Skopun Parish, Sandoy, Faroe Islands Genealogy

Background

 * Skopun (Danish: Skopen) is a town in the Faroe Islands situated on the northern coast of Sandoy.
 * Skopun is the second-largest town on the island. Skopun Municipality consists only of the town of Skopun.
 * Although the area has been inhabited since the Middle Ages, Skopun was not founded until 1833.
 * The people of Skopun did not possess any land. They subsisted on fishing, so the houses were built close to the water.
 * In 1897, Skopun's church was constructed out of timber taken from the old church of Vestmanna.

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

 * 1720-1857 - Sandoy Kirkjubók, 1720-1857 at FamilySearch Catalog - index and images. Index, Incomplete. Contains church records from Sandoy (præstegæld) in Sandoy (syssel) on the Faroe Islands. Includes the parishes of Sandur, Skopun, Skálavík, Húsavík and Skúvoy. Stóra Dímun is located in Skúvoy parish.

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.