Rogaland County, Norway Genealogy

Guide to Rogaland ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Rogaland is a county in Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. Rogaland is mainly a coastal region with fjords, beaches, and islands. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum-industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%.

Family History Resources
Biographies and genealogies of some well known persons in Rogaland county. , by Ola Aurenes, 1984. 948.31 D3a FHL INTL Book

Government Offices and Sites

 * Rogaland fylke

Municipalities
These are the modern civil divisions in Norway and are called "Kommune". They may encompass several parishes.

The Norway.no website is the gateway to the public sector in Norway.

You may look at an alphabetical list for the whole country or you may view the list by county. For each municipality you will find telephone numbers, addresses, links to websites and E-mail links. There are both small scale and large scale location maps, links to the local library and library catalogs. The website can be toggled to English making this site very easy to use.

Karmøy Kommune

Use this link for direct access to Rogaland County.

Regions
Dalane region includes Bjerkreim, Egersund, Helleland, Lund and Sokndal clerical districts.

Jæren region includes Hetland (Frue), Høyland, Hå, Håland, Klepp, Time (Lye) and Ogna clerical districts.

Karmøy region includes Avaldsnes, Kopervik (Stangeland), Skudenes, Skudeneshavn, Torvastad (Torvestad), Falnes, Ferkingstad and Åkra clerical districts.

Ryfylke region includes Hjelmeland, Høgsfjord, Jelsa, Sand, Strand, Suldal and Vikedal clerical districts.

Cities, Parishes, Clerical Districts in Rogaland County
 Askøy (Askø) Avaldsnes Bjerkreim Bokn (Bukken) Bore Bø Domkirken, Stavanger Egersund</li> Erfjord</li> Falnes</li> Ferkingstad</li> Finnøy (Hesby)</li> Fister</li> Forsand (Fossan)</li> Frue (see Hetland)</li> Førdesfjorden</li> Gjestal</li> Haugesund</li> Hausken</li> Helleland</li> Hesby</li> Heskestad</li> Hetland</li> Hjelmeland</li> <li>Hvidingsø</li> <li>Høgsfjord</li> <li>Høle</li> <li>Høyland</li> <li>Hå</li> <li>Håland</li> <li>Imsland</li> <li>Jelsa (Jelsø)</li> <li>Klepp</li> <li>Kopervik</li> <li>Kvitsøy (Hvidingsø)</li> <li>Lund</li> <li>Lye (see Time)</li> <li>Madla</li> <li>Malle (see Madla)</li> <li>Mosterøy</li> <li>Nedstrand (Hinderå)</li> <li>Nærbø</li> <li>Nærem</li> <li>Ogna</li> <li>Orre</li> <li>Randaberg (Randeberg)</li> <li>Rennesøy</li> <li>Riska (Riskekvernen)</li> <li>Røldal (in Hordaland after 1848)</li> <li>Sand</li> <li>Sandeid</li> <li>Sandnes</li> <li>Sankt Johannes, Stavanger</li> <li>Sankt Petri, Stavanger</li> <li>Saude (Sauda)</li> <li>Sjernarøy</li> <li>Skjold</li> <li>Skudenes</li> <li>Skudeneshavn</li> <li>Skåre</li> <li>Sokndal</li> <li>Sola (Sole)</li> <li>Soma</li> <li>Stavanger</li> <li>Strand</li> <li>Suldal</li> <li>Sørbø</li> <li>Talgøy (Talgje)</li> <li>Tananger</li> <li>Time (Lye)</li> <li>Tjora</li> <li>Torvastad (Torvestad)</li> <li>Tysvær</li> <li>Utsira</li> <li>Utstein Kloster</li> <li>Varhaug</li> <li>Vats</li> <li>Vikedal</li> <li>Vår Frue (see Hetland)</li> <li>Åkra</li> <li>Åna-Sira</li> <li>Årdal</li> <li>Stavanger (Dissentermenigheter: Stavanger, Klepp, and Haugesund 1859-1903)</li> <li>Stavanger (Vennenes Samfund- Quakers, 1821-1951)</li> The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints <li>Egersund Branch, 1899-1913</li> <li>Haugesund Branch, 1905-1950</li> <li>Stavanger Branch, 1850-1938</li> </ul>

Church Records/Civil Registration

 * These are the most important records you will use, and a majority of your research will be found in them. All civil registration was kept by the church parishes until 2012.
 * Digitalarkivet: Digitized parish registers of Rogaland
 * Norway Indexed parish register transcriptions
 * The Family History Library has microfilms for all Rogaland parish registers up to about 1920. These can be viewed at the library or at a Family Histor Center near you.
 * By clicking on the parish links above, you may find direct links to all the records for that parish.
 * You do not have to be fluent in Norwegian. These records use a very limited, specialized vocabulary that is easy to learn. For help reading and interpreting theses records, see:
 * Norwegian Genealogical Word List
 * Norway Handwriting
 * Scandinavian Handwriting
 * Scandinavian Handwriting, part 3 - No part 2 available


 * [[Media:Parish Register Headings for Norway.pdf|Parish Register Headings for Norway]]: This pdf gives the translation of headings for the records in different time periods.  When a record is written with labeled columns it is much easier to search. Much of the material you read in each column will just be names and dates, since the meaning of those names (child, parents, godparents, minister) only has to be read once, in the column heading.


 * For more detail on the contents of these records and how to use them, see Norway Church Records and Norway Civil Registration.

Censuses

 * Jæren deanery, Dalane deanery, Manntall 17, 1664-1666 scanned images
 * Stavanger deanery, Karmsund deanery, Manntall 18, 1664-1666 scanned images
 * Ryfylke deanery, Manntall 19, 1664-1666 scanned images
 * Jæren og Dalane civil district, Manntall 11, 1664 scanned images
 * Ryfylke civil district, Manntall 12, 1664 scanned images
 * Ryfylke fogderi, Manntall 5, 1701
 * Jæren og Dalane fogderi, Manntall 4, 1701


 * 1758 Clerical census (Sjeleregister) for Rogaland County


 * 1801 Census
 * 1865 Census; also at
 * 1875 Census
 * FamilySearch database
 * 1885 Census (cities only)
 * 1891 Census partial index, full scan
 * 1900 Census
 * 1910 Census full index, not scanned

Rogaland county census list for. This census was taken by the priests in Rogaland county. It was not a request of the King, therefore it is the only one of its kind in Norway. It includes the name of the clerical district, farm name, persons name, age, and position in the houshold.

Death Notices
Death notices are viewable only through about 1935 although the links show later records.


 * Avaldsnes Lenmannskontor 1897-1975.
 * Bjerkreim Lensmannskontor 1892-1972.
 * Eigersund Lensmannskontor] 1859-1993.
 * Finnøy Lensmannskontor 1885-1982.
 * Gjesdal Lensmannskontor 1886-1972.
 * Haugesund Byfogd 1867-1928.
 * Helleland Lensmannskontor 1880-1960].
 * Heskestad Lensmannskontor 1923-1964.
 * Hetland Lensmannskontor 1883-1968]
 * Hetland Lensmannskontor 1883-1968]
 * Høle og Forsand Lensmannskontor 1875-1965.
 * Høyland/Sandnes Lensmannskontor 1889-1973.
 * Hå Lensmannskontor 1890-1931.
 * Håland Lensmannskontor 1906-1968.
 * Jelsa Lensmannskontor 1864-1964.
 * Klepp lensmannskontor 1910-1932.
 * Lund Lensmannskontor 1882-1972.
 * Nedstrand Lensmannskontor 1891-1968.
 * Randaberg Lensmannskontor 1965-1972.
 * Rennesøy lensmannskontor 1896-1972
 * Sand Lensmannskontor 1882-1964.
 * Sandnes Lensmannskontor 1918-1956.
 * Sauda Lensmannskontor 1875-1931.
 * Skjold Lensmannskontor 1887-1965.
 * Skudenes Lensmannskontor 1884-1977.
 * Sokndal Lensmannskontor 1889-1972.
 * Sola Lensmannskontor 1969-1972.
 * Strand and Forsand Lensmannskontor 1865-1976.
 * Suldal Lensmannskontor 1892-1977.
 * Time Lensmannskontor 1880-1972.
 * Torvastad Lensmannskontor 1883-1965.
 * Tysvær Lensmannskontor 1891-1970.
 * Vikedal Lensmannskontor 1910-1959.
 * Vindafjord Lensmannskontor 1960-1972.
 * Årdal Lensmannskontor 1885-1964.

Emigration Records
, [Stavanger : Cleng Peerson Memorial Institute, 1988?] A history of the people who emigrated from Rogaland County, Norway to America from 1825 to the early 1900's. It gives the persons name, age or year of birth, spouse, children, death dates, occupations, where they came from, where they went, and other miscellaneous information. Includes the lists of names of persons who sailed on the "Restauration" in 1825, the "Norden" in 1836, "The Norske Klippe" in 1836, and the "Enigheden". Also includes persons who emigrated from Tysvær, Karmøy, Haugesund, and surrounding areas in Rogaland County, Norway. 948.31 W2k FHL INTL Book


 * Emigranter over Stavanger 1903-1928

Farm Books
Rogaland A list of farm books which have been printed in order of place, with author, year of publication, and remarks.

Farm books in Rogaland county can be purchased from Rogaland Historielag.

Land Records
1886 and 1838 land registers are found at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre. These are Excel files, which can be downloaded. The give the name of the farm, the farm owner, and the amount of tax. Both farms and sub-farms are included.

Probate Records
Digital images of the probate records for Rogaland county can be found online at Digitalarkivet.


 * 1729-1807 - Dalane prosti, 1729-1807
 * 1867-1882 - Dalane sorenskriveri, 1867-1882
 * 1865-1883 - Haugesund sorenskriveri, 1865-1883
 * 1666-1867 - Jæren og Dalane sorenskriveri, 1666-1867
 * 1763-1821 - Jæren prosti, 1763-1821
 * 1859-1896 - Jæren sorenskriveri. 1859-1896
 * 1692-1812 - Karmsund prosti, 1692-1812
 * 1793-1879, 1862-1901 - Karmsund sorenskriveri, 1793-1879 It also includes death notices, 1862-1901.
 * 1786-1807 - Ryfylke prosti, 1786-1807
 * 1731-1875 - Ryfylke sorenskriveri, 1731-1875
 * 1680-1869 - Stavanger byfogd, 1680-1869


 * 1640-1903 - at FamilySearch — index

Probate Jurisdictions
<ul class="column-spacing-halfscreen" style="padding-right:5px; width: 500px; padding-left:15px;"> <li>Dalane</li> <li>Jæren</li> <li>Jæren og Dalane</li> <li>Karmsund</li> <li>Ryfylke</li> <li>Ryfylke og Karmsund</li> </ul>