Norwegian American: Difference between revisions

== Norwegian- American Research Strategy ==

The time has come to trace your Norwegian ancestry, and you are wondering where to start. Always start with what you know for sure, and start at home!  

1. What do you already know? Do you have older relatives still alive? If you do make sure you talk to them as soon as possible! Write down everything they tell you, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you. Pay special attention to any mentioning of people, names and places. Look for any family information in Bibles, hymn books, journals (if you are lucky enough to have them), obituaries or death notices, letters, postcards and photographs with names, dates, and places listed on them. There ''could'' be some truth to the oral traditions you have heard since childhood.  

2. Look for any information in as many US sources as possible. Search all the US Federal and state censuses, applications to naturalize and the citizenship certificate, any homestead application,old newspapers, Norwegian-American Lutheran church records, military records, pension records, etc. Were they members in any Norwegian fraternities? Have you looked in any county histories?  

3. Repositories for these records could be in your homes, homes of family members, local libraries, museums, or ethnic organizations. Places that could be of tremendous help could be found in the following websites:  

 

  http://www.nagcnl.org/ The Norwegian American Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library in Madison Wisconsin.