rdeknijf/erfgoed-leiden-optimized

Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken — Leiden Region Archive

Search indexed person records and scanned documents from Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken 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

Municipalities with Knijf records: Ter Aar (179), Leiden (75), Nieuwkoop (67), Hillegom (29), Zevenhoven (14), Lisse (6), Nieuwveen (6), Woubrugge (6), Leiderdorp (3), Leimuiden (3), Noordwijk (2), Rijnsburg (2), Sassenheim (2), Achttienhoven (1), Alkemade (1), Hoogmade (1), Voorhout (1).

NOT covered: Alphen aan den Rijn (separate archive), Woerden (Het Utrechts Archief / RHC Rijnstreek), Gouda (Streekarchief Midden-Holland).

API details

• Base URL: https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/
• API key: 3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511 (public, embedded in page)
• Platform: Memorix Genealogy by Picturae (AngularJS frontend, REST+Solr backend)
• Response format: JSON
• Response time: ~30-50ms per query
• Max rows per page: 500 (tested; use 100-250 for typical queries)
• No rate limiting observed (but be reasonable)

Workflow

1. Simple person search

Search for persons by name using the q parameter.

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511&q=knijf&rows=25'

Response structure:

{
  "metadata": {
    "pagination": { "total": 398, "rows": 25, "currentPage": 1, "pages": 16 }
  },
  "person": [
    {
      "id": "UUID",
      "deed_id": "UUID",
      "register_id": "UUID",
      "metadata": {
        "voornaam": "Cornelia",
        "achternaam": "Knijf",
        "geslachtsnaam": "Knijf",
        "tussenvoegsel": "",
        "type_title": "overledene",
        "beroep": "zonder",
        "leeftijd": "60 jaar",
        "plaats": "Zevenhoven",
        "plaats_wonen": "Zevenhoven",
        "plaats_geboorte": "Breukelen",
        "datum_overlijden": "18710307",
        "deed_type_title": "BS Overlijden",
        "register_naam": "Overlijdensakten 1863-1872",
        "register_gemeente": "Zevenhoven",
        "inventarisnummer": "61",
        "register_archiefnummer": "132.1.06",
        "person_display_name": "Cornelia Knijf",
        "datum": 18710307,
        "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=3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511&q=*:*&fq=search_t_geslachtsnaam:%22knijf%22+AND+search_t_voornaam:%22cornelia%22&rows=25'

Available search fields for fq:

| Field | Description | Example | |-------|-------------|---------| | search_t_geslachtsnaam | Surname | "knijf" | | search_t_voornaam | First name | "cornelia" | | search_t_tussenvoegsel | Prefix | "de" | | search_t_patroniem | Patronymic | "jansz" |

3. Filter by record type and municipality

Combine q with fq for facet filtering.

Filter by deed type:

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511&q=knijf&fq=search_s_deed_type_title:%22BS+Geboorte%22&rows=25'

Filter by municipality:

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511&q=knijf&fq=search_s_register_gemeente:%22Ter+Aar%22&rows=25'

Combine multiple filters (AND):

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511&q=knijf&fq=search_s_deed_type_title:%22BS+Geboorte%22+AND+search_s_register_gemeente:%22Ter+Aar%22&rows=25'

Available facet filter fields:

| Field | Description | Example values | |-------|-------------|---------------| | search_s_deed_type_title | Record type | "BS Geboorte", "BS Huwelijk", "BS Overlijden", "DTB Dopen", "DTB Trouwen", "DTB Begraven", "Notariele akten", "Bevolkingsregister" | | search_s_register_gemeente | Municipality | "Ter Aar", "Leiden", "Nieuwkoop", "Zevenhoven", "Hillegom" | | search_s_plaats | Place | Same as gemeente plus sub-locations | | search_s_type_title | Role in record | "overledene", "vader", "moeder", "kind", "bruid", "bruidegom", "getuige" |

4. Pagination and sorting

Pagination:

&page=2&rows=100

Sorting (use order_ prefixed fields):

&sort=order_i_datum+desc    # newest first
&sort=order_i_datum+asc     # oldest first
&sort=order_s_geslachtsnaam+asc  # alphabetical by surname

5. Get deed (record) details

Fetch the full record by deed ID. Includes scan/asset URLs.

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/deed/{deed_id}?apiKey=3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511'

Response includes:

• metadata.gemeente — municipality
• metadata.type_title — record type (BS Overlijden, DTB Dopen, etc.)
• metadata.nummer — akte number
• metadata.naam — register name
• metadata.diversen — additional details (remarks, corrections, archive link)
• metadata.archiefnummer — archive number
• metadata.inventarisnummer — inventory number
• asset[] — array of scan images with IIIF URLs

6. Get all persons in a deed

To see everyone mentioned in a record (overledene, vader, moeder, getuigen):

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511&q=*:*&fq=deed_id:%22{deed_id}%22&rows=25'

7. Access scan images

Deed details include asset[] with IIIF Image API URLs:

| Size | URL pattern | |------|-------------| | Thumbnail (100px) | {iiifUrl}full/!100,100/0/default.jpg | | Medium (250px) | {iiifUrl}full/!250,250/0/default.jpg | | Large (640px) | {iiifUrl}full/!640,480/0/default.jpg | | Full size | {iiifUrl}full/max/0/default.jpg | | Download | asset[].download field |

The iiifUrl is in asset[].iiifUrl, e.g.: https://elo.memorix.io/resources/iiif/3/{uuid}/

8. Build website URL for user reference

To link users to the record on the website:

Search results:

https://www.erfgoedleiden.nl/collecties/personen/zoek-op-personen/persons?ss={"q":"knijf"}

Single deed (full page view):

https://www.erfgoedleiden.nl/collecties/personen/zoek-op-personen/deeds/{deed_id}?person={person_id}

Complete query parameter reference

| Parameter | Description | Example | |-----------|-------------|---------| | apiKey | API key (required) | 3288aeb2-c2a5-40b4-941b-f9beb2089511 | | q | Search query | knijf, *:* (all) | | fq | Filter query (Solr syntax) | search_s_deed_type_title:"BS Geboorte" | | rows | Results per page (max ~500) | 25, 100, 250 | | page | Page number | 1, 2 | | sort | Sort field and direction | order_i_datum desc |

API endpoints

| Endpoint | Description | |----------|-------------| | GET /person | Search persons | | GET /person/{id} | Get single person | | GET /deed/{id} | Get deed (record) with assets | | GET /register/{id} | Get register details | | GET /config | Get field/facet configuration |

Fallback (browser automation)

If the API is unavailable, returns errors, or the API key has been rotated, fall back to Playwright browser automation. See the original erfgoed-leiden skill for the full browser workflow.

To find the current API key, fetch the search page HTML and extract data-api-key from the #pic-genealogy element:

curl -sL 'https://www.erfgoedleiden.nl/collecties/personen/zoek-op-personen/persons' | grep -oP 'data-api-key="\K[^"]+'

When to use vs other sources

| Source | Use for | |--------|---------| | Erfgoed Leiden | Leiden region, Ter Aar, Nieuwkoop, Zevenhoven records | | Het Utrechts Archief | Utrecht province (Woerden, Utrecht city, Amersfoort) | | RHC Rijnstreek | Woerden, Bodegraven, Lopik, Montfoort area | | Gelders Archief | Gelderland province (Ede, Barneveld, Apeldoorn) | | WieWasWie | National coverage, structured person lookups | | OpenArchieven | Wide net across all Dutch/Belgian archives |

Output format

## Erfgoed Leiden Result — [record type]

**Person:** [name]
**Role:** [role]
**Event:** [type], [date] in [place]

**Father:** [name]
**Mother:** [name]

**Archive ref:** Archiefnummer [nr], Inventarisnummer [nr], Aktenummer [nr]
**Scan available:** Yes/No
**Scan URL:** [IIIF download URL if available]
**Web link:** [website URL for the deed]

**Confidence:** Tier B — official archive record from Erfgoed Leiden