Sources Checklist

Norwegian Genealogical Records

(Not all exist for all time periods or for all people within a time period)

PRIMARY SOURCES

The primary sources are the original records (or copies thereof). Wherever possible, the original records should be used, as secondary and other sources may have errors. This is a list of official records, and excludes personal records such as family records in Bibles, personal letters, diaries, etc.

1. Church books
§                     Birth
§                     Baptism
§                     Christening
§                     Engagement
§                     Marriage
§                     Vaccination
§                     Death
§                     Burial
§                     In and out migration

2. Census
§ Church
§ Civil

Were done in 1664-1666, 1701, (these two for males only; 1701 does not include much of eastern Norway), 1769 (at regional archives), 1801 (well indexed), 1815-1855 (every 10 years, but not all parts of Norway; at National Archives), 1865, 1875, 1890, and 1900, plus every 10 years thereafter. Many are available on the Internet.

3. Emigration

§ Police Emigration Lists, 1867 to present

4. Ship records

§ White Star Line from 1883-1923

5. Probate (Skifteprotokoller)

Approximately 1660 to the present. Names of the deceased, the heirs, guardians, places of residence, division of estate, etc. On film from 1660 to about 1850.

6. Tax lists (Skattelister)

§ Various from 1645 to 1778; tax assessments. All on GS film.

7. Court (Justisprotokoller)

From 1650 to the present. Civil and criminal actions, including land ownership rights (odelssaker). 1650-1700 on film, 1650-present at regional and national archives and at local magistrate or clerk offices.

8. Mortgages (Pantebøker)

From about 1700 to present. 1700-1800 available on film at Genealogical Society Library (LDS?). From 1800-1900, at regional archives in Norway.

9. Land and property (Jordebøker)

From 1660-1676, index to land rentals and records.

10. Land commission (Landkommisjoner)

For 1661-1665 and 1680-1691. Lots of information. On film at GS.

11. Deeds (Diplomatarium Norvegicum I-XX)

Old stuff; from 12th to 17th centuries, far more than deeds. In print form.

12. Real estate books (Matrikkel)

From 1655 to the present, the names of owners and cultivators of farms. At regional and national archives.

13. Revenue & Expense records (Lensregnskaper)

Covers 1602-1670. Tax lists, real estate registers, names and cultivators of farms, etc. On film at GS.

14. Military (Militarprotokoller)

From 1643 to present; on film to 1900.

15. Auctions

Can give descriptions of items sold and the price they brought. As far back as 1600.

16. Tingbøker (Judicial or assembly books)

Similar to courts, these meetings often covered many issues.

17. School records

18. Ship records

19. Naturalization records

20. Death records (in US)

References:

"Major Genealogical Record Sources in Norway", The Scandinavian Genealogical Helper, July 1969, page 10-13

"An Introduction to the Court Records, Deeds, Mortgage Records, Probate Records, Etc. of Norway", C. S. Schilbred, World Conference on Records and Genealogical Seminar, August 5-8, 1969

SECONDARY SOURCES

There are many secondary sources, from magazines to local historical summaries. The following are the four most popular.

1. Rural settlement books (Bygdebøker)

These are probably the best known genealogical references and are compilations of data on the individual farms of a given kommune, listing owners and operators of farms and their families. The amount of information in the bygdebmker varies widely; some include detailed descriptions of the farms and historical incidents, while others are only listings of the people.

Often, the bygdebmker include an natural and human histories of the kommune, sometimes in separate volumes.

2. Norske Gardsbruker, three series (first two are from the 1940's and 1960's, 31 volumes)

Short descriptions are given of the farms -- the buildings, and years that they were built; amount of land in various uses; number and types of animals; assessments; address; telephone number; etc. Also lists the current owners and how long the farm has been in the family.

3. Norske Gaardnavne, O. Rygh, 1897-1924

This series of 19 books gives the history of the names of the farms, arranged by fylke (amt at the time of the writing of the books), kommune (herred) and parish (sogn). Within these subdivisions, the farms are listed by farm number (gaardsnummer). On the Internet.

4. Nordmændene i Amerika (The Norwegians in America), 3 books, Martin Ulvestad, 1913

Lists Norwegian men in the US by county in which they lived, by last name and by the area in Norway from which they came.

Prepared by

John Reindl
4514 Gregg Road
Madison, WI 53705-4918

reindl@chorus.net