Ancestors from Norway - 1815 to 1855 census records  
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Norwegian census records 1815 - 1855

    Census records are one of the most important resources used by genealogists, but when we turn to the Norwegian census records from 1815 to 1855, we find that they are of little use: they only gathered statistical information, and not the names, ages,  etc. of individuals.  They were, in other words, statistical census records instead of nominative census records (such as the 1801 census record).   In a few enumeration districts, however, nominative information was gathered in order to prepare the statistical information that had to be submitted on the census forms.  The Norwegian National Archive (Riksarkivet) has information about these lists on its' web site www.riksarkivet.no, but unfortunately this information is only available in Norwegian.  I have therefore decided to translate that information into English, and provide some additional background information in order to make the task of using these lists a little easier.

    The statistical approach to census records which was used from 1815 - 1855, had also been used for the 1769 census.  As the Norwegian historians and archivists Nils Johan Stoa and Per-Øivind Sanberg point out in their book Våre Røtter:
 

     The first folketelling (census) in Norway occurred in 1769.  This census was numeric.  This means that it did not include personal information, but only statistical summaries.  This census is therefore not of interest to genealogists.  Statistical census records were also gathered every tenth year from 1815 to 1855. 1

These authors do point out, however, that nominative information was gathered in a few enumeration districts in order to prepare the statistical information: "We can find these lists in several prestearkiver (clerical archives) because it was the parish priests who were in charge of the work of gathering the information for these census records." 2  (The clerical archives, by the way, are maintained at the regional state archives in Norway, instead of the national Riksarkivet).

    The Norwegian Historical Encyclopedia (Norsk Historisk Leksikon) provides further background information on the 1815 - 1855 census records:
 

     The first folketelling (census) in Norway was held in 1769.  This census consisted of  numerical summaries for each sokn (parish).  Lists of persons only exists for a few districts in Trøndelag and Northern Norway.  Some persons who were serving in the military were not included in the census.  The first nominative census that included all persons in the cities as well as in the rural areas occurred in 1801.  In that census, each person's name was included, as well as each person's age, marital status and status.  The persons were listed by farm in rural areas, and in the cities by rodenummer, street name, etc.  In 1815 and then every tenth year until 1855 statistical census records were gathered.  The 1815 census listed the total number of persons living in a parish, later statistical census records listed the total number of persons living on each matrikkelgard.  The 1865 census, on the other hand, included every person by name, and the format was otherwise very similar to the format used in the 1801 census. 3

    With regards to the 1815 - 1855 census records, the Norwegian National Archive points out on their web site that in 1985 - 1986 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) microfilmed the nominative lists that had been made in the counties of Rogaland, Hordaland, and Sogn og Fjordane.  The following year, in 1987, Norsk Lokalhistorisk Institutt (the Norwegian Institute of Local History) published Folk og Fant - navnelister i folketellingsmaterialet 1815-1855 which included information about additional lists.  This was followed by a review of the census related documents that were held in the various regional state archives (Statsarkivene).  The end result of this process was a new microfilming of the 1815 - 1855 nominative lists in 1992.  Commenting on this material, the Norwegian National Archive points out:
 

     The material is very varied.  Most of it consists of draft lists, made in the enumeration districts, to be reworked later into the statistical format that the authorities had requested.  There is a lot of variation in terms of what information was gathered about individual persons.  In some prestegjeld (clerical districts) the lists were a complete census record, such as the one held in 1801 or 1865.  In other prestegjeld (clerical districts) only the individual farmers were included, or the home owners in a portion of the prestegjeld (clerical districts). 
     The fact that this material has been preserved is a coincidence.  Most of the material is stored in the prestearkiver (clerical archives) or the magistratsarkiver (magistrates' archives) in the Statsarkivene (regional State archives).  Some of the material also came from the Statistisk sentralbyrå (the National Bureau of Statistics), and this was duplicates of the original statistical census records for 1815 to 1855 which the Riksarkivet (National archive) had transferred to the Statsarkivene (regional State archives).  Finally, there are a few lists that are stored in the kommunearkivene (municipal archives). 4

    Note 1:  To view the Norwegian census records 1815 - 1855, you can order copies of the microfilms at your local LDS Family History Center.  To find out the catalog number, you can use the Place Search web page at the LDS Family Search web site.
    Note 2:  Very few of the nominative lists have been transcribed and placed on the Internet.  If you find that a nominative list was made in a parish that you are researching, you can check the web site Slektshistoriske kilder 1500-1900 from the Norwegian genealogy organization DIS-Norge to see if someone has transcribed it and made it available on the Internet.  This web site has extensive links to various genealogy databases for each fylke in Norway. (In Norwegian with some English)
    Note 3:  In translating the information from the Riksarkivet web site, I have not included information regarding which of the various regional archives has which original census records.
 
 

John Follesdal




Norwegian census records 1815 - 1855

- Lists with nominative information -

Østfold Buskerud Rogaland Nord-Trøndelag
Akershus Vestfold Hordaland Nordland
Oslo Telemark Sogn and Fjordane Troms
Hedmark Aust-Agder Møre and Romsdal Finnmark
Oppland (none) Vest-Agder (none) Sør-Trøndelag

 
 

Østfold

Clerical district Year Contents
Berg 1835 Sponvika parish. Name of some homeowners.
1855 Name of some farmers.
Borge 1815 Name of all persons.
Fredrikstad 1835 Glemmen parish. Name, age and status of all persons.
1835 Trosvik in Glemmen. Name of some persons.
Halden 1835 Name of homeowners in five roder.
1855 Name of all homeowners.  (For one rode the list includes the names, ages and status of almost all persons)
Moss 1845 Name, age, and status of all persons.
Onsøy 1845 Name of all farmers and husmenn.

 
 

Akershus

 
Clerical district År Contents
Asker 1815 Bærum parish. Name, age and status of all persons in Østre Bærum and Vestre Bærum.
1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
1835 Name, age and status of all persons. Does not include Bærum Jernverk.
1845 Name, age and status of some persons.  Records are difficult to work with
1855 Name, age and status of some persons.  Records are difficult to work with
Hurdal 1815 Feiring parish. Name and status of all persons.
Ullensaker 1845 Hovin parish. Name of all farmers. In two other enumeration districts, the lists include Name, age and status of persons

 
 

Oslo

 
Clerical district År Contents
Christiania by 1815 Name of all persons. 22 roder. Also includes the festningen (castle) and the tukthuset (prison).

 

Hedmark

 
Clerical district År Contents
Kvikne 1825 Name of all heads of households.
Løten 1815 Name and status of all persons.
Rendalen 1825 Name of all heads of households.
Tolga 1825 Name of all heads of households.
Tynset 1825 Name of all heads of households.

Oppland (none)

 

 
 
 

Buskerud

Clerical district År Contents
Hole 1845 Name of all farmers.
Hurum 1845 Name of some farmers.
Lier 1815 Name and age of all persons. Records are well laid out.
Nes 1835 Hemsedal parish. Name of some farmers.
Røyken 1845 Name of some farmers.
Sigdal 1845 Name of some farmers.
Skoger 1815 Name of all farmers and husmenn. Also includes the number of children and servants.

 

Vestfold

Clerical district År Contents
Andebu 1845 Name of some farmers and husmenn.
1855 Name of farmers.
Borre 1815 Name of farmers, husmenn and heads of households.
1825 Name, age and status of some heads of households.
1835 Åsgårdstrand parish. Name, age and status of all heads of households.
1845 Name of farmers.
Larvik 1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
Sandar 1825 Sandefjord parish. Name, age and status of all persons.
Sande 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
Stokke 1845 Name of all farmers. Includes information about fields recently brought under cultivation.
1855 Name of all farmers.
Tjølling 1814 Name, age and status of all persons.
1845 Østre Halsen parish. Name of all farmers.
Våle 1835 Name of some farmers.

 

Telemark

Clerical district År Contents
Brevik 1845 Name of some homeowners.
1855 Name of all homeowners.
Drangedal 1855 Kroken parish. Name, status and age of all persons.
Fyresdal 1815 Name, status and age of all persons.
Gjerpen 1825 Strømdal and Løberg parishes. Name, status and age of all persons.
1835 Name, status and age of all persons.
1845 Name, status and age of all persons.
Kviteseid 1845 Name, age and status of all persons.
Porsgrunn 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
1835 Østre bydel (eastern part of the city) and Stathelle. Name of all homeowners.
Seljord 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
1815 Name, age and status of all persons. 4th rode is missing.
1825 Name, age and status of all persons
1835 Vestre bydel (western part of the city) . Name of homeowners.

 

Aust-Agder

Clerical district År Contents
Arendal 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
1825 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
1835 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
1846 Name, age and status of all persons.
1855 Name, age and status of all persons.
Dypvåg 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
1825 Borøy parish. Name, age and status of some persons.
Gjerstad 1835 Name, age and status of some persons.
1845 Name, age and status of some persons.
1855 Name, age and status of some persons.
Hommedal 1825 Landvik and Eide parish. Name, age and status of some persons.
Risør 1825 Søndeled parish. Name, age and status of some persons in the 3rd enumeration district.
1845 Søndeled parish. Name, age and status of some persons.

 
 

Vest-Agder (none)

 

 
 
 

Rogaland

Clerical district År Contents
Eigersund 1855 Ogna parish. Name, age and status of all persons.
Hjelmeland 1835 Name of all persons. Includes information about  moving, marriages, etc.
1855 Name and age of all persons.  Includes information about  moving, marriages, etc.
Høyland 1815 Name, age and status of all persons. Difficult to use - consisted of loose pages.
Hå 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
Rennesøy 1825 Name, age and status of all persons. Separate entries for Kvitsøy parish.
Sokndal 1835 Name, age and status of persons.
Stavanger 1826 Frue and Randaberg parish. Name, age and status of all persons.
1835 Frue and Randaberg parish. Name, age and status of all persons.

 

Hordaland

Clerical district År Contents
Bergen city 1815 Five roder are missing a few surnames. Two roder are missing a few first names. 
Four roder include exact age. Covers 16,996 persons. Clear handwriting.
Etne 1845 Name of farmers.
Fana 1845 Name, age and status of all persons.
Finnås 1835 Name, age and status of all persons.
Fjell 1845 Fjell parish. Name of farmers.
Hamre 1835 Hamre, Alversund and Meland parishes. Name of farmers.
1845 Name of farmers.
Manger 1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
1835 Name of farmers.
Sandviken 1815 Sandviken and Domkirkens parishes. Name of all persons. 
Skånevik 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
Stord 1835 Name, age and status of all persons.
1845 Stord parish. Name, age and status of all persons.
Strandebarm 1825 Jondal parish. 2nd school district. Varaldsøy parish. Name and age of all persons.
Vikør (Kvam) 1825 Name, age and status of all persons.

 

Sogn and Fjordane

Clerical district År Contents
Askvoll 1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
Eid 1845 Name of farmers.
Jølster 1825 Name and age of all persons
1835 Name and age of all persons, also status.
Lavik 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
1835 Name, age and status of all persons.
Leikanger 1845 Name of farmers.
Luster 1815 Dale parish.  Name, age and status of all persons.
1825 Gaupne parish. Name, age and status of all persons.
1845 Name of farmers.
Sogndal 1845 Slinde parish. Name of farmers, age of some.
Stryn 1845 Nedstryn and Loen parishes. Name of farmers.
Vik 1845 Name of farmers. Name and age of some persons

 

Møre and Romsdal

Clerical district År Contents
Aukra 1815 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
Aure 1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
Bolsøy 1825 City of Molde. Name of homeowners.
1845 Name of farmers.
Borgund 1845 Name of farmers.
1855 Name of farmers.
Bud 1835 Name and age of all persons.
Haram 1815 Name of all persons.
1845 Name of farmers.
1855 Vigra and Fjørtoft parishes. Name of some farmers.
Hjørundfjord 1845 Name of some farmers.
Kristiansund 1835 Grip parish. Name of some heads of households.
1845 Grip and Frei parish. Name of all persons from Grip. Name of farmers from Frei.
Kvernes 1825 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
1835 Name of some farmers.
1845 Name of some farmers.
1855 Name and age of some persons.
Stranda 1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
Sunndal 1845 Name and age of farmers.
Tingvoll 1825 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
Ulstein 1845 Name of farmers.
Ørskog 1845 Name of some farmers.

 

Sør-Trøndelag

Clerical district År Contents
Bjørnør 1817 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
Børsa 1834 Name of all persons.
Hitra 1835 Name of some farmers.
Holtålen 1835 Name of some farmers.
Meldal 1815 Name of all persons, status of some.
1825 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
1835 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
Melhus 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
1835 Name of some farmers.
1835 Melhus, Leinstrand and Flå parishes. Name of some farmers.
Oppdal 1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
1855 Name of some farmers.
Røros 1825 Name of some farmers.
1835 Name of all heads of households.
1845 Landsoknet (rural parish). Name of some farmers.
Selbu 1825 Name, age and status of all persons.
Stadsbygd 1815 Name, age and status of all persons. Clear layout and clear handwriting
Støren 1815 Name, age and status of all persons. 1815 and 1825 census records were bound together.  1825 census starts at page 75.
1825 Name, age and status of all persons. 1815 and 1825 census records were bound together.  1825 census starts at page 75.
Trondheim city 1815 Rode 1-6. Name and age of all heads of households.
1815 Rode 7-9. Ila and Bakklandet. Name and age of all heads of households.
1815 Name, age and status of all heads of households. Age and status of all persons.
Åfjord 1835 Name of some farmers.
1845 Åfjord parish. Name of some farmers.
1855 Jøssund parish. Name of some farmers.

 

Nord-Trøndelag

Clerical district År Contents
Frosta 1800 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
1810 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
1835 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
Grong 1845 Name of all persons.  (Printed in 1981 by Grong historielag - Grong local history association).
Skogn 1835 Name, age and status. Does not cover everybody
1845 Name, age and status. Does not cover everybody
1846 Name, age and status. Does not cover everybody
1855 Name, age and status. Does not cover everybody
1856 Name, age and status. Does not cover everybody
Skogn 1835 Name, age and status. Does not cover everybody
Snåsa 1835 Name of some farmers.
1845 Name and age of all persons.
Sparbu 1855 Name of farmers.
1855 Steinkjers sørside. Name of some homeowners.
Stod 1845 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
1855 Steinkjer north side. Name of some homeowners.
Verdal 1815 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
1825 Name and age of all persons, status of some.

 

Nordland

Clerical district År Contents
Gildeskål 1845 Name of some farmers (gard nummer - farm numbers 1 - 22)
Hamarøy 1845 Name of some farmers. Samer (Lapps) listed separately.
Hemnes 1855 Name of some farmers.
Lurøy 1845 Name of farmers. Includes signature of farmers.
Nesna 1855 Name of all farmers.
Ofoten 1835 Name of all heads of households. Age of all persons.
Skjerstad 1835 Name and age of all persons, status of some.
Steigen 1815 Name, age and status of all persons. Well laid out.  Clear handwriting.
1815 Name, age and status of all persons.
Vega 1855 Name of some farmers.
Værøy 1835 Name of all persons.

 

Troms

Clerical district År Contents
Ibestad 1825 Name, age and status of all persons. Place of birth given for some.
1846 Name, age and status of all persons. Place of birth given for some.
Kvæfjord 1845 Name and age of all persons.
Tromsø 1845 Malangen, Balsfjord and Tromsøysund parishes. Name and age of persons (not everyone).

 

Finnmark

Clerical district År Contents
Kistrand 1845 Kjelvik, Kautokeino and Karasjok parishes. Name of some heads of households.
1855 Karasjok parish. Name of some heads of households.
1855 Kautokeino parish. Name of all heads of households.
Vadsø 1855 Landsognet (rural parish). Name of all heads of households.
1855 Vardø landsokn (rural parish). Name and age of all persons.

 
 

1.  Våre Røtter, by Nils Johan Stoa and Per-Øivind Sanberg, page 64, Publisher: J.W. Cappelens Forlag AS, 1992 (Quote translated by John Follesdal).

2.  Våre Røtter, by Nils Johan Stoa and Per-Øivind Sanberg, page 65, Publisher: J.W. Cappelens Forlag AS, Oslo, 1992.  (Quote translated by John Follesdal).

3.  Norsk Historisk Leksikon, bySteinar Imsen and Harald Winge, page 122, Publisher: Cappelen Akademisk Forlag, AS, Oslo, 1999.  (Quote translated by John Follesdal).

4.  http://www.riksarkivet.no/arkivverket/kilder/enkelte/ft1815-55.html

Please notify me of any links that are not working
properly as well as any suggestions for additional links.

Unfortunately my schedule does not permit me to answer
individual requests for assistance with genealogy research

John Follesdal
Copyright 2002
This page was created 14 October 2002