Genealogy is easier than you might think and in Norway we are actually quite lucky.
The reason we are lucky is that we have the National Archives which, through the Digital Archives, digitizes and makes a number of family history sources available online for free, while for genealogical searches abroad, you can easily expect to have to spend a few kroner to access the family history sources.
Online sources
Perhaps the most important source of Norwegian family history for genealogists is Digital Archive.
Population censuses and census: In Norway, censuses are carried out at regular intervals. Norway's first national census was carried out in 1801, before which there were censuses aimed at documenting how large an army Norway could gather in the event of war. All boys over the age of 12 were counted in the census.
Censuses have an embargo period of 100 years. This means that the 1930 census will not be available online until 2030.
Church records are our most important source. They contain information about almost everyone who lived in Norway and the priest entered information about baptism, births, confirmations, marriages, deaths and in some cases people who moved in and out of the parish and those who joined and left the state church. The content of the church books has different blocking periods (which prevent access to protect the living), but information from 1930 and backwards in time is available online.
There is also an ongoing project to make the content of the church books searchable.
These two sources should be enough to keep you busy for months, but the Digital Archive contains a wealth of other sources too.
Rural books: These are books that are considered secondary sources. That is, sources that obtain their information from another source. Secondary sources should be checked against primary sources where available. Nevertheless, village books and a number of other secondary sources are useful as pointers to where the next trace of the family is located. The National Library of Norway has a goal of digitizing all village books published up to the year 2000 and Slekt1 has Norway's largest dedicated overview of village books, we continuously link up to the books we see (or are tipped about) have been digitized.
Help on Facebook
Social media has taken genealogy research to a new level. Now you can quickly get help with where to look, deciphering text and tips on good sites in a matter of minutes.
The family corner: Facebook page primarily aimed at Norwegian genealogists. The page has 11,000+ members.
We who do genealogy research: Another Norwegian Facebook page for genealogists. The page has as many as 14,000+
Genealogy: Swedish Facebook page with over 14,500+ members
Genealogy: Danish Facebook page with 18 000+ members
Chances are that you have relatives in Sweden and/or Denmark, so it may be worth joining one of the latter two Facebook pages in addition to the Norwegian one.
Genealogy program
As you find out more and more about your own or other people's family, the need for a system will arise. Therefore, learn to use a genealogy program first and foremost. Here you can not only systematize people and events, but also which sources you have retrieved the information from.
One in five genealogists use MyHeritage to systematize family data, but there are also a number of other programs for organizing family information
Obviously, there's a lot more to learn about genealogy, but this is what you need to get started. Remember that you also need to talk to your family, many of whom have a lot of information and not least many family stories that will spice up your work and make it more exciting and interesting for family and friends.
You can also follow Slekt1 for genealogy-related news or use our overview of village books and family books. Perhaps your family history has already been written?
