The next pages contain tables with informaton about burials in Hallum during the period 1831 - 2004. There is also a map of the churchyard available showing the exact location of the graves. Please note that all the information is ownership of and made available by the Dutch Reformed Congregation of Hallum.

Before you continue:

• the tables total ca. 6.900 burials
• due to the size of the overall file the information is presented in 7 tables each covering a timeframe.
• the tables are sorted on surname and in alphabetical order.
• 14 times no date of burial was mentioned while of 6 deceased the year of their burial was illegible.
• The names of the deceased are spelled exactly the way they are mentioned in the original records. For that reason differences occurred in comparison to their names in the records of the Civil Registration. In case of reasonable doubt about the spelling, latter records were consulted at Tresoar/It Ryksargyf in Leeuwarden. Two times the name was illegible and could neither be traced at Tresoar.
• The overviews show notes such as "diaconie, armvoogdij, kerkvoogdij and/or rotting". These remarks indicate that the costs of the burial were paid by that particular authority whenever the family was not able to cope with the expenses. The word "rotting" means that the particular grave was free of any future charges. The church would take care of that, usually for a period of 10 years after which the remains would be removed and, as a consequence of which, the grave could be used again for another deceased.
• At the churchyard of Hallum the row numbers are shown on the outside churchwall. The numbers of the graves start at the churchwall and go up towards the path.
• pictures of the gravestone of 659 deceased have been added to the overviews.

Around the terp of the town, which mostly remained thanks to building houses on it, is the ring road. Just like in Marrum the characteristic radial structure of the town is still there. Various old small streets lead from the ring road to the top of the terp. At the top is, surrounded by old houses, the church and the churchyard.
On the map you will notice four paths leading to the church. According to the Old-Frisian Bailiff Law the church and the churchyard should be accessible by means of four paths which was described as follows:
"Deer schillet wessa fiower wegen to da Godes huse, to dae quika ende toda dada" meaning: "There will be used four paths to God's house, for the living and the dead". It may be assumed that these paths were  Grutte Streek, Miedpaed, Lytse Buorren and Hege Buorren.
Thousands of Hallumers have found their last resting place on the churchyard and as from the year 1831, from February to be precise, it is known who was burried and where.

Back in the old days there used to be a custom in Hallum which -to the best of our knowledge- was not practised anywhere else: after the coffin had been lowered into the grave and the gravehouse had been placed, the verger (usually also being the grave-digger), stepped forward and stood next to the grave. While facing the family he put his hand on the top of the gravehouse after which the family turned around and left the churchyard without saying a word nor looking back. The verger stood like that until all had left the churchyard. The moral: the verger/grave-digger was in charge of the churchyard and had taken the deceased into his realm of the dead. As they would say in Hallum: "the deceased now belongs to the verger".

Klaas Leen
Juli 2004

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Pictures: Klaas Leen

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