Whether you just want to learn more details about your Dutch ancestry and the lives of ancestors whose names you already have, or if you want to extend your genealogy in the Netherlands, our experts can help!
Extend Your Dutch Ancestry with Vital Records
Like most of the world, the best resources for researching your Dutch ancestry in the Netherlands are vital records. This includes births/baptisms, marriages, and deaths/burials. In the Netherlands, church records were kept starting in the mid-1500s, but the amount of detail they provide varies depending on who created the record, and the actual time period you’re looking at. It wasn’t until around 1795 that the Netherlands became more influenced by France and church records became more detailed. On 1 March 1811 Civil Registration was implemented by Napoleon, and even after he was defeated the Netherlands continued the civil registration system.
Civil Registration Records in the Netherlands
Along with vital records, the Netherlands also has quite a few other record sources that can be used to learn more details about your ancestral Dutch families, as well as extend their lines.
While civil registration records in the Netherlands don’t go back hundreds of years, the amount of detail they provide can be very helpful. For example, birth records asked for the basic information you might expect – like the name and birthdate of the child and names/ages/occupations of parents – but then they also asked if the witnesses were related to the child in any way. Since witnesses are often other family members, you may find grandparents or aunts/uncles listed there.
Probably the most useful are the marriage records. Besides the recording of the marriage itself that provides the name/age/occupation of the bride and groom, names of parents, names of witnesses (and relationships, if applicable), and other general information, there is also usually a “marriage supplement” file. The marriage supplement file often includes the birth/baptism records for the bride and groom, copies of death or burial records for any former spouses of either the bride or groom, sometimes copies of death/burial records for the parents of the bride or groom, and in some circumstances even records for grandparents.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
If you are interested in learning more about your Dutch ancestry, you’ve come to the right place! Our experts know all about boundary and jurisdiction changes, languages, naming patterns, what records are expected to contain the information you need, and where those records are kept. We would love to help you extend your family lines!