I received an announcement of a new genealogy service that looks interesting. However, I don't have the proper Dutch ancestry to check it out. I looked at the Web site mentioned, and it appears to be a legitimate service.
I'll post the advertisement here for all to see and then ask if someone with Dutch ancestry who is interested would check it out for me. Please let me know of your successes and/or failures. I'll publish your comments in a future newsletter, with or without your name attached: your choice.
Here is the announcement from the Genlias Monitor, posted here "as is:"
Do you have Dutch ancestors in your family tree? Do you want to keep exploring those roots? Do you want to keep informed about new sources about your Dutch roots? If yes is the answer to all of these question, keep on reading: the Genlias Monitor (http://genliasmonitor.coret.org) is something for you!
The most important Dutch source for genealogical research is the Civil Register. Since 1811 the most important events in the life of every person resident in the Netherlands birth, marriage and death have been systematically recorded. All of this data is currently transcribed by volunteers and made available by the Genlias website (http://www.genlias.nl).
Death records from the Civil Register enter the public domain after 50 years, marriage records after 75 years and birth records after 100 years. All records are released in 10-year blocks. Before 1811 the churches, and sometimes local authorities, kept records of baptisms, weddings and funerals. Some of these records are also being added to Genlias. One of the most interesting sources of information about your 19th-century forebears' financial position is the statement of succession. From 1808 all heirs were required to declare any inheritance. Known as a "statement of succession" this declaration was used to calculate death duties. In certain cases, the name of the deceased and a reference to the statement are being added to Genlias.
The - free - Genlias Monitor service offers you the possibility to monitor this important database for additional sources related to your Dutch lineage. The site (and all related e-mail communication) is available in English and Dutch.
You begin by defining a search profile at the Genlias Monitor site. A search profile consists of the input fields you'd normally enter in the search form of Genlias, the most important being the family name. If a particular search returns more than 500 records (the maximum) you can refine your search by specifying province, source type or years.
The first time the Genlias Monitor runs it will fetch all records which match your search profile. Then periodically the same search is re-checked. If new records are found, a notification will be sent to your e-mail address. In this way you are automatically kept up-to-date on the most important Dutch families in your research!
The search results can be downloaded from the Genlias Monitor site in several easy-to-handle formats:
- HTML, quickly view the results in your browser.
- GEDCOM, which you can import directly into your genealogical program.
- XLS (Microsoft Excel), which you can easily cut, paste, sort and select.
- PDF (Adobe Reader), which is best for printing.
This free, online genealogical tool is very easy to use! But of course, a user forum and a Frequently Asked Questions page are also available at Genlias Monitor.
Give it a try: http://genliasmonitor.coret.org
