rdeknijf/streekarchief-midden-holland-optimized

Streekarchief Midden-Holland — Gouda Region Archive

Search 3M+ indexed person records from the regional archive of Midden-Holland 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

3,061,801 person records. Municipalities: Gouda, Haastrecht, Schoonhoven, Waddinxveen, Noord-Waddinxveen, Moerkapelle, Moordrecht, Ammerstol, Broek c.a., Vlist, and surrounding areas.

Knijf records: 36 results — de Knijf in Gouda/Haastrecht, van der Knijf in Noord-Waddinxveen/Broek/Moerkapelle, Knijf in Gouda/Schoonhoven/ Waddinxveen/Vlist.

API details

• Base URL: https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/
• API key: 99a56f3a-da0b-11e9-9805-d77cd3614b0e (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 (use 100-250 for typical queries)
• No rate limiting observed (but be reasonable)

Workflow

1. Simple person search

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=99a56f3a-da0b-11e9-9805-d77cd3614b0e&q=Knijf&rows=25'

Response structure:

{
  "metadata": {
    "pagination": { "total": 36, "rows": 25, "currentPage": 1, "pages": 2 }
  },
  "person": [
    {
      "id": "UUID",
      "deed_id": "UUID",
      "register_id": "UUID",
      "metadata": {
        "voornaam": "Gijsbert",
        "achternaam": "Knijf",
        "geslachtsnaam": "Knijf",
        "tussenvoegsel": "de",
        "type_title": "Vader",
        "plaats": "Gouda",
        "datum": "1873-11-13",
        "deed_type_title": "Overlijdensakte",
        "register_naam": "...",
        "register_gemeente": "Gouda",
        "person_display_name": "Gijsbert de Knijf",
        "has_assets": "deed"
      }
    }
  ]
}

2. Advanced person search (by specific fields)

Use fq (filter query) with Solr-style field:value syntax.

Search by surname and first name:

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=99a56f3a-da0b-11e9-9805-d77cd3614b0e&q=*:*&fq=search_t_geslachtsnaam:%22Knijf%22+AND+search_t_voornaam:%22Gijsbert%22&rows=25'

Available search fields for fq:

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

3. Filter by record type and municipality

Filter by deed type:

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=99a56f3a-da0b-11e9-9805-d77cd3614b0e&q=Knijf&fq=search_s_deed_type_title:%22Geboorteakte%22&rows=25'

Filter by municipality:

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=99a56f3a-da0b-11e9-9805-d77cd3614b0e&q=Knijf&fq=search_s_register_gemeente:%22Gouda%22&rows=25'

Available facet filter fields:

| Field | Description | Example values | |-------|-------------|---------------| | search_s_deed_type_title | Record type | "Doopakte", "Geboorteakte", "Huwelijksakte", "Overlijdensakte", "Inschrijvingaktes" | | search_s_register_gemeente | Municipality | "Gouda", "Haastrecht", "Schoonhoven", "Waddinxveen", "Moordrecht" | | search_s_plaats | Place | Same as gemeente plus sub-locations | | search_s_type_title | Role in record | "Vader", "Moeder", "Overledene", "Kind", "Bruid", "Bruidegom", "Getuige" |

4. Pagination and sorting

&page=2&rows=100
&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

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/deed/{deed_id}?apiKey=99a56f3a-da0b-11e9-9805-d77cd3614b0e'

Response includes metadata and asset[] with scan image URLs (IIIF).

6. Get all persons in a deed

curl -s 'https://webservices.memorix.nl/genealogy/person?apiKey=99a56f3a-da0b-11e9-9805-d77cd3614b0e&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 | {iiifUrl}full/!100,100/0/default.jpg | | Medium | {iiifUrl}full/!250,250/0/default.jpg | | Large | {iiifUrl}full/!640,480/0/default.jpg | | Full size | {iiifUrl}full/max/0/default.jpg |

8. Build website URL for user reference

Search results:

https://samh.nl/bronnen/genealogie/persons?ss={"q":"Knijf"}

Single deed:

https://samh.nl/bronnen/genealogie/deeds/{deed_id}?person={person_id}

Other collections

The archive also has (browser-only):

• Archieven — archive inventories
• Bouwtekeningen — building permits
• Beeldbank — image bank
• Kranten — newspapers (at kranten.samh.nl)
• Bibliotheek — library catalog

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 |

When to use vs other sources

| Source | Use for | |--------|---------| | Streekarchief Midden-Holland | Gouda, Haastrecht, Schoonhoven, Waddinxveen, Moerkapelle area | | RHC Rijnstreek | Woerden, Bodegraven, Lopik, Montfoort, Oudewater | | Erfgoed Leiden | Leiden, Ter Aar, Nieuwkoop, Hillegom | | Gemeentearchief Alphen | Alphen aan den Rijn, Aarlanderveen, Benthuizen | | Het Utrechts Archief | Utrecht province (Woerden overlaps with RHC Rijnstreek) |

Fallback (browser automation)

If the API is unavailable or the API key has been rotated, fall back to Playwright at https://samh.nl/bronnen/genealogie/persons.

To find the current API key:

curl -sL 'https://www.samh.nl/bronnen/genealogie' | grep -oP 'data-api-key="\K[^"]+'

Output format

## Streekarchief Midden-Holland Result — [record type]

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

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

**Archive ref:** [reference]
**Scan available:** Yes/No
**Web link:** [website URL]

**Confidence:** Tier B — official archive record from Streekarchief Midden-Holland