Language Barrier

Although doing research in a foreign country can be problematic, it can still be done. I have had lots of success researching the ancestors of my four children – Van Boxmeer ,Van der Vechte, Logtenberg, Verstraten, Lamers, Meesters, Timmers among many more. Their paternal Grandparents, Great-Grandparents and beyond were and are proudly Dutch. Looking in to these records has proven more difficult due to the language barrier but not impossible.  One set of their Grandparents is from Uden, North Brabant and the other from Hoonhorst, Overijssel – and even between these two areas of Holland there are differences in vocabulary and dialect. My former in-laws taught me many things over the years – how to play Euchre, how to play canasta, how to knit, how to crochet and how to count to 10 in Dutch – all of which I will be eternally grateful for :-)  There are many aids online to translate documents and some of the Genealogy sites are even available in both English and Dutch. First thing to do when undertaking such a project would be to familiarize yourself with basic Genealogy terms of the Country in which your research will be centred. You may need to have a little more patience…but it can be done.