either to settle, or as transients on their way to America. For example, the Rhine river brought many … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 4: Cornelia Francisca van den Heuvel
16 March 2018 by 10 Comments
This is the fifth 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 grandfather Johannes Marijnissen was the son of Cornelia Francisca van den Heuvel. Cornelia Francisca van den Heuvel, daughter of Gerardus van den Heuvel Cornelia Francisca van den Heuvel represents a milestone in my possible line back to … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy News for February 2018
9 March 2018 by Leave a Comment
Here is an overview of the new sources, projects, and news about archives that were announced last month. Online records Population registers of Maastricht fom 1850 to 1920 have been indexed and are availble at the Regional History Center Limburg website. Scans of Civil Registration Records from the Heusden and Altena area are now available online. A project is underway to index the information. Notarial records from Weesp from 1609 to 1812 have beeen added to the website of the … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Find Facebook Groups about the Town
7 March 2018 by Leave a Comment
Many towns in the Netherlands have their own Facebook groups dedicated to the history of that town. Many of these Facebook groups are called "Oud [town name]," such as Oud Winterswijk [Old Winterswijk] or Oud Breda [Old Breda]. You can use the Facebook search option to search for these groups. Discussions in these groups are usually in Dutch, but if you have a question about the town history, feel free to post in English. Most people in the Netherlands speak English, and otherwise people are … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Dutch Ancestors Left Few Last Wills
28 February 2018 by 2 Comments
Our Dutch ancestors rarely had a last will drawn up. Most were too poor to have any goods to leave behind. But even people who did own property often did not feel the need to have a last will, since they were happy with the default arrangement under the law. The wills that do exist can be found in notarial records (in areas and periods where notaries were available) or voluntary court records. … [Read more...]
Column – Big Data
23 February 2018 by 2 Comments
"Big data" is about finding patterns in large amounts of data. It is used in many places. Supermarkets use the purchase data to optimize store design so they know to put the beer next to the nachos. Medical researchers discover correlations between genetic mutations and illnesses to diagnose hereditary diseases. As genealogists, big data can help us too. Genealogical data is being made available as open data, allowing researchers to use it for their own analyses. Some patterns will be … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – NGSQ Case Study Now Available Online
21 February 2018 by Leave a Comment
In December 2016, I wrote a case study "Griete Smit's Parentage: Proof in the Absence of Vital Records" that appeared in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. The case study showed how I researched Griete Smit’s family and neighbors to prove who her parents were. Griete Smit lived in the Dutch town of Bredevoort in the early 1600s, during the Eighty Years’ War. The case study teaches about the types of records that are available for that time and place, and about using local traditions … [Read more...]
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine my Ancestor? Generation 3: Johannes Marijnissen
16 February 2018 by 3 Comments
This is the fourth 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 mother was the daughter of Johannes Marijnissen and Catharina Flooren. Johannes Marijnissen, son of Cornelia Francisca van den Heuvel Researching my mother showed her father was Johannes Marijnissen, born in Breda on 11 November 1918. She … [Read more...]
