Since 2015, I have been teaching old handwriting and genealogy courses for both beginners and advanced students. The beginner’s courses are held at the Rotterdam City Archives. You can register through the Rotterdam Volksuniversiteit (People’s University). For advanced students, the courses are offered in Delft, if there is sufficient interest, at the library of the Dutch Genealogical Society Ons Voorrijzen (Our Ancestry).

In the old handwriting or “paleography” courses, you will learn to read the old handwriting from before 1800. During the lessons, I explain the use of letters, words, and abbreviations. Naturally, we also address the meaning of the texts.

The genealogy courses focus on researching your family. Each lesson has a specific topic. The first part covers the meaning of that topic, while in the second part, you will do practical exercises and work on questions for which the answers can be found online. We will discuss where to find which websites and how to search them effectively.