Genealogy Jottings

The Sons of Norway organization encourages members to learn cultural skills reminiscent of their Norwegian heritage. They offer many courses of study including rosmaling, hardanger embroidery, Norwegian cooking, and Norwegian music. Members can work through three levels of expertise in each skill.

This week our Lodge recognized my husband/tech advisor for his mastery of Norwegian genealogy. To earn his Level 1, 2, and 3 beautifully-enameled pins, he had to research his Norwegian ancestry and complete the following:

• Seven Ancestor Charts and Family Group Sheets for people in his family tree,
• Source citations for all his information,
• Stories about three people on his pedigree charts.

To those of us who pursue American genealogy, this may sound simple. Trust me, it is not!

The researcher in Norwegian records must master many specialized skills:

• An understanding of the historical social structure of Norway because different social classes created different records.
• An ability to use the patronymic naming system because most Norwegians had no surname.
• A vocabulary of the words used in Norwegian records and an ability to read pre-20^th century handwriting.
• A familiarity with the record-keeping practices and formats used for vital records by the state Lutheran church.
• A conception of the geography and governmental administrative divisions pertaining to the area in which one’s ancestors lived.

My husband/tech advisor did all this and more. He mastered the use of the Norwegian Archives database and then taught others in our Lodge how to use it. He did lookups for those who struggled with it. And he went far beyond the number of Ancestor Charts and Family Group sheets required, even tracing one line of his family back to the 1400’s.

I hope his work is serving as an inspiration to others in our Lodge to document their own family lines. Receiving beautiful pins from the Sons of Norway for all the work makes it even more worthwhile. If you are Norwegian, join your local Lodge and get started today.