Netherlands Church Records: Difference between revisions

{{CountrySidebar

|Name=Netherlands

}}{{breadcrumb

| link1=[[Netherlands Genealogy|Netherlands]]

 

*'''1500-1858''' {{RecordSearch|2134301|Netherlands Bibliothèque Wallonne, Card Indexes, 1500-1858}} at FamilySearch; index & images

*'''1557-1902''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/dutchwwwbaptisms/ Netherlands Baptism Index, 1557-1902] at Ancestry; index only ($)

*'''1564-1910''' {{RecordSearch|1778468|Netherlands Births and Baptisms, 1564-1910}} at FamilySearch; index only; ''Also at [https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/netherlands-births-and-baptisms-1564-1910 Findmypast]'' ($)

*{{RecordSearch|2841008|Netherlands, Archival Indexes, Public Records}} at FamilySearch; index

 

== Netherlands Church Records ==

<br> Church records are arranged by religion. Most people in the Netherlands belonged to either the Dutch Reformed (''Nederduits Gereformeerd'') or Roman Catholic Churches. Some belonged to other religions such as Lutherans or Mennonites (''Doopsgezinde'') or were Jews (''Jooden''). See the page [[Netherlands Church History]] for more information about different religions in the Netherlands.  

Church records are crucial for pre-1811 Dutch research. Church records continued to be kept after the introduction of civil registration, but are not kept by the FamilySearch Library and are generally difficult to access. After 1811 they were mostly superseded by [[Netherlands Civil Registration|Civil Registration]].

*The date of the marriage

*Whether they were single (usually written j.m. or j.d.), widowed or divorced at the time of marriage. Any previous spouses may be named.

*The names of the witnesses

*The place of their births (or where they were residing when married)  

*The date of the marriage proclamations or banns  

*The names of their parents  

*The date of their births (or their age at the time of marriage)

Especially after 1794 there may be marriage supplements. These will contain evidence of deaths of former spouses and the names of parents (for parental consent). Other information may be found.

#If all these do not exist or you fail to find what you are looking for, you will have to browse images manually. Use FamilySearch or [http://vpnd.nl Van Papier Naar Digitaal (VPND)].  

#[https://www.genealogiewerkbalk.nl/fs/? Genealogie Werkbalk] can help to find the correct set of images on FamilySearch.  

==== Regional Sites  ====

| Search on the site of the [https://www.regionaalarchiefalkmaar.nl/ Regionaal Archief Alkmaar]

| West-Friesland<br>  

| Leiden (and Oegstgeest)<br>  

| Streekarchief Rijnlands Midden was closed by 1/1/2017.

The municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn has set up an own municipal archive: [https://gemeentearchief.alphenaandenrijn.nl/collectie?mizig=100 Municipal Archives Alphen aan den Rijn].<br>

The municipalities of Kaag and Braassem and Nieuwkoop have placed their archives in the archive of [https://www.erfgoedleiden.nl/collecties/personen Leiden and surrounding areas].<br>

|Search on the site of [https://regionaalarchiefnijmegen.nl/ Regionaal Archief Nijmegen]

| Search in the [https://historischcentrumoverijssel.nl/archieven/?mivast=20&mizig=235&miadt=141 Generale Index Zwolle] <br>

.

:::a. Click on this link to see a list of [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=1927059&query=%2Bplace%3A%22Netherlands%22 '''records for Netherlands'''].

Some gazetteers indicate parish jurisdictions. For more information, see the "[[Netherlands Gazetteers|Gazetteers]]" section and the section above, which discusses church record inventories.  

*Useful tips about different religions in the Netherlands can be found on [[Netherlands Church History]].

*Protestants (excepts Huguenots/Wallonia Reformed and Lutherans) wrote their records in Dutch. See [[Netherlands Language and Languages]] and [[Netherlands Handwriting]].

*Huguenots/Wallonia Reformed and a few French Catholics wrote their records in French. See [[French Wordlist]].

*Catholics wrote their records in Latin. See [[Latin Genealogical Word List]].

*Lutherans wrote their records in German. See [[Germany Handwriting]].

*Mothers will almost certainly be referred to by their maiden name but this is not always true for witnesses/sponsors/godparents.

*Remember that some names are very common (e.g. Jan Jansz). Don't assume that just because their names are the same that they are the same people. If there are multiple people born around the same time that you cannot distinguish, use these tips:  

**Look at the names of their parents and their mothers' maiden name.

**Look at the names of the witnesses to their marriages and the baptisms of their children. These are often siblings.

**Look at burial records to see if any of them died as a baby or child.

*Sometimes Baptisms and Marriages were recorded in the same book.

*''Ondertrouwen'' (The Marriage banns) were recorded in the residences of both the bride and groom, but the actual marriage was recorded only in the residence of the bride.

*The Marriage banns system only applies to marriages in the Dutch Reformed Church. For other religions there will only be one marriage - in the residence of the bride

*The first child was often born illegitimately or within 9 months of marriage. It is rare for a couple to be childless 2 years after marriage.

*Gaps between children tend to be 12-24 months while the woman is young, but stretch out to as much as every 5 years when she is older.

*Be aware of naming traditions. The first son should be named after the father's father and the first daughter after the mother's mother. The second son and second daughter should be named after the other two grandparents.

*Be sure you know where you get information from. Note down the precise church. Note the number of the record (inventory number) and the name of the parish.