Trace your Dutch roots online

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How to find your Dutch ancestors on the internet

If you have Dutch ancestors and want to find out more about them, you will be pleasantly surprised about the wealth of information that is freely available on the internet.

In this lens, I will guide you to the best places to find your Dutch ancestors online.

Genlias 

National database of BMD records

If you want to research your Dutch ancestors via the internet, your starting point should be the Genlias website.


Genlias is a joint product of the regional history centres and state archives in the Netherlands. Genlias contains records from the civil register (birth, marriage and death records maintained by local governments), and sometimes the church books. It is a work in progress, and currently far from complete, but already contains over 11 million records.


Genlias has an English interface (click "English" in the top right), but all information it contains is in Dutch. To search, click "Searching in Genlias", then "Searching in Genlias database" (or go directly to the search page). It may be a good idea to read the Search instructions and Explanation of the results first.


Read my Genlias article for more information on how to use Genlias.

Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague 

Local BMD databases

Not all places have data in Genlias. The three largest cities of The Netherlands, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, are hardly represented. Rotterdam does not participate in Genlias at all, Amsterdam just started adding records, and The Hague has only a few records in Genlias. All three cities have their own online database.


Some Amsterdam records can be found on the website of the Amsterdam city archive. The most important are the baptisms (1564-1811). Their website is available in Dutch and English.


Rotterdam has the excellent Rotterdam Municipal Archives' Digital Family Tree. A large part of the website is also available in English. The website contains most of the church books (covering the period 1573-1811) and a large part of the civil register (1811-1950).


The Hague has created a virtual study center, that should eventually have the same information available as their study center in the The Hague city archive. It has scans of their civil registry records. The website is hard to navigate, there is no searchable index, and it does not have an English interface. Recently they opened a new website that contains part of their population register: Digital Family Tree The Hague.

Zuid-Holland 

Trace your roots online in Zuid-Holland

Genlias records are usually added by the provincial archives. Zuid-Holland, however, does not have a provincial archive (provincial records are maintained by the National Archives in The Hague). It is up to the local and regional archives to decide wether to take part in Genlias or not.

Places that are not represented in Genlias include major cities like Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden, and Delft. Places that do not take part in Genlias and do not have their own online database will eventually be added to Genlias by the National Archives. For the latest information on Zuid-Holland records in Genlias, check out Archives in Zuid-Holland and Genlias and Actual content (both on the Genlias website).

Genealogy in Zuid-Holland contains a list of all municipalities in Zuid-Holland, and in which online database (if any) their records are kept.

Your Dutch roots 

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  • Reply
    stargazer00 stargazer00 Nov 9, 2009 @ 11:29 pm
    Thank you for this resource. My husband is half Dutch and this might be helpful to him.
  • Reply
    Gordon.Allan.VanHaeften Gordon.Allan.VanHaeften Oct 12, 2009 @ 3:39 am
    I am looking for family of Van Haeften origanally from Netherlands,Moved to India During
    the British Rule to a Place Called Kakinada in Andra Pradesh then moved to Kharagpur
    in West Bengal .Grand Fathers Name Was Albert.Joseph.Van Haeften.
  • Reply
    Henk Henk Sep 9, 2009 @ 12:18 am | in reply to Gerry Van Reusen
    Thank you, Gerry, I'm glad you find my writings useful. And yes, I live in The Netherlands (in Utrecht).
  • Reply
    Gerry Van Reusen Gerry Van Reusen Sep 9, 2009 @ 12:08 am
    Henk....Many THANKS for your direction to the various websites (virtual reading, etc.) your website and the Dutch archives. I did try the virtual reading pages and am searching the microfiche pages.

    You've been a SUPER help to me, since the "information roadblock" I had with searching my Dutch ancestors has suddenly opened up with the many suggestions you mentioned. I will be visiting the Netherlands in the future. if you're living there, I'd like to take you out for a lunch. Thanks again.
  • Reply
    Henk Henk Aug 29, 2009 @ 12:54 am | in reply to Richard Kohlman
    Dear Richard,

    Birth records for Rotterdam are online, but I am unable to find Lucas van Wijk. I expect he was not born in Rotterdam.

    Genlias has the birth records of two children of Lucas van Wijk and Johanna Cornelia Wilhelmina Frese: Neeltje Agnes van Wijk, born 17 March 1870 in Kralingen, and Agnes Johanna van Wijk, born 26 September 1873, also in Kralingen. Kralingen used to be a separate town, but is now part of Rotterdam.
  • Reply
    Henk Henk Aug 29, 2009 @ 12:32 am | in reply to Gerry Van Reusen
    Dear Gerry,

    For Leiden use http://www.leiden.digitalestamboom.nl/ , for 's-Gravenhage http://www.denhaag.nl/smartsite.html?id=65346

    Bussum marriages (1817-1922) and Gorinchem marriages (1812-1922) are in Genlias, but births and deaths are not online yet. Eventually, they will be added to Genlias - be patient.

    Once you hit a brick wall online, you should continue offline: Read "Offline Dutch genealogy", an article that I wrote last year for my newsletter: http://newsletter.traceyourdutchroots.com/nl200804.htm
  • Reply
    Richard Kohlman Richard Kohlman Aug 27, 2009 @ 5:58 am
    I am trying to trace my greatgrandfather Lucas Van Wyk.. born 1843 in either England or
    Rotterdam... I was always led to believe it was Holland, but have conflicting information...Can you help?? His wife was Johanna Cornelia Wilamena Threse..and named their daughter the same. ..She married a Joseph Cook 6th Sept.1907..England..
    Any information would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanking you.
    Richard Kohlman.
    Dalek39@optusnet.com.au
    Australia...
  • Reply
    Gerry Van Reusen Gerry Van Reusen Aug 22, 2009 @ 4:01 pm
    I'm hitting a wall with my ancestors. I have a great grandfather (Cornelis Reusen born abt 1843 in Gorinchem) and his father, Jacob Reusen, who was married to Clasina Stam (her christening was 31 Dec 1794) but I haven't found any more info on them. I tried Genalis but nothing else came up. Is there something else I can try. Most of my ancestors were from Leiden, Gravenhage, Bussum, Gorunchem. Do you have any suggestions? Any help will be appreciated.

    Most of my info has come from Ancestry and family search. Thank you.
  • Reply
    Pat Lunt Pat Lunt Jul 24, 2009 @ 1:11 am
    all our paper work on Reint van Z Vonk born 21st june 1911 lost need it for pathankyoussport for his daughter can you help
  • Reply
    love2glow love2glow Jul 14, 2009 @ 3:06 pm
    Hello Henk, Love your lens, I have passion for tracing family roots.

    Please come by and rate my lens! Loved to share at Research your Family History

    Thanks again for sharing your info!
  • Reply
    Henk Henk Apr 15, 2009 @ 11:37 pm | in reply to Scott
    Hi Scott,
    Marriage acts from that time are not online, for privacy reasons. There are some things you can try, though. I answered your question on my blog: http://blog.traceyourdutchroots.com/2009/04/readers-question-from-holland-to.html
  • Reply
    Scott Scott Apr 7, 2009 @ 11:47 pm
    Hi Henk

    Could you suggest other on-line sources that can aid me in searching for my Partners grandparents whom migrated to Australia in the 1960's, as Genlis doesn't have them listed I just need their parents and I could go from there.

    Cheers

    Scott
  • Reply
    LadySquid LadySquid Apr 6, 2009 @ 5:38 pm
    Great info! My husband has Dutch roots, so it's always appreciated to find new resources to use to research his ancestors. Thanks!

    Stephanie at the Research Your Family Tree lens-stop by and see us!
  • Reply
    familyhistorysearcher familyhistorysearcher Jun 21, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
    Great international family history search lens!
  • Reply
    Henk Henk Mar 17, 2008 @ 12:47 am
    Genlias lists the marriage of Johannes Molenaar and Adriaantje Marijtje de Haan (1870 in Pernis) and the birth of two children: Jan (1870) and Cornelis (1871). Genlias also has the marriages of three children: Willem Kornelis Molenaar and Jacoba Groenendijk (1887), Jan Molenaar and Napoline Verginia Kassels (1893), and Cornelis Molenaar and Niesje Hendrika Samsom (1894).

    There may have been more children.
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by Henk

I spend most of my spare time tracing my, or helping other people trace their, ancestors. You can find my (Dutch) ancestors at my genealogy website.


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