Netherlands Getting Started
| Netherlands Wiki Topics |
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| Netherlands Beginning Research |
| Record Types |
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| Netherlands Background |
| Netherlands Genealogical Word Lists |
| Cultural Groups |
| Local Research Resources |
How to Research
- Identify what you know: Work from the known to the unknown. Don't jump straight back to a distant ancestor. Begin with the present and confirm/document the information and relationships as you work your way back.
- Document/source your tree: As you gather information, identify where and who each piece of information came from. Evaluate how reliable the sources are, and ensure you are interpreting them correctly. Don't simply accept ancestral information on your tree. Instead, look for records or other reliable sources to support each date, place, and relationship.
- Decide what you want to learn: Have a specific research goal or objective. This is defined by pursuing a specific piece of information about a specific ancestor. An example of a bad, or too-generic research goal is: "I want to know more about my great-grandfather." An example of a good research goal is: "I want to find the marriage date of my great-grandparents."
- Select records to search: Each country's record-keeping practices are different. See your country's Record Finder table to determine what kind of record could provide the desired ancestral information. Search the desired records.
- Analyze/use the information: When you find new sources, carefully evaluate them to ensure they are about the correct ancestors, and that the information in the evidence is being accurately interpreted. Cite or document your sources in your family tree establish the accuracy of your findings.
Beginning Research in Netherlands
Jurisdictions
The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces, the last one - Flevoland - was created from part of the former Zuider Zee/IJsselmeer on 1 January 1986.
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1811- 1932 Research
This time period is the easiest for doing Netherlands genealogy. Many different detailed, reliable and easily accessible records exist. The main records are:
- Civil Registration. Starts 1811 (or 1796 in some southern areas of the Netherlands), and is public up to at least 1912 for births, 1932 for marriages and 1960 for deaths. Can be public as late as 1916 for births, 1941 for marriages and 1966 for deaths, as of 2017.
- Population Registers. Start no later than 1850, and are public to as late as 1939.
Other records useful in this period include:
- Cemeteries
- Newspapers
- Cadrastal Registers(1832)
- Wills and Notarial Records
- Military Records
Research in this time period is relatively straightforward and can be done almost entirely online. Civil Registration will usually prove to be the basis of research, with other record types providing additional details beyond births, deaths and marriages. The main barrier will be to understand the Dutch language. The linked articles provide assistance for this, as well as the articles Dutch Genealogical Word List and Netherlands Language and Languages
1600-1811 Research
Before 1811/1796 there was generally no state registration of individuals in the Netherlands. Also, surnames were not universal, especially in rural areas where patroynmics were used instead [son/daughter of X]. This makes genealogical research more difficult. Church Records of baptisms, marriages and burials become the main record type use. The further back you go, the less records there are. To trace a line back to 1600 is fairly rare, and anything further back is probably possible only if the records have survived or your ancestors were wealthy.
The Main records for this period are:
Other records that may be used are:
- Censuses
- Tax Lists
- Notarial and Court Records
- Military Records
- Citizens Lists
In practice, research will be usually confined to Church Records, and will use other sources where they exist and are relevant for the family. The site GeneaknowHow is especially recommended for this period
"Bridging the Gap" between the two periods
Several records are especially useful for individuals who lived across the year 1811
- Marriage Supplements (Huwelijksbijlagen) for those married after 1811 but born before 1811 will have a copy of their baptism record
- Name Adoption Records list the old name and new name of individuals when forced by the French to adopt surnames. Members of the household and their ages are often recorded.
Accessing Records
The articles on this wiki for each record type will list where to find the records. Nearly all of the more commonly used ones are online. Sometimes you will be able to search by name, sometimes you need to look up the name in an alphabetical index, and other times manually browse either the originals or a typed-up transcript.
The following sites are commonly used:
- WieWasWie- search by name for many civil registration records and some others
- OpenArch- search by name in data taken from provincial and local archives.
- GeneaKnowHow- links to hundreds of records. They aim to have virtually all relevant records online listed in a logical way.
- The sites of provincial and local archives- see the Netherlands Regional Websites article
- see also the article Netherlands Websites and Netherlands Online Genealogy Records
Table of Records by Date
