The other day, my friend Mary and I were talking about Dutch immigrants to Wisconsin. She explained that in Wisconsin, registration of births, marriages and deaths wasn’t mandated until 1907.
Dutch immigrants had been used to civil registration since 1811. Unlike many of their new neighbors, they were used to having their vital events recorded and continued to do so after emigration. It is not uncommon to find a marriage record for a Dutch couple in Wisconsin in the 1850s or 1860s, fifty years before such registrations became mandatory.
So if you are searching for Dutch immigrants in the US in the 19th century, always try to visit the courthouse or register of deeds to see if there are any birth, marriage or death records. If you are lucky, these records can give you the place of origin in the Netherlands, the names of their parents or other insights into your ancestors’ lives.
Hubregt Risseeuw Family. Source: Mary Risseeuw collection
About Yvette Hoitink
