Vest-Agder County, Norway Genealogy

Guide to Vest-Agder ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records. Vest-Agder is a county in Norway, bordering Rogaland to the west and Aust-Agder to the east. In 2002 there were 157,851 inhabitants, which is 3.4% of the total population in Norway. The county administration is in Kristiansand.

It is the southernmost county in Norway, extending inland from the North Sea and its arm, the Skagerrak. Most of the habitation lies along the coast, including the towns Kristiansand, Mandal, Flekkefjord, and Farsund. Some 31 fjords are located there. Shipping, commerce and recreation are the main industries. As the Gulf Stream touches the coast of Vest-Agder, it is also called "the Norwegian Riviera".


 * Vest-Agder fylke
 * Vest-Agder fylkeskommune

Government Offices and Sites

 * Vest-Agder fylkeskommune

Regions
Kristiansand includes Finsland, Kristiansand, Oddernes, Søgne, Tveit and Øvrebø clerical districts.

Kvinesdal and Sirdal includes Bakke, Fjotaland, Flekkefjord, Kvinesdal and Sirdal clerical districts.

Lista and Lyngdal includes Herad, Hægebostad, Lyngdal and Vanse (Lista) clerical districts.

Mandal and Audnedal includes Bjelland, Holum, Mandal, Nord-Audnedal, Sør-Audnedal and Åseral clerical districts.

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.
 * 1812-1938 Norway, Church Records, 1812-1938 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)
 * 1815-1930 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1815-1938 Norway Church Records, 1815-1938 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)
 * Digitalarkivet: Digitized parish registers of Vest Agder
 * Norway Indexed parish register transcriptions
 * The FamilySearch Library has Vest Agder 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

 * Mandal prosti, Prestemanntall 15, 1664 - 1666
 * Lista prosti, Prestemanntall 16, 1664 - 1666
 * Råbyggelag fogderi, Fogdemanntall 8, 1664 - 1665
 * Mandal fogderi, Fogdemanntall 9, 1664 - 1666
 * Lista fogderi, Fogdemanntall 10, 1664
 * 1801 Census
 * 1865 Census; also at - How to Use this Collection
 * 1875 Census partial; also at - How to Use this Collection
 * 1885 Census (cities only)
 * 1891 Census partial index, full scan
 * 1900 Census
 * 1910 Census full index, not scanned

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.

Passenger Lists

 * Emigranter over Kristiansand 1873-1930

Probate Records

 * Digitised probate records for Vest-Agder county
 * 1640-1903 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Taxation
