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== Baptism/Christening [''Dopen''] == | == Baptism/Christening [''Dopen''] == | ||
From about 1550 onwards, Churches started to keep registers of infants that had been baptised. Children were usually baptized a few days after birth. | From about 1550 onwards, Churches started to keep registers of infants that had been baptised. Children were usually baptized a few days after birth. | ||
Earlier registers typically give less information, sometimes including only the child’s and father’s names and the baptism date. Until the end of the 1700s, ministers in some communities did not name the mother in the records, or they included only her given name. Sometimes only the baptism date was recorded, but in later years the birth date was given as well. | Earlier registers typically give less information, sometimes including only the child’s and father’s names and the baptism date. Until the end of the 1700s, ministers in some communities did not name the mother in the records, or they included only her given name. Sometimes only the baptism date was recorded, but in later years the birth date was given as well. | ||
Because of social conditions in the Netherlands, the birth of illegitimate children was not uncommon. | Because of social conditions in the Netherlands, the birth of illegitimate children was not uncommon. | ||
For more information on church christening records, see Background. | For more information on church christening records, see Background. | ||
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*The name of the baptised | *The name of the baptised | ||
*The date of the baptism | *The date of the baptism | ||
*The name of the parents, or at least the father's name | *The name of the parents, or at least the father's name | ||
*The name of the witnesses and/or godparents | *The name of the witnesses and/or godparents | ||
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== Marriages [''Akten van trouw'' or ''Huwelijken''] == | == Marriages [''Akten van trouw'' or ''Huwelijken''] == | ||
Marriage registers | Marriage registers list all newly married couples. They started to be kept in the late 1500s. The earliest marriage records may give only the names of the bride and groom and have little or no information about the couple’s parents. Couples were usually married in the residence parish of the bride, though they usually went to live in the residence place of the groom. Typically, women married for the first time in their early to late twenties. Men typically married for the first time in their mid-twenties to early thirties. | ||
In most areas, every marriage was required to be registered in the Dutch Reformed Church or at the Court, regardless of the religion of the bride and groom. Only afterwards could they marry in the religion of their choice. Some Catholics married only in the Dutch Reformed Church or court, and not in the Catholic church. Thus you may find multiple marriage records for a single couple. | |||
=== What You Are Looking For === | === What You Are Looking For === | ||
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The following information may be found in a marriage entry: | The following information may be found in a marriage entry: | ||
*The names of | *The names of the bride and groom | ||
*The date of | *The date of the marriage. | ||
*Whether | *Whether they were single, widowed or divorced at the time of marriage. | ||
*The names of the witnesses. | *The names of the witnesses. | ||
*The | *The place of their births (or where they were residing when married). | ||
*Their residence and occupation | |||
* | |||
*The date of the marriage proclamations or banns. | *The date of the marriage proclamations or banns. | ||
*The names of previous spouses. | *The names of previous spouses. | ||
In later registers, especially after 1794, the following may be recorded. | |||
*The names of their parents. | |||
*The date of their births (or their age at the time of marriage). | |||
Catholic marriage registers tend to be very simplistic, often containing only names. | |||
=== 4 Steps === | === 4 Steps === | ||