Hvalba Parish, Suðuroy, Faroe Islands Genealogy

Background

 * Hvalba (Danish: Kvalbø) is a village and a municipality in the Faroe Islands, which consists of Hvalba, Nes-Hvalba and Sandvík. The village spreads around the bottom of a deep inlet, Hvalbiarfjørður, in the northeast of Suðuroy.
 * Hvalba is one of the larger villages in the Faroe Islands. The total population of Hvalba Municipality (Hvalbiar Kommuna) was 723 as of 1 January 2010; the population of Hvalba and Nes was 626 and the population of Sandvík was 97.
 * The small village Nes is often called Nes-Hvalba, because there are two other villages with the same name.
 * Some of the villagers work as coalminers; Hvalba is the only place in the Faroes which still has active coal mine industry, although in very small scale. *There are two harbours and some fish factories in Hvalba, both harbours are on the northern side of the bay.
 * Some people work in other villages i.e. at the Suduroy Hospital in Tvøroyri or at the Faroe Islands Ferry and Buss Transportation Company including the ferry Smyril, which sails between Suðuroy and Tórshavn, but there are also a few independent small companies in Hvalba, i.e. IT supporters, carpenters, transport company, dietitian, internet shop etc.
 * On the west coast there is a place of call that makes it possible to go fishing in small boats from both sides of the island. The place has two names; it is called Hvalbiareiði or Fiskieiði.
 * In the mountains around the southbound tunnel brown coal has been extracted from mines since the 1770s. The coal was an important source of energy on the Faroe Islands until the end of World War II.

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

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

 * 1745-1916 - Suðuroy Kirkjubók, 1745-1916 at FamilySearch Catalog - index and images. Contains church records from Suðuroy nordre and Suðuroy søndre sysler on the Faroe Islands. Includes parishes of Porkeri, Sumba, Hov, Vágur, Hvalba, Froðba, and Fámjin.

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.