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How do I find an unindexed film?

FredSimons
FredSimons ✭
September 28, 2023 edited September 30, 2024 in Search

I feel a bit stupid that I cannot answer this question myself. I am using FamilySearch already for a very long time, and so far I thought that there are only vital records, such as birth, marriage, death, and population registers. Now I found that there is more. The website states:

Records at the FamilySearch Library

The FamilySearch Library has many Dutch notarial records on microfilm. Most are from the provinces of Noord–Holland, Zuid–Holland, Utrecht, and Zeeland and are pre–1811 records. Check the FamilySearch Catalog under

NETHERLANDS, [PROVINCE] – NOTARIAL RECORDS

NETHERLANDS, [PROVINCE], [TOWN] – NOTARIAL RECORDS

Unfortunately, this seems not to work. I am looking for the notarial deeds of Jacob Spoor in Hazerswoude, a village in South Holland in the Netherlands. A few days ago I have browsed through the records at FamilySearch, but forgot to write down the link, and now I cannot find back the records.

Another example of my problem. This is a link to a (unindexed) record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-R32V-Q93L

It is in on film 008879470, Rechterlijk Archief Hazerswoude. If I do not have this link, how do I find which films can be browsed for the Rechterlijk Archief Hazerswoude?

Sounds like an elementary question, but I cannot solve it. Probably I missed something obvious. Any hints are highly appreciated.

Fred Simons

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Best Answers

  • Áine Ní Donnghaile
    Áine Ní Donnghaile ✭✭✭✭✭
    September 28, 2023 edited September 28, 2023 Answer ✓

    Using the URL you posted, I can see that record is on DGS 8879470.

    image.png

    If I copy the DGS from that page, go to the FS Catalog and search by DGS Number

    image.png

    I can see that the rest of that record set of Transportregisters is at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/177028

    For the Notarial records, I searched on the keywords Hazerswoude and Notarial

    image.png

    For these results:

    image.png


    0
  • Áine Ní Donnghaile
    Áine Ní Donnghaile ✭✭✭✭✭
    September 28, 2023 edited September 28, 2023 Answer ✓

    And another way to find what you want is to search in the Images section of Family Search. Since the catalog has not been updated in over 2 years, records made available recently won't be visible in the catalog.

    From https://www.familysearch.org/records/images/beta you can search by record type, location, and other identifiers. I would start with Hazerswoude and Legal:

    image.png


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Answers

  • Julia Szent-Györgyi
    Julia Szent-Györgyi ✭✭✭✭✭
    September 28, 2023 edited September 28, 2023

    I think the key word that you missed is "Catalog".

    Searching the catalog is one of the options under the Search menu. It defaults to the Place field, which is the one you want. (There are also options to search by things like author or film number. I use the latter regularly, the rest, not so much.)

    If I type "Netherlands, South Holland" into the box and click Search, I get a page that says to "see: Netherlands, Zuid-Holland". So I click that and get a long list of record categories, from "Archives and libraries" to "Yearbooks" (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=155014&query=%2Bplace%3A%22Netherlands%2C%20Zuid-Holland%22&subjectsOpen=593784-50,577351-50). Two of those categories start with "Notarial records", each with two record sets listed under it.

    image.png

    Three of those four record sets have browsable images available, but I'm not sure any of them have what you're looking for. (I think they're too general.) So I scrolled back up and clicked the "Places within..." link, then found and clicked on Hazers-whatever in that list. (I don't speak any Dutch, so I'm having a hard time remembering spellings.) That list has seven record sets listed as "Notarial Records".

    image.png

    I checked: all of those record sets have browsable images. You didn't give a date for the Jacob Spoor that you're looking for, so I didn't look any further.

    One thing to keep in mind when browsing images starting from the catalog: pay attention to item numbers. This doesn't always apply, because many films only contain a single record set, but smaller sets are often combined with other, sometimes totally-unrelated material. For example, the 1665-1679 Hazerswoude notarial records are item 2 on film 379529 (DGS 8970406). Item 1 on that film is the prior set, 1659-1663. Clicking the camera icon to start browsing takes you to the beginning of the film, and if you just blindly start from there, you'll come to the conclusion that the catalog is wrong, because those aren't the dates it said for this film. (People report such "errors" on these forums fairly regularly.)

    But huh! This time, there sort of is a catalog error here: the catalog has separate items (and entries) for date ranges that are combined on the actual film. The filming bookmark says 1659-1679, and there's no bookmark or divider image to be found between image 176 (labeled 1659-1663) and image 200 (labeled 1665). The catalog is claiming a distinction or division that doesn't actually exist. (There is an email address somewhere for reporting such errors, but I don't know if it's worth the bother: the catalog has been locked and not updated in over two years.)

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