HOW DOES IT WORK?

SEARCH USING THE SEARCH SCREEN

A simple search in this database works by entering a name in the search function on the homepage. All results with this name will then be displayed in the next screen. The results come from different person databases. These sources can be selected by clicking on the buttons at the top of the search window. It is possible to search in separate sources or all at the same time.

The person you are looking for cannot always be found on the (full) first and last name you know. This may be due to differences in spelling, for example. If you do not get the desired result, you can try to fill in part of the name via the 'advanced search' tab.

Note: if you only search by name, the sources civil status and population register will show all results from all over Drenthe for the time being. By entering the location of the colony in question, you only get documents and population registers of the municipality to which the colony belonged. On the page of the search result, you can also filter by the municipality. Click here for an overview of which colony fell under which municipality.

If searching on the name (and location) only yields too many results, the search can be refined by indicating the year of birth or the period in which the person was present in the colony.

Manual search
A third possibility to find a colony resident is through a manual search in the registration registers. This is more complicated and time-consuming than searching in the search engine. Searching starts at the hits, where the names are arranged alphabetically - but only the first letter - by category and period. If the right person is found in the hit list, you will also find his or her registration number there. This allows you to search in the corresponding registers. On the manual search page, you will find the extensive search guide of colonist Wil Schackmann and links to the scans of the registration registers.

Digitale archivaris

On this page, you will find an overview of the questions we regularly receive from users. Before you ask the Drents Archives, you can check here whether your question has been asked before and whether the answer is sufficient for you. This page will be updated regularly.

Search and find
I'm looking for data on a particular person, but I can't find anything in the database. How is that possible?
Allekolonisten.nl currently contains only a small part of the registers and other records from the archives of the Society of Benevolence and 'Rijkswerkinstellingen' (National Employment Agencies) in Veenhuizen and the Ommerschans. This information will be supplemented in the future. Until then, you can search on the 'manual search' page in the scans of the non indicated registration registers.

Looking at scans
If I zoom in on an image and browse to the next image, the image will zoom out again. Is there any other way?
This has to do with the screen size, the scan is always shown full screen first. When viewing the scans, your web browser must support an up-to-date version of Adobe Flash Player.

Follow-up research
I'm stuck with my genealogical research. Who can help me?
On this site, you can find an extensive search guide by colonologist Wil Schackmann. It explains the different types of residents and how searching in the archives of the Society of Benevolence works. If you do not have the opportunity to visit the Drents Archives, there is the possibility to have paid research carried out on request. Please check the site of the Drents Archives for more information.

Reactions
I have interesting information about a person or a document that I would like to share with my fellow researchers. Is that allowed?
In future, it will be possible to share special discoveries somewhere on this website. From that moment on, you can email your story to the Drents Archives, and they will place it on the website. Would you like to use information from this site for your research or publication? This is allowed, as long as the source is mentioned correctly.

Planning
When will [BRON] be available on Allekolonisten.nl? The Drents Archives is continuously working on the expansion and improvement of allekolonisten.nl. Information about sources to be published is made available via the website and e-news. You can subscribe to the newsletter via the website of the Drents Archief.