Lentemaand literally means 'Spring month' and is the old word for March. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – archievenoverzicht
24 February 2014 by Leave a Comment
Many archives or other repositories will have an online archievenoverzicht, a listing of their collection. The word archievenoverzicht literally means "overview of archives." It will give you a list of the collections, usually organized by categories like population records, court records or tax records. Some archives will only have the archievenoverzicht online, but most will have the finding aids (inventaris) for the underlying collections as well. That will tell you which records are … [Read more...]
Dutch term – gemeente
18 February 2014 by 3 Comments
A gemeente is a municipality, the lowest administrative unit. The Netherlands currently has 408 municipalities in 12 provinces. Over the last couple of decades, many municipalities merged. In 1812 there were 1,100. Archives of municipalities can be found at a local archive; either a municipal archive specific for that municipality or a regional archive where the collections of several municipalities are kept. For an overview of all the gemeentes, check the website Gemeentegeschiedenis … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Bibliotheek
10 February 2014 by Leave a Comment
Bibliotheek is the Dutch word for library. Unlike in the US, most libraries don't have a large genealogical collection. Most will just have one or two general genealogical reference books in their collection plus some local history books. Only major libraries will have a subscription to genealogical journals such as Gens Nostra or De Nederlandsche Leeuw [the Dutch Lion]. To find genealogical collections, visit an archive (archief) instead. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Sprokkelmaand
3 February 2014 by Leave a Comment
Sprokkelmaand is the old word for February. Literally, it means "wood gathering month." … [Read more...]
New Netherland research guide
1 February 2014 by 5 Comments
In the 17th century, the Dutch had a colony in the New World that they called Nieuw Nederland (New Netherland). The colonists came from the Netherlands and many other places throughout Europe. Many people with early American roots have New Netherland ancestors. This guide will give you references to resources to help you trace your New Netherland roots. This is a living document with resources that I use in my own research, so the focus is on making the connection based to the old country. … [Read more...]
Using Alle Friezen to find your ancestors from Friesland
31 January 2014 by 5 Comments
If you have ancestors from Friesland, the website Alle Friezen is a must. The website contains indexes and scans of almost all the public records of the civil registration and some population registers as well. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – volkstelling
27 January 2014 by Leave a Comment
Volkstelling is the Dutch word for census. The first national census was held in 1795 but some local censuses go back to the 16th century. Between 1830 and 1930, a national census was held every ten years. Since then, there have only been four censuses: 1947, 1956, 1960 and 1971. Since the Dutch government keeps the information about its citizens up to date, there is no need to take a census anymore. The census was officially abolished in 1991. For genealogical purposes, Dutch census … [Read more...]
Dutch term: metselaar
20 January 2014 by Leave a Comment
A metselaar is a bricklayer. Since the Netherlands doesn't have many quarries, and all the more mud, brick was and is a popular building material. Brick has been used for buildings since the Middle Ages, first for churches and later for houses too. To prevent fire, many chartered towns issued ordinances that required people to use brick instead of wood or wattle and daub to build their houses. … [Read more...]
Sources for Dutch genealogy – post 1811 cheat sheet
17 January 2014 by 6 Comments
Looking for information about Dutch ancestors in the 19th or 20th century (after the introduction of the civil registration)? This cheat sheet will tell you which sources to consult. … [Read more...]
