Getting into the Norwegian census


Til hovedsiden Søk i: Folketellinger FT avansert Kirkebok Matrikkel1886 Dokumentasjon Eilert Sundt Linker Adresser English	Getting into the Norwegian census
	By Michael Drake, Open University The first national census took place in Norway in 1769. Not until 1801, however, was the first nominative census produced. Unfortunately this major breakthrough (few nominative censuses at a national level were produced as early as this) was not repeated until 1865. From then on such censuses became the norm. They also became widespread throughout Europe. Because the civil servants in charge of the national censuses got together on occasion, as well as corresponding with each other, a code of best practice was devised for what questions should appear on the household schedules. Not surprisingly few countries managed to live up to the code in its entirety but, as Table 1 shows, by the period 1860–80, many sought answers to the same questions i.e. surname and first name; sex; age; relationship to head of household; civil status; occupation; religious affiliation; place of birth. That the same questions were asked obvious helps us undertake comparative studies, with all the advantages they bring. There is, however, another feature of the nominative census schedules which works towards the same end, namely that many of the replies cover a relatively small register. This means that only limited linguistic skill is required in order to read and analyze the returns. For example sex is either male or female: civil status is either single, married, widowed, separated or divorced; relationship to head of household/family is, in the overwhelming majority of cases his/her wife/husband, son, daughter, servant, lodger, father, mother, grandson or granddaughter. Place of birth in most cases again requires but a gazetteer and/or an atlas. Age is reported numerically in years or months and poses no problem so far as reading is concerned: its accuracy is another matter. Religion is also confined to a limited number of alternatives, as is ethnic origin and the ability to read or write. There is, however, one rubric common to all the nominative censuses that does pose linguistic problems, namely occupation. The core problem encountered when ‘reading' the census schedules is the sheer variety of the occupations one encounters. This is compounded - especially in the countryside - by the fact that the same occupation could be - and was - described in several different ways. In the smaller Norwegian towns, like Tromsø, this particular problem does not appear to be so acute. Whether this was due to a genuine difference between urban and rural occupational nomenclature, or was due to the way the enumeration was carried out, is not clear. The fact that the same occupation could be spelled in different ways e.g. skibscaptein, skibskaptein or skomagersvend, skomagersvenn also produces a slight problem. To overcome the above problems a dictionary has been prepared to cover every single variant of occupational description. The scale of the problem is immediately apparent when it is realized that in the relatively small town of Tromsø in 1865 (population 4,073) some 461 occupational variants appeared on the schedules. On close inspection, however, a very high proportion of these are variants of the same occupation. The Tromsø census of 1865 The printed version of the census prepared by the Norwegian Historical Data Centre at the University of Tromsø contains the following information heads (see Table 2). illustration - Comming soon! 1 Mtr No 30 - Løbe No 144 - Storgaden Both urban and rural property in Norway appeared in a national register (the Matrikkel) with each entity being assigned a number. No infrequently property was divided e.g. another residence was built on the plot, entailing the use of a suffix i.e. a, b, c, etc. In the towns the local tax collector was assigned the task of distributing the census schedules to each householder and of collecting them once they had been completed. The heads of households were themselves supposed to complete the schedules, though in Tromsø the job was often undertaken by others. We know this because whoever completed the schedule had to append his signature to it. A street name (Gatenavn) and number was supposed to be entered on each schedule. In Tromsø only the street names were given. In order to make sure that all the schedules were completed they were each given a ‘running' number (løpenummer) when they were distributed. It was then a relatively easy matter to check that all the schedules that went out were also gathered in. In fact in Tromsø there is some doubt as to whether this was the case. 2 Names and relation to head of household Fixed surnames were more common in the towns than in the countryside. All appearing in these two households had them with the possible exception of Samuel Olsen. However it was still not uncommon for males to create a surname by adding ‘sen' (‘son of') or, for females, ‘dotre' (‘daughter of') to their father's Christian name. Thus Ole Mortensen would be the son of, for example, Morten Hanssen. In this case the former's sons would, in turn, be called e.g. Jon or Jens etc. Olsen, his daughters e.g. Maria or Petra Olsen. Note too that a woman kept her maiden name after marriage, a distinct advantage for those now engaged in genealogical research or other nominal record linkage work. The head of the household was usually male, hence husfader (house-father) but could be female, in which case husmoder (house-mother) would appear. Sometimes neither husfader nor husmoder was entered. The list continued with (hans) kone (his wife), søn (son), datter (daughter). Other terms to be found occasionally in this column were: Antaget barn = Adopted child Bedstemoder (fader) = Grandmother (father) Brodersøn = Brother's son Datter datter = Granddaughter Deres børn = Their children Deres søn (datter, barn, broder) = Their son (daughter, child, brother) De to forriges søn (datter) = The above two's son (daughter) Disses moder = The above persons' mother Enke (enkemand) = Widow (widower) Fader (modern, søster, broder) = Father (mother, sister, brother) Familie fader = Family head Farmoder = Grandmother on male side Fattiglæm = Pauper Foranståendes barn (kone) = The above's child (wife) Forældre = Parent Fostersøn (datter) = Foster son (daughter) Frillesøn (datter) = Son/daughter/born outside marriage Hans hastru = His wife Hennes søn (datter, mor, far) = Her son (daughter, mother, father) Hennes søn med 1ste mand = Her son by first husband Husbestyrerinde = Housekeeper Huseier = Houseowner Husfaderens moder (søster) = Household head's mother (sister) Husholderske = Housekeeper Husjomfru = Housekeeper Konens (mannens) moder) = Wife's (husband's) mother Logerende (logerer) = Lodger Logi i huset = Lodges in house Midlertidig logererende = Temporary lodger Pleieson (datter, barn) = Foster son (daughter, child) Stedson (datter, barn) = Stepson (daughter, child) Svigermoder (søn) = Mother (son)-in-law Svoger = Brother-in-law Søster (broder) til konen = Wife's sister (brother) Uægte barn = Child born out of wedlock 3 Dyr: svin 2 The 1865 population census also required householders to provide information as to the number and kind of animals they kept and the quantity and type of crops they sowed. Mostly this data was supplied by farmers but as some townspeople also kept animals and planted potatoes, for instance, they were not the only people to do so. Where space permits the full name of the animal or crop appears in the RHD edition of the census, but sometimes only the first two letters are given (see the list below with the abbreviated form in bold). Note that the variety of animals and crops was limited. HEste = Horse KU = Cow FÅr = Sheep GJeder = Goat SVin = Pig REnsdyr = Reindeer HVete = Wheat RUg = Rye BYg = Barley BLandkorn = Mixture of two grains, usually barley and oats HAvre = Oats ERter = Peas POteter = Potatoes The unit of measurement was the tønne (pl. tønner) the equivalent of 4 bushels. thus po 1/2 means 2 bushels of potatoes planted. 4 Occupations For a translation into English of the terms used under this rubric see below. 5 Civil status G(ifte) = Married U(gifte) = Unmarried E(nke) E(nkemand) = Widow, widower F(raskilt) = Divorced 6 Age In years at next birthday. 7 Sex M(ann) = Male K(vinne) = Female U(kjent) = Unknown 8 Birthplace Usually the parish (præstegjeld) is given or, if born abroad, the country. A blank space indicates the person was born in the place of the census. Additional information appears occasionally on the extreme right of the census schedule. This concerned ethnicity; health; linguistic ability; number of years immigrants had resided in Norway; languages spoken; membership of non-State Church congregations etc. Antaget barn = Adopted child Begge de Gamle koger og steller deres mad = Both the old people prepare their own food Begge forældre fastboende Lapper i Kautokeino = Both parents sedentary Lapps in Kautokeino Blandet herkomst = Mixed race Blind = Blind Brødresamf = Brothers society(?) Den frie Ortodoxe menighed = The free Orthodox congregation Dicenter (Desinter, Desenter, Dissenter) = Dissenter Fattiglæm = Pauper Flyttet 1846 = Migrated 1836 Forstaar ikke Norsk = Doesn't understand Norwegian Forældene forstaar nogenlunde norsk børnene tale godt Norsk = Parents understand some Norwegian, children speak it well Forældre og børn taler godt Norsk = Parents and children speak good Norwegian Forældrene Quener taler Norsk = Parents are Kven speaks Norwegian Fri apostoliske menighet = Free church Frimenigheden = Free church Født 12de Novbr 1865 = Born 12th Nov. 1865 Gaar paa skole her i Byen, hvorfor han er antaget at maatte medregnes = Goes to school in town and therefore assumed to be resident here Har været til søes i 41/2 aar = Has been to sea for 41/2 years Har været i Narge 34 aar = Resident in Norway for 34 years Taler Norsk ligesaa Børnene = Speaks Norwegian as do children Huseieren Gulsmed Edelsten, har eit Værksted her, hvor denne har Nattleie = Houseowner Goldsmith Edelsten, has a workshop here, where the person enumerated sleeps Idiot fra fødselen = Insane from birth Indenskjærs skipper = Inshore skipper Indflyttet 1818 = Immigrated in 1818 Katolsk = Catholic Krøbling = Cripple Logerende i samme værelse = Lodges in same room Lutterske = Lutheran Manden bortreist for 14 aar siden = Husband left 14 years ago Manden i slaveriet = Husband in prison Manden taler ikkun lidt Norsk = Husband speaks only a little Norwegian Manden Peder Børstad er reist til Amerika = Husband Peder Børstad has gone to America Manden Smed i Lofoden = Husband a blacksmith in Lofoten Nu ude paa l Båd = At sea Oppgave om udsæd formondtlig kunne gives af Gaarden Eer, Havnefogd Ludvigs = Information on crops planted can officially be supplied only by the house owner, Harbour Master Ludvigsen Oppholder sig i Norge i 27aar = Lived in Norway for 27 years Qvæn har været i Norge 29 aar. Konen og børnene tale Norsk = Kven has been in Norway for 29 years. Wife and children speak Norwegian Qvænske Forældr Kvæner = Parents Kven. Kven Samtlige taler Norsk med Herkomst af ... = All speak Norwegian with ... Sindsvag fra Novemb. 1865 = Insane from November 1865 Sindssvag til forskellige tider i de sidste 10 aar = Insane at different times over the past 10 years Skilt fra kona i 17 aar = Divorced from wife for 17 years Skilt far sin mand = Divorced from husband Statskirken = State church member Søn af en Kvæn taler Norsk = Son of Kven, speaks Norwegian Taler godt Norsk = Speaks good Norwegian Taler Norsk ankommet 1836 = Speaks Norwegian, arrived in country in 1836 Tvillinger = Twins Øverste Etage = Upper floor (9) aar i Norge forstaar nogenlunde Norsk = 9 years in Norway understands some Norwegian 20 aar i Norge, deraf 9 in Byen = 20 years in Norway, of which 9 in town
	Registreringssentral for historiske data Universitetet i Tromsø, N-9037 Tromsø Oppdatert: 10. november 2004