Norway, Census, 1891

What is in This Collection?

The 1891 census is made up of three forms: Hovedliste (Main list), Husliste (House list), and Personseddel (Person list). Each community is divided into one or more tellingskrets (enumeration district).

In rural areas the Hovedlist gives the tax registration number of each farm and sub-farm. In cities the house number and name of the head of household are given. The Hovedliste is used as an index to the Husliste. The Husliste gives the total number of persons in each dwelling, and divides that out by the number of males and females present, visiting, or temporarily away. The Personseddel gives specific details about each person in the household.

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?

This census contains the following information for each person:

Collection Content

The complete census consists of four separate forms.

1. Hovedsammendrag (Main summary) listing all the enumeration districts (tellingkreds) and their number in a place
2. Hovedliste (Main list) for each enumeration district identifying each Husliste with the gaardsnummer (farm number), brugsnummer (sub-farm or croft), and place or head of household's name
3. Husliste (House list) giving the name of the head of household and number of persons living in the residence
4. Personseddel (Person sheets) with the particulars of that person

If you know the name of the farm an individual lived on you can search the Hovedliste to identify the husliste for that farm. If there is more than one farm with a similar name (like Sollied nedre, Sollied øvre, or Sollied nørdre) you should check the husliste for each farm.

The husliste are arranged numerically first by tellingkreds and then by husliste. When you locate the husliste for the farm it will identify the total number of persons living there. It will also identify by gender how many were present on the date of the census, how many were temporarily away, and if there were any visitors.

There is one personsell for each person in a household. The form has fields to be filled in by the enumerator and values to select. These forms are generally arranged with the male head of household first, followed by his wife, male children oldest to youngest, female children oldest to youngest, other family members, domestics, and lodgers. In cases where the head of household is a woman she would be listed first, and then others would be listed in the order described.

In Tromsø diocese (Troms and Finnmark counties) three additional questions were asked regarding nationality, language spoken at home, and if the family was nomadic or had a fixed place of residence. The forms for ships had an abbreviated list of questions.

The census also included sailors aboard Norwegian ships in foreign harbors.

Personssedel - Schema B

Nr.	Norwegian	English
1.	Fuldt Navn	Full Name
2.	Kjøn: Mandkjøn, Kvindekjøn	Gender: Male, Female
3.	Stilling til Familiens Hovedperson: Selv Hovedperson, Hustru, Søn, Datter, Tjenestyende, Logerende hørende till Familien, enslig Logerende, Besøgende, o. s. v.	Relation to the Family's Main Person: Self, Wife, Son, Daughter, Servant, Relatives of the Family, Lodger, Visitor, etc.
4.	Ægteskabelig Stilling (for Personer over 15 Aar): Ugift, Gift, Enkemand, Enke, Separeret efter Bevilling, Lovlig fraskilt	Marital Status (for persons over 15 years of age): Married, Married, Widowed, Widowed, Separated by Grant, Legally Divorced
5.	For gifte Kvinder: Er De og Deres Mand indbyrdes beslægtet, som Næstsøskendebarn (Tremenninger) eller næremer? Ja, Nei	For Married Women: Are you and your husband related to each other, second cousins or close relatives? Yes, No
6.	Fødselsår / For Børn under 2 Aar: Fødselsmaaned	Year of birth / For children under 2 years of age: month of birth
7.	Fødested: Herred, Sogn eller By / For de i Udlandet fødte: (Landets eller Stedets Navn)	Place of birth: district, parish or town / For those born abroad: (Name of the country or place)
8.	Hvilken Stats Undersåt (for dem, der ikke ere norske Undersaatter)	Subject of which nation (for those who are not Norwegian subjects)
9.	Trossamfund (for dem, der ikke tilhøre den norske Statskirke)	Religious affiliation (for those who do not belong to the Norwegian State Church)
10.	For de i selvstændig eller i underordnet Stilling Erhvervende: Erhvervsgren (Hovednæring, Bierhverv) og Stilling i samme	For those in independent or subordinate business position: Business sector (Main industry, sideline) and position in that business
11.	For de af Andre helt eller delvis Forsørgede: Forsørgerens Livsstilling	For those of others wholly or partly supported: The providers's occupation
12.	Sindssvag, Døvstum eller Blind	Feeble-minded, deaf or blind
13.	Er sindssygdommen, Døvstumheden eller blindheden medfødt (hvormed ligestilles, at de er kommne tilsyne i de første Barneaar), eller er den fremtraadt senere?	Is the mental illness, deafness or blindness innate (which equates to appearing in the first year of childhood), or did it develop later?
14.	For de kun midlertigist Tilstedværende: sædvanlgit Bosted	For the only temporarily present: customary residence
15.	For de midlertidigt Fraværende: antageligt Opholdssted	For the temporarily absent: acceptable place of residence

Sample Images

• 

  Hovedsammendrag Kviteseid, Telemark

• 

  Hovedliste - first page, Kviteseid, Nedre Morgendal district

• 

  Hovedliste - 2nd page, list of farms, Kviteseid, Nedre Morgendal district

• 

  Husliste, Kallok lille og søndre farm

• 

  Personseddel, Bjørn Johannesen of Kallok farm