Zeeland, The Netherlands Genealogy

The Netherlands &gt; Zeeland

Zeeland

Unfortunately, most information is only available in Dutch at the moment. Zeeland, also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. For Geographical and Historical information see: Zeeland.

The capital city of Zeeland is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about 2930 km², of which almost 1140 km² is water. See: Middelburg.

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Constituent parts

 * Schouwen-Duiveland
 * Tholen
 * Noord-Beveland
 * Walcheren, Zuid-Beveland
 * Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Zealands Flanders)


 * Municipalities before 2006


 * Municipalities after 2006

Did you know?
The country of New Zealand was named after this province.



Nehalennia is a goddesss of the ancient religion known around the province of Zeeland. Her worship dates back at least to the 2nd century BC and flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. She was possibly a regional goddess, either Celtic or pre-Germanic - sources differ on the culture that first believed in her. During the Roman Era, her main function appeared to be the protection of travelers, especially seagoing travelers crossing the North Sea. Most of what is known about her comes from the remains of over 160 carved stone offerings (votives) which have been dredged up from the Oosterschelde since 1970. Two more Nehalennia offering stones have also been found in Cologne, Germany.

Research Tools
Because of the bombings of the dikes in 1940 and 1944, as well as the terrible floods of 1953, many church and civil records have been lost. If you can't find the records you need for the town your ancestors came from, try search court and notarial records.

A great web-site for Zeeland is: Zeeuws Archief, database Zeeuwen Gezocht. All civil marriage records - from 1796/1811 till 1933 have been extracted and are available on that site. If you can't find what you are looking for, you can always contact them by clicking on the button "Feedback" found in the top right hand corner.

Emigration from Zeeland
Zeeland is probably the province from where the most people emigrated in the 19th century. Many members of the seceder churches emigrated in the 1840′s. They followed rev. Cornelis van der Meulen to the newly founded colony of Holland, MI.

Even more people emigrated at the end of the 19th century. Thousands of people from Zeeland left to find a new home. Many people from Zeeuws-Vlaanderen settled in the areas around the Great Lakes like Michigan and Wisconsin. Other people settled in New York state.

Lists of emigrants can be found online http://www.zeeuwengezocht.nl/en/

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