Quick tip – It’s Never Been Easier to Verify Information

Did you find your ancestor in an online index or tree? It has never been easier to verify the information using original records. Here are five places where you can find images of online records.

• WieWasWie, database with civil registration records and much more. Not all have images attached. Requires a subscription to view the images.
• Persons index at Archieven.nl, database with indexes and images from many archives in the Netherlands.
• Open Archieven, contains indexes and scans of many archives in the Netherlands that published their information as open data.
• Familysearch, contains browsable images and some indexes of civil registration records and church records. Convenient waypoints, organized per province/municipality/source are available at Geneal-IX (Dutch only).
• Digital Resources Netherlands and Belgium, links to many online available sources.

Many of these databases have overlapping content, but they all have some content that the others don’t so it is worthwhile to check all of them if you can’t find a record.

By going back to the original records, you can make sure there were no copy errors and see all the extra information that the original record has to offer you. But remember: even original records can have mistakes, and you need to make sure that the record is actually about the person you are looking for.