#52 Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 13, Norwegian In the Paper
That All Important Paper
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde
The best record for Norwegian genealogy, better than a newspaper, is the parish record. The Lutheran church records are the primary source for genealogical research in Norway. Church records provide excellent information on names, dates, and places of births, marriages, and deaths. Almost everyone who lived in Norway was recorded in a church record.
Records of births, marriages, and deaths are commonly called vital records because critical events in a person's life are recorded in them. Church records are vital records made by the pastor or his assistant. They are often referred to as parish registers or church books and include records of christenings, marriages, and burials. In addition, church records may include lists of members, confirmations, marriage banns, and accounts of people moving in our out of the area.
Church records are crucial for Norwegian research. The Evangelical Lutheran Church became the state church or national church, after the Reformation in 1536. As such, it is an arm of the national government. The church keeps vital records for the government.
Christianity came to Norway around 1152 to 1153 in the form of the Catholic church. From the time of the Reformation in 1536, Norway became a Lutheran nation. The Norwegian government recognized only the state church prior to 1845 when it became legal to organize churches of other denominations. The earliest parish record dates from 1623. Church records for the state church are available in most areas beginning about 1700.
Before 1876 there was no form of civil registration, but that year a law was passed to send all information about births, death, and marriage to the Bureau of Central Statistics for statistical purposes, and in 1905 a law was passed that a copy of the ministers records of birth, death, and marriages should be sent to the bureau.
Because most ministers were educated in Copenhagen, the written Norwegian language was closer to Danish. The script was Gothic due to German influence. The dates are recorded according to the church calendar, with Latin names on Sundays and Feast days. The quality of the record depends on the minister who kept the records.
At first, the record-keeping requirement was limited to baptisms, marriages, and burials. Confirmation registers of many parishes date from as early as 1736. Until a standard form was established in 1814, no directions were given on how to keep church records, so the records before that date vary greatly. The records are thorough, to include the christening date which was usually within a few days of birth.
The records included names of parents, their Godparents, farm name, whether or not a child was illegitimate, or baptized at home, the spelling to be determined by the minister or recorder.
While there are many online sources for genealogists, I prefer using https://vesterheim.org The Vesterheim genealogists are excellent; they can read the Gothic script and decipher the different dialects and old Norse.
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
Norway Marriages, (FamilySearch Historical Records)/ Digital images of the church books are available for browsing at the Digitalarkivet Website. Searchable databases of church records are being added regularly to the Digitalarkivet website.
• The following link will bring you to the main page of the Digital Archives (Digitalarkivet) of Norway. Here you will find most records for Norway. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/
Parish Records for My 2ndGreat Grandfather
The following parish records are from Vesterheim, thanks, to Diane Maurer, genealogist, beginning with the christening of my 2ndgreat grandfather Halgrim Syverson Wold. Halgrim was the son of Syver, living on the Wold farm, his mother was Ragnild, from the Lie farm. Witness included Embret Ganderud, the future grandfather of Brynhild, the woman Halgrim’s son, Ole, would marry one day. Syver and Gunild Wold were Halgrim's paternal grandparents.
Halgrim Syversen Wold was christened 1790, September 26. Parents: Syver and Ragnild Lie Wold. Test: Ragnild and Embret Genderud, Gunild and Syver Wold, Levor Olsen. (Parish record 5/57 Nes and Flaa).
Now comes Halgrim’s marriage record: Halgrim Syvertson Vold/Wold (the V is pronounced W in Norwegian), is being married to Anne Olsdatter (the oldest daughter of Ole Sefre.
ENTRY #20 is the 17 March 1816 marriage of Halgrim Syvertson Vold /Wold (age 27) and his Anne Olsdatter Sefre / Savre / Sævre (age 23):
Buskerud county, Nes, Parish register (official) nr. 7 (1815-1823),Marriage records 1816, page 394-395.
http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?idx_kildeid=3052&i...
Now comes the birth records of their children, Syver, Ragnild, Margit, Truls and Ole, who became my great grandfather.
ENTRY #69, 30 June 1818, SYVER; witnesses were Ingeborg, Guri Olsdatter, Narve & Elling Wold.
Buskerud county, Nes, Parish register (official) nr. 7 (1815-1823),Birth and baptism records 1818, page 128-129.
Right page (329), ENTRY #109, 12 August 1821, RAGNILD, born to HALGRIMSYVERSEN and ANNE OLSDATTER VOLD; witnesses Elli Syversdatter, Hans Endresen Hellemud, Guri Syversdatter, Lovi(?) Hansdatter Vold.
Buskerud county, Nes, Parish register (official) nr. 5 (1787-1807),Birth and baptism records 1790, page 56-57.
1832 ;witnesses were Ingeborg, Ole, Barbro & Ole Vold, Ole Wiig (Vik):
Buskerud county, Nes, Parish register (official) nr. 8 (1824- 1834),Birth and baptism records 1832, page 418-419.
In 1880, The Digitalarkivet kept track of the Norwegians living in the US with its own census records showing my great grandfather Ole Halgrimson and his wife, Brenile (Brynhild) with those children remaining at home.
1880 Federal Census: Digitalarkivet: Norwegians living in Iowa according to 1880 census. Ole H. m 49; Brenile 43, Anna O.,18,Halgrim, 16, Albert 14, Truls, 12, Gunnill 10, Malina 8, S Severt 6,Carl 4. Knud 2, 486 Brookfield Township, Worth County, Iowa
Immigration and Naturalization: Minnesota Naturalization Index: Location: Nicolet Reel 1, Code 2, Volume C Page 270:Vold, O.H.
And there you have it, the all-important-paper, the parish record! Now, why don’t we have complete records like that in the US?
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