Overijssel, Netherlands Genealogy

Europe The Netherlands Overijssel
Guide to Overijssel, The Netherlands ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Overijssel Wiki Topics
Beginning Research
Research Strategies Record Finder
Record Types
Biography Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration - Vital Records Court Records	Emigration and Immigration Land and Property Military Records Naturalization and Citizenship Probate Records Taxation
Overijssel Background
Gazetteers History Maps	Municipalities Language and Languages
Local Research Resources
Archives and Libraries Societies Family History Centers

Background Information

Geographical and Historical information can be found here Overijssel The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle For genealogical purposes, Overijssel is split into two parts. The eastern part, Twente, used the system of farm names before the introduction of the civil registration. The western part, consisting of Salland and Vollenhove, used patronymics mostly although a clear line cannot be drawn between the regions. People from Overijssel have always migrated across the border into Germany. In the middle of the nineteenth century, many members of the seceder church followed Albertus van Raalte and Anthony Brummelkamp’s advise to emigrate to the United States. Most of them ended up in Michigan. Another emigration wave followed at the end of the nineteenth century.

Jurisdictions

• Overijssel Municipalities
  

Research Methods

Most of your genealogical research for Overijssel will be in two main record types: civil registration and church records. This article will teach you methods for locating and searching these two record groups.

Civil Registration (Burgelijke Stand)

• Civil registration records are government records of births, marriages, and deaths. Access to Netherlands Civil Registration records online is excellent. There is usually no longer any need to use microfilms from the Family History Library, or to visit archives. Nearly all records have survived, since two copies were made of each record and stored separately.
  

• Dates: Civil registration began 1 March 1811 while under French rule. Law allows birth records up to 1915, marriage records up to 1940 and death records up to 1965 to be released to the public as of 2016. Archives can be up to 10 years behind putting them online.

• • Births(Geboorten): Child’s name, birth date and place; parents’ names, ages, residence, and occupation: witnesses’ name, ages, occupations, residences; yearly indexes.
  • Marriages(Huwelijken): Bride and groom names, ages, residences, occupations, birth places; date and place of the marriage; parents' names, residences, occupations, whether living; the names of the witnesses, their ages, occupations, residence, and relationship to the bride or groom, if any; and officer who performed ceremony, former spouses, yearly indexes.
  • Marriage supplements(Huwelijksbijlagen): Copies of birth or baptism records of bride and groom; military conscription record of groom, containing name, birthdate, and parents, and sometimes a physical description; copies of death or burial records of deceased former spouses; copies of death or burial records of parents, if the marrying person is under 30 (and sometimes if they are over 30); (pre-1850), if both parents are dead, death or burial records of grandparents.
  • Death registers(Overlijdens): Deceased's name, age, death date and place, occupation, birth place; name of spouse(s), parents’ names; names of the witnesses, their ages, occupations, residence, and relationship if any.
• To learn more about The Netherlands Civil Registration, read Netherlands Civil Registration.

Online Digital Records for Civil Registration

Digital copies of civil registration can be searched online:

• WieWasWie, basic version free, index with some images.
• Netherlands, Overijssel Province, Civil Registration, 1811-1960, free, partial index with complete images
• Zoekakten.nl is a Dutch website that helps in locating Dutch images on FamilySearch.org. It breaks down films into smaller segments by year and record type for easier browsing. See Zoekakten instructions.
• In the search entry form for Overjissel Historisch Centrum, Civil Registration, found here, use the drop-down arrows for an advanced search. The website indicates that they are still scanning images but hope to eventually complete them. It refers users to the FamilySearch collection above as a more complete collection.

Death Records since 1940

The Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie has records of everyone who has died since 1940. ($) See: pdf information and instructions.

Church Records (DTB)

• Church records are the main sources for births, marriages and deaths in the Netherlands between about 1550 and 1811.They recorded baptisms (or circumcisions), marriages and burials and sometimes confirmations, membership records and conversions.
• In the late 1500s Churches began to mandate that registers of baptisms and marriages were kept. Burials were often not recorded at first. Records do not always exist for the period before 1700.
• Records kept by Catholics are written in Latin. Most other records will be written in Dutch.
• The main types of Church records are
  • Baptisms(Dopen): Child’s name,baptism date, sometimes birth date, parents’ names and residence: witnesses’ name.
  • Marriages(Trouwen): Bride and groom names, sometimes ages, residences and/or birthplace, date and place of the marriage; parents' names,; the names of the witnesses and relationship to the bride or groom, if any, former spouses.
  • Burials(Begraven): Deceased's name, death date and place, name of spouse(s),

• Church records continued to be kept after the introduction of civil registration, but after 1811 they were mostly superseded by Civil Registration.
• To learn more about church records, see Netherlands Church Records.

Online Digital Records for Church Records

• 1542-1893 - Netherlands, Overijssel Province, Church Records, 1542-1893, free, browseable images.
• Zoekakten was created to make it easier to find Netherlands records on FamilySearch. See the Zoekakten page on this wiki for further details on how to use Zoekakten.
• Van Papier Naar Digitaal has pre-1811 church records, surname changes in 1811.

Reading the Records

• Records are most commonly written in Dutch or Latin. You do not have to be fluent these languages to read your documents! Genealogical records usually contain a limited vocabulary. Use this Dutch Genealogical Word List to translate the important points in the document.

• Also, the handwriting can be slightly different, so you will want to watch these lessons, as needed, depending on the pre-dominant language in the region your ancestors lived:

Reading Dutch Handwritten Records Lesson 1: The Dutch Alphabet.

Reading Dutch Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Dutch Words and Dates.

Reading Dutch Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading Dutch Records.

Tips for Finding Your Ancestor in the Records

• Effective use of civil registration and church records includes the following strategies:

1. Identify your ancestor by finding his birth or christening record.
2. When you find an ancestor’s birth or baptismal record, search for the births of siblings.
   
3. Search for the parents’ marriage record. Typically, the marriage took place one or two years before the oldest child was born.
4. Search for the parents' birth records. On the average, people married in their early 20s, so subtact 25 or so years from the marriage date for a starting year to search for the parents' birth records.
5. Search the death registers for all family members.
6. If you do not find earlier generations in the parish registers, search neighboring parishes.
   

• Marriages were usually performed and recorded where the bride lived.
• Do not overlook the importance of death records. Death records are especially helpful because they may provide important information about a person’s birth, spouse, and parents. Civil death records often exist for individuals for whom there are no birth or marriage records.

Websites

• Overijssel Emigrants, Overijssel Historical Center.
• Zoekakten Overijssel Page , pre-1811 church records
• Historisch Centrum Overijssel, Births, Marriages and Deaths after 1811, records of surname changes in 1811.
• WieWasWie Births, Marriages and Deaths after 1811. However, the detail of the indexes for births may be sketchy. Always use FamilySearch or Zoekakten to view free of charge the original record.
• Overijssel in kaart. Website with historical maps of Overijssel. Select ‘Zoeken’, fill in the name of the town or cartographer you’re looking for and click ‘Zoeken’.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.