The Netherlands Genealogy

Europe

Netherlands

Guide to Netherlands ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Netherlands Topics
Beginning Research
Guided Research Research Strategies Record Finder Finding Town of Origin
Record Types
Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Directories Emigration & Immigration Genealogies Guardianship Heraldry Jewish Records Land & Property Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers	Nobility Notarial Records Occupations Online Genealogy Records Periodicals Poor Law Population Registers Probate Records Public Records Religious Records Taxation Vital Records Websites
The Netherlands Background
Biography Church History Cultural Groups Dutch Word List Former Dutch Colonies Gazetteers Handwriting Historical Geography	History History, Military Languages Maps Names, Geographical Names, Personal Place Names For Further Reading
Local Research Resources
Archives & Libraries Societies Family History Centers
Moderator
The FamilySearch moderator for The Netherlands is Daniel Jones.

Country Information

The Netherlands is a country in Western Europe bordered by Germany and Belgium. The official national language is Dutch.

Getting Started

Getting Started with Netherlands Research Links to articles and classes on getting started with Netherlands research. "How to" Guides Netherlands Genealogy Research Using the Wiki - Video Series- Seven 5-6 minute classes Using the Dutch Website: WieWasWie WieWasWie, Past the index: What to do next OpenArch.nl Website: Four Lessons Dutch Research Before 1811 Reading Dutch Handwritten Records The Alphabet Dutch Words and Dates Reading Dutch Records Names in Belgium and the Netherlands Gazetteers and Maps for Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands The Netherlands Finding Town of Origin Guided Research See More Research Tools

Netherlands Research Tools Links to articles and websites that assist in Netherlands research. Dutch Genealogical Word List Latin Genealogical Word List Reading Dutch Birth Records Reading Dutch Marriage Records Reading Dutch Death Records WieWasWie, partial indexes and images. OpenArch, partial indexes and images Genealogie Werkbalk GeneaKnowHow Repertorium DTB, parish record inventory Places in the Netherlands, online gazetteer See More Research Tools

The Netherlands Online Genealogy Records

Ask the Community

Finding Your Ancestors' Town in the Netherlands

• Genealogical records are organized by geographical locality. Civil registration (government birth, marriage, and death records) and church records (christenings/baptisms, marriages, and burials) were kept at the local level. To search these records, you must know the town where your ancestors lived.
• If you do not know your ancestors' town, follow the advice in the Wiki article, The Netherlands Finding Town of Origin to search a variety of records that might provide that information.

The Netherlands Clickable Map

To visit the page of a province, click either on the province on the map or the name listed in the Provinces section below.

Provinces

The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces, the last one - Flevoland - was created from part of the former Zuider Zee/IJsselmeer on 1 January 1986.

• Drenthe
• Flevoland
• Fryslân or Friesland
• Gelderland
• Groningen
• Limburg
• Noord-Brabant (North Brabant)
• Noord-Holland (North Holland)
• Overijssel
• Utrecht
• Zeeland
• Zuid-Holland (South Holland)

Municipalities

The second tier of jurisdiction and the one most relevant for genealogy, especially after 1811, is the gemeente (municipality). There are currently 393 of them, down from about 1200 in 1811. Links to pages listing municipalities and the towns within them can be found on the page for the relevant province.

FamilySearch Resources

Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.

• Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
• Dutch Genealogy - Facebook group specifically discussing Dutch Genealogy (English)
• Family History Center locator map
• FamilySearch Historical Records for the Netherlands

Additional Resources

• Trace Your Dutch Roots

Classes

• Finding Your Family in the Amsterdam City Archives
• Dutch Provincial and City Research

Compiled Genealogies

• Centrum voor Familigeschiedenis Resources include printed genealogies in the CBG library,funeral cards, notices, pictures, and contact information of others researching the surname, among others, “persoonskarten” (police registration cards) and –lists available from 1940 on are housed here.
• Voorouders.et, compiled family trees and genealogies

Additional Records Links

• Netherlands, Archival Indexes, Vital Records, 1600-2000 - How to Use this Collection
• Netherlands, Archival Indexes, Population Registers - How to Use this Collection
• Dutch Family Surname Database (Nederlandse Familienamenbank)

Gazetteers

• Aardrijkskundig woordenboek van Nederland (Gazetteer), online gazetteer
• Repertorium van Nederlandse Gemeenten vanaf 1812 (Overview of Dutch municipalities since 1812): Gazetteer that shows changes in municipalities over the years, including merges. Skip over the introductory material to where the actual listings begin on page 52. The first line gives the existence dates. "Afgesplitst" means "split off of", "toegevoegd" means "added", "opgegaan in" means "merged"' "ontstaan uit" means "originated from".