Monday, May 11, 2015

Danish Online Resources for Family History Research

Danish Online Resources for Family History Research

The Danish government provides free online access to church and government records. This is a remarkable service. Because of this, it is possible to search and put together families and individuals much more quickly and with better results than in any time in the history of Danish research.

How to Begin

In my previous post, I mentioned the problems found in the FamilySearch™ data in some Danish families. The best approach to analyze and fix linkage problems in FamilySearch™ is to begin with the most recent Danish ancestor, usually someone who joined the church in Denmark. If there are a few generations of ancestors who seem to be correct in the records, you can assume for now that they are correct and go back to the last one that seems OK and start from there, verifying that their information is correct in the original Danish records available online.

Establish your Resources

It is good to start with a few resources to help in understanding Denmark and the way the records work.

The following list should be assembled or found available online. The specific list items are covered and samples are given in the next entries in this blog.

1. A detailed map of the area of Denmark where your ancestors originate. Unfortunately, modern maps may be a problem because of changed names and boundaries. If you can find maps or charts that date back to the beginning of the 1900's or earlier, you will be better off.

2. Learn the geographic divisions of Denmark. Basically, the country is divided up into Amt (County), Herred (District) and Sogn (Ecclesiastical Parish). Within the Parishes there are the towns, villages and farms.

3. Get a Danish dictionary. It is also good to get a specific list of genealogical names in Danish, especially since modern Danish words may differ from these old words.

4. A chart showing the basic handwriting styles.

5. A calendar showing feast days and special church holidays in the Danish Lutheran church.

6. A list of the different record types and years of coverage.

I have a web page with links to the online services available and some documents showing these types of records, help guides etc. The web site is 

           http://buchananspot.com/joseph/genealogy/DanishHelper.html
   [ Note: with the change in the church records server, this DanishHelper document was updated 28 July 2015 - jfb ]

Methodology

One of the most difficult aspects of research in Danish records is the fact that there are a set of names that are used extensively. Occasionally there are non-patronymic surnames, but usually a person's name is simply a first name (sometimes middle names) and the last name consisting of a patronymic: the father's firstname followed by "sen" for sons and "datter" for daughters. Women usually are always known by their "datter" name and not their husband's last name, so that aspect of the culture better helps us to identify the women.

Because of this method of naming children, some names are very common and it is vital that other information is found to further identify the person, e.g. birthplace, occupation, birthdate, etc. It is also important to use other records as they are available, such as census and probate records. Since census records are available online for the entire country, it helps the work, though only beginning with the 1787 census. With these records, you can tie families together better and verify correct names.

One caution to observe in all research is to not expect names (both of people and places) to be consistent. Even the "primary" records - the parish church records - have misspellings or alternative spellings. Therefore, it is good to have multiple references. For example, there is the name Christen and Christian which are very different names, but occasionally they were recorded as the other name. Another example is Ole and Oluf. Sometimes -datter is spelled out and often abbreviated -dt or -dtr.

In the 1800's and later, be sure to look for confirmation records for the children. They were usually confirmed at about age 13-15 and those records often show the birth or christening date as well, and usually the parents' names.

Handwriting and Format

The value of the parish records can be compromised by bad handwriting of the recorder. Sometimes you need to spend a lot of time looking at the records for the time frame to start to recognize certain letters. Consult handwriting charts and see the various alternative ways of writing the same letters.

Records beginning about 1810 usually are in pre-printed form books so it is much easier to find the different kinds of records and what dates and names are what because of the columns. The handwriting san still be a problem, but you can better find the information. Prior to this time, the records were on plain paper books. Sometimes, the recorder would separate births from deaths, etc. but sometimes they are all intermingled. You need to spend some time studying these records.

Completing Families

As you study the records, be sure to check for more children. Infant and child mortality was high in Europe, so there are many children who die early and do not get recorded in the secondary records. Use common sense and expect a child within about two years of other children. Often when a child dies, the next child of that same sex will receive the same name. Also be sure to check death records for children. Their age is usually shown in days, weeks, months, etc. Sometimes children are listed as stillborn or "dodtfodt" even though they may have lived for a few minutes or hours, so record them as being born and died on the same day.

Record your Research

Above all, as you do research, keep some kind of research journal. It is useful to refer back to these and see where you found certain records of certain dates to help find the records again. Also, it is very important to record when you do not have success. That way you and others do not have to go over the same area in vain. Be specific about what you were looking for and reasons for not continuing the search.

In FamilySearch™ you can record the source information. This is a lot easier if you have been recording the process of your research. Include the web information as well as the original record details and page numbers. You can record image number (Opslag) to help yourself and others find the same online records, but sometimes the records are re-scanned so the Opslag numbers may be off for subsequent research.

Seek Help


There are online resources on FamilySearch™ as well as people in the Family History center in Salt Lake who are very good in helping. Do not forget that there are also people on the other side of the veil and your Heavenly Father is ready to help us in our work, so prayer is also important.

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