Trace your Dutch roots

Postcard from Utrecht

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Postcard from Holland is a regular feature on this blog. From time to time, usually on Wednesday, I post a card from my collection of vintage postcards. Today: Utrecht.

A view of the city Utrecht, with the Neude and Janskerkhof squares.

Looking at this postcard it seems to me the photo was taken from the tower of the Dom church, looking to the north. The square at the bottom right is the Janskerkhof (and to the right of it, on the edge of the card, you can just make out part of the Janskerk church). The square on the left is the Neude. The tower in the background is the water tower on the Lauwerhof street.

The card was sent in 1923, so this photo was taken at least 90 years ago.

Another look at Wie Was Wie

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

It's already three months since Genlias closed down. So, how do we live without it, and how does its successor Wie Was Wie fare? Time for another look at the site, based on the questions you asked.

Several people complained that Wie Was Wie is harder to use than Genlias, but the main problem that most of you have is the lack of an English interface. An English interface is promised, but unfortunately there is no published information yet about when it will come. In my opinion this should have been available well before Genlias closed down. Dear Wie Was Wie team, please work on an English interface as soon as possible!

If you have a hard time figuring out how to search at all, I'll give a short explanation. There are two ways to search: From the home page or from the search page. On the home page you can enter your ancestor's name in the search box (in the blue rectangle) and press the Zoek button. If you need a more flexible search click the Uitgebreid zoeken link, which will take you to the search page. There you have fields like Achternaam (surname), Voorna(a)m(en) (Given name(s)), Periode (Time frame), and Plaats (Place, usually municipality). There is a Voeg een persoon toe button if you want to search on two names (which was standard in Genlias). I can give full instructions, with screenshots, in a future article, if needed - just leave a comment if you want that.

If you have too many search results, you can narrow them down by using the filters on the left hand side. That's a big improvement over Genlias! The most interesting ones are Periode (Time frame) and Collectiegebied (province or country).

The software is still not stable. As a result, the website is sometimes hard to reach (or hard to use if you reach it). The team is aware of it and working on it, but I wish they had sorted that out before Genlias closed.

On the bright side, all functionality is free for the time being, at least while the platform is not stable. Eventually they want to charge for advanced search (including searching for two names), sorting and filtering of search results, and notifications.

For a while it seemed that nobody knew exactly what was in Wie Was Wie, and what not. But recently they provided more information about which records can be found in their database. You can download a list (PDF or Excel) here (top right of the page).

For many records there is also a scan of the corresponding document available (but you need to register before you can download or view it). However, the option to directly order and pay for a paper copy (that we had in Genlias) apparently disappeared. If you need a copy of a document you should contact the curator of the document (listed under Erfgoedinstelling) directly.

And what are your experiences with Wie Was Wie so far? Are you getting used to it? Please let us know and leave a comment, below. If you have any questions about Wie Was Wie, you can also ask below in the comments. Or you can contact the Wie Was Wie team directly on twitter or facebook, they usually reply quickly.

Church books at FamilySearch

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:00:00 +0000

FamilySearch, the genealogy website of the Mormons, had scans of the civil register for a while now. Recently they also started adding scans of pre-1811 church books: Baptisms, marriages, burials, membership lists and more. Currently available are the provinces Groningen, Drenthe, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Utrecht, Noord-Brabant, and Zeeland (seven out of twelve provinces).

The scans are made from microfilms that the church had in their collection. They are not indexed and have to be browsed image by image, similar to browsing the films themselves.

To find them on the FamilySearch website, click Continental Europe and browse to Netherlands. While you are there, have a look at the many other resources on their website - there's bound to be a few that are useful for your research.

Popular Dutch baby names in 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:00:00 +0000

SVB, the agency responsible for distributing child benefits in The Netherlands, publishes annual lists of the most popular Dutch baby names.

The top 10 boy names for 2012 (last year's position between brackets):

Daan (1)
Bram (16)
Sem (2)
Lucas (6)
Milan (3)
Levi (4)
Luuk (5)
Thijs (8)
Jayden (7)
Tim (13)

The top 10 girl names for 2012 (last year's position between brackets):

Emma (1)
Sophie (3)
Julia (2)
Anna (10)
Lisa (6)
Isa (5)
Eva (9)
Saar (7)
Lotte (4)
Tess (14)

Links:
Kindernamen top 20 (Top 20 child names, in Dutch)
Traditional Dutch given names

Update on WieWasWie

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

WieWasWie in English

Last week I answered questions about WieWasWie, the successor of Dutch BMD site Genlias. One issue that remained unanswered in that article was when WieWasWie would be available in English. There is more information available: On Twitter, WieWasWie mentioned that they planned to start on the English translation early next year, but first the Dutch site should work without problems.

Someone from the WieWasWie team also replied to last week's article:

We agree that the English version should be introduced ASAP, the sooner the better. Of course we need to focus on the Dutch version first, but we're definitely planning for the English one! I'd like to add here that you can email to our helpdesk for any kind of help at our site (we know a little English too; -)!): helpdesk@wiewaswie.nl

Records from Zeeland in WieWasWie

Birth records from Zeeland are now in WieWasWie. Still missing: Zeeland death and marriage records, and records from Noord-Holland (and maybe others?). I'm sure that those records will follow soon.

Summary of current situation

For those that missed it a quick summary of the current status:

WieWasWie is the successor of Genlias, the Dutch database of (mostly) BMD records.
Genlias will shut down at the end of this year.
WieWasWie does not have all records yet that Genlias has, but the missing ones will be added over the coming weeks.
WieWasWie does not have all search options that Genlias has (in particular, searching for two people is not possible on WieWasWie), but that will change over the coming weeks.
WieWasWie does also offer extra functionality, like downloading scans or building your family tree.
Not all functionality will be free. Currently you can take out a trial subscription (no credit card required) that offers everything for free until the end of 2012.
There is no English interface yet, but there will be one. Genlias will shut down before WieWasWie is available in English, though.

Questions?

Do you have questions about Genlias that you'd like to see answered on this website? Leave a comment below this article, or send me a message.
Do you have a question for WieWasWie? Send them an e-mail (helpdesk@wiewaswie.nl). You can also contact them on facebook or twitter.

Acknowledgements

Thank you WieWasWie for replying to last week's article, and thank you Yvette Hoitink for pointing me to WieWasWie's tweet.

Genlias and WieWasWie: Your questions answered

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 03:57:00 +0000

Earlier this month I wrote about the upcoming closure of Genlias, and its replacement WieWasWie.nl. I received several questions, and a few reactions expressing concern. I will try to answer your concerns and questions in this article. If you have questions that are not answered please leave a comment or send me an email.

Question: Will WieWasWie be available in English?

This was by far the most common concern: WieWasWie is currently not available in English. Unfortunately I can't answer this question yet: I could not find anything in their FAQ, on their site, or on their blog. I sent an email to the WieWasWie team and will let you know their answer as soon as I have it.

Question: Where can I find the Genlias records that are not in WieWasWie yet?

WieWasWie aims to have those records available by November. Genlias is available until 1 January.

Question: In Genlias you can search for two persons. Will WieWasWie have this option?

Yes. They are currently testing this option. It should be available by November.

Question: How do I...

A few people asked how to do certain things on WieWasWie. I'll get back to that in a later article.

Question: What is the difference between free, basic and premium subscriptions?

I understand from recent communications that this is still subject to change. According to earlier announcements:

Everyone can search the collections.
You need (at least) a free registration to store simple searches, to create favorites, and to create family trees.
You need (at least) a basic registration to store complex searches, and to view and download scans of the civil registers, population registers and church books.
You need a premium subscription to view and download scans of other registers (e.g. notarial deeds, archives of the Dutch East Indies Company, property deeds).

Furthermore, the number of people you can add to your family tree, and the amount of disk space you are allowed to use for your family tree, also depend on your subscription level.

Planned prices are €30 per year for basic, €42 per year for premium. At the current exchange rate that is around $40 and $55. Very reasonable, in my opinion.

Note that at the moment only free trial subscriptions are available. These will allow free access to all available functionality until the end of the year (but there is a limit on the number of scans you can download).

Follow / Get in touch with WieWasWie

You did not ask for it, but I'll give you their contact details anyway. There are several ways to get in touch with WieWasWie:

A contact page on the WieWasWie site lists their email address.
WieWasWie has a facebook page.
WieWasWie is active on twitter.

Two months respite for Genlias

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Last week I wrote about the upcoming closure of Genlias. Genlias was going to shut down on 1 November. Before that time all Genlias data should have been transferred to WieWasWie. Apparently the data transfer is behind schedule and the Dutch archives have decided to keep Genlias running for another two months, until 1 January.

Read the full story, in Dutch, on the WieWasWie blog or on the Genlias website.

Genlias will close down soon

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

For many years Genlias, the Dutch BMD database, was the place to go to start your Dutch research. I have often talked about or recommended Genlias, here on Trace your Dutch roots (a search for Genlias on this website gives over 300 results). However, the technology behind Genlias is outdated and not maintained anymore. On 2 July a new website opened its doors: wiewaswie.nl. This website is the successor of Genlias.

Now that Genlias has a successor, it makes sense that it will retire, eventually. The Dutch archives, who pay for both (expensive) websites, decided that wiewaswie.nl will be good enough to replace Genlias by the end of this month, and Genlias will close its doors on 1 November. On the English version of their website there is only a terse note about it in the marquee:

"On July 2 this year, a beta version of the website WieWasWie went live. Genlias will be available as usual until November 1, 2012."

As I write this, wiewaswie.nl is still in beta, and it does not have an English interface yet. I do not know when that will change. It does have some extras that Genlias does not have, like the ability to view and download scans (at the moment only for a small part of the records). This will be a paid feature, but is free until the end of the year.

I will soon write another article about wiewaswie.nl. If you have any questions that you want me to cover, please leave a comment below.

Action items for current Genlias users:

Get acquainted with wiewaswie.nl.
If you have questions about wiewaswie.nl, ask them in the comments section below and I will try to cover them in a future article.
If you must use Genlias for anything, do it now (or at least before the end of the month).
Download the scans you may need from wiewaswie.nl before the end of the year (while it is still free).

Tombstone Tuesday: War graves in the dunes

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

On many genealogy blogs, Tuesday is Tombstone Tuesday - bloggers share photos of their ancestors' tombs, or otherwise write cemetery related blog posts. On Tombstone Tuesdays, Trace your Dutch roots posts articles related to Dutch cemeteries, burial practices, or individual graves. Today: A war cemetery in the dunes.

This small but beautiful cemetery, in the dunes of the national park Zuid-Kennemerland, is the final resting place of 373 resistance fighters who gave their lives in the second world war. Many of these resistance fighters were caught, taken to the dunes, and executed by a firing squad. Their bodies were left behind, or buried on the spot. After the war they were reburied here.

Among the people buried here are a few people of renown (at least in Holland), like Hannie Schaft (the only woman buried here), Gerrit van der Veen, Johannes Post, and Walraven van Hall.

The cemetery is an erebegraafplaats (cemetery of honour), which is the equivalent of a military cemetery for civilians.

Postcard from de Veluwe

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Postcard from Holland is a regular feature on this blog. On Wednesdays I post a card from my collection of vintage postcards. Today: de Veluwe.

De Veluwe is a region in the province Gelderland. The card shows a Veluwsch Binnenhuisje, an interior photo from the Veluwe region. I don't know if this interior scene is typical for the Veluwe, but whoever lived at this place is certainly well off.

The card was sent in 1933, so the photo is probably from the 1920s.

Wiewaswie.nl free until end of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I recently wrote about the new website wiewaswie.nl, the successor of the popular Genlias site. Wiewaswie.nl admitted on its blog that there are some growing pains (especially missing or low quality scans). To compensate us for those issues, all subscriptions are now free for the rest of the year! Take out a trial subscription today, and you can use it for free until 31 December. The only catch: The maximum number of downloads is 100 (which is probably sufficient for most of us).

Your trial subscription will automatically expire, no credit card details required.

Online records: Amsterdam population register

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The Amsterdam city archive added two new databases to its websites: The population register 1851-1853 and the population register 1874-1893. The index of the latter is not complete yet, but will be soon.

The population register 1893-1939 (also known as the family cards) was already online.

Searching the indexes is free, but there is a charge for viewing and downloading scans.

The new databases are currently only available through the Dutch website.

If you plan to search the population register, be aware that many first names are abbreviated, e.g. Johs means Johannes. Use wildcards when searching, or only use surnames.

Warning: Population registers are not primary sources of BMD data and are known to contain errors.

Postcard from Schoten

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Postcard from Holland is a regular feature on this blog. On Wednesdays I post a card from my collection of vintage postcards. Today: Schoten.

Schoten is a small town near Haarlem, province Noord-Holland. The photo on the card is of the Kloosterstraat street. The place looks different now, of course, but I could still recognize it on streetview (link). Many details, especially of the building left on the foreground, are still the same.

The card was sent in 1925, so the photo is probably from the early 1920s or maybe late 1910s.

Online records: Family cards of Rotterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The website

The Digital Family Tree of Rotterdam is the database of the city archive of Rotterdam. We looked at this database before, e.g. in 2008, in the article Online records: Rotterdam city archive. Earlier this year the archive added a great new resource: Scans of family cards (1880-1941) from Rotterdam, with an index!

What do they have?

Today we look at family cards, though the database has a lot more. Family cards are part of the population register. Originally, the population was a census-like register that was kept up to date. Because each page could have lots of updates and changes, the register could get messy. In 1880, Rotterdam changed their register to a card system, with one household per card: the family cards. These were easier to keep up to date, as cards could easily be replaced if they were full or messy.

In 1939 the family cards were phased out in favour of a new system, and by 1941 the cards were obsolete.

The cards are now archived in the Rotterdam city archive. They are scanned and indexed, and available online.

Family cards have lots of interesting information about a household. It lists all household members. New members of the household were added at the bottom, members that left were crossed out, usually with a remark about where they went. For each person listed you will find items like date of birth (and possibly death), maiden name (if applicable), address, occupation and religion, and any additional information that the city wanted to register about its citizens.

The images below are the front and back of the family card of Leendert de Kooning, father of the celebrated Dutch-born painter Willem de Kooning (who is listed twice on the card, under numbers 7 and 8).

Is there an English interface?

Yes, if you follow this link the search interface is English. Additional information, search results and of course the scans themselves are still in Dutch, though. You can use my genealogy dictionary to help you interpret the scans.

How do I use it?

Select Population register (and deselect the other options), fill in a family name and optionally a first name, and click Search. Browse through the search results and click the one that interests you. Click View the scan.

The scan will open in a new window. There are buttons for zooming in and out, for rotating the image, for printing and for downloading.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. Even viewing and downloading scans is currently completely free!

Future plans

I assume the family card project is completed. There will be other scanning and indexing projects in Rotterdam, though.

Conclusion

This is a great resource if you have Rotterdam ancestors in the late 19th or early 20th century.

Who was who: The future of Dutch genealogy

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 06:00:00 +0000

A beta version of a new website with Dutch records and scans quietly opened its doors a few days ago: Wie was wie (Who was who).

The website

Wie was wie is going to be the main website for Dutch genealogy, replacing current websites like Genlias and Digitale Stamboom (Digital Family Tree).

What do they have?

The website opened with 18.6 million indexed documents, and 1.7 million scanned documents, from many different sources: BMD records from the civil registry, population registers, church books, notarial deeds, records of the Dutch East Indies company, and more.

You can also build your own family tree on the site, link records and scans to your ancestors, and share your research.

Is there an English interface?

No, though I expect there will be at a later date.

How much does it cost?

Searching indexed documents is free, no registration required. Creating family trees is free up to 100 people, registration required. For downloading scans or creating larger family trees you will need a subscription.

There are two levels of subscription: Basic (€30 per year) and premium (€42 per year). With a basic subscription you can download scans of BMD records, church books and the population register, and have up to 2500 people in your tree. Premium subscribers can download scans of all available record types, and there is no limit to the number of people in their tree.

Future plans

Wie was wie is just starting out. In the future, most Dutch archives will publish their online indexes and their new scans in Wie was wie instead of their own databases.

Conclusion

If you can navigate a Dutch site, Wie was wie is a useful site, but it cannot (yet) replace Genlias - many records are still missing. Use it in addition to existing sites - for now. If you don't want to navigate a site that is not in English, you can continue to use existing sites.

I will review (parts of) Wie was wie in depth in future posts, after I had the chance to use it myself a bit more.

The cemetery of Witteveen

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Witteveen is a small village in the rural province Drenthe. It was founded in 1926, for laborers from Dutch cities who settled here for work procurement projects. I recently visited their cemetery, on a quiet spot just outside the village. Below I share a photo impression of this beautiful rural Dutch cemetery.

Postcard from Walcheren

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Postcard from Holland is a regular feature on this blog. On Wednesdays I post a card from my collection of vintage postcards. Today: Walcheren.

Ladies in the traditional costume of Walcheren, an island in the province Zeeland, doing their traditional folk dance. This card ran in 1932, so I assume the photo is from the 1920s.

Around the world in 40 blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 03:07:00 +0000

Family Tree Magazine recently published an article, Around the world in 40 blogs, a selection of 40 international genealogy blogs. They "chose these blogs based on their overall quality of content and design, potential interest to other researchers, and relatively current status". Trace your Dutch roots is proud to be on this list!

You can find the article, written by Sunny Jane Morton, in the July/August 2012 issue of the magazine, and now also online.

Postcard from Den Haag

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Postcard from Holland is a regular feature on this blog. On Wednesdays I post a card from my collection of vintage postcards. Today: Den Haag.

A postcard of the Hofvijver (litt. Court Pond, on the foreground). The street along the water is the Vijverberg, while the trees in the middle are on the Voorhout street.

The Hofvijver is a medieval pond, next to the Binnenhof (Inner Court) complex, built for the counts of Holland. Most photos of the Hofvijver include the buildings of the Binnenhof on the background, but, as the sender noted in French, the photo on this card is taken "de l'autre côté", from the other side, with the Binnenhof behind the photographer and the Vijverberg and Voorhout streets in the background.

This postcard also featured in the post Vijverberg on my blog Images of The Hague.

Tombstone Tuesday: The grave of Johannes Vermeer

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Johannes Vermeer, the celebrated painter of masterpieces like Girl with a pearl earring, The Milkmaid, and The Little Street, is buried in the Oude Kerk (Old Church) in Delft.

On the photo below you can see his grave. Originally his grave was unmarked, this stone was placed only a few years ago. Vermeer was Lid van het Sint-Lucasgilde, member of the Guild of Saint Luke. The image at the bottom of the stone is the guild's seal.

Postcard from Friesland

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Postcard from Holland is a regular feature on this blog. On Wednesdays I post a card from my collection of vintage postcards. Today: Friesland.

Two small boats on a presumably Frisian lake.

The card never ran, and I'm not sure how old it is, or where in Friesland it is. It is number 7 in the series "On and around the water". The texts on the back are in Frisian, the minority language of the province Friesland.

This postcard featured earlier in the post Water on my blog Roots.

Postcard from Walcheren

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Postcard from Holland is a regular feature on this blog. On Wednesdays I post a card from my collection of vintage postcards. Today: Walcheren in Zeeland.

A beautiful postcard with three kids in the traditional costume of the island Walcheren in the province Zeeland.

The card was sent in 1927, so the photo is probably from the early 1920s.

Tombstone Tuesday: A few graves in the St Bavo church in Haarlem

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

In medieval and early modern times, our Dutch ancestors (and many other Europeans) buried their death in, under and around their churches. Those who could afford it had a memorial, often in the form of an inscription on their grave. If you visit an old Dutch church, you are often walking over the graves. Look down, at the floor of the church, and you may see the inscriptions, sometimes worn away after centuries of walking over them, sometimes surprisingly well kept, sometimes restored recently to their former glory.

Last month I visited the St Bavo Church in Haarlem, province Noord-Holland. Today, I share a few of the grave memorials that I saw there.

The first grave belongs to Passchier de Fijne, a pastor of the Remonstrants in the 17th century. The (Dutch) inscription:

Zyne ongemeene zugt ter stigting van het volk De dienst door hem gedaan als Evangelietolk Vertoonen in PASSCHIER een held der Remonstranten Passchier de Fijne Eerste predikant der Remonstranten te Haarlem 1588-1667

His uncommon drive to edify the people / The service done by him as preacher of the Gospel / Make PASSCHIER a hero of the Remonstrants.

Passchier de Fijne, First pastor of the Remonstrants in Haarlem, 1588-1667.

The next grave belongs to Aris Claessoon Vroeper, who was apparently buried here in 1611. His epitaph (in Latin) is Melius est nomen / Bonum divicie multe, which I think means: A good name is better than many riches. Please leave a comment below if you know the meaning or origin of this epitaph.

I don't know anything about the occupant of this grave. If you do, please let me know.

Next up: Wouterus van Oorschot. His inscription (in Dutch):

Hier legt begraaven Wouterus van Oorschot, gebooren tot Dortrecht den 29 January 1704, overleden tot Amsterdam den 19 Maart 1768, zijnde geweest een Zoons Zoon van Wylen den Heer Wouter van Oorschot, in zyn Eedelens Leven Oud Raad der Stadt Dortrecht.

Rough translation: Here lies buried Wouterus van Oorschot, born in Dordrecht 29 January 1704, died in Amsterdam 19 March 1768, having been a son's son of the late sir Wouter van Oorschot, who was in His Honourable's life former council of the city Dordrecht.

It seems that Wouterus' main claim to fame was the fact that he was the grandson of Wouter van Oorschot, who was probably well-known at the time, but now forgotten. Wouterus' name still lives on in the Hofje van Oorschot, a courtyard surrounded by almshouses in Haarlem, which was built after his death and largely financed out of his estate.

Hier leyt begraven Lieven van der Mersch sterf den 15 November 1666 (Here lies buried Lieven van der Mersch died 15 November 1666). I don't know anything about this person, but there is a genealogy of Lieven van der Mersch online.

In the closeup photo of the tombstone you can clearly see footprints: The floor of this part of the church is covered with tombstones, so church-goers have no choice but to walk over the graves.

The last tombstone I present today is that of Guillaume de Key and his wife Maria van den Voorde. Searching Google I found some genealogical data about this couple (I did not verify anything, so use at your own risk). Let's have a look at the text on his stone:

Grafschrift van Guillaume de Key, starf den 16. Octob[er] 1624 Hier leyt de vrome Key een deugds patroo[n] begraven Een man van raed en daed, van sonderlinge gaven Der armen hoofd en troost, verstandig en beleefd Waer aen so menig mensch so veel verloren heeft. Ende Maria van den Voorde syne huysvrouw sterf den 23 May anno 1639.

Rough translation (without the rhyme that is present in the Dutch text): Epitaph / of Guillaume de Key, died 16 October 1624 / Here lies buried the pious Key, a patron of virtue / A man of word and deed, of extraordinary talents / Head and comfort of the poor, sensible and polite / In whom so many people lost so much. The last part of the inscription was added later: And also Maria van den Voorde, his wife, died 23 May 1639.

Popular Dutch baby names in 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

SVB, the agency responsible for distributing child benefits in The Netherlands, publishes annual lists of the most popular Dutch baby names.

The top 10 boy names for 2011 (last year's position between brackets):

Daan (4)
Sem (1)
Milan (3)
Levi (7)
Luuk (11)
Lucas (2)
Jayden (5)
Thomas (8)
Stijn (12)
Jesse (10)

The top 10 girl names for 2011 (last year's position between brackets):

Emma (3)
Julia (2)
Sophie (1)
Lotte (4)
Isa (11)
Lisa (6)
Saar (-)
Lieke (7)
Eva (5)
Anna (10)

Links:
Kindernamen top 20 (Top 20 child names, in Dutch)
Traditional Dutch given names

Postcard from Venlo: Manresa

noreply@blogger.com (Henk van Kampen) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Postcard from Holland is a regular feature on this blog. On Wednesdays I post a card from my collection of vintage postcards. Today: Venlo.

The retreat house Manresa in Venlo. We had a Manresa postcard before - this one was sent by the same person, a year later (1922).