Aasiaat Parish, Greenland Genealogy

Background

 * Aasiaat or Ausiait, formerly Egedesminde, is a town in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, located in the heart of Aasiaat Archipelago at the southern end of Disko Bay.
 * With a population of 3,069 as of 2020, it is Greenland's fourth-largest town.
 * The settlement that would become Aasiaat was founded in 1759 by Niels Egede, son of Hans Egede, a Norwegian missionary.
 * It was located north of Nordre Strømfjord, and was 125 km south of Aasiaat's current location. The town was moved to its current site in 1763.
 * Most villagers were whalers, and the smallpox germs they carried to the region ravaged the native population, especially during the 1770s.
 * Today, almost 4,800 people live in Aasiaat and its neighboring settlement, Kangaatsiaq.

Place Names
Farm names or small village names within this parish include these place names and variations:

Census Records

 * 1834-1870 Greenland, Denmark, Censuses, 1834-18701 (in Danish) at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1834-1921 Greenland Censuses, 1834-1921 (in Danish) - incomplete indexes
 * Dansk Demografisk Database - incomplete indexes

Church Records

 * 1769-1934 - Aasiaat/Egedesminde Church Books at Greenland National Archives Kirkebóger, images only, complete.
 * 1769-1841 - Greenland Kirkebøger, 1752-1861 at FamilySearch Catalog - index and images.Includes born and baptized, confirmed, married, dead and buried and communions for most parishes. Egedesminde 1769-1841 vol. 1. Census of baptized Greenlanders from Egedesminde, Godhavn and Upernavik parishes 1826-1828 vol. 3
 * 1769-1928 - Church registers in Aasiaat (Egedesminde) parish - at Danish Family Search, index and images, incomplete.

Church Location and Contact Information
Aasiaat (Egedesminde) Vicarage PO Box 10 3950 Asian Greenland Phone: (+299) 892015 Fax: (+299) 891272 Email: aasiaat@ilagiit.gl
 * Website

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.