- St. Olaf Libraries
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- Norwegian Roots -- Finding Family Members, Farms and Communities in Norway
- Families and Communities in Norway
Norwegian Roots -- Finding Family Members, Farms and Communities in Norway
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Research Librarian
Bygdebøker (Community History Books)
Bygdebøker are local histories of Norwegian communities published in Norway. Many of them include farm and family histories. Rølvaag Memorial Library has a large collection shelved in the Genealogical Materials Collection (in the Reference Room). Search Catalyst for the specific community you are interested in.
These materials are arranged alphabetically under DL576 and DL596 in Genealogical Materials. See also index listed below.
Norwegian bygdebøker (community history) register by Call Number: DL445 .M3 1986Publication Date: 1986An index to Norwegian community history held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Genealogical Library as of 1 Oct. 1986. (In English)
- Norway Farm Books or BygdebøkerFrom the FamilySearch Wiki
Norwegian Family Histories
Individual family histories may be found at the shelf locations CS919 (for families in Norway) or searched in the library's online catalog by using a subject or keyword search on the family name. For example: Aasland family. Some helpful tools are:
Norske slektsbøker : en bibliografi by Call Number: CS913 .H3 1965Publication Date: 1965A title list of periodicals, collective works, and individual family histories, both Norwegian and American (i.e., family histories published in the U.S.). Includes an index of family names and an author index.
Sample Resources
From Peasants to Farmers: the migration from Balestrand, Norway to the upper Middle West by Call Number: F358.2.S2 G54Publication Date: 1985This book examines a trans-Atlantic chain migration from a Norwegian fjord district to settlements in the nineteenth-century rural Upper Middle West and considers the social and economic conditions experienced in Europe as well as the immigrants' cultural adaptations to America.
Scandinavian Exodus: demography and social development of 19th-century rural communities by Call Number: JV8198 .L6 1987Publication Date: 1987
DIS-Norge
- DIS-Norge"DIS-Norge, The Genealogy Society of Norway, is the largest association for genealogists in Norway. Our most famous database is Gravminner – the Norwegian name of the DIS Headstone database." Most resources are in Norwegian.
Microform Resources
The microform resources are found on the 3rd (main) floor. Please feel free to ask for assistance with the microfiche and microfilm readers.
- International genealogical index. Norway byCall Number: Microfiche 82Publication Date: 1988Index to names found in computerized files of the Genealogical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Includes names from original or compiled records extracted and indexed from forms submitted by LDS church members with information on their ancestors and from LDS temple records.
- Emigrantprotokollane for Bergen for 1874-1924 byCall Number: Microfiche 87 NAHAPublication Date: 1900-1999Information about Norwegian emigrants from Bergen between 1874 and 1924. Chronological by year with last and first name indexes.
- Microfilmed catalog, Scandinavian collection : Norway byCall Number: CS912 .G46 1974Publication Date: 1974The film contains: Reel [l] Agder-Bergen.-Reel [2] Buskerud-Nord-Trøndelag.-Reel [3] Nordland-Sogn og Fjordane.-Reel [4] Sør Trøndelag-Z.
- Emigrantprotokoller ved ... = Emigrant lists byCall Number: CS898 .A1 1900zPublication Date: 1900-1999Emigrant lists Kristiania (Oslo), 1867-1901; Bergen, 1874-1900; Kristiansand, 1873-1909; Trondheim, 1867-1926. There are some last name indexes.
Find Books
The links here connect to St. Olaf Libraries resources. If you are not affiliated with St. Olaf or Carleton, search WorldCat to find a library near you or request items through your local library.
- WorldCat This link opens in a new windowBooks and other print and multimedia materials in libraries around the world.
Useful Search Terms in WorldCat
Norway Emigration
[locale in Norway] Emigration
Tollefson family
Trygstad family, etc.