Fugloy Parish, Norðoyar, Faroe Islands Genealogy

Background
Fugloy (Danish Fuglø, Old Norse Fuglaey) is the easternmost island in the Faroe Islands. There are two settlements: Kirkja on the south-coast and Hattarvík on the east-coast. Fugloy is special because of the stone-material consisting of basalt stratum, making the island very steep and inaccessible. The Eystfelli cliffs, which are 448m are located on the east coast. Nearby on the 47-metre-high sea stack Stapin there is also a lighthouse. Because the harbour of Fugloy is not protected by breakwaters, it has stopped any form of economic growth since the early 20th century. The island's only income has been agriculture and some fishing, but also the famous catching of birds such as the puffin has been used on Fugloy to this day. When the population was at its peak at the beginning of the 20th century, there were around 250-300 people living there. Due to a change in lifestyles and norms, island life has become less popular and people have moved away as a result. Today, there are only five people living all year around in Hattarvík and some 20 in Kirkja. There are few jobs on the islands; one shop and few jobs on the harbour are all that there are.

Place Names
Farm names or small village names within this parish include these place names and variations:
 * Hattarvík or Hatterwiig or Hatterwig
 * Hattervig Bøigd or Hattevig Bøigd or Hattervig Bygd
 * Hattevig By i Fuglø or Hattevig By i Fuglø Sogn
 * Kirkja or Kirke
 * Kirke Bøigd or Kirke Bygd
 * Kirke By i Fuglø
 * Ved Kirke

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

 * 1760-1861 - Norðoyar Kirkjubók, 1760-1861 at FamilySearch Catalog - images. Contains church records from Norðoyar sýsla and præstegæld, which includes the parishes of: Viðareði (Viderejde), Hvannasund (Kvannesund), Fugloy (Fuglø), Svínoy (Svinø), Kunoy (Kunø), Mikladalur (Mygledal), Húsar (Husum) and [Klaksvík (Klaksvig) formerly called Vág (Vaag)].

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.