Board: Message Boards > Localities > North America > United States > States > Michigan > Counties > Keweenaw URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.michigan.counties.keweenaw/758/mb .ashx Subject: Norwegian, Fin, and Sami ancestors can found online, in English, & searchable, in 1865, 1875, & 1900 Norwegian census records... Author: CStanley84 Date: Sunday, November 16, 2008 Classification: Query Surnames:
Many of Michigan's ancestors came from Norway, whether they were of Norwegian, Fin, or Sami ethnicity. Especially those that settled in the UP and other northern states, in the US. Listed in US census records as born in Norway, their ethnicity was of Finnish, Sami, Norwegian, or often a mix of two or more. They came to Michigan from the area of Finnmark, Norway, in the Arctic Circle. There are a number of Norwegian census and parish records available, some in English, that are searchable, online. The 1865 Norwegian census lists ethnicity, but the 1875 does a more detailed job. It lists the ethnicity of the person's father and mother. One very good site for this is from the Norwegian Historical Center: http://www.rhd.uit.no/indexeng.html For those who don't like to read the instructions, it is easier to start searching the census section. Just remember to put in only the first few letters of the first and last name or farm/domicile name. That way you will see a greater selection, which will be spelled in a more traditional Norwegian way, instead of the Americanized version. Take the time to educate yourself on how this site is organized for maximum benefit. Read the instructions, at some point. You'll be glad you did! It really helps to have a translator program handy, though not required. There are many, online and free. I like this one for my own personal use, though it requires registering to get the Norwegian, Finnish, and some other languages. Not only does it translate, but you can hear the words, in the language of choice, as well as see it. When using this for translating the census, use Danish to English, for best results, or when Norwegian doesn't have a tranlation for the words listed. http://www.translation2.paralink.com/ Another Nowegian site has digitised parish registers, where you can see a photocopy of the pages of the actual book (of vital records), from the parish, online: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read If you know the farm name of your ancestor, but don't know where to look for it, in Norway, check out this site. Oluf Rygh: Norwegian Farm Names: http://www.dokpro.uio.no/rygh_ng/rygh_form.html Those with ancestors from Finnmark often have Sami roots. The Sami people are also referred to as Lapplanders. Information on them can be found in many places, but one is found here: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/KRO_LAP/LAPLAND_or_LAPPLAND.ht... Feel free to share your favorite sites on Norway, Finnmark, and the people of the region, that were made up of ethnic Norwegians, Fins, and Sami.
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