Newsletter will be sent out soon!

The July issue of the newsletter is almost ready for sending. Subscribers can expect a copy in their mailbox later this week. If you are not a subscriber yet, there is still time to do so.

Of course we will dwell on Henry Hudson, English captain of the Dutch ship Halve Maen. Four hundred years ago he had just failed to find a route to the East Indies through the northern passage, and he was about to fail to find a passage through the Americas. He may have failed to find what he was looking for, but his discoveries did sow the seeds for the New Netherland colony and had far-reaching consequences.

The newsletter will also make a tour of the twelve Dutch provinces and highlight the main online resources of each province.

All this and more in the upcoming edition of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter. Stay tuned!

What should you do if your ancestors are not in Genlias?

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.

I have never hidden that I'm a fan of Genlias. If you are looking for a Dutch ancestor, Genlias is the place to start your research - at least for 19th and 20th century ancestors. But what should you do if your ancestors are not in Genlias? Or maybe they are there but you can't find them?

I am currently writing an article on this topic. The article will appear in the next edition of the newsletter.

The newsletter is slightly delayed. I hope to finish it this weekend, and hopefully send it out Sunday. Subscribe now if you want to receive this issue and are not subscribed yet.

Newsletter: The 19th century

The fourth issue of the quarterly Trace your Dutch roots newsletter is almost ready for sending. The topic of this issue is the 19th century. The newsletter discusses topics like emigration in the 19th century, the impact of the secession of 1834, and finding your 19th century ancestors.

Subscribe today if you want to receive this issue by e-mail. Previous newsletters are still available at the newsletter archive.

Newsletter: Familieberichten

People often announce important events, like birth, marriage, or death, in print. This can be in the form of newspaper advertisements (deaths are usually announced this way), or printed cards that are sent out to family and friends (wedding invitations and birth and death announcements fall in this category). Many families have a collection of this type of ephemera. They are commonly known as familieberichten (family messages) or familie-annonces (family announcements).

Familieberichten is the topic of the feature article in the next issue of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter. The newsletter is due early next week. Subscribe now if you want to receive this newsletter by e-mail.

Previous newsletters are still available at the newsletter archive.

Newsletter: April issue available

Subscribers of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter have received the April issue today. Contents of this issue:

• Sources for Dutch genealogy
• Monitoring Genlias
• Offline Dutch genealogy

The newsletter is also available online from the newsletter archive.

Newsletter: Offline Dutch genealogy

With the wealth of genealogical information available online nowadays, it is easy to overlook offline sources for our research. But the amount of information online - large as it may be - is only a fraction of what is available to us offline.

The topic of the feature article in the April issue of the quarterly Trace your Dutch roots newsletter is Offline Dutch genealogy. The article discusses topics like doing research in The Netherlands, genealogical collections, literature research, and family papers.

The newsletter is due later this month. Subscribe now if you want to receive the newsletter by e-mail.

Previous newsletters are still available at the newsletter archive.

Newsletter: January issue available

Subscribers of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter have received the January issue today. Contents of this issue:

• Online records
• Visit a Dutch archive
• Trace your Ellis Island ancestors into The Netherlands

The newsletter is also available online from the newsletter archive.

June issue newsletter

The June issue of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter is out. Contents of this issue:

• Website of the month: Memory of The Netherlands
• Maiden names
• Images of the past

Zeeuwen gezocht

From the April issue of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter:

Zeeuwen gezocht (also known as Zeeuws Archief ISIS) is a genealogical research database maintained by the Zeeland Archives. It contains over five million records from various sources, many of them not available on Genlias: Tax returns, emigration records, criminal records, population registers, and many more. Even if your ancestors are not from Zeeland you may find them on Zeeuwen gezocht: One of the sources is a collection of guest lists from the seaside resort at Domburg.

Zeeuwen gezocht means something like Zeeuwen wanted, or looking for Zeeuwen (Zeeuw, plural Zeeuwen, is the Dutch word for an inhabitant of the province Zeeland). If you are looking for Zeeuwen, then Zeeuwen gezocht is the place you will find them.

April issue newsletter

The April issue of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter is out. Contents of this issue:

• Netherlands Antilles records in Genlias
• Website of the month: Zeeuwen gezocht
• Visiting The Netherlands
• Times in Dutch acts

February issue newsletter

The February issue of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter is out. Contents of this issue:

• Amsterdam City Archive collection will be available online
• Website of the month: Meertens Institute surname database
• Post-war emigration from The Netherlands

December issue newsletter

The December issue of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter is out. Contents of this issue:

• Amsterdam City Archive closing temporarily
• Website of the month: Digital resources Netherlands and Belgium
• Genealogy in Zuid-Holland
• Season's greetings

October issue newsletter

The October issue of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter is out. Contents of this issue:

• Dutch masterpieces tour U.S.
• Website of the month: Rotterdam Municipal Archives
• Reading and understanding Dutch birth records
• Books on Dutch genealogy

First issue newsletter sent out

The first issue of the Trace your Dutch roots newsletter is out. Read it online, and don't forget to subscribe! Contents of this issue:

• Amsterdam records in Genlias
• Website of the month: Genlias
• Pitfall: Names containing ij or y
• Trace your Dutch roots blog
• The Wilhelminakade revisited