Utrecht (Province), The Netherlands Genealogy

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

Background Information

 * Utrecht is a province in the middle of the Netherlands. It borders on Gelderland in the east, Gelderland and Zuid-Holland in the south, Zuid-Holland and Noord-Holland in the west and Noord-Holland and Flevoland in the north.
 * For Geographical and Historical information see: Utrecht
 * The capital city of Utrecht is Utrecht. See: Utrecht (City)
 * Other larger towns are:
 * Amersfoort
 * Zeist
 * Soest
 * Nieuwegein


 * There were no particular naming traditions in Utrecht that researchers have to take into account. People used regular last names long before the introduction of the civil registration.
 * People in Utrecht were relatively well-to-do so the province wasn’t particularly struck by any of the big emigration waves. There were quite a few entrepreneurs in the province, so there have been people who emigrated to newly founded colonies or tradeposts all over the world. In the middle of the 19th century, Utrecht members of the seceder church settled in Pella, Iowa.

Jurisdictions

 * Utrecht Municipalities

Research Methods
'''Most of your genealogical research for Utrecht 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. In Limburg and parts of Zeeland, civil registration began as early as 1795, because they had already been conquered by France. 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.<br.
 * Contents:
 * Births: Child’s name, birth date and place; parents’ names, ages, residence, and occupation: witnesses’ name, ages, occupations, relationships, residences; yearly indexes.
 * Marriages: 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: 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, and they are under 30, death or burials records of grandparents.
 * Death registers: Deceased's name, age, death date and place, occupation, birth place; name of surviving spouse, 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.

1. Online Digital Records for Civil Registration
Digital copies of civil registration can be searched online:
 * 1811-1950 -, free, browseable 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.
 * Dutch titles for recorded events: "Geboorten" means births. "Huwelijken" means marriages. "Overlijden" means deaths. "Huwelijksafkondigingen" means marriage proclamations. "Huwelijksbijlagen" means marriage supplements. "Tienjarige tafels" means 10-year indexes.

2. Online Digital Records at the Provincial Archives
All civil registration digital images are indexed and online at Utrecht Archief, Civil Status Registers.

3.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

 * 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
 * Dopen (Baptisms)
 * Trouwen (Marriages)
 * Begraven (Burials)
 * Lidmaten (List of Parish Members)


 * 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.

1. Online Digital Records for Church Records

 * 1542-1955 -, free, browseable images.
 * FamilySearch has put online all Netherlands church records with only very few exceptions(for example, some burials from Amsterdam). But the way the films are arranged can be confusing, so 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.

2. Online Digital Records at the Provincial Archives
Church records digital images are indexed and online at Utrecht Archief, Baptisms, marriages, and burials.

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.
 * 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

 * Utrecht Archive, the archive of the city Utrecht as well as the province Utrecht. There is a tab for genealogical research and if one has question there is also a contact link.
 * WieWasWie, marriage records of the civil registration.