The Hamstra-Venema Family
Navigation Hamstra Family Ancestry pages Family tree (pdf) Venema Family Ancestry pages Family tree (pdf)	Introduction \| Site Guide \| Information Statistics Hamstra: 533 individuals, maximum 39 generations to 747 A.D. Venema: 125 individuals, maximum 9 generations to about 1710 About Sources These family trees could easily be expanded based on information available on the internet. However, reliable and well documented information is hard to find, and I do not cite family trees generated by other individuals. In order to be confident in the veracity of all the information and family connections, I have included only sources that I consider to be of good quality, and each person has at least one citation that includes a connection required to establish their line of descent. There is a great deal of information that is only available online, such as scanned documents. However, even official online sources, such as that of The British Royal Family may change over time. If you find that sources I have listed are no longer available, please let me know at the email address below. In 1811, the "Burgerlijke Stand" (Civil Registry), a registry of births, deaths and marriages was introduced in the Netherlands. The registry for northeastern Friesland has been mostly digitized and is available online at AlleFriezen.nl. I have made extensive use of this as a source because it shows images of the actual documents. These images include the signatures of witnesses. A list of sources I have used is available from Sources on the menu bar in the ancestry pages. I have also created a repository for AlleFriezen. Clicking on a source or repository will show more information. Most of the online sources (other than AlleFriezen.nl) are available here. About Names Before 1811 most names in Friesland were patronymic. After the annexation of the Netherlands by France, Napoleon forced the Dutch to adopt a surname. Many names were taken from the family place of origin (Dijkstra, van der Veen) or from occupation (Brouwer, Visser), but in some cases the mother's surname was adopted if it was already established (e.g. Antonides). By 1826 all families had a surname. In the ancestry pages, the lists of individuals and surnames do not include prefixes. Therefore, to find the name de Vries, look under V for Vries. Surnames can sometimes vary over generations, for example, Bosma - Boskma, or Meindertsma - Meindersma, or can be acquired later in life. The spelling of given names is notoriously inconstant. For example, Sijbren could be Sybren, Siebren, Sieberen, etc., and the name is quite often spelled differently at birth, marriage, the arrival of children, and death. I have tried to use the spelling that was used at marriage since this would have been provided by the individual. All of this makes it difficult to search for individuals, and several names or combinations may have to be tried. At the AlleFriezen website you can use a "y" in place of "ij". The use of wildcards also helps. Contact	Latest Updates 2023-06-12 • checked and updated sources and citations 2018-01-01 • added sources: - Deeds of the Bishops of Cambrai, Translation... - Das Haus Brabant: Genealogie der Herzoge... - Aristocratic Women in Medieval France 2015-03-25 • occupations recorded in Venema ancestry • ancestors of Oda van Horne 2015-03-19 • added sources: - Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden - Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek • ancestors of Maria de Jonge and Margaretha van Limburg 2015-03-10 • ancestors of Irmgard van Zutphen and Sophia van Rheineck 2015-03-04 • added sources (Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon and Kroniek) • ancestors of Floris IV van Holland 2015-02-26 • added scanned photos and documents 2015-02-19 • added some ancestors of Oda van Polanen 2015-02-14 • added The British Royal Family as a source • resolved conflicting sources for St. Margaret • added Hamstra ancestors of Mary, Princess of Scotland 2015-02-11 • new Hamstra branch from Richard I, Duke of Normandy • added BBC History as a source 2015-02-10 • new Hamstra branch to Alfred the Great • updated some narratives and source descriptions
© 2023 Peter Hamstra

The Hamstra-Venema Family

Navigation

Hamstra Family
Ancestry pages
Family tree (pdf)

Venema Family
Ancestry pages
Family tree (pdf)

Introduction | Site Guide | Information

Statistics

Hamstra: 533 individuals, maximum 39 generations to 747 A.D.
Venema: 125 individuals, maximum 9 generations to about 1710

About Sources

These family trees could easily be expanded based on information available on the internet. However, reliable and well documented information is hard to find, and I do not cite family trees generated by other individuals. In order to be confident in the veracity of all the information and family connections, I have included only sources that I consider to be of good quality, and each person has at least one citation that includes a connection required to establish their line of descent.

There is a great deal of information that is only available online, such as scanned documents. However, even official online sources, such as that of The British Royal Family may change over time. If you find that sources I have listed are no longer available, please let me know at the email address below.

In 1811, the "Burgerlijke Stand" (Civil Registry), a registry of births, deaths and marriages was introduced in the Netherlands. The registry for northeastern Friesland has been mostly digitized and is available online at AlleFriezen.nl. I have made extensive use of this as a source because it shows images of the actual documents. These images include the signatures of witnesses.

A list of sources I have used is available from Sources on the menu bar in the ancestry pages. I have also created a repository for AlleFriezen. Clicking on a source or repository will show more information. Most of the online sources (other than AlleFriezen.nl) are available here.

About Names

Before 1811 most names in Friesland were patronymic. After the annexation of the Netherlands by France, Napoleon forced the Dutch to adopt a surname. Many names were taken from the family place of origin (Dijkstra, van der Veen) or from occupation (Brouwer, Visser), but in some cases the mother's surname was adopted if it was already established (e.g. Antonides). By 1826 all families had a surname.

In the ancestry pages, the lists of individuals and surnames do not include prefixes. Therefore, to find the name de Vries, look under V for Vries.

Surnames can sometimes vary over generations, for example, Bosma - Boskma, or Meindertsma - Meindersma, or can be acquired later in life. The spelling of given names is notoriously inconstant. For example, Sijbren could be Sybren, Siebren, Sieberen, etc., and the name is quite often spelled differently at birth, marriage, the arrival of children, and death. I have tried to use the spelling that was used at marriage since this would have been provided by the individual.

All of this makes it difficult to search for individuals, and several names or combinations may have to be tried. At the AlleFriezen website you can use a "y" in place of "ij". The use of wildcards also helps.

Contact

Contact me via email or facebook

Latest Updates

2023-06-12
  • checked and updated sources and citations
2018-01-01
  • added sources:
    - Deeds of the Bishops of Cambrai, Translation...
    - Das Haus Brabant: Genealogie der Herzoge...
    - Aristocratic Women in Medieval France
2015-03-25
  • occupations recorded in Venema ancestry
  • ancestors of Oda van Horne
2015-03-19
  • added sources:
    - Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden
    - Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek
  • ancestors of Maria de Jonge and Margaretha van Limburg
2015-03-10
  • ancestors of Irmgard van Zutphen and Sophia van Rheineck
2015-03-04
  • added sources (Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon and Kroniek)
  • ancestors of Floris IV van Holland
2015-02-26
  • added scanned photos and documents
2015-02-19
  • added some ancestors of Oda van Polanen
2015-02-14
  • added The British Royal Family as a source
  • resolved conflicting sources for St. Margaret
  • added Hamstra ancestors of Mary, Princess of Scotland
2015-02-11
  • new Hamstra branch from Richard I, Duke of Normandy
  • added BBC History as a source
2015-02-10
  • new Hamstra branch to Alfred the Great
  • updated some narratives and source descriptions