Mesa Arizona Regional Family History Center
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Government Archives Instructions

www.riksarkivet.no/english/news.html

by Orval Skousen

The English information is very good on this site. As you browse on this site, you will soon discover that there is more than just censuses and parish records to look at. Have Fun.

1. When you first enter the site, read the paragraph and then click on “Read More”.
   
2. Click on “The Digital Archives” to view the search page. It consists of a row in blue across the top that lets you search in Databases, Censuses, and the “Digitized Parish Records”. Down the left side under the column “Databases”, the most important will be “The Digital Inn”, the “Digitized Parish Registers” (the same as across the top), “Photo Album of Farms” and “Tracing ancestors in Norway”.
   

1. The Censuses of 1801, 1865, 1875, 1900 are searchable. Other censuses were for statistical information only. The search form is in English, the data is in Norwegian.

2. The "Digital Inn" is a set of contributed databases. When you get to the search page, the list of contributors is given. After clicking on one of the contributors, a list of the data that has been submitted is presented, then you can look through it. You must read Norwegian to accomplish much.

3. The "Digitized Parish Records" -  Clicking the statement in the Databases column gives you one additional screen of information that you will not see by clicking the button on the top row. The information on the search page is in English and gives you all you need to know to search. You cannot do a name search on these digital images. It's like looking through a microfilm roll.  You need to read the old Gothic Script.

4. The "Photo Album of Farms" gives pictures of farms that are tied to the 1900 census. If you can find the farm you want, you can click on the census and see who lived there.

5. "Tracing ancestors in Norway" is a very good book or pamphlet on Genealogy in Norway. It is worth reading.