There are thousands of sites that are helpful for researching your ancestors from the Netherlands. This list contains my 10 favorites. I have limited this list to websites that would be useful for people who don’t speak Dutch, which means they are either available in English or self-explanatory.
- Open Archives
This website publishes genealogical records from the archives in the Netherlands, often with scans or links to the original records. - Archieven.nl
Website where many archives publish their finding aids and genealogical indexes. - WieWasWie
Many archives publish their genealogical records on WieWasWie. Advanced search functions require a subscription. - FamilySearch
International website that contains many Dutch sources. The linked page leads to a search page to search the indexed records. Also check the Catalog for the place name for unindexed records. - Digital Resources Netherlands and Belgium
This portal provides links to records that are available online. These can range from name indexes and transcriptions to digitized original records. - Nationaal Archief
This National Archives website has their finding aids and genealogical indexes, including emigrants to Australia and freed slaves in the West Indies. - Delpher
This website by the Royal Library contains searchable newspapers, journals, magazines, books, and other publications from many heritage collections. - Family name database
This database shows the occurrence of Dutch family names based on the 1947 (most recent) census. Fill in a naam (name) and click the Zoek (search) button. A list of names will appear. Select ‘kaartweergave’ (map display) to see the geographical spread. - GenealogieOnline
Website where many Dutch people publish their online trees. - Dutch Genealogy Facebook group
Facebook group dedicated to Dutch Genealogy. This is a very friendly community where people help each other solve brick walls.
Also check the “Geography” section of this website for tips for individual provinces.
This blog post was originally published on 6 April 2007 and was last updated on 27 May 2020.
About Yvette Hoitink
I am searching for my Stelten ancestors from Nieuwstadt, Limburg, Netherlands. I’m running into a brick wall with my 5th great grandfather, Leonard Stelten and his wife Anna Margarethae Schroers.(1811 – 1889). .My records show all children of this union as born BEFORE their mother in the late 1700s. Obviously this is incorrect.
Try this. I think there is a foul in the name.
https://www.genealogieonline.nl/genealogie-knubben/I16347.php
Wat Was Waar is no longer allowing online records since 2015 according to the link.
Thank you. This article is more than ten years old and some of the links are outdated. I’ve added a note.
I am looking for Krelis Conelisz Engelbrecht 1680 and his descendants
Greetings
I’m working on my husbands surname Gutwein. I was told by another family member from another Gutwein branch that the Gutwein’s originated from the Netherlands. I can trace the Gutwein’s to about the late 1400’s in Germany. I was told Gutwein translate to Dutch as Goedewijn. Where should I start?
If the earliest ancestors lived in Germany, that’s where you would start. Dutch records for the 1400s are scarce, and the ones that do exist are mostly unindexed. You would have to know the full name of the person and the location where they were to have any chance of finding them. Why do you think there’s a Dutch connection? Goedewijn is not a Dutch name I’m familiar with.
Hi
I was by this individual that he traced the family to the Netherlands. He also did not give me any details as to specific information. I will have to try and make contact with him.
My husbands aunt has friends who translated the Gutwein name.
Thanks for your thoughts.
For many years I have tried to climb over the genealogical brick wall of my Frysian branch of the STEENSMA family. I got as far as: Sjoerd Christiaans Steensma, born in Stiens 1757; died in Britswert 18 July 1832.
Then, a new name comes up: C[K]ristiaan Wijgers as a possible father of “Sjoerd Christiaans” is that possible?
I look forward to any person with suggestions to help me climb the wall.
Thanks for your time
Before 1811, most people in Friesland only used patronymics. “Christiaans” means “Son of Christiaan.” His father could well have been a man named Christiaan whose used a patronymic only. It is certainly possible that a man named Cristiaan Wijgers was the father of Sjoerd. I recommend researching Cristiaan Wichers to see if he had a son Sjoerd.
I see Sjoerd had a daughter that married after he died. You could try searching for the marriage supplements of their marriage. If you’re lucky, that contains the death records of not just her parents but her grandparents too, which would give you their names.
Yvette, greetings . . . , thank you for your response; will definitely explore your hints and suggestions concerning our “Steensma” lineage.
Again, thanks for “the leg up”
Andrew (aka Hans )
I’m trying to find out if Emmanuel Van Meteren, a Dutch businessman who lived in England and worked for the East India Company, is related to my Van Meteren relatives,
Jan Joosten VAN METEREN
BIRTH 1630 • Meteren, Geldermalsen Municipality, Gelderland, Netherlands
DEATH 13 JUN 1706 • Raritan, Somerset County, New Jersey, United States of America
9th great-grandfather
Emmanuel recruited Henry Hudson for his trip to the new world after Henry was dropped by his English sponsors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_van_Meteren.
On this wikipedia page you will find a complete history on Emanual’s live. He was born in Antwerp in Belgium. So, it is not very likely that he was directly related to people living in Geldermalsen. In those ages the distance between Geldermalsen and Antwerp was quite large. Traveling by coach and/or horse- or man-drawn riverboats was a nuisance.
Thank you Yvette for your information regarding the top 10 Dutch genealogy websites.