Netherlands Record Finder
The table below can help you decide which records to search. In column 1 find the goal you selected. In column 2 find the types of records that are most likely to have the information you need. Then turn to that section of this outline. (The terms used in columns 2 and 3 are the same as the topic headings used in this outline and in the “Locality Search” section of the Family History Library Catalog.) Column 3 contains additional records that may also be useful. Records containing previous research (genealogies, biographies, histories, periodicals, and societies) could provide information for nearly all of your research goals. These have only been listed if they are especially helpful for the goal.
| 1. If You Need | 2. Look First In | 3. Then Search |
| Age (Be aware that ages given in documents before 1850 are often incorrect.) | Civil Registration, Population, Church Records, Jewish Records | Census, Notarial Records, Court ecords |
| Birth date and birthplace | Civil Registration, Population, Church Records, Jewish Records | Emigration and Immigration, Public Records, Military Records |
| Boundaries (parish, municipality, or province) | Gazetteers, Maps, History | Names, Geographical; Historical Geography |
| Death | Civil Registration, Church Records, Jewish Records, Public Records | Taxation, Cemeteries, Guardianship, Probate Records, Notarial Records, Court Records |
| Divorce | Civil Registration | Court Records |
| Emigration information | Emigration and Immigration, Population | (See the research outline for the country the ancestor immigrated to.) |
| Historical background | History, Church History | Minorities |
| Language helps | Language and Languages | Handwriting |
| Living relatives | Genealogy | Societies |
| Maiden name | Civil Registration, Church Records, Public Records | Taxation, Notarial Records, Court Records |
| Marriages | Civil Registration, Church Records | Public Records, Taxation |
| Naming customs | Names, Personal | Genealogy |
| Noble families | Nobility, Heraldry | Genealogy, Periodicals, Biography |
| Occupations | Civil Registration, Population, Census | Naturalization and Citizenship, Notarial Records, Court Records |
| Parents, children, and other family members | Civil Registration, Population, Church Records, Jewish Records | Guardianship, Census, Probate Records, Notarial Records, Court Records |
| Physical description | Military Records | Civil Registration |
| Place-finding aids | Gazetteers, Maps | Names, Geographical; Historical Geography |
| Places of residence | Civil Registration, Population, Church Records, Public Records | Census; Taxation; Land and Property; Names, Personal |
| Previous research (compiled genealogy) | Genealogy, Periodicals, Societies | History, Biography |
| Record-finding aids | Archives and Libraries, Genealogy | Societies |
| Religion | Population, Civil Registration, Church Records, Jewish Records | Minorities, Church History |