Sogn og Fjordane     Sogn og Fjordane (which was called "Nordre Bergenhus amt" until January 1, 1919) is located on the west coast of Norway, and is known for its fjords, mountains, glaciers and waterfalls. It includes three major areas: Nordfjord, Sunnfjord, and Sogn. From Sogn og Fjordane alone some 43,000 people emigrated to America between 1839 and 1924.     Sogn og Fjordane covers an area of 18,620 square kilometers, and contains Norway's longest fjord, the Sognefjord, and also Europe's largest glacier, the Jostedalsbreen. In addition, this county contains Europe's deepest lake, Hornindalsvatnet, which is 514 meters deep. The agricultural activities include raising cattle and sheep, as well as growing fruit trees. Fishing is also an important economic activity, with Måløy serving as an important fishing center. Tourism is another important economic activity, Olden and Loen in Nordfjord have been important tourist destinations for more than a century.
The picture shows the Fjording, a horse breed from Sogn og Fjordane.		My father's ancestors came from Nordfjord in Sogn og Fjordane. I am therefore always interested in hearing from other Norwegian-Americans with ancestors from Nordfjord. Some of the surnames/farm names that I am researching in Nordfjord are: FØLLESDAL, HANEBREKKE, HJELLE, and MYROLD in Eid parish; AUFLEM, BERGSET, FOSNES, ROSET, SØLVBERG, TEIGEN, TONNING and YTTREIDE in Innvik and Utvik parishes. You can get in contact with me and others who are researching ancestors from Sogn og Fjordane in my guestbook, which is dedicated only to this area of Norway!

1. Genealogy organizations

DIS-Norge Sogn og Fjordane - an online, Norwegian genealogy group. Part of DIS-Norge (in Norwegian).

Nordfjordlaget Established in 1909, the Nordfjord Lag is an association in the Unites States of people whose ancestors came from Nordfjord.

Sognefjordlaget has a very nice web page. If your ancestors came from Sognefjorden make sure to stop by this web page and sign up as a member!

Sogn & Fjordane Fylkesarkivet (County Archives) has, among other things, a searchable database of emigrants from Sogn og Fjordane. The Emigration Archives was established to document the emigration of more than 43,000 people who left Sogn og Fjordane for America between 1839 and 1924. Make sure to also check out the Fjord Heritage Club and all of the other parts of this web site!

2. Sogn og Fjordane resources

Census records

• Sogn og Fjordane census records & more (listed by municipality) from the Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. You can also search nationwide by going to the Digitalarkivet home page or by using the links below.
• 1663-1666 Census for Sunnfjord deanery, Nordfjord deanery, and Sogndal parish from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• 1801 census - Sogn og Fjordane from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• 1865 census - Sogn og Fjordane from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. Also available at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
• 1875 census from The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø. The 1875 census is also available at the Digitalarkivet.
• 1900 census - Sogn og Fjordane from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. Also available at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
• Other Sogn og Fjordane census records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.

Other records

• Tax lists from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Military rolls from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Church registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Emigration records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Probate registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Fire assessment registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Citizenship (Borgerskap) records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Other records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• The Digital Inn from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• 1886 Matrikkelen from The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
• 1950 Matrikkelen from Dokumentasjonsprosjektet

 
 
• See also Sogn og Fjordane kilder from the web site Slektshistoriske kilder 1500-1900 by DIS-Norge. This web site has extensive links to various genealogy databases for each fylke in Norway. (In Norwegian with some English translations)

Bygdebooks

•  Sogn og Fjordane bygdebooks is a list of the bygdebooks that cover various areas in Sogn og Fjordane. (Updated 29 September 2002).

LDS Family History Library online catalog

• The LDS Family History Library online catalog has many resources listed from Sogn og Fjordane. The link is to the "Place search" page of their web site, where you can search for information about specific places, clerical districts and parishes. To make your search a little bit easier, I have prepared a list of clerical districts and parishes in Sogn og Fjordane.

3. Sogn og Fjordane 'kommuner'

Sogn og Fjordane is a "fylke" (county) that covers three major areas: Nordfjord,
Sunnfjord, and Sogn. Here is a list of the "kommuner" (municipalities) in each of these
three areas:

4. Sogn og Fjordane maps

Small interactive map of Norway - shows where Sogn og Fjordane is located. Click on Sogn og Fjordane and you can see a small map of Sogn og Fjordane showing each of the 'kommune' (municipalities) of this 'fylke'.

Large map of Sogn og Fjordane from the NORWAY LIST Web Site. Kommune names are underlined,

5. Sogn og Fjordane genealogy query pages

Sogn og Fjordane queries from Rootsweb.com's "Norway Message Boards"

Slektsbiblioteket Queries is a new and very promising Norway query page.

Slektsforskerbasen from DIS-Norge (in English)

Norway-L@rootsweb.com mailing list archives is another often overlooked resource. You can search the archive to find out if others are researching the same families or places in Norway, and then contact them.
 

6. Sogn og Fjordane museums

Attractions in Sogn og Fjordane from the web site of www.norwaypost.no.

7. Miscellaneous Sogn og Fjordane web sites

Halvard Johan Bostad has a lot of information about genealogy in the Sognefjorden district, including Luster municipality and the Luster Bygdebok.

Knut A. Furrevik is from Sogn and has a very nice home page with information about his ancestors from the farms Furrevik, Fløipollen, Vaulen, Volden (Plassen), Grønnevik, and Vatsøy. (In Norwegian)

Stig Samuelsen's Slektsforskerside - with ancestors from Førde, Fjaler, og Naustdal. (In Norwegian)

Arne Moen's homepage - with ancestors from Indre Sogn.

Nils Aksel Horveis Slektsgranskning side with ancestors from Fjaler and Årdal. (In Norwegian)

Svein Aandalen slektside with ancestors from Årdal.

Olav Langeland's hjemmeside with ancestors from Balestrand.

Bengt Kvammen's hjemmeside with ancestors from Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Vest-Agder (In Norwegian).

Vegard Røine Stenerud's hjemmeside with ancestors from Eid and Hornindal.

Jan Eri with ancestors from Lærdal, Lavik, Oppedal, and Luster.

Vidar Øverlie from Tananger with ancestors from Eid, Høyanger, and Stryn in Nordfjord, and also from Møre og Romsdal, Sør-Trøndelag and a few other counties.

Leiv Skjerve's hjemmeside - with ancestors from Volda, Innvik and Gloppen.

The Anderson - Dahl Web Page by Sandra Anderson Peyton at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign includes information about Jacob Mathias Anderson and Gunhild Dahl who emigrated from Eid to the US.

The Skarsten Family's little cave includes information about the Skarstein farm on the island of Bremanger on the outer part of the fjord Nordfjord, and more.

Hopperstad of Vik i Sogn - the family of Johannes Rognaldson Vange and Inger Guttormsdatter Hove from Vik.

Arne Moen's genealogy page is in Norwegian, but he has information in English about his ancestors from Sogn og Fjordane.

Erdahl and Hammer genealogy page. "I have two direct lines back to Norway. The first is mostly from Sogn og Fjordane, parishes of Innvik and Luster.... The second line is my Hammer line. I have not yet determined where in Norway this bunch came from but recent evidence strongly points to Gran, Hadeland (Hilden/Hildeneiet/Hammer farms).

8. Local newspapers in Sogn og Fjordane

Contact relatives in Norway by sending a query to the local newspaper in Norway where your ancestors lived!

Eid kommune


Fjordabladet
Postboks 74
6771 Nordfjordeid


Flora kommune


Firdaposten
Markeg. 65
6900 Florø


Førde kommune

Firda Avishuset
Firdav. 12
6800 Førde


Gloppen kommune


Firda Tidend
6860 Sandane


Høyanger kommune


Firda Avishuset
Postboks 129
5901 Høyanger


Sogndal kommune


Avisa Sogndal
Postboks 43
5801 Sogndal

Sogn Avis
Postboks 125
5801 Sogndal


Stryn kommune


Fjordingen
Myrane 7
6880 Stryn


Vågsøy kommune


Fjordenes Tidende
Postboks 55
6701 Måløy
E-mail: fjordenes.tidende@fjt.no


Årdal kommune


Årdal & Lærdal avis
Postboks 284
5870 Øvre Årdal