Norway, Census, 1865

What is in This Collection?

This census enumerates all persons in Norway on 31 December 1865. The census is arranged by county, clerical district, parish. In the cities the census is arranged by street name, and in rural areas by district and farm.

The census consists of several sections, the two most valuable for genealogists are the Hovedlist over Folketallet (Main list of the population) and Specialliste over Folketallet (Special list of the population). The Hovedliste is a summary which gives the enumeration district number (special listens nummer), the tax registration number (matrikulens løbe-nummer), the farm or place name (gaardens eller stedets navn), number of occupied houses (beboede huses antal), number of households (husholdningernes antal), and total population (samlet folketal) for that farm. The Specialliste contains the personal information on each person living on the farm; their name, occupation, marital status, age, and birthplace. Two additional fields asking about religious affiliation and any physical impediments are also included. The confession of faith (troesbekjendelse) is usually not completed unless the person was a member of a religion other than the state Lutheran church. Statistical fields asking about the number of livestock and crops are also included on the census form.

Forms varied slightly between rural areas and cities. The field containing the farm number is blank in forms used in cities. It is important to note that in the parish of Tana, Finnmark County, only the name of the head of household was recorded.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

Reading These Records

These records are written in Norwegian. For help reading them see:

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Hovedliste (Main List)

This table gives the column headings for the Hovedliste (Main List) of the census.

Column	Column Heading (Norwegian)	Column Heading (English)
1	Special-Listens No.	Special list Number
2	Matrikulens Løbe-No.	Tax Registration Number
3	Gaardens eller Stedets Navn	Farm or place's name
4	Beboede Huses Antal	Number of Occupied Houses
5	Husholdningernes Antal	Number of Households
6	Samlet Folketal	Total Population

Specialliste (Special List)

This table give the column headings for the enumeration of the population. As different forms were used in different parts of the country, this may not exactly match the form used in the parish you are searching.

Column	Column Heading (Norwegian)	Column Heading (English)
1	Husholdninger	Households
2	Personernes Navne (Fornan og Binavn)	People's Names (First Name and Last Name)
3	Hvad Enhver er i Familien, saasom Husfader, Kone, Søn, Datter, Forældre, Tjenestetyende eller Logerende, samt Enhvers Stand eller Næringsvei	What everybody Is in the family, such as head of household, wife, son, daughter, parents, servant or lodgers, and everyone's occupation or livelyhood
4	Ugift, Gift, Enkemand, Enke eller Fraskilt	Unmarried, married, widowed, widowed or divorced
5	Alder, det løbende Aldersaar iberegnet / Mandkjøn / Kvindekjøn	Age, the current age year included / Male / Female
6	Fødested, nemlig Kjøbstadens eller Ladestedets og i Landdistrikterne: Præstegjeldets eller Amtets Navn. Forsaavide Nogen er født i Udlandet, anføres Landet	Place of birth, namely the city town and in the rural areas: The name of the clerical district or the county. Insofar as someone was born abroad, state the country
7	Troesbekjendelse, forsaavidt Nogen ikke bekjender sig til Statskirken	Confession of faith, Insofar as someone does not profess to the State Church
8	Sindssvag, Døvstum eller Blind. Er Nogen sindssvag, da skriv om han (hun) har været dette fra de første Barneaar eller ikke. Som Blind anføres den, der ikke har Gangsyn.	Insane, Deaf or Blind. If someone is insane, write whether he or she has been this from the first Childhood years or not. Blind is one who does not have eyesight
9	Samlet Folketal for huset eller Gaarden	Total population for the house or farm
10	Kreaturhold de 31te December 1865 / Heste / Stort Kvæg / Faar / Gjeder / Svin / Rensdyr	Livestock on December 31, 1865 / Horses / Large Cattle / Sheep / Goats / Pigs / Reindeer
11	Udsæd i Aaret 1865, underet for hele Eiendommen / Hvete / Rug / Byg / Blandkorn / Havre / Erter / Poteter	Seed in the year 1865, on the whole property / Wheat / Rye / Barley / Mixed grains / Oats / Peas / Potatoes
	Anmærkinger	Remarks

Translations for most of these words can be found on the Norwegian Genealogical Word List.

Collection Content

Sample Images

• 

  Main list, Fræna clerical district

• 

  Special list, Greve Wedels Plads 5a, Christiania

• 

  Special list, Vågøy parish, Fræna clerical district, school district 5