What did our ancestors die from? – Project Doodsoorzaken.nl

The project started at the end of 2024, so it’s not breaking news anymore, but that doesn’t make it any less relevant or interesting. The Doodsoorzaken.nl project, led by Radboud University, brings together historians, archivists, and genealogy enthusiasts who voluntarily work to uncover and digitise historical death records. Building on projects like Dood in Amsterdam and SOS Antwerpen, the team aims to turn 19th- and early 20th-century death records from various Dutch cities into structured datasets. The project starts with ten major cities, including Leeuwarden, Nijmegen, Zwolle, Haarlem, and Groningen, with the hope that more archives will follow.

To achieve this, Doodsoorzaken.nl is setting up indexing projects on an existing platform, allowing volunteers from different backgrounds to help transcribe and organize these records. Additionally, the team is developing guidelines for archives that want to carry out similar projects, offering practical advice and insights.

These datasets will be valuable for many. Genealogists can search for ancestors’ causes of death, while local historians and journalists can analyze past disease outbreaks. Researchers and students will have access to data to study social inequality, epidemiological transitions, and historical health trends. The project also sheds light on how diseases like cholera and tuberculosis affected different parts of society and how access to healthcare varied over time.

For more information or to find out how you can contribute, visit www.doodsoorzaken.nl.