Today, we are looking at the marriage intentions of Hermen Everts (1727).
Transcription
Den 10. Meij
Hermen Everts J.M. en
Jenneken Jurrien J.D. bijde in ‘t Nieubroek
Den 2 Jun: ingesegent in de
H. huwl: staat.
Getuijgen de vader van
de bruijdegom
Evert Heuge
de vader van de bruijt
Jurrien Theeuws
Translation
On the 10th of May [1727]. Hermen Everts, young man, and Jenneken Jurrien, young daughter, both of Nijbroek. The wedding was blessed on the 2nd of June.
Witnesses: the father of the bridegroom, Evert Heuge, and the father of the bride, Jurrien Theeuws.
Comments
In Dutch marriage registers one often comes across the term ondertrouw. The act of in ondertrouw gaan means that a couple notifies the official(s) of their marriage intentions. It is the first step on the path to marriage.
The huwelijksafkondigingen (banns of marriage) are the next step: the public announcement of the upcoming wedding by an official – for example the parish priest or minister. This is the moment when ‘interested parties’ had the opportunity to express their objections.
Three banns were the rule, but there were of course exceptions. The registration of the marriage intentions and the first public announcement would usually coincide. Therefore, ondertrouw is often – but mistakenly! – translated as marriage banns.
If nobody objected to the intended marriage and there was no other reason to postpone, the official wedding ceremony would take place within two to three weeks. This could be a civil ceremony or a church ceremony (blessing).
In today’s entry we see that Hermen Everts and Jenneken Jurrien had their marriage intentions registered on 10 May 1727. This means that the date of the original entry is 10 May 1727. Both fathers were present as a witness. Fortunately the record gives their full name, because both Hermen and Jenneken used patronymic names (Everts / Jurrien).
In the margin we see the Roman numerals III. This means that all three banns took place. Three weeks later the date of the wedding ceremony was added to this entry: 2 June.
Behind the spouses’ names we find the abbreviations J.M. and J.D. These are short for jonge man and jonge dochter. The term jong in this case has nothing to do with age (young). It means that both did not marry before. A very valuable piece of information for genealogists!
