Belgium, West Flanders, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Belgique, Flandre-Occidentale, registres d’état civil

Record Description


West Flanders (Dutch: West Vlaanderen, French: Flandre Occidentaale) is the most western province of the Flanders region.

The collection consists of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths from the Belgian National Archives. The collection also includes marriage proclamations, marriage supplements, and some original indexes. Additional images will be added as they become available.

The events are recorded in Dutch, Flemish, or French and cover the years 1582 to 1910.

For information on the content and use of these records, please see the wiki article Belgium, Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Record Content
Birth Records generally contain the following information:


 * Birth date and place of birth
 * Name of child
 * If still-born, illegitimate, or twin
 * Gender
 * Names of parents, father's occupation and their residence
 * Birth place of father
 * Birth place of mother
 * Date and number of record

Marriage Records generally contain the following information:


 * Date and Place of Event
 * Name of Bride and Groom
 * Residence, Marital Status, and Age
 * Names of Parents
 * Names of Witnesses

Death Records generally contain the following information:


 * Date and Place of Death
 * Name of Deceased Person
 * Age or Birth Date
 * Residence Place and sometimes the Place of Origin
 * Cause of Death
 * Marital Status
 * If Married, the Name of the Spouse and sometimes the Names of Children
 * Sometimes Names of Parents
 * Names of Witnesses

How to Use the Record
This section provides information on how to search the collection, what to do with the information once found, some tips on how to find records, and what to do it no record is found.

When searching, it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, as well as some identifying information such as residence, age, estimated event year, and family relationships.

Search the Collection
To search by index: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the people in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To browse by image: To search the collection, you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "Place" category ⇒Select the “Record Type and Years" category which takes you to the images

Search the collection by image, comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Dutch, Flemish and French so you will need to be able to understand these written languages. For help with reading the records, see the wiki articles:


 * Netherlands Language and Languages
 * French Wordlist

You may also want to see the 3 FamilySearch Tutorials on "Reading Dutch Written Records"

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Zoekakten - This website is in Dutch. It narrows down this collection by different regions and records.
 * Belgium Ancestry

Related Wiki Articles

 * Belgium Civil Registers
 * Belgium Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Belgium

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: