If you do research in Friesland, you will notice that the names there are quite different from the rest of the Netherlands. Friesland has its own language, Frisian (Fries) which comes with its own unique set of names. Some Frisian male names look like female names to those of us who are not from Friesland. Some of these names are used as female names in other parts of the country. If you're unsure whether the person is male or female, check the record to see what the role is (bruidegom/groom, … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Proclamatieboek
21 September 2015 by Leave a Comment
In the province of Friesland, a proclamatieboek is a register in which the court records the proclamations of real estate sales that took place. This allowed people who had Naastingsrecht the opportunity to match the purchase price and buy the property for themselves. Proclamatieboeken can be found in the archives of the local courts, which are kept at the provincial archives of Friesland, Tresoar. The Friends of the Frisian Archives (Stichting FAF) have created indexes and abstracts of some … [Read more...]
Dutch Genealogy Webinar – Questions about Records
17 September 2015 by 15 Comments
During the webinar "Researching Your Dutch Ancestors," the viewers had the most interesting questions. I got to address some of them during the webinar, but thought they all deserve a reply so I'm dedicating this post to answer some more. There were so many great questions that I will have inspiration for several follow-up articles, so please stay tuned and follow this blog or newsletter to read them all. In this first article, I will answer the questions about records in the … [Read more...]
News from the Netherlands – June 2014
4 July 2014 by 3 Comments
'News from the Netherlands' is a new monthly series on this blog to inform you about the best new websites, projects and books that help you find and understand your Dutch ancestors. New websites The Brabants Historical Information Center has a new website (Dutch only). The 'Stamboom' [Family Tree] page has several indexes, some with scans attached. They are considering making that page available in English. [Source: BHIC] The Historical Center of Leeuwarden has a new website (Dutch … [Read more...]
Love speed skating? Your ancestors did too!
14 February 2014 by Leave a Comment
If there is one sport that the Dutch dominate, it is speed skating. It is the only Olympic sport where the orange team can win all three medals. Our love for speed skating is not surprising if you understand the history of the Dutch landscape. Because large parts of the country are below sea level, the landscape is crisscrossed by little canals to drain the boggy land. Since many roads were inaccessible for large parts of the year, these canals were also the main transport routes. Barges … [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...]
Cold Case: do you recognize these Frisian emigrants?
26 July 2013 by Leave a Comment
Tresoar, the Regional Historical Center for the province of Friesland, has a new Cold Case project. They are looking for the names of the people in two movies created in 1932 and 1936. The movies were show emigrants who came back to Friesland for Friezendei [Frisians day]. Since the late nineteenth century, thousands of people from Friesland emigrated, mostly to the United States. Big reunions took place in 1932 and 1936 (and again in 2000). … [Read more...]
