Before the UK became embroiled in WWII, the British Government made a record of the civilian population for the purposes of controlling rationing and issuing identity cards. Beginning 29 September 1939 every individual was asked to register. Name, sex, age, occupation, address, marital status and military service, if any, was recorded. These registration records fill the gaps for historians and family researches because there was no census taken in the UK in 1941 and the census records from 1931 were destroyed. Findmypast.com and The National Archives are working together to digitize and publish these records and expect to have them available in two years. You can sign upHereto be notified when the records become available. If you are desperate for information and cannot wait the two years for a record, they are available for purchase individually through the Health and Social Care Information Centre
The Campaign to Open Historic Registers and Eliminate Additional Fees Is Underway
Ordering of birth , marriage and death records is currently under the control of the General Register Office in England. The GRO charges for these records and there is an additional charge if they are sent Priority mail. There are many who believe that these items are their rightful heritage and that they should have access to them at no expense. They are campaigning to have the records transferred to the National Archives where they can be more freely accessed.
Many of us have used the U.K resources of the National Archives "Access to Archives"
website for the locating and ordering of wills, deeds, and vital records. I have frequently found the answers to many genealogical questions by ordering documents here and have been pleased with the service and the results. . http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/
Photo by William Hoiles, Baskin NJ
The Rootsweb list 'Legal England and Wales' reports:
"There is a campaign to get the Historic Birth, Marriage and Death registers
open to the public without having to purchase certificates.
This could be done by either transferring the centralized registers held by
the GRO to the National Archive or by transferring the registers held by
superintendent registrars to the County Record Offices.
In addition a number of commercial companies would be willing to digitise
the registers allowing them to be available online and also available at the
archives free of charge."
The goal is to make these records free and accessible and they urge genealogists to spread the word. If you live in the UK and have an interest, they recommend that you contact your local MP.
More information from the campaigns website can be accessed HERE
I began researching my Dutch ancestry about 20 years ago. It is the line of my grandmother Eva Bradt. Her 6th great grandfather was the Norwegian Albert Andreissen Bradt (1607-1686) who owned the mill on the Normanskil River in New Netherlands.He lived among the Dutch settlers and his children married within the Dutch community.He was a fur trapper and trader, a land owner,briefly a tobacco grower and by all accounts a tough as nails, litigious character. His brother Arent is the one who shines most brightly in historical accounts, however I find my line to be equally as intriguing.
As I began researching my Dutch ancestors it became clear that many had gone before me on this task.I have to say that I relied heavily on the meticulous work of some family historians who did the leg work of researching documents long before computer genealogy was one of the countries most popular hobbies.
If you are researching your Dutch American ancestors, here are a few tips and links which my help you to develop your tree. Because this is such a well documented group of people, I recommend starting with Family Associations.
Here are some examples of Family Associations of my Dutch Ancestor Surnames:
Once you find an association that relates to your family line, it is helpful to everyone if you make contact with them and give them the information of your branch of the tree. Some groups have reunions. historical tours and newsletters which can be a terrific source of networking. People who belong to these associations usually have a strong dedication to building and perpetuating the family heritage and I have found them to be very helpful.
Books Online
There are numerous free book resources on the web such as the National Archives and Google Books which can help with Dutch Genealogy Research. Primary resources are essential for accurate research, but books can bring ancestors to life via anecdotes, stories of adventures and maps or later photos of their homes and lands.Here are some examples of books that relate to Dutch research.
Photo from the book Dutch Houses of the Hudson River Valley by [Helen Wilkinson Reynolds. Depicted are my Van Aken ancestors in the front yard of their home circa 1870 in Esopus,N.Y.
The 1609 Exhibition features the "Distinctly Dutch" influence on culture, food, furnishings and more. See the online exhibit Here
Hudson River Historic View Flyover
I hope that this little starter pack of Dutch American genealogy inspires you to find out more about your heritage. Thank you for stopping by! The Glamorous Genealogist!
