A frequent question: are we related? Can you check? The answer: maybe!

A law was passed in Holland during the 19th century stipulating its citizens to register with their local council, forcing many people to choose or adopt a family name if they did not have one. Similar to well documented stories from immigrants registering on arrival at Ellis Island in New York, some choose a name linked to their profession, birthplace or residence. Whilst there was an 'original' Weltevreden family, many instances occurred where people adopted or were baptised with the Weltevreden, Weltevree, or Weltevrede name because they came from a village, farm or house bearing that name, or because they just liked the sound and meaning of it (Weltevreden translates from Dutch into “well satisfied “).

Thus, whilst many people share the name, not all are related. The good news is that significant amounts of documentation has been gathered by people sacrificing their spare time over many years, tracking various family lines in Holland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and some even in Surinam.

If you'd like to find out more about your family connections and would like to ask somebody to check their records, the absolute minimum information to start a search requires the full names and dates of birth of your parents, your grandparents, their places of birth and year and place of death. These searches may take quite some time and success is never certain.

Share your questions about the Weltevreden Family on this blog and let the internet work for you or e-mail me in confidence.

Best wishes and good luck!

Pieter Weltevreden