Danish Research: Tips for Beginners: Difference between revisions

• Locate the town or place of residence. Examine maps, gazetteers, postal guides, and other place-finding aids to learn as much as you can about each of the places where your ancestors lived. Identify the major migration routes, nearby cities, county boundaries, other geographical features, and government or ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Place-finding aids are described in the "Gazetteers," "History," and "Maps," sections through the Denmark: Portal of the FamilySearch Wiki.

• Review local history. It will help to understand Denmark's history. If possible, study a history of the areas where your ancestors lived. Look for clues about the people, places, and events that may have affected their lives and the records about them. Records with information about migration routes, nearby cities, county boundaries, governmental jurisdictions, and local historical events may be described in periodicals from the area.

• Learn about Danish jurisdictions. You will need to know how Denmark is divided into counties and how each county is divided into parishes and other jurisdictions.  

• Use language helps. The records and histories of Danish places will usually be written in Danish (or German). You do not need to know the entire Danish language to search the records, but you will need to learn some key words and phrases. Some helpful sources are described in the "Language and Languages" section through the Denmark: Portal of the FamilySearch Wiki.  

• Understand naming patterns. The naming patterns of Denmark were influenced by factors such as: where you ancestor lived (in the city or a rural area), the time period, the social standing and the occupation. Culturally the majority of Dane’s before 1875 were using a relatively small variety of given names. Be very careful to make conclusions of relationship. Understanding the naming customs can help you locate missing ancestors, and prevent the mistake of choosing an incorrect ancestor or family.

• Understand local customs. Local customs may have affected the way individuals were recorded in the records. Illegitimacy, marital customs, and local conditions are discussed in the "Social Life and Customs" section of the Denmark: Portal on the FamilySearch Wiki.