Archive for February, 2010
Deciphering Dutch Foundling Surnames
Friday, February 5th, 2010
Photograph Wikimedia Commons
If nowadays a foundling is found it usually hits the newspapers because it is a rare event. However, in the days of our ancestors abandoning a child was unfortunately far more common. In a time when contraception was virtually unheard of and abstinence was thought to be bad for your health and soul, couples would get children whether they could afford to care for them or not. There were also many unmarried women who got pregnant either through carelessness in love or through prostitution.
Children Of Misery
There were not many options for parents of an unwanted child. Sometimes family would take care of the little one until times improved and the parents could care for the child themselves. However, in the case of illegitimate children this was often not an option. In order for the young mother and her family to keep up her reputation, the baby had to “disappear”. Some babies were handed over to a so-called engeltjesmaker (angel maker). This person, usually a woman or midwife, would simply take the child and let the poor thing die for a small fee. The parents would receive a small insurance payment for the deceased child that would often be enough to feed the family for a couple of months. Sometimes a midwife would promise the parents to care for the child, let it die and then keep the insurance payment herself! Although angel making did happen, it was a crime and was certainly not common practice.
