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Translation exercise: The death act of Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen

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Translation exercise

The death act of Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen

If you have studied Reading and understanding Dutch birth acts and have a copy of the Dutch genealogy dictionary, you should be able to understand most Dutch acts. As an exercise, translate the death act below. Use your dictionary and the Dutch genealogy dictionary, but try not to look at the solution below yet.

The act, death act 86 of the year 1912, municipality Gorinchem, is the death act of Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen, the wife of Pieter Johannes Koopman. She lived in Woudrichem at the time, but she died in Gorinchem, in what was then district B number 130 - further research showed that this address was the hospital of Gorinchem. Woudrichem is a small city, across the river Merwede from Gorinchem.

The act does not present any special difficulties. The only thing to watch out for is the time of death: ten half zes ure, litt. at half six o'clock. Half six means half an hour before six o'clock, so ten half zes ure is half past five, not half past six.

The Dutch text

The death act of Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen
Click to enlarge
In het jaar negentienhonderd twaalf, den dertienden der maand Juli, zijn voor ons Daniel van der Zee Ambtenaar van den Burgerlijken Stand te Gorinchem, Provincie Zuid-Holland, verschenen: Dirk den Besten, oud vijfenvijftig jaren, van beroep lijkbezorger, en Arie Willem van Dalen, oud achtendertig jaren, van beroep schilder, beiden wonende te Gorinchem, die ons verklaarden, dat Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen, oud zesenzestig jaren en een maand, zonder beroep, geboren te Maastricht en wonende te Woudrichem, gehuwd met Pieter Johannes Koopman, dochter van Johannes Foppen en Johanna Jansen, beiden overleden, op den dertienden Juli dezes jaars, des voormiddags ten half zes ure, is overleden in het huis staande Eind wijk B nommer honderd dertig binnen deze gemeente. En hebben voormelde comparanten deze akte, na gedane voorlezing, nevens ons onderteekend.
D den Besten
A W v Dalen
Van der Zee

The solution

As usual, the first section introduces the registrar and appearers:

In het jaar negentienhonderd twaalf, den dertienden der maand Juli, zijn voor ons Daniel van der Zee Ambtenaar van den Burgerlijken Stand te Gorinchem, Provincie Zuid-Holland, verschenen: Dirk den Besten, oud vijfenvijftig jaren, van beroep lijkbezorger en Arie Willem van Dalen oud achtendertig jaren, van beroep schilder beiden wonende te Gorinchem

This section starts with the date: In het jaar, in the year, negentienhonderd twaalf, 1912 (negentien means nineteen, honderd is hundred, twaalf is twelve, so negentienhonderd twaalf means nineteen hundred twelve, or 1912), den dertienden, the 13th (dertien is thirteen, dertiende or dertienden is thirteenth), der maand, of the month, Juli, July. It then introduces the registrar (Ambtenaar van den Burgerlijken Stand), whose name is Daniel van der Zee. He is the registrar of the municipality Gorinchem in the province Zuid-Holland. Two people appeared before the registrar (zijn voor ons [...] verschenen, made an appearance before us): Dirk den Besten, aged 55 (oud vijfenvijftig jaren, aged five and fifty years), an undertaker (lijkbezorger), and Arie Willem van Dalen, aged 38, a painter, both residents of (wonende te) Gorinchem.

After the transition sentence die ons verklaarden, dat (who declared to us, that), the act describes the actual event: The death of Mr. Koopman's wife, Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen.

Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen, oud zesenzestig jaren en een maand, zonder beroep, geboren te Maastricht en wonende te Woudrichem, gehuwd met Pieter Johannes Koopman, dochter van Johannes Foppen en Johanna Jansen, beiden overleden op den dertienden Juli dezes jaars, des voormiddags ten half zes ure, is overleden in het huis staande Eind wijk B nommer honderd dertig binnen deze gemeente.

Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen was 66 years (zes en zestig, sixty and six) and one month old, she did not have an occupation (zonder beroep, without occupation), she was born in Maastricht geboren te, born in) but living in (wonende te) Woudrichem (a town near Gorinchem, on the other side of the river), she was the wife of (gehuwd met, married with) Pieter Johannes Koopman and the daughter (dochter) of Johannes Foppen and Johanna Jansen who are both deceased (beiden, both, overleden, deceased). She died (is overleden, has died) on the 13th (dertienden, thirteenth) of July (Juli) 1912 (dezes jaars, of this year, i.e. 1912), at 5.30 a.m. (des voormiddags, before noon (or a.m.), ten half zes ure, litt. at half six o'clock, half an hour before six). The location is het huis, the house, staande, standing (or located) Eind (an address), Wijk B (district B) number 130 (honderd is hundred, dertig is thirty).

The closing section of the act contains only a phrase that states that the act was read out to the appearers, and was signed by the registrar and the appearers. It is followed by three signatures.

En hebben voormelde comparanten deze akte, na gedane voorlezing, nevens ons onderteekend.

The translation

Putting it all together:

In the year 1912, the 13th of the month July, appeared before us, Daniel van der Zee, registrar in [the municipality] Gorinchem, province Zuid-Holland: Dirk den Besten, aged 55, occupation undertaker, and Arie Willem van Dalen, aged 38, occupation painter, both residents of Gorinchem, who declared to us, that Catharina Johanna Maria Foppen, aged 66 years and one month, without occupation, born in Maastricht and residing in Woudrichem, married with Pieter Johannes Koopman, daughter of Johannes Foppen and Johanna Jansen, both deceased, died on the 13th July of this year, at 5.30 a.m., in the house located at Eind, district B number 130, in this municipality. And aforementioned appearers have, after the reading out, signed this act with us.

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