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The original content for this article was contributed by the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. It is an excerpt from their course Dutch Ancestors in the Netherlands by ??????. The Institue offers over 200 comprehnsive genealogy courses.

Researching your Dutch ancestors is exciting because of the amount of information you can extract from a single record. Due to this however, sometimes important details in the records are overlooked and you may be tempted to avoid obtaining other documentation. You should always obtain all records about your ancestor to get a realistic image of their lifetime.

A marriage in the Netherlands, depending on the time period, produced up to as many as six documents! The amount of information extracted from these records alone is astounding.

A bonus to those who have Dutch ancestors is, women are always identified in documents with their maiden name. In the Netherlands, women rarely lose their last name during their lifetime. There are special circumstances for the last name to change. Sometimes you will see a women identified with both her married name and maiden name. When this occurs, it is always written: married name first, hyphen, and then maiden name; e.g. Akke de Groot-Horjus – “de Groot” being the married name and “Horjus” being the maiden name.

As you do your Dutch genealogical research, you may think there are no errors or problems in the records. Wrong! There are errors and you will find them more often the further back in time you search. Often problems involve the men you are searching, unlike North American research where women create roadblocks. The mother is always named in a birth record; however, if the woman is unmarried the father is not always stated.

To carry out genealogical research of your Dutch ancestors in the Netherlands, you will need to know some of the Dutch language. The records from about 1814 to present are all written in Dutch. Prior to 1814, the documents may be written in Dutch, French or Latin, depending on the time period and the type of record that you are looking at.

For those unfamiliar with the Dutch language, you will need to become familiar with Dutch genealogical terms. This will ultimately give you the ability to navigate through the records.

It is suggested you keep a good Dutch-English dictionary handy whether you are searching documents, surfing the Internet or translating your information. It is also suggested you start your own list of often used Dutch words for a quick and easy reference.

There are several ways to access copies of Dutch documents from afar. A number of records can be viewed on microfilm from the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City. Many of these microfilms are being digitized and are available to be searched on the FamilySearch website. Records can also be requested by postal mail or via email directly from the archive or repository in the Netherlands.

There are a number of resources that can be obtained from FamilySearch through your local FamilySearch Center (FSC). Make sure you know where the closest FSC is to your home; you will visit the center often to do your research. Be sure to check the FamilySearch website to find the closest one to you (https://www.familysearch.org/locations).

You will find databases on the Internet that will provide you with the details needed to obtain the documents directly from the archives in the Netherlands or through the FamilySearch. There are many Dutch citizens volunteering their time to make genealogical information available through the Internet. Be sure to check the databases often, as they are being updated with new information quite frequently.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

The area of Europe currently known as the Netherlands is rich with history. The official title of the country is the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). The country covers 41,528 square kilometres where approximately 16 million people live today. The Netherlands is ranked in the top 25 countries with the largest population density per square kilometres!

Netherlands or Nederland literally means “Low Countries”. A good portion (approximately 27%) of the land lies below sea level and it has been vulnerable to flooding for many centuries. To learn more details about the major floods that have affected the Netherlands, visit Deltawerken Online at http://www.deltawerken.com/Floods/22.html. This site is available in Dutch, English and German.

The Netherlands has endured many wars with countries such as England, France, Spain and Germany. From 50 B.C. to 1588, it had been ruled by the Romans, Charlemagne, Philip the Good, The Habsburgs, Charles V, Philip II, and William of Orange.

In 1588 the country became known as the Republic of the United Provinces and retained that title until 1795. During the next thirty-five year period, 1795 to 1830, the country under went six title changes! The chart below outlines the time period the country changed titles.

The Land The present day Netherlands comprises of twelve provinces: Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel, Gelderland, North Holland (Noord Holland), South Holland (Zuid Holland), Zeeland, Flevoland, Utrecht, North Brabant and Limburg. A map of these provinces and their capital cities are outlined in Illustration No. 1-1. The landscape of the country has undergone many changes over the centuries. “Holland”, once a single province, was divided into North Holland and South Holland in 1840. Flevoland is the youngest province which became populated during the 1970’s. This province is comprised of land that was reclaimed from the South Sea (Zuiderzee). The South Sea ceased to exist in 1933, when the Afsluitdijk was closed off at the northern end and it became the IJsselmeer. Today it is two lakes, called IJsselmeer and Markermeer. Due to the many changes in the landscape, the use of maps is important when doing research in the Netherlands. It is equally important to use maps from the time period of your ancestor. How the land is shaped today is not the way it was 100 or 200 years ago.

Jurisdictions Over the centuries the Netherlands had its jurisdictions change a number of times. Knowing the various jurisdictions during the different time periods will assist you with your genealogical research.

Prior to 1543, the present day provinces were under the following jurisdictions:

• Counties of Holland and Zeeland  • Bishopric of Utrecht, including the city of Groningen and present day provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe   • Duchy of Gelre, including most of the present day Limburg   • Duchy of Brabant, including the southern part of present day Limburg   • Friesland   • Groningen, except the city of Groningen

During 1543, these jurisdictions were united under the reign of Charles V, King of Spain and Emperor of Germany. In 1555, Philip II, son of Charles V, reigned over the Netherlands. From 1568 to 1572, the country was at war with France with the rebellion being led by Willem I of Orange and later by his sons. The Dutch had established their own central government and incorporated the liberated provinces from 1572 to 1588. Illustration No. 1-1 Map of the Netherlands – Provinces and Major Cities 

When the country was known as the Republic of the United Provinces (1588-1795), there were the following seven provinces:

• Holland • Friesland • Zeeland • Gelderland • Utrecht • Groningen • Overijssel and Drenthe In 1795, the government of the Republic of the United Provinces was overthrown and replaced by the Batavian Republic. This was the beginning of many changes that were to occur over the next thirty-five years. In 1806, Napoleon’s brother, Louis Bonaparte reigned over the country and created the Kingdom of Holland. Then in 1811 it was annexed to the French Empire until 1814. When France was defeated in the Napoleonic wars, William Frederick, son of William V, returned to the Netherlands and became King William I.

In 1830, the people in the southern area of the Netherlands rebelled and formed the Kingdom of Belgium. The final border disputes were not resolved until 1839. That same year Limburg became a province and the next year, the province of Holland was divided into North Holland and South Holland. This would also be the last time borders changed to shape the present day provinces.

If you would like to learn more details about the different periods in Dutch history, visit the website “History of the Netherlands” (De Nederlandse Geschiedenis) at: http://www.historici.nl/overview/history/en/home.html. This site has been developed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Buitenlandse Zaken) and is available in Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish. This easy to navigate website provides excellent details covering all periods between 50 B.C. and present day.

ADDITIONAL HISTORICAL INFORMATION

The Provinces

Each province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has its own history that can affect your genealogical research. Here you are provided with a brief timeline, beginning during the 16th century, of events for each province.

                     Groningen

                     Friesland

                    Drenthe

                    Overijssel

                 Gelderland

               North Holland (Noord Holland)

                 South Holland (Zuid Holland)

                 Zeeland

Flevoland

                   Utrecht

                    North Brabant (Noord Brabant)

                     Limburg

THE LANGUAGE

Dutch and Frisian are the two official languages of the Netherlands. Dutch is a Germanic language and many words are similar to German and English words. You will also find some are the same or similar to French words.

Frisian is the language of the northern province of Friesland. This language is often mistaken as a dialect of Dutch. It is not. To be able to research your Dutch ancestors you will have to learn how to read some Dutch, but it is not necessary to learn Frisian. The civil registration records from Friesland are written in the Dutch language.

In general, Dutch civil registration and population records follow a standard format throughout the country.

It is necessary to learn to read some Dutch to understand the information in the records. However, it is not necessary to write in Dutch when requesting information from archives in the Netherlands. Many people can speak, read and write English. A word of caution, if you have found someone who may be a relative and they are elderly, it is likely they cannot communicate with you in English. The older generation does not speak English fluently.

It is recommended you find a good Dutch-English dictionary to assist you with the translation of the language. Of the four or five dictionaries I own, the one that I purchased from a used bookstore has been most useful (Engels Woordenboek, Nederlands-Engels, 17th Edition; Groningen, Nethelands: H. D. Tjeenk Willink, 1974). The North American published dictionaries seem to lack entries. I have also found dictionaries published in the United Kingdom (UK) to be better. The same applies to maps of the Netherlands. You will find much more detail in maps and atlases that are published in the UK and the Netherlands. So be sure to check the used bookstore!

There are many online dictionaries that are available to you. Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/) and yourDictionary.com (http://www.yourdictionary.com/) are two of the many websites available. Should you need assistance with conjugating Dutch verbs, Verbix (http://www.verbix.com/languages/dutch.shtml) will be of great help you. There are a number of online translation sites that you could use to help translate your documents. One such website is Yahoo! Babel Fish Translation (http://babelfish.yahoo.com/).

Important Tip: Both of these sites will return Dutch words if it cannot translate it. They can also return the wrong English word. When this happens you will still need to use your dictionary.

Perhaps you would like to learn the language of your ancestors. This too can be done online! Learn Dutch (http://www.learndutch.org/) is one such website. You can even test your proficiency in Dutch on the Transparent Language website (http://www.transparent.com/learn-dutch/proficiency-test.html).

The FamilySearch website has the Netherlands Language and Languages webpage (https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Netherlands_Language_ and_Languages) that provides a Dutch Word List. If you are researching records prior to 1814, you may also want to see the French and Latin word lists available on the same webpage.

To assist you in becoming familiar with Dutch words, below is a list of words that you will encounter often in your research. It is also advised that you start your own list of frequently used Dutch words and terms. This list will assist you in saving time when translating documents. With all these tools, you will soon easily extract genealogical details about your Dutch ancestors from the documents!

Tip: You may have noticed when reviewing this list that the Dutch will sometimes put two or three words together to form one word. For example, naamsaanneming is formed from naams (names) and aanneming (adoption). If you cannot find the word in your dictionary, try breaking the word down and looking for the words individually.

Numbers
                 (Numbers are written in words on the documents you will use for your research.)

Ordinals
           (You will find that ordinals are used in documents; mostly in dates and street addresses.)

Dates
(The Dutch use ordinals to express dates. Here are a few examples of how you may see a date written.)

Time
(In many of the Dutch civil registration records, you will find that the time of day that an event occurred has been included in full words. When the time is written in numbers, the 24-hour clock is used.)

(Important Tip: When reading time, remember that the half hour always refers to the previous hour rather than the following one. For example, half acht, literally means “half eight”, is actually 7:30.)

Here are some examples of time:

'''Tip: The Dutch letter “Y”or “y” can be typed as “IJ” or “ij”; as in “Ype” or “IJpe”, which are both the same name. When doing searches on the Internet, use both possibilities when entering search words. Neither “Y” nor “IJ” is wrong, it depends on how a person generally types this letter. Example surname: “Van der Leij” and “Van der Ley”.'''

Calendar Changes
(The Gregorian calendar was adopted by different areas of the Netherlands at different times. The chart below provides you with the dates the Gregorian calendar was adopted and the dates that were omitted to make the correction in the calendar.)

 The area of Groningen actually first switched to the Gregorian calendar 10 February 1583 and dropped the dates 11 to 20 February 1583. However, they reverted back to the Julian calendar in November 1594. The switch to the Gregorian calendar was again made on 31 December 1700.

As if this is not confusing enough for you, remember some areas of the Netherlands were part of the French Empire. The French Empire used the French Republican calendar from 1793 to 1805. It is possible to find dates that relate to this calendar. For more details on the French Republican calendar, see the FamilySearch Wiki page, French Republican Calendar (https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/French_Republican_Calendar).

'''To assist you in identifying if the French Republican calendar was used in your ancestors’ record, the following chart provides you with the names of the months in English, French, Dutch and Latin. '''

Months of the French Republican Calendar
                   Autumn months:

Winter months:

                   Spring Months

                   Summer Months