Goethals

Searching for Flemish (Belgian) Ancestors Goethals

Mr. Goethals and Fr. Denys have prepared the first English-language guidebook for tracing Flemish ancestors from Belgium. Chapter One focuses on Flemish-American genealogical organizations, such as the Genealogical Society of Flemish Americans (GFSA). As the author points out, many Belgian records have been microfilmed by the LDS Church or are available on the Internet. Chapters Two and Three are devoted to the all-important vital records of the Civil Registry (1796-1900) and Flemish parish registers (1600-1796). Mr. Goethals translates sample records from each category into English from the original Flemish, French, and Latin. The final chapter discusses other types of records, such as court records (schepenenbank), orphan records (weezerie), tax lists (penningskohieren), and citizenship records (poorters en buiten-poorters).

Buttressing the text itself are a number of useful appendices, including a brief course on Flemish names and naming practices and a crucial glossary of Flemish, French, and Latin terms commonly used in Belgian genealogical documents.