2008-10-11T11:51:40Z http://blog.weltevreden.com/comments/atom.aspx Quick Blogcast tag:blog.weltevreden.com,2006-09-21:125088 Pieter Weltevreden http://www.weltevreden.com 2007-10-20T11:19:04Z 2006-09-21T21:18:10Z
A law was passed in Holland in 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 on 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 as far away as in Suriname, South America.

If you would like to find out more about your family connections and have somebody check records, the absolute minimum information to start a search requires the full names and dates of birth of your parents, your great parents, their places of birth and year and place of death. These searches may take quite some time and success is never certain.
Please post all this information on this blog or e-mail me in confidence.
Best wishes and good luck!
Pieter Weltevreden]]>