Just in case you think -or hope- that our ancestors were all hardworking, god-fearing and exemplary people, this section will show you that not all of them were.
As from the French period quite a lot of information was saved. For instance, there are records available of the House of Custody (1821-1886), House of  Justice (1826-1886), House of Detention (1839-1886), House of Imprisonment (1805-1828), House of Correction (1824-1887) and the Penitentiary (1888-1938). These documents are -provided that they are public- accessible at Tresoar in Leeuwarden through their reference # 50-01. To avoid misunderstanding: not on their website but in the actual archives.

As far as the municipality of  Ferwerderadeel is concerned the records of the House of Imprisonment, House of Correction and House of Custody are public. Below you will find an extract of these records including information such as “who did what and when” and the price they had to pay. The original registers contain more information e.g. a description of the person involved with details such as the color of the eyes and hair, length, handicaps, etc. Furthermore, you will not find any severe crimes in the overviews because this kind of crimes is registered in the “Maison de Détention”, the Houses of Reclusion and Punishment and the records of the Penitentiary. The overviews presented below merely concern convictions due to drunkeness, disturbance, begging, maltreatment, insults, digging up bones and the like. It may be assumed that poverty as well as the inherent abuse of alcohol was the possible cause of many sentences.

Are these all the “Ferwerderadelers” who ended up in the Houses of Imprisonment or Correction? The answer to this question is: no. In our case it concerns those who were convicted in Leeuwarden and at the time of the sentence were actually living in Ferwerderadeel. Former inhabitants of the municipality or those who were arrested elsewhere are not included. So if you are relieved that none of your ancestors is mentioned in the overviews: you may have something coming yet!

Finally: in the municipal archives of Ferwerderadeel, records with information about "who sold liquor where" as well as a list of police officers was found which are also added to this chapter.
 
 

House of Imprisonment 1805 -1828

 

House of Correction 1824 - 1887 A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W Y Z       Note: there are no surnames beginning with the letters I -Q -U and X.

 

House of Custody 1888 - 1905 A B C D F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W Z Note: there are no surnames begining with the letters E -I - Q -R - U - X.en Y

 

Bonediggers

Alcohol

Police officers

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Very much obliged to Klaas Leen for all the hours that he spent doing research on this subject.

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