The Internationaal Museum voor Familiegeschiedenis (known in English as the International Museum for Family History, or in short "The Family Museum") is a museum located in the former Ursuline Convent in Eijsden,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. As a museum with a focus on

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

and family history, it is the first museum of its kind in the world. The Ursuline sisters commissioned

Pierre Cuypers Petrus Josephus Hubertus "Pierre" Cuypers (16 May 1827 – 3 March 1921) was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885), both in Amsterdam. M ...

to renovate and extend the building in 1899. It is probable that Cuypers entrusted part of the project to

Johannes Kayser Johannes Hermandus Julius (Johan) Kayser ( Harlingen, 11 November 1842 - 's-Hertogenbosch, 15 March 1917) was a Dutch architect, who was primarily engaged with the construction of churches. Apart from this he also designed schools and abbeys and ...

, a Dutch architect notable for his neogothic designs. The museum focuses especially on

, DNA-research, the life and work of

Eugène Dubois Marie Eugène François Thomas Dubois (; 28 January 1858 – 16 December 1940) was a Dutch paleoanthropologist and geologist. He earned worldwide fame for his discovery of ''Pithecanthropus erectus'' (later redesignated ''Homo erectus''), or "Jav ...

human evolution Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of ''Homo sapiens'' as a distinct species of the hominid family, which includes the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of ...

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

and the working lives of our ancestors. the museum also houses the office, archives and collections of the

International Qajar Studies Association The International Qajar Studies Association (IQSA) is an association specialised in the study of the Qajar Era and the Qajar dynasty. The association organises conferences, study days, lectures, cultural events and exhibitions, publishes books, a J ...

. The museum is a "Public Benefit Organisation" (

Algemeen nut beogende instelling Since 2008 the Dutch Tax Administration can designate an institution to be a "Public Benefit Organisation" (Dutch: ''Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling'', ANBI). At least 90% of the efforts of an ANBI has to be focused on the general good. And since ...

) and it has won awards such as the 'VVV price for innovation'. The advisory board of the museum includes notable figures such as former

Prime Minister of the Netherlands The prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Minister-president van Nederland) is the head of the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands. Although the monarch is the ''de jure'' head of government, the prime minister ''de facto'' ...

Dries van Agt Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (; born 2 February 1931) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of t ...

, American historian at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Ned Blackhawk Ned Blackhawk (b. ca. 1970) is a Te-Moak tribe, Western Shoshone American historian currently on the faculty of Yale University. In 2007 he received the Frederick Jackson Turner Award for his first major book, ''Violence Over the Land: Indians a ...

, professor

Michel Hockx Michel Hockx (born 1964) is a professor of Chinese Literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Not ...

of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, professor of Russian and Inner Asian history at

Brock University Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The university bear ...

David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and professor

Tudor Parfitt Tudor Parfitt (born 10 October 1944)
Encyclopedia.com is a British historian, wri ...

References

Eijsden-Margraten Museums in Limburg (Netherlands) History museums in the Netherlands Genealogy Museums established in 2014 2014 establishments in the Netherlands {{Netherlands-museum-stub