MAISONVERNIERS

The focus lies, in the first instance, on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries — a period of great transformation in faith, work, and daily life. From impoverished nobility, through persecuted heretics, to a new and successful existence in the Northern Netherlands.

This is the story I want to tell: the socio-economic history of the Verniers family.

This website is continuously under development. I have a great deal of sources and data at my disposal, but it's too much to do justice to all at once. So I built a framework, and over time — through blog posts and revisions — I'll tell the good stories, while carefully verifying the information against traceable sources.

Over the years I have gathered a great deal of information for my own research. Not all of it can yet be confirmed by sources. Where the proof is (still) missing, I have formulated and worked out hypotheses based on the customs of the time: Mennonites often practised the same trades and lived in the same neighbourhoods and streets, and matching names and occupations can also form a trail. The Hidden Stories on this website show well how that works out. For every story I clearly indicate whether something is confirmed, probable, or a hypothesis that needs further research — the method is described on the Methodology page. I therefore invite the reader to think along, add information or correct me.

Don't hesitate to get in touch or leave a comment. I hope to get you interested in the history of the Verniers family. For many families, this is a recognizable blueprint within the Netherlands: during the Eighty Years' War, many fled from the Southern to the Northern Netherlands.