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Leo van de Pas

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Leo van de Pas
Pas in front of his genealogical collection
Born(1942-10-28)28 October 1942
De Bilt, Netherlands
Died17 August 2016(2016-08-17) (aged 73)
Canberra, Australia
OccupationGenealogist
Notable workwww.genealogics.org website
Parents
  • Willem van de Pas
  • Johanna Jacoba Cox

Leonardus Franciscus Maria van de Pas (28 October 1942 ‒ 17 August 2016), known as Leo van de Pas, was a Dutch and Australian historian and genealogist.[1]

Early life

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Pas was born on 28 October 1942 in De Bilt, Netherlands to Wilhelmus Martinus (Willem) van de Pas (1901–1960) and Johanna Jacoba Cox (1909–1987).[2] His father was a religious author and Pas grew up in a particularly religious household. After his father's death in 1960, he served in various religious and clerical positions, as well as undertaking his national service in New Guinea (1962). To explore a new life abroad, he immigrated to Australia in 1968, where he took a position as an administrative assistant to the Dutch-Australian author G. M. Glaskin in Perth, Western Australia. He later became a naturalized Australian citizen. As an additional source of income, he also worked for Ansett Airlines until his early retirement in 1994, which enabled him to devote more of his time to his abiding interest in genealogy. After Glaskin's death in 2000, he moved from Perth to Canberra to be closer to van de Pas family members.[citation needed]

Genealogy

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Once settled in Australia, Pas wrote, co-authored and contributed to numerous genealogy books and, later on, web articles. He wrote the forewords to other books. His knowledge of genealogy and international reputation enabled him to review and revise the draft work of Princess Michael of Kent,[3] and Michel Roger Lafosse, the self-styled Prince Michael James Alexander Stewart, 7th Count of Albany. He also joined the internet newsgroup "soc.genealogy.medieval" (Gen. Med.) where he interacted with like-minded researchers and helped newcomers from his extensive home library.[citation needed]

Genealogics

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Genealogics
Type of site
Genealogical reference website
Available inEnglish
Created by
  • Leo van de Pas
  • Ian Fettes
Editor
  • Ian Fettes
  • Leslie Mahler
URLwww.genealogics.org
CommercialFree to use
RegistrationNot required
Launched2003
Current statusOnline
Written inTNG

Pas's interest in genealogy was matched by his early involvement in computer genealogy. He commissioned a bespoke DOS data entry program from Gary Louth, which turbo-charged his data entry rates. Collaborations with Colin and Rosie Bevan enabled him to extend his electronic holdings. A later collaboration with Brigitte Gastel Lloyd enabled him to start moving his data onto the World Wide Web. Later, in 2003, his collaboration with Ian Fettes enabled him to develop and launch Genealogics, a substantial online reference website and database for medieval and other genealogy.[4] This website is based on TNG software.

Death and legacy

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On 17 August 2016, Pas died in Canberra, Australia following a short convalescence.[citation needed]

While he never did establish an ancestral link between his own family history and any notable medieval family, he assisted numerous other people in achieving such connections. His Genealogics website continues to be one of the few free online reference databases covering the medieval and other periods, and is nowadays administered by Ian Fettes and Leslie Mahler. His correspondence with actress Audrey Hepburn provided first-hand public clarification of her early family history.[5]

On 25 October 1988, he was invited by the Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke to have lunch with the visiting Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Claus.[6]

Selected bibliography

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Books

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Leo van de Pas (autobiography and biography at Genealogics)". 24 November 1996. Retrieved 30 April 2020. [self-published source]
  2. ^ Leo van de Pas (2016). "Ancestors of Leo van de Pas (at Genealogics)". Retrieved 12 June 2020. [self-published source]
  3. ^ Genealogical collection of L.F.M. Van de Pas. Genealogical Society of Salt Lake City, Utah. 1982–89. OCLC 866812058. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  4. ^ Andrew Millard (14 August 2010). "Probability of descending from Edward III". Durham University. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. ^ Audrey Hepburn (2 January 1990). "Letter from Audrey Hepburn to Leo van de Pas". Retrieved 1 May 2020. 2 Jan 1990. Dear Mr van de Pas, Thankyou for sending me my 'family tree' - fascinating - how kind of you to go to so much effort for us. Just for your information - my name was never Edda van Heemstra - it was a name _assumed_ in school - my mother thought it wiser during the German Occupation as mine sounded too English. I was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston until my father added Hepburn-Ruston after the last of the Hepburns died on his grandmother's side. Again many thanks and best wishes, Audrey Hepburn [self-published source]
  6. ^ Bob Hawke (25 October 1988). "Lunch Invitation for Leo van de Pas". Retrieved 30 April 2020. [self-published source]
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