Belgium Occupations

Burgess rolls and house books (Burgerboeken, Huisboeken, Registres de bourgeoisie)
Research use: Sometimes a very useful linkage tool where several generations are listed; town of origin of an ancestor may be given.

Record type: Citizen lists and inhabitants of a given town or house; lists of persons entitled to the rights, privileges, and protection of a town or community.

Time Period: 1290- present.

Content: Names, ages, sometimes social and economic status of citizens, occupations, town of origin, dates when citizenship rights in a town were acquired, family relationships, sometimes two or more generations or genealogies are listed.

Location: Provincial, city and municipal archives.

Population coverage: 20%.

Guild and apprenticeship records (Gilden registers, Registres des corporations de métiers)
Research use: Names of members and applicants, birth and death dates, parents and sometimes spouses and children are listed.

Record type: Records of merchants, craftsmen, tradesmen, skilled laborers, and persons bound by indenture to serve others for a prescribed period to learn an art or trade. May include civil, religious, hospital and/or trade guilds.

Time Period: 1300-1850.

Content: Names of skilled laborers, craftsmen and apprentices, birth dates or ages, places of origin and residence, family relationships, occupations, death dates. Some guild records list their members' families with marriage dates of couples and birth dates of their children.

Location: City, state and municipal archives.

Population coverage: 10%.