I find this article published in Belgian Laces Vol#30-116 still applicable and since FamilySearch was once again asked to remove the images from access on www.familysearch.org, at least here are some directions as to how to use the Belgian Archives site to do some research. Good luck!
The
Belgian Royal Archives have made available many names online also.
Go to: http://arch.arch.be/ and choose your language of preference: Dutch
or French only for search formats, which is why I have taken the time to
translate below to help take you through the steps of a Person Search on this
site.
If you chose the English setting for the site, the search
menu will be in Dutch.
(see Advanced
Search)
Person Search
1. What can you
find under “Person Search”?
A large number of researchers at the Archives facilities
are interested in information about their ancestors, … Therefore a large part
of the research in the reading room sis geared to genealogy. In the past, analyses on often used documents
have been done in collaboration with volunteers and that is what has produced
the ‘analytical inventories’.
The results of these volunteer projects can be found
under Person Search.
We have chosen to set up one large database from which
all information can be retrieved.
2. What
information is available?
The information starting point is the archival
record. At the top of the screen, you
have the information about the document and the link to the database where it
is found in the archives, then, a description of the record.
Each record is linked to the names of persons found in
it. The roles these people play in the
record are also explained.
The availability of the records first depends on the
source but also on the project definition.
The analysis provides the starting point that will require that the
researcher view the original record for him/herself. Here is a description of different projects:
- Marriage records from Eastern
Flanders : 1,337,339 names
- Birth records from Western
Flanders: 160,785 names
- Death Records from Eastern
Flanders: 130,389 names
- Notarial records from
Nivelles (Notaire Paradis): 41,076 names
- Marriage records from Flemish Brabant: 12,525 names
(test)
- Notarial records from Antwerp: 290,888 (to validate)
3.Searching
in “Person Search”
3.1. Simple Search
the site in Dutch/French:
Gelijk aan/égale = exact match
Begint met/commence par = begins with
Eindigt op/termine par = ends with
Bevat/contient – contains
Type in a first name and/or
surname and set a time frame for your search.
To be more efficient, you
might choose specific documents to search in, or be more flexible with the name
by changing from “exact match” to “starts with” or “ends with”, or “contains”
specific letters.
For example :
« Comprend ‘Jan’ » will give
Pieter Jan, Jan Pieter, …
For the date, you also have
several choices. You can use an exact date, or choose a time frame between
specific dates or years, or before or after a certain date or year.
And you can limit your search
to a specific record: birth, death or marriage, assuming the records are
available
3.2. Advanced
Search - See first picture above
Allows you a wider variety of searches:
3.3. Search results
Results will be limited to 1,000 hits. If you receive
this message, it is advised that you narrow down your search.
You will get a list containing the names matching what
you were looking for. In the 1st
column you will find the type of record abbreviation. By hovering over it with your mouse you
should get a complete description of the record.
The 2nd column gives the record date, then the
name, place and role played by the person whose you found in the record.
Click on a names to see all the information.
Restrictions
The information contains misspellings sue to the fact
that it is transcribed AS IS. The researcher must be flexible enough in his/her
research to look for all possible spellings of a name.
I did a search for a last name only "DROSSART"
The search resulted in 64 hits:
I clicked on the first name in the listed to obtain the following:
In this case, Servais DROSSART is the father of the deceased. I know, no images but it's still a pretty awesome way to find your ancestors... Happy Hunting!
http://thebelgianresearchers.blogspot.com/
