How to get Norwegian records? (find, search, world, grandmother)

[JoulesMSU]

I just started looking into genealogy recently but I'm not able to go very far back... my family moved to the United States in the late 1800s/early 1900s, so I can only trace them back in the US Census as far back as 1900. Beyond that, I need Norwegian records. Any suggestions on how to find those?

Names I'm specifically looking for are:

Syvert Julson (born: 1853; Norway)
Olava Julson (born: 1854; Norway)

Louis O Hagen (born: 1878, Norway)
Hansine Hagen (born 1881, Norway)


Not sure what the womens' maiden names are, probably would have to find marriage license for that?

[EnricoV]

Oh my goodness. Norway is a great place to do research from afar. Lots of stuff online.

Here are some places to get a start:

Norway World GenWeb

Genealogy Society of Norway

Norwegian state archives

Your biggest problem will be some sites aren't translated. Once you determine where in Norway your family is from, be sure to look to see if there is a bygdebøker for the locality. Those trace all the families who lived on the farm, where they came from, where they went, etc. Forget looking for surnames. People used patronymics or farm names. Farm names changed when they moved to a new farm. The name they used in America may have nothing to do with the name they used in Norway. The two surnames you gave ... the first is probably the patronymic and the second is probably a farm name.

Good luck!

[JoulesMSU]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

Oh my goodness. Norway is a great place to do research from afar. Lots of stuff online.

Here are some places to get a start:

Norway World GenWeb

Genealogy Society of Norway

Norwegian state archives

Your biggest problem will be some sites aren't translated. Once you determine where in Norway your family is from, be sure to look to see if there is a bygdebøker for the locality. Those trace all the families who lived on the farm, where they came from, where they went, etc. Forget looking for surnames. People used patronymics or farm names. Farm names changed when they moved to a new farm. The name they used in America may have nothing to do with the name they used in Norway. The two surnames you gave ... the first is probably the patronymic and the second is probably a farm name.

Good luck!

Oh I already know that my grandmother's side is from Oppland and my grandfather's from More og Romsdal. It's just when I do google searches for the names, nothing really comes up except the census stuff. And yeah, I know all about the naming conventions. Not sure who "Jul" was but he's there somewhere down the line. lol

Thanks for the links, I'll check em out.

[PA2UK]

Many of the parish records aren't indexed, you have to manually search by parish and year, going through each page looking for the right name. It's not easy but sooo much more rewarding when you find what you're looking for!

Also, Julson was probably spelled Julsen.

[daliowa]

Try www.familysearch.org

You can search by name. You can look at their catalog to see what records they have from Norway.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by JoulesMSU

Oh I already know that my grandmother's side is from Oppland and my grandfather's from More og Romsdal. It's just when I do google searches for the names, nothing really comes up except the census stuff. And yeah, I know all about the naming conventions. Not sure who "Jul" was but he's there somewhere down the line. lol

Thanks for the links, I'll check em out.

It would have been nice to know that in your original post, and I could have saved my time offering advice. Just a FYI in future genealogical queries - posting an answer or doing a lookup for someone whose response is "oh, I already knew that" is something likely to stop that person from ever doing it again for the next person who asks.

Though I will add, Oppdal and More og Romsdal are the equivalent of states. You'd need to know where in that state they're located if you're going to look for a bygdebok.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

It would have been nice to know that in your original post, and I could have saved my time offering advice. Just a FYI in future genealogical queries - posting an answer or doing a lookup for someone whose response is "oh, I already knew that" is something likely to stop that person from ever doing it again for the next person who asks.

Though I will add, Oppdal and More og Romsdal are the equivalent of states. You'd need to know where in that state they're located if you're going to look for a bygdebok.

He only said he already knew where they were from, you gave a lot more advice that he didn't already know, which I'm sure he took on board. I don't think he meant it negatively.

Oppdal and More og Romsdal are counties, which are not equivalent of states. But true that you need to find a more specific location to search among the parish records. The suggestion of using familysearch.org for that might be useful, there are Norwegian records which are indexed: https://familysearch.org/search/coll...ntryId=1927171 - They do not have images and I don't think they have as many records as the Norwegian Digital Archives. But you may be able to find a more specific location which you can use in the Archives.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

He only said he already knew where they were from, you gave a lot more advice that he didn't already know, which I'm sure he took on board. I don't think he meant it negatively.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. Which is why I was giving him advice on future queries. Because when I get a "I knew that" it produces a negative reaction. That's what I was warning against. My advice ... say thank you and move on.

Originally Posted by PA2UK

Oppdal and More og Romsdal are counties, which are not equivalent of states. But true that you need to find a more specific location to search among the parish records.

They are the second level of division under the country as a whole. To me, that is the equivalent of a state, whatever the "name" it's called by. Most of my Norwegian experience is in the fylke of Nordland, which is 11% of the area of the whole country. That's not the equivalent of a county. And knowing only that that will not help the search.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

That's not the equivalent of a county.

In other countries, it is. If the nation considers it a county, it's a county, not a state.

[cmptrwlt]

Nordland, Møre og Romsdal and Oppland are counties not states.

The 19 counties:
Oslo - where I live
Akershus
Østfold
Vestfold
Oppland
Hedmark
Buskerud - where I was born and raised
Telemark
Aust-Agder
Vest-Agder
Rogaland
Hordaland
Sogn og Fjorande
Møre og Romsdal
Sør-Trøndelag
Nord-Trøndelag
Nordland
Troms
Finnmark