Great news for people who have German ancestors! My friends Ursula Krause and Ute Brandenburg just founded German Genealogy Headquarters. They can help you with research, mentoring, or education. They are organizing virtual German genealogy symposia. The first one is on Saturday 7 September 2024 with a focus on German History and the Role of the Church in Everyday Life. Registration is now open at a discounted rate. Check their Education page for their plans for the rest of 2024 and 2025. … [Read more...]
Map of the Week – Children not in School, 1887
22 July 2024 by Leave a Comment
This week we are looking at a thematic map from 1887. It shows the percentage of children between the ages of 6 and 12 who were not in primary school. The statistics were shown per municipality. The darkest blue color represents areas where more than 30% of children did not go to school. A zoomable version is available at Gallica. The map shows great differences between parts of the Netherlands. In general, municipalities in the north had higher school attendance than municipalities in … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Meisjesschool
20 March 2023 by Leave a Comment
A meisjesschool is a school for girls. These schools started to appear in the 1800s to teach the daughters of the upper classes. Besides reading and arithmetic, they would be taught to draw, sew, and make music. Meisjesscholen were typically available in large cities only. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Verklarende niet te kunnen schrijven
7 December 2020 by Leave a Comment
In civil registration records, the informants of birth and death records and the bride and groom and their parents in marriage records, as well as the witnesses, are asked to sign the record. If the people were illiterate, this will be noted in the final sentences of the record. Often you will see a sentence like "verklarende de moeder van de bruidegom uit hoofde van ongeleerdheid niet te kunnen schrijven" [the mother of the groom declares not to be able to sign, as not having learned … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Onderwijzer
19 August 2019 by Leave a Comment
An onderwijzer was a teacher at a primary school. Appointments of teachers of public schools can often be found in the municipal administration or town records. Appointments of teachers of religious schools can often be found in the records of the church. … [Read more...]
Column – Virtual
28 September 2018 by Leave a Comment
At the Famillement event last June, I noticed once more how nice it is to talk genealogy in person rather than online. To meet new people, and where you can feel the presence of a good speaker in the farthest corner of the room. Like the Famillement, most genealogy educational opportunities in the Netherlands are on-site. We go to an archive for a palaeography course, or go to a meeting of a genealogical society to hear a presentation about a type of source. The topic is often selected to … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Rijkslandbouwwinterschool
10 July 2017 by Leave a Comment
The rijkslandbouwwinterschool was the national agricultural winter school. Farmer's sons (and later, daughters) attended the school during the winter months when there was not a lot to do on the farm. They'd learn about growing crops and raising cattle. This type of school was introduced in the period 1890-1920 throughout the country. Some still exist, but as a year-round school with an agricultural curriculum. … [Read more...]
How Taking Clients Made Me a Better Genealogist
29 July 2016 by 2 Comments
I had been doing genealogy for over twenty years when I started taking paying clients. I had done pro bono work for friends, researching all over the Netherlands, but that was more in a coaching capacity and often did not require formal reporting. In the years since I started taking clients, my skills have grown. Here are five ways in which being a professional genealogist has made me a better researcher. 1: Nothing beats prose writing When you work for a client, one of the things that you … [Read more...]
Could You Have Been a Teacher in the 19th Century?
5 February 2016 by 4 Comments
During my research into one of my relatives who was a teacher in the 19th century, I came across some math problems published in a newsletter for teachers. These questions were used during examinations of assistant teachers at elementary schools in 1878. People taking the assistant teachers' exam were usually around 18 years old, had finished their own elementary school with good results and had worked for several years as a trainee, assisting already qualified teachers. Test … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Schoolmeester
9 March 2015 by 1 Comment
A schoolmeester is a school teacher. Most school teachers taught in small village schools, consisting of one room, where they were expected to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to their pupils. Reading was considered more important than writing, as they could then read the bible. Most children would only go to school for about six years. Children of farmers would be kept home in the summer to help with the harvest and in the winter they would not always be able to attend school if the … [Read more...]
