A reader was used to organizing her files by last name. Before 1811 her Dutch ancestors did not have last names but used patronymics, which made it difficult to see which files belonged to which line. She asked me how to organize files for people who did not use last names. I thought it might be helpful to share how I organize my files. I will use the files of my mother's side as an example. I have two trees, one for my father and one for my mother. Most people prefer to have only one tree, … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – How far can you go back?
9 November 2018 by 1 Comment
One question that pops up regularly in conversations is how far back we can trace our Dutch ancestors. Here's a rough overview that will apply to most people. Research in the 1900s and 2000s is difficult because of privacy restrictions. You will need permission or proof of death to access records of people born less than 100 years ago. Since 1811, the entire population has been recorded in the civil registration. Anybody who died in the Netherlands after 1811 should be in it. Using the civil … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – Where Can I Find Records For St. Eustatius?
12 October 2018 by 4 Comments
Over the past months, two readers have asked me where to find records for St. Eustatius, an island in the Caribbean. Since more people may have the same question, I thought I'd turn it into an article. St. Eustatius is a special municipality in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The former Dutch colony is part of the Netherlands Antilles. If you have ancestors from St. Eustatius, here is an overview of the available records. An index to the civil registration birth, marriage, and death … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – Should I Take a DNA Test?
31 August 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last month, I blogged about my ethnicity predictions, which were wildly off. As a result, several people have asked me: Should I take a DNA test if they are so unreliable? My answer? Absolutely! You see, a DNA test gives you two types of results. On the one hand, it gives you the ethnicity predictions. This feature has the most curb appeal and is a reason why many people test. Unfortunately, these results are highly speculative, especially below the continent level. My ethnicity … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – How to Record Place Names
29 June 2018 by 2 Comments
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...]
Ask Yvette – Where is “Friesland” anyway?
18 November 2016 by 4 Comments
Holly (De Fries) Flaherty wanted to know more about Friesland. Her paternal grandfather was from Friesland and spoke Dutch, but her maternal grandfather was from Friesland and spoke German. She heard that there were two provinces called Friesland - one German and one Dutch. She wanted to know if they were connected, historically, and whether Denmark was once considered Friesland. To answer this question we have to go back. WAY back. Once upon a time, in the first centuries BC … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – Are there Passenger Lists in Dutch Archives?
7 October 2016 by 15 Comments
I often get asked if there are any passenger lists in Rotterdam or Amsterdam, of the people who departed from these ports to America, Canada, or Australia. Depending on the period, there may not be any. Passenger lists often went with the ship and were archived in the port of arrival, not in the port of departure. The archives of the shipping companies sometimes have passenger lists. For example, the Rotterdam City Archives have the archives of the Holland Amerika Lijn and its predecessors, … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – Dealing with Records Loss in World War II
22 July 2016 by 2 Comments
To celebrate 1,000 likes of Dutch Genealogy Services on Facebook, likers were invited to ask a research question for a free consultation. Some could quickly be answered on Facebook. Eric Schmidt asked a question that some of you may struggle with as well, so I thought I'd answer it in more detail. Eric asked: For years this is my brick wall located in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in the Netherlands. I am searching for the parents of Anthonij de Smidt (more information here). As a lot of records from … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette: Untangling two same-named women
20 May 2016 by 1 Comment
My distant cousin, Fred Geurkink, asked me the following question [edited for brevity]: My grandma Gigi, (Marion Peterson), wrote down in her recollections about my great great grandma Grietje Koning. Said she was born on 30 Aug 1834, married my gg grandpa Jan Pieters Stelma on 23 Jun 1856, etc etc. On Ancestry, I received "hints" about said Grietje Koning from other members, who also married Jan Pieters Stelma, but her birthday was different: July 29 1834. Could my grandma be wrong, or are … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy Webinar – Questions about Immigrant Ancestors
2 October 2015 by 1 Comment
This is my second post answering the questions asked by viewers of my "Researching Your Dutch Ancestors" webinar. In this post, I will answer questions about finding immigrant ancestors. A good general strategy for finding immigrant ancestors is outlined in my article How to find my immigrant ancestor in the Netherlands? How do you trace your Dutch ancestor if you don't know when and were they arrived? This viewer had ancestors who arrived in the colonies in the 1700s. For these early … [Read more...]
