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=== History of the Church Records === | === History of the Church Records === | ||
Den Norske Kirke (The Norwegian Church), or Statskirken (the State Church) was separated from the state May 21st 2012. Prior to this date there was no separation of church and state. From this date the Norwegian Lutheran Church is not an arm of the state and does not have any more power than any other church (religion) in Norway. | Den Norske Kirke (The Norwegian Church), or Statskirken (the State Church) was separated from the state May 21st 2012. Prior to this date there was no separation of church and state. From this date the Norwegian Lutheran Church is not an arm of the state and does not have any more power than any other church (religion) in Norway. | ||
After the Reformation in 1536 the Evangelical Lutheran Church became the state or national church of Norway, and as such was an arm of the national government. The head of the church was a cabinet member, Kirke- og Undervisningsminister (Secretary of Church and Education). There was no ordinary civil registration organized and in earlier times all registration was entrusted to the ministers of the Evangelical Church, and up to May of 2012 it was the clergy who by entries in the church registers were responsible for the greatest part of this work. Most of these records are available online at Digitalarkivet (Digital Archives) of Norway; as well as on microfilm at the Family History Library. | After the Reformation in 1536 the Evangelical Lutheran Church became the state or national church of Norway, and as such was an arm of the national government. The head of the church was a cabinet member, Kirke- og Undervisningsminister (Secretary of Church and Education). There was no ordinary civil registration organized and in earlier times all registration was entrusted to the ministers of the Evangelical Church, and up to May of 2012 it was the clergy who by entries in the church registers were responsible for the greatest part of this work. Most of these records are available online at Digitalarkivet (Digital Archives) of Norway; as well as on microfilm at the Family History Library. | ||
You may also be able to find more recent family by contacting the Folkeregister (Register of Vital Statistics) but only if you are a direct line ancestor. | You may also be able to find more recent family by contacting the Folkeregister (Register of Vital Statistics) but only if you are a direct line ancestor. | ||
There was no civil registration organized in earlier times when all registration was entrusted to the minister of the Evangelical Church, and for the purpose of this class these are the records we will learn about.<br> | There was no civil registration organized in earlier times when all registration was entrusted to the minister of the Evangelical Church, and for the purpose of this class these are the records we will learn about.<br> | ||
Many people have the misconception that there always were records kept, and that something has happened to the earlier ones. One common belief is that when the Catholic Church was outlawed, and the Lutheran Church took over after the Reformation, the Catholic priests took the records with them when they left. This is not so, there were no records. In many cases the last Catholic minister was the first Lutheran minister. <br>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 Statistsk Sentralbyrå (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, but this information is not available for public use. <br>In 1915 the government established Folkeregistre (Register of Vital Statistics) on a community/city level, but the information there is not available to the public. <br> | Many people have the misconception that there always were records kept, and that something has happened to the earlier ones. One common belief is that when the Catholic Church was outlawed, and the Lutheran Church took over after the Reformation, the Catholic priests took the records with them when they left. This is not so, there were no records. In many cases the last Catholic minister was the first Lutheran minister. <br>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 Statistsk Sentralbyrå (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, but this information is not available for public use. <br>In 1915 the government established Folkeregistre (Register of Vital Statistics) on a community/city level, but the information there is not available to the public. <br> | ||
<br>'''Language of the records'''<br>The language used in the early church records was the accepted written Norwegian, which was at that time closer to Danish than many of the different spoken Norwegian dialects. Most ministers were educated in Copenhagen. The German influence on education was strong throughout Europe, and the script used in the church records in many countries was Gothic. This was also the case in Norway, until the middle of the 19th century.<br>See Norwegian Word List: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Norway_Word_List<br> | |||
Many Latin phrases were used as well. Some of these you will need to become familiar with. | |||
'''Dates in the records'''<br>Dates, in a great number of parish registers, will be recorded according to the church calendar, with Latin names on Sunday and Feast days. Often the Latin name for a Sunday would indicate to the priest what scripture was to be the topic of his sermon of the day. It will be helpful to learn how to look up the feat days in the calendar that translates these dates to modern dates. See Movable Feast Day Calendar for Norway in the FamilySearch wiki: <br>https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Moveable_Feast_Day_Calendar_for_Norway | |||
See also Fixed and Moveable calendar in the FamilySearch wiki for Norway:<br>https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Fixed_and_Moveable_Feast_Days_for_Norway | |||
'''Quality of records'''<br>The quality of the records depends on the person who kept them, and the conditions where the records were kept. Some are very good, even early on, some are more difficult to use because of the handwriting, the recording habits of the recorder, or because they were damaged by moisture or heat. <br> | |||
'''Responsibility of records keeping'''<br>The highest level of ecclesiastical jurisdiction is the bidpedømme (diocese), and the next level down is the prosti (deanery). These are of little importance in regards to genealogical research. The next level is the prestegjeld (clerical district), then the sogn (parish). The clerical district and the parish are the ones we will use in searching the church records for Norway. A clerical district may contain one or more parishes. | |||
Record keeping varies from one clerical district to the next. Thus in some, all parishes within the clerical district were kept in the same book, while in others, the records of the different parishes were kept in separate books. The sogneprest (parish priest) was the head of the clerical district. Sometimes he had a residerende kappelan (curate) serving with him in the annex parish. A klokker (sexton) – literally translated this means “bell ringer” resided in each parish. He was also the gravedigger, and sometimes the record keeper, teacher and general assistant to the minister. From 1814 a second set of books was kept by the sexton. This was discontinued in 1820, but in many clerical districts the duplicate recordkeeping was continued, and then it became compulsory again in 1870. | |||
A set recorded which was recorded by the parish priest, may not have been sent to the archives for filing until 80 years after the last entry was made. If a set of records (usually post 1880) was not sent to the archive, you may contact the parish priest directly. The duplicate set of records, kept by the parish clerk should have been deposited in the archives as soon as they were completed. | |||
'''Non-conformists/Dissenters'''<br>There was not a legally recognized dissenter church in Norway until 1845. The law simply did not allow anyone to dissent from the Lutheran Church. After dissenter churches were accepted in 1845, these congregations still had to report births and deaths to the local parish priest of the Lutheran Church within one month of the event. Sometimes we find that children of dissenters were not recorded as the law stated. Often a pastor would make this a very difficult visit, trying to persuade or even threaten people to “come back” to the Lutheran Church. If dissenters lived in a city where they could avoid being known by the church personnel, they sometimes did not comply with this law.<br>A new act in 1891 gave some dissenter groups permission to solemnize marriages, and from this time until 1919, the different groups were required to report births, deaths and marriages to the local Lutheran Church once a year. After 1919 they had to report to the local folkeregister (vital statistic office).<br>The law did not require a dissenter church to deposit their records in the state archives unless a congregation was dissolved. The percentage in 1875 was 0.4%, and in 1950 it was 3.76%.<br> | |||
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=== Information Recorded in Church Records === | === Information Recorded in Church Records === | ||