Danish Genealogy Blog

Professional Genealogist Lene Kottal's blog about genealogy in Denmark

All posts Vital and Census Records Court Records Military Records Real Property Records and Maps Immigration and Emigration Manorial Records Danish Genealogy Words Miscellaneous Databases and Tools

25 County Records for Danish Family Research

The Danish county offices had a wide variety of tasks and the collections from the county offices contain many record series of value to family researchers. In this year's Advent calendar, I will show examples of 25 records from a Danish county office.

by Lene Dræby Kottal, Certified Genealogist®

Headings in Danish Marriage Records: Mid-1800s

Since 1814 Danish parish registers have had preprinted headings. If you have the translation for the headings, you may be able to find your ancestor's record yourself. In this post I provide a translation of the headings in marriage records from Southern Denmark from the mid-1800s.

by Lene Dræby Kottal, Certified Genealogist®

Your Danish Ancestor's Votes for Elections

In Denmark, elections used to be held by a raise of hands. Two record books from a municipality show whom each person voted for at a local election in 1841.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

Zebras, Lions and Danes at the Gold Coast

Denmark played a significant role in the colonization of the Gold Coast and the West Indies. In this post I use Captain Rasmus Larsen as an example to show some of the records available from the colonies.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

Yearly Inspection of Copyhold Farms and Houses

Count Jens Christian Carl Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs sent out a circular letter on 13 November 1834 demanding that all copyhold farms and houses under the manors Frijsenborg and Hagsholm were inspected once a year. Thereby the copyholders were regularly made aware of their obligation to maintain the buildings. The inspections were recorded and the records have been digitized. In this post I show an example of an inspection record.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

eXamples from Midwife Records

This post is a part of my posts for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, which has now reached the letter X. In this post I give some examples from midwife records. Midwives had to keep records of all births they assisted from 1861 to 1976, but some midwives started keeping records before it was required. The records may not say much, but I think these details are fun to have.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

Widow Pensions from 1775 to 1845

A Danish widow pension fund was founded on 30 August 1775. The fund replaced a pension fund for military personnel, of which membership was voluntary. From 1775 army and navy officers and officials appointed by the King were obliged to pay to the new pension fund. The fund was also open to others. In this post I demonstrate how to use the index to these records.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

Verdict: Paternity Suit from 1798

Verdicts can be passed by various authorities in Denmark. The first authority to pass a verdict in a paternity and child support suit is the county administration. In this post I show an example of a verdict from 1798.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

Unwanted: Deportation of Immigrants

Did it ever occur to you that your ancestor may not have left Denmark voluntarily? Many Germans and Swedes immigrated to Denmark, but some of them were deported. Instead of going back to their homeland, some continued their quest for a better future by going to the United States or Canada after being deported from Denmark.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

Time for School: Enrollment Records

Various kinds of school records were made by Danish schools over the years. Apart from journals and exam records, you may find enrollment records and teacher memoirs. In this post I show an example of an enrollment record and I also touch upon where you can find the records.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

School Records: Attendance and Absence

The last two days I have shown examples of Danish school records showing grading of the pupils. Teachers also had to record the absence and attendance of each pupil from 1814, because going to school was mandatory in Denmark. In this post I give an example of an attendance and absence record and an example from a book of pupils.

by Lene Dræby Kottal

Reading and Writing Skills of Your Danish Ancestors

Exam records from many Danish elementary schools have been digitized. They were kept biannually, so you can use them to follow the progress of your ancestor's skills. In this post I give an example of an exam record.

by Lene Dræby Kottal