Starting Research

Starting Research

Patronyms and naming customs
Danish burial customs
Cyndi's List
Helpful hints for conducting research in Denmark
Introduction to Genealogical Research in Denmark
Many articles for genealogical research in general
Danish Research Outline by Aurelia Clemmons
Danish Research Outline from the Family History Library
Helpful Hints for Successful Searching by Maura Petzolt
Lineages, Inc. - A Genealogy and Family History Site
Roots in Denmark
Resource books

What is the difference between surnames and patronyms?
  Surnames are a very recent development in Denmark. You cannot conduct research along the Danish lines of your family based upon the surname of an ancestor in the United States because up until the mid-1800's, 99 percent of the people in Denmark used "patronyms." What is a patronym? This can best be explained by example.
  Let us start with a man named Jens Pedersen. The sons of Jens Pedersen would have the 'last' name (or sometimes 'middle' name) of Jensen, not Pedersen. Now say one of Jens' sons was named Hans. The sons of Hans Jensen would have the 'last' name of Hansen, not Jensen. Now lets say that one of Hans' sons was named Anders. His sons names would be -- you got it -- Andersen. See the pattern? The corresponding name for the daughters was Jensdatter, Hansdatter, and Andersdatter. So there is no reason to suppose that one Jensen was related to another Jensen, or one Hansen to another Hansen unless they were brothers. You are more likely to find your family from the PLACE they were born in Denmark rather then from their American surnames. Therefore, it suggested that when you make your postings to the Denmark List, that you also list the place in Denmark where your family is from in addition to the name you are looking for. More information on Danish naming traditions can be found at The Danish Family History Page.
 
The following was submitted to the Denmark List by Ulrich Alster Klug pertaining to identifying witnesses at christenings and naming customs.
It was not until mid last century, that the parents occur among the witnesses. The witnesses had to make sure the child was educated in the right Christian faith if the parents died. Therefore having the parents of the child (or very old family members) was considered somewhat foolish. The witnesses are usually family - often brothers and sisters of the child's parents.
 
Usually the child was carried to the font by a young girl or a married female member of the family. The tradition varies from parish to parish. In some parts of the country, the custom was to have a godmother who was respectable (no issues before marriage) and married. The child's 'christening-hat' would be held during the christening ceremony by an unmarried member of the family (this so that she would become fertile), and of course she was to be of good reputation too (no issues before marriage).
 
If a grandmother or great-grandmother was still alive, she might be the one who held the child. This was something that a family could be very proud of, since so many people died very young.
 
There had to be from two to five godfathers and -mothers. Usually two women and three men. More that that was not allowed for the peasants. This was so to decrease the christening parties and consumption among the lower classes. Also the peasants were not allowed to use knitted jackets nor laces broader than four inches. (It seems that at least some peasants were rather well off!!). The number of guests at a wedding and the amount of luxury goods they were allowed to consume at the party was also limited by law.
 
The best men (at a wedding) usually were the bride's and the groom's fathers. If they were dead, it would have been the brothers or uncles if that was possible.
 
Sometimes people of high birth, or superiors of the family, or people superior to the family in regard to financial state or rank in society are choosen. Also when family could have been chosen, but this is most likely amoung the most well off part of a family. The upper ones were god parents of the less fortunate ones because the god parents often used their influence to benefit the child. For example, to make sure it got an education, to let it join the army as an officer, and so on.
 
When a child was born to a married couple, the phrase would be like this:
Parents: Farmer Jens Nielsen and wife Maren born Larsdatter on S�ndergaard
- S�ndergaard would then be the name of the farm.
If a child was illegitimate, the entry would something like:
Parents: The girl (or unmarried female person if it was her second bastard child) Maren Jensdatter, who is in service of farmer Ole Christensen on Ebberup Mark. Alleged as the childs father was Jens Pedersen from Nyk�bing Falster, who is a soldier there.
If a figure is stated (from about 1840 an on) after the mother's name, this would be her age.

 

Danish burial customs
 Graves in Denmark are only "rented" and the tombstones are often removed after 10, or 30 years and the site is used for a new grave. Ten years is if the body has been cremated. If the body has been buried without cremation, then the grave must stay for 30 years. The difference is just to make sure that nothing is left. After 30 years the worms have turned dust into dust, so there is no need to do anything special for the previous remains. Remains are buried with no personal effects as is sometimes common in other countries. It is very unusual to find a tombstone that is more than 100 years old in a cemetary. It is different from place to place, but in most cases the cemetary belongs to the church. However, in some cities, the city often has its own cemetary. Perhaps saying that the graves are "rented" is a wrong choice of words as it varies from town to town. Generally, the grave itself does not cost anything. However, it must be maintained. So if one lives close to the grave and can go there twice a month to maintain it, there is no problem. But in many cases, the family moves to another town and can not do this themselves. In that case, they must pay for grave maintenance, and this can be pretty expensive. Also, a family may have to pay something for the grave if they are not a member of the church. When it comes time for the grave to be reused, the tombstone can be lined up along a fence at the edge of the cemetary, or it may simply be removed. As far as what can be inscribed on the tombstone, it is very different from one family to another. One may see names, professions, dates and places for birth and death, while on the other hand, one may also see nothing but the name and maybe a text like "rest in peace". Finally, you will _never_ find any information on a tombstone that you could not find much easier and better in the churchbook.

 

Cyndi's List
All beginning Danish researchers should start here with Cyndi's List. This page has many of the same links found here in the Denmark List FAQ plus a whole lot more. If you only look at one link on this whole website, look at this one.

 

http://www.genealogi.dk/factwors.htm
This page is an article offering many helpful hints for those conducting research in Denmark.

 

Introduction to Genealogical Research in Denmark
This introduction is about the resources what kind of information you can find at Danish Archives and how you can prevent a waste of time by preparing yourself before a visit. You will also find the information useful if you are using the Internet.

 

http://www.familytreemaker.com/excite/exciteissu.html
This page from Family Tree Maker has how-to articles on everything from the basics to organizing reunions to using technology. Spend a few hours here and you'll be armed with tons of information to get you started in the right direction.

 

http://www.ida.net/users/really/dnmk-sem.htm
This page by Aurelia Clemons is a goldmine of information. It is a Danish Research Outline and you would be wise to print it and take it with you on your research travels. Of particular use is her list of Danish Parish Register headings where she gives the English translations for the headings on various types of parish registers.

 

http://www.familysearch.org/sg/Denmark.html
A Research Outline for Denmark from the Family History SourceGuide. The outline on this page introduces you to the records you can use to discover your Danish ancestors. It describes the content, use, and availability of major genealogical records. You can use this outline to set meaningful goals and to select the records that will help you achieve your research goals.

 

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~irlwat/instruct.htm
This page by Maura Petzolt contains hints and helps for beginning researchers. There are excellent instructions on how to write a successful query, census information, naturalization papers, passenger ships to New York and other ports, social security records and what the digits in a social security number mean, and e-mail addresses for NARA branches. Petzolt is researching her Irish roots but her information applies to ALL researchers no matter what country their ancestors are from.

 

Lineages, Inc. - A Genealogy and Family History Site
Lineages� Web Site is a major genealogy reference library and resource center built and maintained by professional genealogists who understand the needs of beginning researchers and experienced family historians.

 

Roots in Denmark
This website has practically everything you'll need to know to prepare for a trip to the National Archives in Copenhagen, if you decide to do research there.

 

Publications for research
Submitted by listmember Paul Pedersen of Toronto, Canada
There are 2 publications that I have found to be invaluable for Danish Genealogy research. These have been referred to from time to time on this list, but I thought that a brief description might be useful.
 
(1) "Genealogical Guidebook & Atlas of Denmark" by Frank Smith & Finn A. Thomsen
This has a research introduction, lists and maps of Parishes (Sogn), Districts (Herred), and Counties (Amt), both old and new. It also has detailed maps of Denmark with an index of place names.
 
(2) "Scandinavian Genealogical Research" by Finn A. Thomsen. (all 3 volumes bound together)
Volume I - Danish-Norwegian Language Guide & Dictionary.
---It also includes a list of Occupations and Titles, and examples from Parish Registers, Census Returns, Military Levying Rolls, and Probate Records.
Volume II - The Old Handwriting and Names of Denmark and Norway.
--- Contains numerous examples from old records with transcriptions and translations.
Volume III - Danish-Norwegian Genealogical Research Sources.
--- A comprehensive listing of primary sources, what they contain, and where to find them.
 
The above are published by Thomsen's Genealogical Center, P.O. Box 588, Bountiful, Utah 84010, USA. I recently purchased the second of the above from Global Genealogy Supply and received the publication by mail in less than a week.