Leirvík Parish, Eysturoy, Faroe Islands Genealogy

Background
Leirvík (Danish: Lervig) is a town on the Faroe Islands and was an important regional ferry harbour at the east coast of the second-largest island Eysturoy. Leirvík has 925 inhabitants (January 1, 2017). It was the only town in the municipality of Leirvík (Leirvíkar kommuna), however on 1 January 2009, it merged with Gøtu kommuna to make the new municipality called Eysturkommuna.

Place Names
Farm names or small village names within this parish include these place names and variations:
 * Leirvík, Leirvíg, or Leirvíkar

Census Records

 * 1801-1901 Faroe Islands, Denmark, Censuses, 1801-1901 (in Danish) at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1801-1925 Danish Family Search - incomplete indexes
 * Dansk Demografisk Database - incomplete indexes

Church Records

 * 1687-1878 Eysturoy Kirkjubók, 1687-1878 at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Reading the Records
Because the Faroe Islands were under the jurisdiction of Denmark, many research resources relating to Denmark will be helpful in using Faroe Islands records.
 * Help Reading Danish Records:


 * Denmark Parish Register Headings provides translated examples of parish headings. You will be able to interpret much of what is in the records using these headings. Danish Word List covers typical  terms found in the records. Fixed and Moveable Feast Days for: Denmark will help you translate dates written in feast day form. Denmark surnames are patronymic and change every generation, so carefully study Denmark Names, Personal.


 * Help Reading Old Handwriting: 


 * Scandinavian Handwriting
 * Scandinavian Handwriting, part 3 - No part 2 available
 * Gothic Script and examples (Danish)
 * Gothic script help links (Danish)


 * Knowing What to Look for Next:


 * To understand the best research strategies for these records, see Denmark Church Records Christenings Guide.