Geography question about historical North Holland versus South Holland boundaries

Paul A. Brown

I have a geography question about possibly historical changing internal borders within the Holland region of the Netherlands. Background: I have one line of HULSEBOSCH ancestors that came from North Holland (from such towns as Bloemendaal, Overveen, and Haarlem, etc.). When I started my research as a youth (living in Connecticut, USA) about 1964, I think that I might have been the only member of the Church doing research on my Dutch line, but I made a lot of progress going through microfilms in Salt lake City while attending BYU. With the passage of time, and all the cool research capabilities and images that FamilySearch and other resources that have come into being, other people who are apparently related (and actually living in Holland) have added to my tree and added a lot of additional information. That has been a big help. However, one thing that mystifies me is that some who have added to the tree (possibly who live in Holland) have entered place names for the towns in the area of Bloemendaal, Overveen, and Haarlem as SOUTH Holland instead of NORTH Holland. My question for one of your geographers is whether there was at some time in the 1700s and 1800s different boundaries or names for what is today called North (Noord) Holland? Are these entries that others are making as South Holland in error, or were these towns at some time in the distant past actually within a different boundary than today? For example, did people at one time possibly consider the east-west canal from the sea to Amsterdam as the border between North and South Holland? For example, Bloemendaal is south of the canal.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/North+Holland,+Netherlands/@52.5466354,5.2964706,9.81z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x47c609c3db87e4bb:0xc120b7fec1368225!8m2!3d52.5205869!4d4.788474!16zL20vMGZxeWM?authuser=0&entry=ttu

A van Helsdingen

I also have ancestors from Haarlem and relatives from Bloemendaal.

Haarlem has been the capital of Noord-Holland since the province was created in 1840 (this was to appease people concerned about giving too much power to Amsterdam). Before 1840, there was a single province "Holland" covering both Noord- and Zuid- Holland. Haarlem has never been part of Zuid-Holland. Between 1795-1813 when the Netherlands was under French rule, Haarlem was part of different provinces (the French kept changing their names and boundaries), but none were named "Zuid-Holland".

There have been some boundary changes between the two provinces since 1840, for example Haarlemmermeer (where the Amsterdam Schiphol airport now lies) was once part of Zuid-Holland. But I don't believe Bloemendaal and Overveen ever were part of Zuid-Holland.

Here's a map of Noord-Holland from 1865: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Provnoordholland.gif

The canal you referred to is the Noordzeekanaal, which opened in 1876.

Paul A. Brown

Thank you!