Akershus County, Norway Genealogy

Guide to Akershus ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Akershus is a county in Norway, bordering Hedmark, Oppland, Buskerud, Oslo and Østfold. It has a short border with Sweden. Akershus is the second largest county in population after Oslo, with more than half a million inhabitants. The county is named after Akershus Fortress. The county administration is in Oslo, which is not part of the county per se.

History and Tidbits
Akershus became a fief in the 16th century, and then also included the current counties of Hedmark, Oppland, Buskerud and Oslo, as well as the municipalities of Askim, Eidsberg and Trøgstad in the county of Østfold. In 1662 Akershus became an Amt (County), and in 1685 Buskerud was separated from Akershus and became an Amt (County) of its own. In 1768 Hedmark and Oppland were also separated from Akershus to become Oplandenes Amt (County) (and Askim, Eidsberg and Trøgstad were transferred to Østfold). In 1842 the city of Christiania (Oslo) was made a separate Amt (County) as well. In 1919 the name Amt was changed to Fylke. In 1948 was Aker, the greatest and the most populous municipality of Akershus, transferred to the county of Oslo.

Government Offices and Sites
Akershus County Council

Church Records/Civil Registration

 * These are the most important records you will use, and a majority of your research will be found in them. All civil registration was kept by the church parishes until 2012.
 * Digitalarkivet: Digitized parish registers of Akershus
 * Norway Indexed parish register transcriptions
 * The Family History Library has microfilms for all Akershus parish registers up to about 1920. These can be viewed at the library or at a Family Histor Center near you.
 * By clicking on the parish links above, you may find direct links to all the records for that parish.
 * You do not have to be fluent in Norwegian. These records use a very limited, specialized vocabulary that is easy to learn. For help reading and interpreting theses records, see Norwegian Genealogical Word List, Norway Handwriting, and Reading Scandinavian Gothic Handwritten Records Lessons 1: Scandinavian Gothic Letters, 2: Names, Words, and Dates, and 3: Handwritten Records.
 * Parish Register Headings for Norway: This pdf gives the translation of headings for the records in different time periods.  When a record is written with labeled columns it is much easier to search. Much of the material you read in each column will just be names and dates, since the meaning of those names (child, parents, godparents, minister) only has to be read once, in the column heading.


 * For more detail on the contents of these records and how to use them, see Norway Church Records and Norway Civil Registration.

Censuses

 * 1660 Census for Akershus County (Øvre Romerike prosti) Scananed images
 * 1660 Census for Akershus County (Nedre Romerike prosti) Scanned images
 * 1664 Census for Akershus County (Aker fogderi, Follo fogderi, Nedre Romerike fodgeri, Øvre Romerike fogderi, Fogdemanntall)
 * 1701 Census for Akershus County
 * 1801 Census
 * 1865 Census
 * 1875 Census (Partial)
 * Norway Census, 1875 FamilySearch database
 * 1885 Census
 * 1891 Census for Akershus County
 * 1900 Census
 * 1910 Census

Farm Books
Farm Books for Akershus County

Family History Resources
Norwegian American Bygdelagenes Fellesraad Romerikslag Romerikslag Homepage

Land Records
1886 and 1838 land registers are found at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre. These are Excel files, which can be downloaded. The give the name of the farm, the farm owner, and the amount of tax. Both farms and sub-farms are included.

Military Records

 * Militærrulle 1758 for 1. Sønnenfjelske Dragonregiment, grensevakter ved Holstein
 * Militærrulle 1761 for Dragonkorpset, 1. eskadron til Holstein
 * Militærrulle 1756 for Skedsmoske dragonkompani
 * Militærrulle 1748 for Ullensakerske infanterikompani
 * Militærrulle 1756 for Ullensakerske dragonkompani
 * Militærrulle 1693 for det Østlandske dragonregiment

Passenger Lists

 * Emigrants from Oslo 1867-1930
 * Emigrants from Kristiania 1867-1927 tilleggsliste
 * Emigrants from Kristiania 1871-1930 redigert utgave

Probate Records

 * Digitized probate records online for Akershus County
 * 1640 - 1903 at FamilySearch — index