View source for Oost Vlaanderen (East Flanders), Belgium Genealogy

== Tips for Finding Your Ancestor in the Records ==
*Effective use of civil registration and church records includes the following strategies: 
#Identify your ancestor by finding his '''birth or christening record.'''
#When you find an ancestor’s birth or baptismal record, search for the '''births of siblings'''.<br> 
#Search for the '''parents’ marriage record'''. Typically, the marriage took place one or two years before the oldest child was born. 
#Search for the '''parents' birth records.''' On the average, people married in their early 20s, so subtact 25 or so years from the marriage date for a starting year to search for the parents' birth records.
#Search the '''death registers for all family members.'''
#If you do not find earlier generations in the parish registers, search neighboring parishes.<br> 

*Marriages were usually performed and recorded '''where the bride lived.''' 
*Do not overlook the '''importance of death records.''' Death records are especially helpful because they may provide important information about a person’s birth, spouse, and parents. Civil death records often exist for individuals for whom there are no birth or marriage records.