The surname Haites to which this family tree relates was established in 1811 by two brothers Anne Sjoerds and Ulbe Sjoerds. In 1811 all male residents of Friesland were required to register a surname with the local mayor due to a decree issued by the Napoleonic government.
These two brothers chose the name Haites (on the registration document it was spelled Haytes, however all known signatures of the brothers used Haites). Haites was the patronymic form of their grandfather’s name Haite.
As far as the author knowns these brothers were the only ones that adopted the surname Haites in all of Friesland, thus this family tree, if complete, covers all persons with this surname.
Prior to 1811, the tradition in Friesland was that all the children were given names that had the patronymic form of their father’s name as their second name (thus children of Haite became Christian name Haites). Furthermore, it was also tradition that the eldest son was give the Christian name of their grandfather (thus if tradition was followed the eldest grandson of the eldest son had a name identical to his grandfather). It was also common where younger siblings had died as infants that a couple would name a subsequent offspring of the same gender with the same name.
Within this register, individuals are identified by their name at birth, with their surname in capital letters. Where a surname was adopted (mainly in 1811 or at a subsequent marriage) this has been used as well. The spelling of the surname is kept consistent within a family where this is possible.
Where some life stories are available these have been included with identification of the author if possible. Much of the material was originally in Dutch, however it is presented in this document in English to provide a broader reader access.
In Friesian the following are common relationship names:
• Heit – father
• Mem – mother
• Pake – grandfather
• Beppe - grandmother
Spelling involving "ij" or "y" is interchangeable within the Friesian and Dutch records.
Birth and Death time and age – a time generally indicates that a register entry record has been found which should then be attached to the record. The age at death is taken from an external source, preferably a register record otherwise sources such as newspaper death notice, graves or other family trees – this age may differ from the system calculated age.
Surnames – the surname at birth is used unless the child is formally acknowledged or there is no surname at that time and one is adopted during the lifetime of the person (e.g. commonly after Napoleonic decree that a surname was required). Registration of a surname with the local Mayor in Friesland towns generally took place in 1811. Copies of many of these registrations are available online (e.g. via WieWasWie). Any Friesian dying before 1811 is unlikely to have a surname and very likely to have been known with their Patronym.
Patronyms – it was a common practice especially in Friesland for people to be known partly by a patronym (possessive form of father’s name). When surnames were introduced this practice slowly discontinued. Patronyms were rarely formally recorded in the records. I have erred on the side of including the patronym in a person’s name as it assists with identification.
Source – I have tried to identify the source of formal records a copy of which is then normally attached. Less formal sources such as newspaper notices or other family trees are not itemised.
Factual determination – any register information is considered factual and takes precedence over other data. Where a register is not available a judgement is made between any variations in data.
Place names: names of towns or cities has been preferred over district where information is available. Dutch spelling of locations has been preferred over Friesian spelling. Local spelling is preferred over English spelling in international situations. For time a 24 hour notation is used.
The information in this genealogical record has been sourced from a wide range of places including: personal information, public Birth, Death, Marriage registerts, public genealogical databases.
Any information you can contribute to extend the tree is more than welcome and I will do my best to incorporate it. Also any histories or memories of persons already in the tree are welcome.
If you have any questions or comments about the information on this site, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
