Øster Larsker Parish, Bornholm, Denmark Genealogy

Guide to Øster Larsker, Denmark ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

History
Østerlars is a village in the northeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, 3.7 miles south of Gudhjem and 3.1 miles northwest of Østermarie. It is best known for its round church, the largest on the island. 

Place Names
Bækkegaard, Elleskov, Gadegaard, Gamlevælde, Gildesbo, Hjortegaard, Holsegaard, Kelseaa, Kelseby, Kelsebygaard, Kildevadshuse, Knarrebakkerne, Kobbegaard, Kobbeaa, Kongensmark, Krækket, Lensbjerge, Lensbjerggaard, Lensgaard, Melstedgaard, Nybro, Nygaard, Nyker Plantage, Nørre Saltuna, Pæregaard, Risen, Risenholm, Salene, Salene Bugt, Salne, Saltuna, Sandegaard, Slettegaard, Solbakke, Spagergaard, Splitovs Høj, Stangebakkerne, Stangemarken, Stavehøl, Stavsdal, Strandby, Strandbygaard, Strandvejen, Studeby, Søgaard, Valdjøj, Viet, Ødegaard, Øster Lars Kirke, Østerlars, Østerlars Kirke, Østerlarsker, Østerlarsker Plantage

To see what kind of place it is you will need a Danish Gazetteer.


 * Surrounding Parishes

Bornholm County: Christiansø, Gudhjem, Klemensker, Rø, Vestermarie, Østermarie

Church Records

 * Church records are available on microfilm in the FamilySearch Library. See catalog entry.
 * An online index to pre-1814 parish register entries for Bornholm parishes is available at www.kirkebog.dk.   When you are on the site use the drop down menu following the word Sogn: [parish] and choose "Osterlars". Choose the type of record you would like to search [or "Alle" to see entries for all categories, i.e., Baptisms, Burials, Engagements, Confessions, Introductions, Confirmations, Other, and Communions]; enter the name of the person you would like to locate. Fornavn = given name; Efternavn = last name.    For example: By typing the surname or last name "Sonne" in the "Efternavn" position, you will be given a list of entries in which the name Sonne occurs.   In the early records names are very flexible. Try using various combinations to discover all entries. The page number in the original parish register is given so you can examine the records and find additional information.

Family Histories:
Bidstrup, Julius. .

Land Records

 * Axel Rasmussen was the parish priest over Østerlars and Gudhjem parishes from 1907 until his death in 1926 and also dean over the eastern Bornholm deanery from 1909 until his death. He collected information relating to various topics concerning Østerlars parish. One of his collections has been published in Bornholmske Samlinger, Volume 39. This publication contains a list of owners of the different farms in Østerlars parish. What Axel Rasmussen did not accomplish regarding this topic before his death was accomplished by Kr. Kure, Copenhagen, and W. Kovgaard from Østerlars main school. The purpose of this book is not to give genealogies nor correct pedigrees, but to give light to which farms had family connections and which farms were just business farms with no personal interests. The sources used in this publication are:


 * 1) The official priest's tithing list from 1825 to the dissolving of the tithing in 1908.
 * 2) The main office of mortgages to find all long-term and short-term owners of the different farms. Those documents are usually very accurate from the year 1825 (some of the owners are still missing for some of the very short term mortgages because they were not recorded).
 * 3) From 1798-1818 the Panteprotokol [mortgage records] from "Østre Herred" have been used and have been studied very closely. In these records the respective owners are listed as well as the name of his wife and the sum of money used for purchase. Also the former owner is mentioned and who later purchased the farm. Usually relationships are mentioned if the farm was sold within the family.
 * 4) No real family connections can be drawn from year to year before 1798. The by Julius Bidstrup has been used for some early connections.
 * 5) Birth, marriages, and death records have been used after the year 1814.

In the parish in addition to "Lensgaarden" there are 49 selvejer (self-owned) farms and 22 Vornede gaarde (not completely self-owned) - in all 72 farms. In 42 of the farms it can be proven that there were family connections. In 10 of the farms there was a continuous family relationship. Namely, for these selvejer farms: 1, 2, 4, 6, and 33; and of the Vornede gaarde Nos. 5, 9, 19, 21, 22, 17, and 6.

Probate Records:
Some probate records have been transcribed and are available online. A sample probate records that has been transcribed and translated is available here.

HammershusBirk 1685-1742.

Book 1: Skifteuddrag Bornholms Landsogne 1681-1683.

Book 2: Skifteuddrag Bornholms Landsogne Jan 1684-17 Sept 1685.

Book 3: Skifteuddrag Bornholms Landsogne 30 Aug 1686-4 Nov 1690.

Tax Records
The farm tenancy taxation book for 1657 has been transcribed and is available at this link. Additional parishes in Bornholm are also included.

The farm tenancy taxation book for 1661 has been transcribed at this link.

The farm tenancy taxation book for 1668 has been transcribed at this link.

Websites
Many records in Denmark, including Bornholm and Østerlars parish have been extracted and names appear in the International Genealogical Index. You may also check this Danish sitefor an easy search of parishes that have been extracted.

Birth, Marriage, and Death Online Records

 * Free Online Database: 


 * The vast majority of research you do in Denmark will be in church parish registers, which are held in the Danish State Archives available online at ARKIVALIERONLINE. Select your county and parish from the drop-down lists.


 * 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.

Collections

 * Church Records
 * Kirkebøger - Getting Started
 * Find church books on Arkivalieronline
 * Denmark Church Records
 * Census Records
 * ARKIVALIERONLINE Census records online
 * Censuses - Getting Started
 * Denmark Census
 * Census digitization/index availability - chart showing progress in census digitizing and indexing per location.
 * Court Records
 * Danish Chancellery - Getting Started!
 * Danish Chancery Court Records
 * Denmark Court Records
 * Military Records
 * Lægdsruller, Danish Military Levying Rolls, is a census of men eligible to join military (1789-1932)
 * What's on Lægdsruller and Søruller
 * Danish Military Levying Rolls (Lægdsruller)


 * Probate Records
 * Registers of Wills in the Danish Chancellory
 * Danish Chancellery - Getting Started!
 * , index and images.

Related Sources
Denmark Online Genealogy Records Ask the Community

FamilySearch Library Records
Click Denmark, Bornholm, Bodilsker Recordsfor a full listing of records at the FamilySearch Library, that may be viewed on loan at a FamilySearch center near you.