Municipal Records in Nineteenth Century Dutch Emigration Research

Abstract

Dutch emigrant registration records for the nineteenth century are examined in an effort to shed light on the local circumstances of the Dutch emigration movement. "Since nineteenth century emigration took place mostly through primary contacts this article will examine the newly established immigrant settlements as 'communities transplanted'...which directs our research to include local municipal records such as population censuses, population registers (which were supplemented after 1861 with registers of in- and out-migration), tax records, and records of vital events like marriage, birth and death registers. The quality and availability of these records vary from place to place, but generally speaking, in the case of the Netherlands, they are of high quality since population registration at the municipal level was required by law. The source of information for the local records are the population registers (Bevolkings Registers) which were originally constructed on the basis of information obtained from the 1850 population census...."