Dutch archive news, July 2010

• Genlias has new baptisms from Zuid-Holland (Brielle), births from Zuid-Holland (major update), marriages from Drenthe (most towns) and Zuid-Holland (major update), and deaths from Zuid-Holland (Alblasserdam, Giessendam and Zuidwijk).
• The National Library of The Netherlands announced that Google will scan over 160,000 18th and 19th century books from their collection. These books will (eventually) become available on the websites of Google Books, Europeana, and of course the National Library.
• The Central Bureau for Genealogy launched a new blog (in Dutch) Migranten (Migrants), about the history of immigration into and emigration from The Netherlands.
• Another Dutch archive on Twitter: the archive of Gorinchem (@archGorinchem). See the complete list of tweeting archives.

Photo: Book-scanning machine, by Cory Doctorow.

Dutch archive news Q1 2010

• Genlias added new birth records from Curaçao, marriage records from Flevoland, birth, marriage and death records from Limburg, birth and death records from Noord-Brabant, marriage and death records from Noord-Holland, marriage and death records from Utrecht, birth, marriage and death records and church books (baptisms from Brielle) from Zuid-Holland.
• The National Library of The Netherlands is going to digitize part of its magazine collection. Read the project page here (in Dutch).
• Tresoar digitized and translated (in English) a collection of letters that Dutch immigrants in the U.S.A. sent home. Note: The translations are copyrighted and may not be published without permission of the translator.
• Ten Dutch heritage institutions cooperated to create a new biography portal (a who's who of Dutch history). Unfortunately the website is only available in Dutch.
• The Amsterdam city archive is on facebook.
• The Rotterdam city archive placed more than 300 Rotterdam world war II photos on flickr.

Reader's question: From Holland to Australia in the 1960s

Please note: This article refers to the Genlias project. This project was discontinued at the end of 2012. Its successor is WieWasWie.nl. You can read more here.

Scott asked me:

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 Genlias doesn't have them listed I just need their parents and I could go from there.

Marriage acts become public after 75 years, so you won't find any marriage acts from after 1934 on Genlias (or elsewhere on the internet). I expect your partner's grandparents married later than that? Most post-war archives are not accessible (and not published on the internet) due to privacy regulations. The usual way to reconstruct a family tree over this period is from memory or with family papers from the family's archive.

There are a few things you can try:

• Do you know when and where they married? You should be able to order a copy of their marriage act from the town hall in the municipality they married (for a fee). If you know the town, you can find the municipality on the regional genealogy section of this website. You may have to prove you are related and that your grandparents passed away - contact the town hall for details. If you know when and where they were born you may also try to obtain a copy of their birth act in the same way. Both the birth and the marriage act will list the parents.
• If your partner's grandparents migrated back to The Netherlands and died here, you should order their persoonskaarten from the Central Bureau for Genealogy (CBG).
• Search the collections of the CBG, in particular their collection of birth, marriage and death announcements (partly available online).
• A final tip: Don't forget to ask relatives. Someone is bound to have some document that provides a clue. Does your partner (or their family) still know relatives here in Holland? If so, write (or call) them!

If you have any further question, contact me or leave a comment below.

Related articles:

• What should you do if your ancestors are not in Genlias?, in the January edition of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter.
• Destination Australia
• Post-war emigration
• Persoonskaarten
• Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie (a review of their online resources)

Photo: Farewell of emigrants to Australia, 1953. Spaarnestad Photo/SFA001009985, on flickr The Commons.

Do you also have a question about Dutch genealogy that you want me to discuss? Leave your question in the comments below this post, or use the contact form.

Dutch National Archive on flickr

Nationaal Archief, the Dutch national archive, and Spaarnestad Photo, an archive of press and documentary photos, announced today that they published part of their photo collections on The Commons on Flickr. Albums include the Labour Inspectorate collection, the 1928 olympics in Amsterdam, and Dutch emigrants.

The Nationaal Archief is the first Dutch participant in Flickr the Commons. The Nationaal Archief and Spaarnestad Photo hope to collect the stories behind the photographs this way and asks visitors to contribute their knowledge:

"You can help us enrich our knowledge of the photo collections by adding tags and comments. If you recognize people or locations in the photos, or have an interesting story to tell about one of the photos, then post a comment [..] At the moment, 200 photographs from the Nationaal Archief's collection (most of them from the Labour Inspectorate collection) and 200 from the Spaarnestad Photo collection are available for viewing on Flickr the Commons. We will be adding new material regularly, and hope that you will continue to return to the site to see what's new."

Photo: Emigrants waiting to board the S.S. Volendam, bound for Canada. Rotterdam, 15 May 1951. Collection Spaarnestad Photo.

Passenger lists: Where do I find them?

There are passenger lists scattered around the internet. Here are some of my favorite sites. They are all free (but registration is required for some of them), and they all have passenger lists of ships from Holland to the new world.

• Ellis Island. Registration is required to view scanned passenger lists.
• Castle Garden, America's first official immigration centre and Ellis Island's predecessor.
• National Archives of Australia record search. Their database includes passenger lists and immigration papers (only for arrivals in Australia, of course). If there is no scan of the record you want, you can order to have it scanned (for a small fee). Once the scan is available, it is freely accessible for everyone.
• Passenger lists before 1736 and passenger lists after 1736, an index to passenger lists on Digital Resources Netherlands and Belgium. Here, you will find links to many more passenger lists for ships carrying Dutch emigrants.
• Ships Passenger Lists to New Netherland, New York 1624 to 1664, on The Olive Tree Genealogy. While you're there, also check out the Dutch Immigration to USA & Canada section.
• The website of the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG), an organisation of volunteers transcribing passenger lists. They were founded in September 1998, so their tenth birthday is this month!
• Ships' Passenger Lists on On the Trail of Our Ancestors. The Dutch Research Corner on the same website seems to be somewhat outdated.
• The many passenger lists in the USGenWeb Archives.
• Immigrant Ships, on Macatawa Bay Area History & Heritage - a website about the history of West Michigan. From browsing this site I get the impression that everyone in this area has Dutch roots!
• There are several passenger lists on the website of Herman de Wit.

Wilhelminakade 2

During my holiday I will post some photos from my archive. This week: The Wilhelminakade, the quay where the ships of the Holland America Line started their journey towards Ellis Island.

The photos below are of the former headquarters of the Holland America Line (HAL).

Wilhelminakade 1

During my holiday I will post some photos from my archive. This week: The Wilhelminakade, the quay where the ships of the Holland America Line started their journey towards Ellis Island.

Cruise terminal

Monument for Dutch emigrants. Sculpture Lost Luggage Depot, by Canadian artist Jeff Wall. Detail.

Monument for Dutch emigrants. Sculpture Lost Luggage Depot, by Canadian artist Jeff Wall.

From Dutch roots

The Canadian newspaper The Vancouver Sun published a review yesterday of The Occupied Garden, a book by Kristen Den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski. I did not read the book (yet), but apparently it's "the true-life wartime story of market gardeners Gerrit and Cornelia den Hartog, of the Dutch town of Leidschendam", their life during the second world war in Holland, their ordeal towards the end of the war, their post-war emigration to Canada, and their first years in their new country:

"The book The Occupied Garden offers an amazingly detailed and moving account of one family's life in Nazi-occupied Holland during the Second World War. But it's much more -- it's the quintessential Canadian story."

The book is written by Kristen Den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski, granddaughters of Gerrit and Cornelia den Hartog.

"The Occupied Garden has been released in time to be in stores when thousands of tulips -- originally a thank-you gift to Canada from Holland -- bloom and when Dutch cities mark the anniversary of the momentous days when Canadian soldiers first rolled through towns, tossing from their tanks cigarettes, chocolates and the chance for a new life."

The last line made me smile. Canadian soldiers - who played an important part in the liberation of nazi-occupied The Netherlands - are famous for leaving behind a trail of cigarettes, chocolates, and pregnant young women - as the author of this article knows: "Canadian soldiers [..] liberate much of the Netherlands and stay to help rebuild the country and seduce Dutch maidens".

The Occupied Garden: Recovering the Story of a Family in the Wartorn Netherlands, by Kristen Den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski, published by McClelland & Stewart, ISBN 0771026226 / 978-0771026225.

From Dutch roots, The Vancouver Sun, article by Paul Gessell.

Online records: Nationaal Archief

The website

Next in our series of online records is the website of het Nationaal Archief, the Dutch National Archive in The Hague.

What do they have?

The website has everything you can expect from a national archive: Practical information about the archive, summaries of their collections, research guides, etc. They also publish several databases, including:

• Emigrants to Australia 1946-1991
• Freed slaves in Curaçao and Surinam
• Surinam Dutch Reformed church books 1688-1792
• VOC employees leaving for the East Indies 1700-1794
• Image database, with a million photos

Is there an English interface?

Parts of the website are available in English, German, French and Spanish. The Emigrants to Australia database has an English interface, all other databases we look at today are only available in Dutch. Click English at the top of the page for an English interface (where available).

How do I use it?

That depends on the database.

Emigrants to Australia 1946-1991

The easiest way is to enter a surname in the Quick Search field at the top, followed by the Enter key on your keyboard. There is also an advanced search option. When you have a list of search results, click on the name you are interested in. You will need to agree to a disclaimer, stating you will only use the data for historical research.

You can order copies of the original cards, but only if you can prove the person on the card is deceased, or if you have permission from that person.

An example: I searched for Pardoen and found three results, including:

Pardoen, B., born on 01 april 1917, made the journey on ship Skaubryn, arrival in Australia on februari 1952, emigration card in card-tray Brisbane

Freed slaves in Curaçao

Curaçao is one of the Netherlands Antilles, once a Dutch colony and still part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. Click on Raadplegen van database (Consult database). Fill in your search terms in the box on the left, choose your search options on the right (Alle Woorden, all words, Eén Van De Woorden, any word, or Exacte Zin, exact phrase) and click Zoek. An example of what you may find:

Negerin Anna op 23 augustus 1782 door Joseph Obediente jr voor 200 peso, betaald door de neger Mattheeuw de Vries. Met kwitantie in termijnen, waarvan laatste datum 16 september 1785.

Search results are in Dutch. A translation of the example: Negress Anna on 23 August 1782 by Joseph Obediente Jr for 200 pesos, paid by the negro Mattheeuw de Vries, with quittance in instalments, the last on 16 September 1785.

Freed slaves in Surinam

Freed slaves in former Dutch colony Surinam really consists of two databases. First you have to choose between Surinaamse manumissies 1832-1863, the database of slaves that became free between 1832 and 1863, and Emancipatie 1863, slaves that were freed when slavery was abolished by The Netherlands in 1863. Click Raadplegen database on the top of the page. Searching works the same as in the Curaçao database, but you have extra options: You can search for Naam Vrijgelatene (name of the freed slave), Naam Eigenaar (name of the owner), Naam Borgen (name of the sureties), or Aanmerkingen (remarks) for the first database, Slaven en eigenaren (slaves and owners), Slaven (slaves only), Eigenaren (owners only) or Opmerkingen (remarks) for the second.

Surinam Dutch Reformed church books 1688-1792

Fill in a search term, check if you want to search Memotekst (memo text) and Datum (date) fields, choose between Geboorten/dopen (births and baptisms), Lidmaten (church membership lists), Kerkgerechtigheden (church taxes) or (Onder)trouw (marriage and marriage registration), and press Zoek. In the list of search results, click detail.

An example: A baptism on 20 January 1704. The text is in Dutch again.

gedoopt het kint waar van vader was Pieter de Jonge en moeder een indiaaninne genaamt Catharina. Getuijge M: de Jonge d' oude. [transl. baptized the child of which the father was Pieter de Jonge and mother an indian named Catharina. Witness M. de Jonge the elder]

VOC employees leaving for the East Indies 1700-1794

The database of the VOC (Dutch East Indies company) is a large, ongoing project. It lists employees of the VOC sailing to the East. They are taken from the scheepssoldijboeken (ship payrolls), part of the VOC's salary administration. These payrolls are amazingly complete and consistent.

The easiest way to search is to enter a surname in the Snel zoeken (quick search) field at the top, and press the enter key. There is also an advanced search option (Uitgebreid zoeken, in the navigation menu on the left). Fields in the advanced search include Achternaam (surname), Voornaam (first name), Herkomstplaats (place of origin), and Schip (Ship). Fill in the fields and press Zoek.

When you get the list of search results, click on a name for details. On the detail page you will find gegevens (data) about the person you selected, and about his journey. Data include Datum indiensttreding (date of start of employment), Datum uit dienst (date of end of employment), Reden uit dienst (reason for ending the employment, often overleden, deceased), Schip (name of ship), Vertrek (departure), and Aankomst (arrival).

Image database

Enter your search phrase in the zoek (search) field on the left and press enter. There is also an advanced search option (Uitgebreid zoeken), with fields like Beschrijving (description), Dag/Maand/Jaar (day/month/year), Periode vanaf/tot en met (year from/to), Trefwoord (keyword), and Fotograaf (photographer).

Search all databases at once

There is also a single search interface for all databases. Fill in a search phrase (most likely, a surname) at Zoekwoorden (search terms), make sure Alles (everything) is checked, and click Zoek. The result page is in Dutch, search for (and click) Toon resultaten in de thema databases (show search results in the themed databases), next click on a database name, and then click on a search result.

How much does it cost?

Use of the databases is free. There are (often hefty) fees for ordering copies.

You may make prints of the images in the image database for personal use, for any other use there will be charges (source: Auteursrechten). Please contact the national archive for details.

Future plans

Some of the databases are finished projects, others are far from complete. The VOC database, for instance, will probably be complete in 2012 (data entry started in 2000). I expect that new projects will be added from time to time.

Conclusion

The databases featured above are only the tip of the iceberg. The website of the Dutch National Archive hosts many exciting projects and databases. Navigating the website can be a challenge, though. It is a pity that so few databases are available in English.

12,000 visitors to emigration fair

On Dutch teletext this morning:

"The Emigratiebeurs (emigration fair) in Nieuwegein attracted by a record 12,000 visitors. Among the visitors were many young families. Still popular are countries like Canada, Sweden and Australia."¹⁾

The emigratiebeurs is an annual two-day event, with exhibitions and presentations aimed at prospective emigrants. The post-war emigration peak is long past, but emigration remains popular, and, like 60 years ago, the popular emigration countries are Canada and Australia.

The emigratiebeurs website is also available in English.

¹⁾Translation by me. Original Dutch text of the news item: "De Emigratiebeurs in Nieuwegein heeft een recordaantal van 12.000 bezoekers getrokken. Onder het publiek waren veel jonge gezinnen. In trek zijn nog steeds landen als Canada, Zweden en Australië."

Online records: Emigrants from Drenthe

The website

A database of genealogical information on emigrants from Drenthe, compiled by Arend Everts. The database is on the Drenlias website that we looked at yesterday, but it's completely separate from the rest of the website, there is not even a link to it on the Drenlias homepage.

What do they have?

Emigrants from Drenthe, between 1840 and 1930. The database is compiled from Dutch population registers and archives from Pella, Iowa, and Holland and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Records list the date of emigration and the destination, and some biographical information, like name, date of birth, names of parents, spouse and children, and occupations.

Is there an English interface?

Yes, the search interface and all of the information pages are available in English, except for a page with a biography of the researcher and a short motivation for his quest. Click on English on the top right of the page.

How do I use it?

You can browse the list of surnames or the list of destinations, or you can search the database, by choosing the appropriate options at the top of the page. When you browse you can click through to the individual emigrants. The search interface is simple, fill in the fields and press the search button.

How much does it cost?

It's free.

Future plans

There is no public statement about future plans, but I expect the project is completed.

Conclusion

If your ancestors emigrated from Drenthe between 1840 and 1930, Emigrants from Drenthe is a useful site. The database has information on emigrants and their families, and nothing else, so if emigrants from Drenthe is what you're looking for, this website is where you should go.

Trace your Ellis Island ancestors into The Netherlands

With the information you find on an Ellis Island passenger list, it is usually possible to trace Dutch immigrants in The Netherlands - in many cases using online sources.

Let's have a look at Franciscus and Geertruida van Valkenburg. They arrived on Ellis Island on 18 April 1911, on the S.S. Rijndam, with their 3 years old son Franciscus. According to the passenger list (which you can find on the website of the Ellis Island foundation), Franciscus was 31 and born in Oss, his wife Geertruida was 33 and born in Mill, and their son Franciscus was 3 years old and born in Berchem. Their last residence was Berchem. Their contact address in The Netherlands was Geertruida's mother, Mrs Wagemakers, who lived in Oss. They were on their way to Geertruida's brother, G. Wagemakers, in New York.

I started by searching Genlias for a Valkenburg - Wagemakers marriage (watch out for the "van" prefix in Dutch names - see my common pitfalls article). I had no problems finding what I was looking for: Franciscus van Valkenburg, born Mill en Sint Hubert, and Geertruda Johanna Wagemakers, born Oss, married 1 May 1906 in Oss. Their parents are Johannes van Valkenburg and Johanna Gommers, and Justinus Wagemakers and Geertruida de Groot.

Mill and Oss are in the province Noord-Brabant, so I also searched the main database at BHIC, where I found the birth of Franciscus: Franciscus van Valkenburg, born 9 July 1879 in Mill, son of Johannes van Valkenburg and Johanna Gommers.

Note that the Ellis Island passenger list has the birth places of Franciscus and Geertruida reversed.

For the marriage of Johannes van Valkenburg and Johanna Gommers I searched Genlias again, and I found: Johannes van Valkenburg, born 10 October 1839 in Oss, and Johanna Gommers, born 9 March 1848 in Sambeek, married on 3 May 1878 in Oss. Their parents are Francis van Valkenburg and Hestriena van Rosmalen, and Antoon Gommers and Catharina Lemmens.

There is more information on Johannes and Johanna on Genlias and BHIC, but let's continue with Johannes' parents. Their marriage is also on Genlias (and BHIC), but it took me a bit longer to find it, because the bride's name was spelled differently: Francis van Valkenburg, born 26 November 1812 in Oss, and Henrica van Roosmalen, born 9 March 1810 in Heesch, married 28 June 1834 in Oss. Parents are Johannes van Valkenburg and Maria van Straalen, and Antonie Petrus van Roosmalen and Maria van Grunsven.

We're getting close to 1811, the year the civil register was introduced. Online Dutch genealogy before 1811 is a lot harder than after 1811 (though certainly not impossible). The marriage of Johannes van Valkenburg and Maria van Straalen (taken from the church books) is on BHIC, but the parents are not listed anymore: Joannes Johannes van Valkenburg and Maria Francisci van Straales married on 5 April 1790 in Oss. Witnesses were Gijsbertus Ruijs and Joanna Gijsberta Ruijs. Johannes and Francisci were probably patronymics, which means their fathers were probably Johannes van Valkenburg and Franciscus van Straales (or Straalen?). That gives us a clue when we want to find the next generation, but I will not do that for this article.

So, starting with a listing on an Ellis Island passenger list, we were able to add three generations in the main line (Johannes, Francis and Johannes), and well over a century, all with freely accessible online resources!

There is a lot more information on Genlias and BHIC (and possibly other sites), also on siblings and, of course, other lines, but I leave that as an exercise for the reader.

There are more examples on tracing Dutch Ellis Island immigrants into The Netherlands in my article Trace your Ellis Island ancestors into The Netherlands and in the latest Trace your Dutch roots newsletter.

Dutch Canadians

Since the late 19th century, large numbers of Dutch settled in Canada. Prices of arable land in the Dutch-favoured regions in the U.S. had soared, and Canada became a popular alternative. Emigration peeked around the turn of the century.

Emigration stopped almost completely during the world wars and the great depression. Triggered by the low economic prospects and the rampant housing shortage, emigration peeked again after the second world war. Canada became the most popular destination for Dutch emigrants. The first group of post-war emigrants were the war brides (Canadese bruiden, Canadian brides, in Dutch), young women, many of them with babies, who were engaged to Canadian soldiers that took part in the liberation of The Netherlands. Post-war emigrants were not only farmers, but also many skilled and semi-skilled workers, settling in the cities. Currently, a million Canadians claim to be of Dutch descent (or Dutch-born themselves), 300,000 are still able to speak Dutch.

As far as I know, there is no large online database of Dutch immigrants in Canada, but there are some passenger lists scattered around the internet. There is a (small) index of freely accessible passenger lists on Digital resources Netherlands and Belgium.

Links:
Canadian war brides
Post-war emigration
Dutch Canadian Association

Destination Australia

Emigration to Australia

After the second world war, Australia became a popular destination for Dutch emigrants. Triggered by the ruins of the war, the housing shortage, and the bleak economic prospects in the agrarian sector, many people emigrated in the late 1940s and 1950s. Australia was the second-most popular destination (after Canada).

Dutch consulates in Australia kept detailed records of the Dutch immigrants. Some of this data has been made available through the website of the National Archive in The Hague.

The Australian government also kept track of their immigrants, and some of the information they collected is now available on the website of the National Archives of Australia.

Links

• From The Netherlands to Australia (article about Dutch emigration to Australia by the Dutch National Archive)
• Searching for emigrants (search the Dutch National Archive's online database of Dutch emigrants to Australia)
• National Archives of Australia recordsearch (search the Archives of Australia's online database of immigrants in Australia)
• Dutch Australian Cultural Centre

Related posts

• Post-war emigration
• Getting help finding your Dutch ancestors
• Find your Dutch ancestors on the internet

Post-war emigration

Emigration from The Netherlands peaked in the fifteen years after the second world war, triggered mostly by the rampant housing shortage. Emigration was actively encouraged by the Dutch government. The most popular destinations were Canada and Australia, and to a lesser extend the U.S., South Africa and New Zealand.

Tracing your roots into The Netherlands is relatively easy if you descend from these emigrants. Many of the emigrants are still alive, and even when they're not it is usually easy to find someone who has known them. You have probably some addresses of relatives in The Netherlands. On the other hand, most post-war archives are not accessible due to privacy regulations, so it may be harder to set the next step.

Once you have traced your ancestry to the 1930s or earlier, you can continue your quest online, or use traditional sources.

To fill the gap between the 1930s and your ancestor's emigration you should:

1. Ask all your relatives for information. Someone will have information dating even further back.
2. Check out family papers that you, or your relatives, still may have. There's probably a copy of your ancestor's birth certificate somewhere in your family, or maybe some letters from their relatives in the old country giving the clues you need.
3. Write (or phone, or e-mail) your relatives in The Netherlands. Even if they don't have the information you need, they will know someone who has. Be persistent (but not annoyingly persistent).
4. The Central Bureau for Genealogy (CBG) has information on almost anyone who lived and died in The Netherlands between 1939 and two to three years before now. They provide extracts for a fee. Contact them for details (ask for persoonskaarten).
5. If all else fails, ask for help on the appropriate message board or forum.

Rijnhaven / Holland America Line

This photo, titled Entrance to the Rijnhaven, with head-offices of the Holland-America Line, was published in 1928.

Nearly 80 years later I took this photo from more-or-less the same spot.

Book review: Ellis Island, by Loretto Dennis Szucs

The first chapters of the book describe the history of Ellis Island, and its role in American history. After reading the first two sentences of the book, we have already learned that Ellis Island is a "treshold of liberty" and "the symbolic shrine to freedom and opportunity". The first half of the book is filled with similar platitudes.

The author seems to be more interested in reinforcing romantic prejudices than in factual correctness. An example is name changes at Ellis Island. "Names were often a problem", writes Ms. Szucs. "Not all immigrants could spell their names, and baffled officials jotted down names as they sounded." Those officials handled thousands of immigrants, and it would take more than a foreign-sounding name to "baffle" them. Dick Eastman discussed the improbability of name changes at Ellis Island in his article Name Changes at Ellis Island: Fact or Fiction? (May 2001). His main arguments were the translators and interpreters employed by Ellis Island, the documents immigrants had to hand over, and the ships' passenger lists that would list their names. Ms. Szucs should have known better.

Another myth that the author reinforces but should have debunked is the "ocean journey that could last several months". The era of Ellis Island was also the era of steam ships. It took the ships of the Holland America Line ten days to get from Rotterdam to Ellis Island. Maybe the ocean journey "could last several months", in practice less than a couple of weeks was more likely. (Actually, it took the Mayflower two months and five days to get from Plymouth to Cape Cod in 1620, 272 years before Ellis Island opened.)

Later chapters are more down to earth, giving practical, useful (albeit terse) information on tracing immigrant ancestors (not limited to Ellis Island).

HAL

Former headquarters of the Holland America Line (built in 1901), on the Wilhelminakade in Rotterdam. It is flanked nowadays by two skyscrapers.

If your ancestors left for the New World in the late 19th or early 20th century, chances are they will have boarded here, on the very spot where I stood to take this photo.

In the buiding are now a hotel (Hotel New York) and a cafe/restaurant/terrace (Maaskant).

Photo ©2006 by me, contact me if you want to place a copy on your own website.