The schepenbank is the bench of aldermen, or the aldermen’s court. The schepenen were the officials who set on the bench. The schepenbank would serve as the magistrate and as a court of law. The term Schepenbank was not used in all regions. Other terms include nedergerecht (Friesland) or vierschaar (Zeeland).
Schepenbanken with higher jurisdiction were entitled to adjudicate all court cases, including capital cases. Schepenbanken with lower jurisdiction only adjudicated less severe cases. Schepenbanken also handled civil cases and in places where there was no weeskamer (orphan chamber), they would oversee the estates of minors and appointment of guardians. The court records of schepenbanken can often be found in local or regional archives.
One of the tasks of the Schepenbank was to perform civil marriages. The marriage records of the Schepenbanken can often be found among the collection of Doop-, Trouw- en Begraafboeken (Baptismal, marriage and burial books) of the churches. If you see ‘Schepenbank‘ as religion in an index, this refers to the institution that performed the marriage and you know it’s a civil marriage. There may also be a record of the church marriage.
Aldermen’s hall, Amsterdam, Willem Kok, J. de Jongh, 1793. Credits: Rijksmuseum (Public Domain)
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thank you Yvonne for the very informative articles of which i find truly useful in my research. The article “Schepenbank ” was certainly one i didn’t understand. Am i correct in assuming that this is like the equivalent of a local court, like say of “Petty sessions?” (talking about here in Australia) Perhaps it was different in the olden days as it is now……
PS an Alderman here is a councilor who is elected to the local council.
Thanks so much for your very informative website, Yvette.
Would a profession of schepen mean fisherman or sailor, or does it relate to schepenen?
Another term I’ve having trouble finding information on is “ambachtsbewaarder en Heilige Geestmeester” te Voorhout. Totally confounded by that one.
Thank you so much!
Hi Kelly,
A ‘schepen’ would be an aldermen, not a fisherman (“visser”) or sailor (“matroos”). An Ambachtsbewaarder is a local magistrate, something like a modern mayor. A Heilige Geestmeester is a church official in charge of the poor relief in the Roman Catholic Church.