rdeknijf/bhic

BHIC — Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum

Search indexed person records from BHIC via the Memorix Genealogy REST API. Returns structured JSON directly — no browser automation needed.

No login required. No authentication beyond the public API key.

Coverage

Province: North Brabant (all municipalities)

24.1 million person records across record types:

• DTB (doop-, trouw- en begraafboeken) — church records pre-1811, both Roman Catholic and Dutch Reformed. Includes baptisms, marriages, burials.
• BS (Burgerlijke Stand) — civil registry post-1811: births, marriages, deaths.
• Bevolkingsregister — population registers.
• Militieregisters — militia/conscription registers 1814-1942.
• Gevangenenregisters — prison registers 1834-1929.
• Notariele akten — notarial records.
• Raad van Brabant — court records 1586-1811.

Key municipalities for current research: Schijndel (Van der Kant/Cant line), Nuland, Berlicum, Vinkel, 's-Hertogenbosch, Den Dungen, Sint-Oedenrode, Veghel.

API details

• Base URL: https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/
• API key: 24c66d08-da4a-4d60-917f-5942681dcaa1 (public, embedded in page)
• Platform: Memorix Genealogy by Picturae (AngularJS frontend, REST+Solr backend)
• Response format: JSON
• Response time: ~30-80ms per query
• Max rows per page: 500 (use 100-250 for typical queries)
• No rate limiting observed (but be reasonable)
• Tenant: bhic

Workflow

1. Simple person search

Search for persons by name using the q parameter.

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=24c66d08-da4a-4d60-917f-5942681dcaa1&q=van+der+Kant&rows=25'

Response structure:

{
  "metadata": {
    "pagination": { "total": 1317, "rows": 25, "currentPage": 1, "pages": 53 }
  },
  "person": [
    {
      "id": "UUID",
      "deed_id": "UUID",
      "register_id": "UUID",
      "entity_type": "dtb_d_vader",
      "metadata": {
        "voornaam": "Henricus",
        "achternaam": "Cant",
        "geslachtsnaam": "Cant",
        "tussenvoegsel": "van der",
        "type_title": "vader",
        "deed_type_title": "DTB doopakte",
        "register_type_title": "doop-, trouw- en begraafboeken",
        "datum": "1725-03-12",
        "register_naam": "Rooms-Katholiek doopboek 1719-1725",
        "register_gemeente": "Schijndel",
        "plaats": "Schijndel",
        "has_assets": "deed"
      }
    }
  ]
}

2. Advanced person search (by specific fields)

Use fq (filter query) with Solr-style field:value syntax. Values with spaces must be URL-encoded and quoted.

Search by surname and first name:

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=24c66d08-da4a-4d60-917f-5942681dcaa1&q=*:*&fq=search_t_geslachtsnaam:%22Cant%22+AND+search_t_voornaam:%22Petrus%22&rows=25'

Available search fields for fq:

| Field | Description | Example | |-------|-------------|---------| | search_t_geslachtsnaam | Surname | "Cant" or "Kant" | | search_t_voornaam | First name | "Petrus" | | search_t_tussenvoegsel | Prefix | "van der" | | search_t_patroniem | Patronymic | "Gerardi" |

Important for Van der Kant research: The surname changed over time:

• Pre-1811: usually van der Cant (with "C")
• Post-1811: usually van der Kant (with "K")
• Search for BOTH spellings to get complete coverage

3. Filter by record type and municipality

Combine q with fq for facet filtering.

Filter by deed type (DTB baptisms in Schijndel):

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=24c66d08-da4a-4d60-917f-5942681dcaa1&q=van+der+Cant&fq=search_s_deed_type_title:%22DTB+doopakte%22+AND+search_s_register_gemeente:%22Schijndel%22&rows=25'

Filter by municipality only:

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=24c66d08-da4a-4d60-917f-5942681dcaa1&q=van+der+Kant&fq=search_s_register_gemeente:%22Nuland%22&rows=25'

Available deed type values:

| Deed type | Description | |-----------|-------------| | DTB doopakte | Baptism record | | DTB trouwakte | Marriage record (church) | | DTB begraafakte | Burial record | | BS geboorteakte | Civil birth certificate | | BS huwelijksakte | Civil marriage certificate | | BS overlijdensakte | Civil death certificate | | registratie bevolkingsregister | Population register entry | | registratie militieregister | Militia register entry |

Available facet filter fields:

| Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | search_s_deed_type_title | Record type (see table above) | | search_s_register_type_title | Register category | | search_s_register_gemeente | Municipality |

4. Get deed detail (all persons in one record)

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/deed/{deed_id}?apiKey=24c66d08-da4a-4d60-917f-5942681dcaa1'

Returns all persons mentioned in the deed (dopeling, vader, moeder, getuigen) plus the diversen field with transcription notes.

5. Get register detail (scan images)

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/register/{register_id}?apiKey=24c66d08-da4a-4d60-917f-5942681dcaa1'

Returns register metadata and an asset array with scan images:

{
  "asset": [
    {
      "uuid": "UUID",
      "filename": "1455_018_001.jp2",
      "thumb.small": "https://images.memorix.nl/bhic/thumb/100x100/UUID.jpg",
      "thumb.large": "https://images.memorix.nl/bhic/thumb/640x480/UUID.jpg",
      "download": "https://images.memorix.nl/bhic/download/default/UUID.jpg"
    }
  ]
}

Scan URL pattern: https://images.memorix.nl/bhic/thumb/640x480/{asset_uuid}.jpg

6. Pagination

Use page parameter (1-based) to paginate through results:

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=24c66d08-da4a-4d60-917f-5942681dcaa1&q=van+der+Kant&rows=100&page=2'

7. Construct BHIC web link for a person

To generate a clickable link to the BHIC website for a specific record:

https://www.bhic.nl/memorix/genealogy/search/persons/detail/{person_id}

For a deed:

https://www.bhic.nl/memorix/genealogy/search/deeds/detail/{deed_id}

Entity types (person roles)

| entity_type | Role in record | |-------------|----------------| | dtb_d_dopeling | Baptized child | | dtb_d_vader | Father (in baptism) | | dtb_d_moeder | Mother (in baptism) | | dtb_d_getuige | Witness (in baptism) | | dtb_t_bruidegom | Groom | | dtb_t_bruid | Bride | | dtb_b_overledene | Deceased (in burial) | | bs_g_kind | Child (civil birth) | | bs_g_vader | Father (civil birth) | | bs_g_moeder | Mother (civil birth) | | bs_h_bruidegom | Groom (civil marriage) | | bs_h_bruid | Bride (civil marriage) | | bs_o_overledene | Deceased (civil death) | | bs_o_vader | Father of deceased | | bs_o_moeder | Mother of deceased | | br_a_geregistreerde | Registered person (population register) |

Output format

When reporting findings from BHIC:

**Source:** BHIC Memorix — [deed_type_title], [register_naam], [register_gemeente]
**Archive ref:** BHIC archief [archiefnummer], inv [inventarisnummer]
**Record:** [person names, dates, places from metadata]
**Scan:** [image URL if available]
**Confidence:** Tier B — official indexed record from BHIC

Limitations

• Scans: Available for most DTB and some BS records. Check has_assets field — value "deed" means scan of the specific page, "register" means scan of the full register (browse to find the right page).
• Catholic vs Reformed: Schijndel had both RK (Rooms-Katholiek) and NG (Nederduits Gereformeerd) churches. The Van der Kant/Cant family was primarily Catholic — search both but focus on RK records.
• Spelling variation: Pre-1811 records use Latin forms and Dutch variants interchangeably: Cant/Kant, Gerardus/Gerit/Gerrit, Henricus/Hendrik, Petrus/Peter, Martinus/Marten. Always search both.
• No full-text search of deed content: The diversen field (deed notes) is not searchable via the person endpoint. You must retrieve the deed detail to see transcription notes.
• Rows=0 returns empty: Always request at least rows=1.