Norway Marriage Record Search Strategy 1500-1813

Parish Register, Marriage: Church records
Beginning about 1500, usually much later, churches required their clergy to keep marriage records. The dates of the marriage banns (engagement) or proclamations may be included in the marriage record, or a separate record. The printed format introduced in 1814 contained more information with time, including ages or birth dates. Information found in earlier entries depends upon how detailed the minister made his record.

What you are looking for Before civil registers began, church marriage records were the best source for determining when a person was married.

Why go to the next record Not all Norwegian marriage records have been microfilmed, and the beginning date of these records varies from place to place.

Parish Register, Engagements: Church records
Church engagement records (banns or proclamations) may exist when marriage records do not. These records list the date of the engagement and names of the bride and groom. The records sometimes include the place of residence of the bride and groom and names of bondsmen or witnesses. You can use the engagment date as the marriage date when the actual marriage record does not exist.

What you are looking for If marriage records do not exist, parish marriage banns are the best source for determining when a person was married. Marriage banns were published in the church minimally three weeks prior to the marriage.

Why go to the next record Not all Norwegian marriage banns have been microfilmed, and the beginning date of these records varies from place to place.

Parish Register, Christening, 1500-1874: Church records
Beginning about 1500, churches required their clergy to keep christening (or baptism) records. The records give the names of the parents and the child and include birth dates. Information found in a christening depends on how detailed the minister made his record.

What you are looking for If parish marriage banns do not exist, parish christening records are the best source for determining when a person was married. The marriage date should be about one year before the first child's birth.

Why go to the next record Not all Norwegian christening records have been microfilmed, and the beginning date of these records varies from place to place

Census: Census
The King ordered the church clergy to take national census records, beginning in 1701. Occasionally the clergy also took a ministerial census. Census records can help identify all family members. You can estimate the marriage date of the parents from the age of the first child.

What you are looking for When christening records do not exist, census records are the best source for determining when a couple was married. A census record may not give a marriage date for the parents, but it does give their names. The marriage date should be about one year before the first child's birth.

Why go to the next record Not all Norwegian census records have been microfilmed, and the beginning date of these records varies from place to place

Probate Records: Probate records
Probate records are civil records, found at the parish level. They may begin before the actual parish records. You can use information found in probate record to estimate a person's birth, marriage and death date. Probate records can also help to identify the ancestral family.

What you are looking for When census records do not exist, probate records are the best source for determining when a couple was married. A probate record may not give a marriage date for the deceased, but it does give the name of the spouse and surviving children. The length of the marriage may be indicated in the probate record, from which you can estimate the marriage date.

Why go to the next record

Not all Norwegian probate records have been microfilmed, and the beginning date of these records varies from place to place.