In old legal records, you can sometimes find that property was sold "bij kaarsenbrand" [by burning candle]. It does not mean that it was sold at night, but rather that the property was sold in an auction that lasted as long as a candle burned. If the candle went out, the highest bid at that time was the winning bid. It made sure that auctions would not drag on. … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Create a Property List
20 April 2017 by Leave a Comment
When you're researching a family who owned property, try making a list to see how they acquired it and where it went. Properties for which you can't find a purchase record may have been inherited from an older generation. Tracing the ownership of the property can help you identify other family members. This technique is one of the ways I was able to build a case to prove the parents of Griete Smit, as I wrote about in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly in December 2016. … [Read more...]
Quick tip – How did they get that property?
25 January 2017 by 1 Comment
If your ancestors owned property, that might help you find out more about them. If you cannot find the original purchase, they may have inherited it from a family member. By tracing the property, you may discover an earlier generation. The names of properties are rarely indexed, but perhaps you can find the neighbors, and check their deeds. Otherwise, browsing the whole register can sometimes be helpful. … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Boelgoed
27 June 2016 by 1 Comment
Boelgoed is an estate sale. The term is typical for the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen. Estate sales were often organized by a notary who oversaw the public auction of movable goods. The sale was usually held at the house of the owner. You will typically find a boelgoed after somebody died, or before emigration. If the boelgoed was for the estate of a deceased, you will often find the heirs buying the majority of the items. Having a public sale was not just a way to … [Read more...]
7 Tips for Finding the Address of your Dutch Ancestors
6 May 2016 by Leave a Comment
Are you thinking about coming to the Netherlands to visit the bulb fields and visit the places where their ancestors lived? Depending on where your ancestors lived and how wealthy they were, it may not be easy to find out exactly where they lived. Here are some things you need to know when trying to find the address where your ancestors lived. 1: Addresses changed over time Addresses with a street name and house number are relatively modern. Some places, mainly large cities, had them by … [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...]
