Online History Books

This morning my attention was redirected to a very interesting site.
Granted its content may make it difficult for the non-French speaker but it is worth a look if you have family in the provinces of West Flanders and of Hainaut.
The borders between Belgium and France were often crossed back and forth and you may find the information of great value: NordNum.


This site holds the work of a regional cooperative effort of digitization.
1. the Bibliotheque Centrale brings collections of rare local histories while
2. the Bibliotheque of the Centre de Recherche en Histoire de l'Europe du Nord-Ouest (CRHENO) specializes in regional history and collects all works published on the Nord/Pas-de-Calais, Picardy, Belgium and the Netherlands. This includes rare technical books on the mining industry, the textile industry, gas, electricity and transportation.
There is a dual purpose in creating this site. The local educators had requested access to these texts but since many of them are brittle, it was therefore unwise to handle them manually. The digitization process will enable access to them by a greater number of people.
This project is connected with the Libris project, database of local historical images
Their aim is to make 100 titles a year available online while maintaining high standards.
Since 2003, when they began this work, they have been able to digitize over 250 publications. At present they offer 370 searchable books.

Now, you ask, HOW do we see what's on there???
On the left side of the page, you have the choice between browsing through the catalog or doing a search.
Click on "Recherche" to do a search or even an "Advanced search" (Boolean) by clicking on "avancee". I never recommend a narrow search unless you know exactly what you are looking for. I always cast a wide net with a computer search then narrow down the search a little at a time. The buttons "Titres" (titles), "Auteurs" (authors) and "Sujets" (subjects) will enable you to narrow down your search.
Click "Rechercher" to start the search or "Reinitialiser" to clear it.




Click on "Catalogue" to browse and whether you browse or search, when you get a title you want to look at closer, just click on the results and either read the book online or download it (telecharger) completely at no charge.


Click in the left margin to go to a specific chapter or page or simply turn the page by clicking on the arrow at the top of the page.

The christening records of Ypres are shown here

If you want to explore a little more click under "Partenaires".
I was particularly taken with the IRHiS site which offers the download of their newsletters, "Cahiers de l'IRHiS"
Click in the middle of the page to enter the site, then scroll down and find the icon to continue. and you will will all the issues (2006-current) they have published, downloadable into pdf files.
I have downloaded several issues and intend to read them as soon as I get off here.
Till next week!

Finding Your Ancestors Using Netradyle

Netradyle began in 1993. Its name comes from the combination of the names of three local streams: Nethen, Train and Dyle.

Some similar sites (like GeneaDinant - http://www.genedinant.be/actes/index.php/A) require that you become a member of their organization and that you index 20 to 30 pages before giving access to the records but this is NOT the case with NetraDyle.

If you speak French you should have no trouble finding your way using the site. If you don't speak French, you can download basic word lists from http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp?Page=./research/type/form.asp&ActiveTab=Type
At the top of the page, last line under Document Types, you will see Word List. Some of these are dowloadable in pdf format but it's not the case for French. Just click on the link and you will be redirected to the online version. You can either scroll down the page to the word you want to translate or just click on the alphabet on the top to be taken directly to the first letter of that word.

Once you are familiar with basic words, it will be a piece of cake. If you wish to access the records, you should send an email to netradyle@brutele.be, keeping in mind to limit your request to no more than 5 per person, per week.
At http://netradyle.be/actes/, you will be able to search through

• 598,513 birth/christening records
  
• 148, 167 marriage records
  
• 303,485 death/burial records
  

from Liege, Namur, Hainaut, Walloon Brabant and Vlaams Brabant.

You can also narrow your search to a specific locality in the alphabetical listing.

this is not a complete listing)
Once you have clicked on the town of your choice, you will be able to narrow your choice incrementally in the surnames' alphabetical listing until you find the last name you are looking for and choose the person you want to look at.

This is the birth / christening record of Francois Joseph GENICOT, born in Acosse, province of Liege, on 11 October 1698, son of Dieudonne GENICOT and Catherine FRIZON. Note that the date is not laid out the way it is in the US. The first number represents the day, then the month and the year.
Of course if you have no idea where about the person you are seeking was born, got married or died, Why not try a basic search or even an advanced one:

You can choose whether you are looking for the person or anyone else listed on the record AND you should pick a document type:

Naissances = Births

Mariages = Marriages

Deces= Deaths

Type in a name and see the results.

The Advanced research feature helps you filter out many things more.

The top part notes that you are looking for a first person concerned by this record

The second row asks the same question about a second person interested in this record.

And the third category offers to look for text.

You can truncate the surname you are looking for simply by picking between:

• Exact spelling
  
• Letters found at the beginning
  
• Letters found at the end
  
• Letters contained within the surname
  
• Or Soundex.
  
• The fourth category
  

And you can even narrow the time frame by time in from when to when the program should look.

You can also pick a locality or leave it "Toutes" (ALL) – same with the record type "Tous"

There are many other sites that offer free indexes. I will try and let you know where to find them next time.

Thank You Netradyle for making these records available to all, without asking for anything in return.