When Thomas Cammenga died on 5 May 1842, he did not die in his place of residence, Leeuwarden in Friesland, but in Deventer, Overijssel. His death record showed he died at the Bagijnenstraat.1 Deventer was 120 km/75 miles from Leeuwarden. Whenever we notice something odd like this, we have to ask ourselves why: Why did Thomas die in Deventer even though he lived in Leeuwarden? Let's go through some of the common reasons why somebody died away from home: Jail. Leeuwarden had its … [Read more...]
Quick Tip – Spanish Flu in the Netherlands
28 October 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 hit the Netherlands hard. Researchers have now used the information from civil registration records to analyze the data, including providing maps that show which areas were most affected. Unlike what you might think, rural and less densely populated areas were hit harder than the big cities. Read the analysis of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Pandemie
27 July 2020 by Leave a Comment
A pandemie is a pandemic. The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic hit the Netherlands pretty hard. About 38,000 people died. The province of Drenthe had the most cases. Here is an image of children going to school outdoors, in the dead of winter in 1918. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Pokkenbriefje
17 December 2018 by Leave a Comment
A pokkenbriefje is a pox letter, given by a doctor to confirm that a child has been vaccinated against the pox. In 1823, a new law required all children to submit a pokkenbriefje before they were admitted in school. Pokkenbriefjes can sometimes be found in school records. … [Read more...]
Record Analysis Example – Dutch Death Record
15 July 2016 by 3 Comments
Learning how to analyze a record is one of the most valuable skills we need to learn as a genealogist. To give you an example of how this works, let's take a look at the death record of my second great-grandfather Gerrit Jan van Nijkerken. Abstract: Warnsveld, 10 March 1924. Marinus August George Schoute, 37, overseer, living here, and Gerrit Pelgrum, 51, laborer, declare that on eight [corrected from six] March 1924 at 5.30 PM [corrected from 8.30 PM] died in a house in Warnsveld ward … [Read more...]
