Woonplaats literally means “living place” and is the place of residence.
After the introduction of the civil registration, deaths were always recorded in the woonplaats as well as in the place of death. A copy of the death record would be forwarded to the place of residence. This is useful if your ancestor died elsewhere, for example because they were in a hospital out of town, or died at sea. See the record analysis example – death record.
You may also encounter the term woonplaats in population registers, which list the previous and next place of residence. You can use this to trace your ancestors’ movements.
1870-1880 population register
About Yvette Hoitink
