Maison VerniersReference

Every claim traceable: sources, archives and glossary

These are the sources used in the stories on this site, organized into the same groups as the Hidden Stories. From an article, you can click on a subject term to jump straight to the corresponding source here.

All stories, numbered

Each Hidden Story has a fixed number, so it can be referred to in the Name index and elsewhere.

  1. Laurens Verniers: the life of our stamvader
  2. Abraham Verniers and the Middelburg Almanac of 1603
  3. Abraham Verniers: a life without heirs
  4. The 1625 will: Grietge Joosten, the Anslos and the almshouse on the Egelantiersstraat
  5. Grietge Joosten, her daughter and the Anslo family
  6. Trijntgen Verniers and the link to Weesp
  7. The Verniers family in Weesp: surgeons, administrators and a bean in the coat of arms
  8. The Verniers family and the Golden Age: Rembrandt, Vondel and Hooft
  9. Pieter Vernier: captain, and an "old noble family of Mechelen"?
  10. The noble family of Pieter Vernier?
  11. Captain Vernier, side by side with Prince Maurits: the siege of Geertruidenberg, 1593
  12. Joos Verniers of Hof ter Schoonderhaege — a great-grandfather behind Alva's sentence?
  13. Pieter Vernier, receiver: money, wine and linen in medieval Ghent
  14. A family of writers in the 16th and 17th centuries?
  15. Joris Verniers: a second Antwerp family in Amsterdam
  16. Scattered traces: the name Vernier(s) across Europe
  17. Cloth, beer and wedding verses: the Anslos, the Schoutens and the road to Weesp

Sources overview

The source entries below — archival documents, book titles and other citations — are given in their original, most commonly used form (usually Dutch), as is customary in a source list; only the four group headings below have been translated.

The confirmed line

Bronnen over stamvader Laurens Verniers en zijn rechtstreeks bewezen nakomelingen.

Mechelen

Bronnen over kapitein Pieter Vernier en de Mechelse archiefstukken — nog niet gekoppeld aan de stamlijn.

Ghent

Bronnen over de Gentse schoolmeesters, landmeters, priesters en Maria Verniers met de naam Verniers — nog niet gekoppeld aan de stamlijn.

Scattered traces (Europe)

Bronnen bij het verhaal over losse Vernier(s)-vondsten door heel Europa — Leuven, Rome, de Franche-Comté, Genève, Normandië en de Berry.

Glossary

Explanation of 16th- and 17th-century terms that appear in the stories and transcripts on this site — now also including the terms from the Ghent and Mechelen threads. The Dutch/French term itself is kept as the entry heading, as is customary for a glossary; the explanation is given in English.

Alteratie
The event in 1578 in which Amsterdam switched from the Catholic to the Protestant camp; the sitting Catholic administrators were removed from office at that time. Appears in: #7
Auditeur (van de Rekenkamer)
Financial-legal official who audited the accounts of receivers and crown lands. Appears in: #16 Professions
Boneloting
Working hypothesis on this site: the drawing of lots for city magistrates (schepenen/aldermen) using white and black/brown beans — possibly reflected in the three beans in the family coat of arms. Appears in: #7 The coat of arms
Chirurgijn
A craftsman-surgeon, trained through a guild (with a master's exam) rather than at a university — as opposed to an academically trained physician. Appears in: #6 #7 #8 #11 #14 Family tree The coat of arms Professions Blog II
Cotidiane
The fund from which a church institution paid for the daily ("cotidiane") masses; also used for the fund itself. Appears in: #13
Doopsgezind(en)
Adherents of Anabaptism/Mennonitism, a Protestant movement that, among other things, rejected infant baptism. Appears in: #1 #3 #4 #6 #7 #8 #12 #16 Family tree The name The coat of arms Timeline Professions Acknowledgements Blog I Blog II
Douarie
The fixed sum of money (a widow's/widower's portion) to which a surviving spouse was entitled, as laid down in the marriage settlement. Appears in: #6
Erfrente
A perpetual (non-redeemable) annual payment, purchased as an investment and secured on a house or piece of land. Appears in: #13 Professions
Extra-ordinaris intekenregister
A separate, "extraordinary" register for betrothal registrations, alongside the ordinary betrothal register.
Geswoorne (van de Poorterye)
A representative of the citizenry (poorterij), sworn in by the city, sitting on the city council. Appears in: #10 Professions
Gezworen geometrist
A more pretentious title for a sworn land surveyor, which came into vogue after 1550. Appears in: #13 #14 Professions
Gildegeld / gerechtigheid
The amount someone had to pay to their guild to be admitted as a full member (master). Appears in: #7 Family tree
Fief / leengoed
Landed property entrusted by a liege lord to a nobleman (the vassal), in exchange for loyalty, service or homage — the basis of the medieval feudal system. The French term "seigneurie" denotes the associated manorial rights. Appears in: #16
Grondcijns
A fixed, annual hereditary charge on a piece of land, owed to the original ground lord. Appears in: #13
Heilige Vernier (Sint-Verny)
French patron saint of winegrowers, venerated mainly in the Franche-Comté, Burgundy and Auvergne; going back to the German Werner of Oberwesel (1271-1287), canonized in 1429. This may explain why "Vernier" as a baptismal and family name occurred so often specifically in the Franche-Comté. See the story → Appears in: #16
Jaargetijde
An annually recurring memorial mass for a deceased person, often funded by an annuity purchased for that purpose. Appears in: #13
Landheer
The holder of rights (rents, dues) over a piece of land, without necessarily living on it or working it themselves. Appears in: #13 Professions
Lijfrente
A fixed annual payment someone receives for life, often agreed in a marriage or inheritance contract. Appears in: #4 #6 Family tree Professions
Lijnwaadelle
The municipal right to measure woven linen, leased out in Ghent by the hospital of Sint-Jans-ten-Dullen. Appears in: #13 Professions
Meesterproef / proeve
The practical examination a craftsman — a surgeon, for instance — had to pass to be allowed to work independently as a master. Appears in: #7 Family tree Professions
Notarieel protocol
The collection of deeds drawn up and preserved by one particular notary, usually arranged chronologically. Appears in: #4
Ondertrouw
The public announcement of an intended marriage, required before the marriage could be solemnized. Appears in: #5 #6 #8 Family tree
Oranjeboom
During the Eighty Years' War, a popular political symbol that stood for loyalty to the House of Orange. The flourishing orange tree represented the survival and growth of the house of Orange-Nassau. After the assassination of William of Orange (1584), his son Maurice adopted a felled stump with a young shoot as his emblem, with the motto "Tandem fit surculus arbor" ("At length the shoot becomes a tree"). As a symbol of loyalty to Orange, the tree appeared in pamphlets, prints and poems — outright propaganda for the Orangist cause; especially after Vondel's Geboortklock van Willem van Nassau (1626), written for the birth of William II, it became a fixed image. In everyday life the name adorned the signboards of inns, coffeehouses and dwellings ("In den Oranjeboom"), conveying familiarity and security, and mills, whaling ships, orphanages and breweries were named after it. At celebrations of dynastic events — births, engagements and marriages — and later on national holidays, the orange tree returned on commemorative prints and decorations, right up to twentieth-century postcards and puzzles. Whether the name of Laurens's house "De Oranjeboom" on the Warmoesstraat (sold in 1591) deliberately referred to Orange is not known; in any case the house bore that name before the symbol reached the height of its popularity. Appears in: #1 #8 Family tree Timeline
Ouderlieden / ouderluyden
The governing members (elders) of a guild. Appears in: #7 Family tree
Poorter / poorterboek
A full, registered citizen of a town (poorter), and the register in which such registrations were kept, respectively. Appears in: #3 #6 #8 #10 #14 Family tree The name Timeline Professions
Proefmeesters
The guild members who examined a candidate during his master's exam. Appears in: #7 Family tree
Rekest
A written petition addressed to a government authority or governing body. Appears in: #10
Schepen
Member of the city council, at the time responsible for both administrative and judicial duties. Appears in: #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #10 #12 #13 #14 #16 Family tree The name Professions
Staat van goed
A notarial or aldermen's deed describing and dividing a deceased person's estate (assets and debts) among the heirs. Appears in: #12
Surrogatie
The official appointment of someone as successor in an office or position, for example a military officer. Appears in: #16
Testament
A notarial deed in which someone sets out what is to happen to their estate after their death. Appears in: #1 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 Family tree Timeline
Universele erfgenaam
The person who inherits the entire estate, as opposed to a legacy (a specific, defined portion). Appears in: #3 #6 Family tree Timeline
Vernierschaal (nonius)
An auxiliary scale that slides along a graduated measuring instrument (caliper, sextant, quadrant), making far more precise readings possible than with the naked eye. Named after the mathematician Pierre Vernier (1580-1637), who described the instrument in 1631; for centuries also called a "nonius" (after Pedro Nunes), until the astronomer Jérôme Lalande showed in the 18th century that that name actually belonged to a different instrument. The name Vernier thus lives on, quite apart from the family, as an ordinary word in metrology and mechanical engineering. Appears in: Professions
Weesmeester
Regent of the Orphans' Chamber, responsible for overseeing orphans' estates and finances — an administrative post, to be distinguished from the weesvader (orphanage housefather). Appears in: #3 Family tree The name
Weesvader
The live-in head of an orphanage, responsible for the daily care of the orphans. Appears in: #3 Family tree Timeline
Wijnroede
The municipal right to measure all wine sold (also called wijnroy or peghel); held in Ghent since 1245 by the hospital of Sint-Jans-ten-Dullen. Appears in: #13 Professions

Almanacs & the dictionary of the Verniers family

Early printed works by 16th-century bearers of the name Verniers, found via the Flemish university catalogue UniCat. The link to our own family tree has not yet been established — for now this is a separate trail, like the story of Pieter Vernier of Mechelen. Titles are given in their original language, as is customary for a bibliography.

  • 1582 — Gillis Verniers
    Dictionaire François-Flamen, tresample & copieux, augmenté outre les precedentes impressions
    Authors: Jean Taye, Jan van Salenson, Gillis Verniers
    Year: 1582 — Publisher: A Gand, chez Iean de Salenson
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Ghent University
  • 1584 — Josse Verniers
    Arithmetica
    Author: Josse Verniers
    Year: 1584
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Ghent University
  • 1587 — Jan Verniers
    Almanak ende prognosticatie 1587
    Author: Jan Verniers
    Year: 1587 — Publisher: Ghendt, Gaultier Manilius
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Ghent University (STCV 12924598; USTC 413807)
  • 1589 — Jan Verniers
    Almanach ende prognosticatie, vanden jaere ons Heeren M.CCCCC.LXXXIX
    Author: Jan Verniers
    Year: 1589 — Publisher: Ghendt, Ghileyn Manilius
  • 1590 — Jan Verniers
    Almanach ende prognosticatie, vanden jare ons Heeren M.CCCCC.XC
    Author: Jan Verniers
    Year: 1590 — Publisher: Ghendt, Ghileyn Manilius
  • 1592 — Jan Verniers
    Prognosticatie ofte voorsegginghe, van dat wonderlycke schrickel jaer onses Heeren, 1592
    Author: Jan Verniers
    Year: 1592 — Publisher: Hantwerpen, by Joachim Trognesius
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Museum Plantin Moretus
  • 1592 — Jan Verniers
    Almanach oft journael, voor t'schrickel-iaer van onsen Heere 1592
    Author: Jan Verniers
    Year: 1592 — Publisher: Hantwerpen, by Joachim Trognesius
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Museum Plantin Moretus
  • 1603 — Abraham Verniers
    Almanac for the year 1603, printed in Middelburg by Barent Langenes — found in the binding of an account book, Archive of the Zeeland Chamber of Accounts, Deposited archives (II), inventory number 134. Bound in behind it is also a prognostication from 1595; these are incomplete copies. In the spine of a second, similar register, another small almanac turned out to be hidden: not by Abraham, but for the year 1604, by Ambrosius Germanicus (Amsterdam: Cornelis Claesz) — see Zeeuws Archief, Een Zee van Tijd, 2025, pp. 74–75 and De Gulden Passer, 2013.
    This is the same Abraham Verniers as in the family tree above — read the full story →
  • 1612 — Jan Verniers
    Dit naervolghende zijn alle de kerckwydinghen die int Jaer comme[n], binne[n] deser Stede van Ghendt, ende weynich buyten. By een ghegadert door wylent Meester Jan Verniers, Scholmeestere. Van nieus ghecorrigiert en[de] vermeerdert.
    Authors: Jan Verniers (deceased before this edition, "wylent"), Gualterus Manilius
    Year: 1612 — Publisher: Te Ghendt, by Gaultier Manilius, wonende te Putte inde Witte Duyve, by 't Belfort
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Ghent University
  • 1622 — Gillis Verniers
    Reken-boecxke[n], om te leeren legghen met penninghen, seer proffytelijck voor die ionckheyt, en[de] eenen yeghelicken. Midtsgaders: Die eerste fundamente[n] van arithmetica ...
    Authors: Wouter de Costere, Gillis Verniers
    Year: 1622 — Publisher: Te Ghendt, by Ian vanden Kerckhove
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Ghent University
  • 1636 — Joos Verniers
    Almanach en[de] prognosticatie, vande[n] schrickel-iare ons heere[n] M.DC.XXXVI.
    Authors: Joos Verniers, Servaes Manilius
    Year: 1636 — Publisher: Te Ghendt [Gent], by Servaes Manilius
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Ghent University
  • 1637 — Joos Verniers
    Almanach vanden iaere ons heeren Iesu Christi M.DC.XXXVII.
    Author: Joos Verniers
    Year: 1637 — Publisher: Ghendt, Servaes Manilius
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Short Title Catalogus Vlaanderen (STCV)
  • 1675 — Gilles Verniers
    Reken-boecxke[n], om te leeren legghen met penninghen, seer profijtelijck voor die ionckheyt, ende eenen yeghelijcken. Midtsgaders: Die eerste fundamente[n] van arithmetica ...
    Authors: Wouter de Costere, Gillis Verniers
    Year: 1675 — Publisher: Te Ghendt, ghedruckt by François d'Ercle
    Availability (UniCat) — held at Ghent University
  • 1624 — Antonius Sanderus
    De Gandavensibus eruditionis fama claris libri tres (Ghent, 1624), p. 78 — names "Johannes Vernirius" as a sworn land surveyor and mathematician, alongside three other learned citizens of Ghent: Pieter de Buck, Pieter Cathoir and Lieven van Thuyne. See the story about the Ghent schoolmasters → and Michiels, 2024.
  • 1631 — Pierre Vernier
    La construction, l'usage, et les proprietez du quadrant nouveau de mathématique, Brussels: François Vivien, 1631 — the book in which the Franche-Comté mathematician and military engineer Pierre Vernier (1580-1637) introduced his famous "nonius" or vernier scale, dedicated to Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia. Currently for sale at antiquarian booksellers Martayan Lan for $6,500 (Martayan Lan), with background from the Linda Hall Library. Note: Pierre Vernier came from the Franche-Comté (near Ornans), not from Flanders — he does not obviously fit with the Ghent or Mechelen traces elsewhere on this site, and is mentioned here mainly because of the name and the subject (measuring). See also the Professions page.

In 1578, Jan Verniers kept school at the Vierweeghescheede, on the corner of the Brabantstraat in Ghent, where besides land surveying and wine measuring he also taught the drawing of sundials. He was the father of Gillis Verniers and grandfather of Joos Verniers — both likewise schoolmasters, with Joos also an almanac writer. Josse Verniers, possibly a brother of Gillis, was an arithmetic master. A direct family tie between these Ghent schoolmasters and our own family line has not yet been demonstrated.

Verniers worldwide: other families online

Websites by and about other Verniers and Vernier families elsewhere in the world. No link with our own family line has been demonstrated; they are listed here as signposts for anyone researching further. The list will be expanded.

  • Belgium · Family associationVerniersblog — “de homepage van alle Verniers-en van deze wereld”
    Blog of a Verniers family association, about bearers of the name with roots in East Flanders, with records from Belgium, France and the Netherlands from the 17th century to the present.
  • FacebookFamilie Verniers op Facebook
    Photo on the ‘familieverniers’ Facebook page. A Facebook account may be needed to view it.
  • Netherlands · Family treeStamboom Rutgers van der Loeff, Schim van der Loeff, Verniers van der Loeff en Van der Loeff
    Genealogical database with over 18,600 people. The Verniers van der Loeff branch goes back to, among others, Cornelis Verniers van der Loeff (1776–1828) and Willem Carel Verniers van der Loeff (1795–1852).
  • United States · MichiganVan Antwerp Family — The Vernier family of Detroit and Grosse Pointe
    Blog post (2021) by George Van Antwerp on the Vernier family (‘dit La Douceur’) in Detroit and Grosse Pointe from the early 18th century: land claims, notable family members, place names and cemeteries.
  • United States · MichiganHigbie Maxon Agney — Historical architecture of Grosse Pointe: the Vernier family
    Article by a Grosse Pointe estate agency on the Vernier family: from Grenoble via Canada (Laurent Vernier) to Michigan, with farms, roadhouses and a role in local government, c. 1726–1930.

Verniers in the arts

Artists, actors and actresses, writers and other creators named Verniers or Vernier who have turned up in the research — past and present. Here too, a family tie cannot be assumed.

This list is being built and will be expanded soon. Meanwhile: story #16 mentions, among others, a painter Francesco Vernieri (François Verniers) in Rome.

Recommended reading

For readers who want to explore the world of the Verniers family further: standard works on the Revolt, the Southern Netherlandish refugees and the Mennonites.

The links go to WorldCat, where you can see which library holds a copy to borrow or consult.