Kegnæs Parish, Sønderborg, Denmark Genealogy

History
Kegnæs parish covers the entire half island of Kegnæs at the southern most border of Denmark. The island was sparsely populated during the middle ages. In the late 1500s, Duke Hans the Younger of Sønderborg (duke from 1571-1622), established the farm Hjortholm, and began to exploit the island. To work his land, the duke brought in men and women who were indebted to him. They were some of the first residents of the island since the middle ages. When the island proved to be rich in resources the population began to grow. With the growing population, a new parish needed to be established. Before the new parish was established, the half island was under the jurisdiction of Hørup parish. The inhabitants would attend church in Hørup, on the neighboring island of Als, and the Hørup priest would visit Kegnæs island three times every year. On Saint Hans Day 1615, the cornerstone of the first Kegnæs church was laid, and Kegnæs parish was created. The church was called Sankt Johannes Kirke (Saint John’s Church) or Kegnæs Kirke. In 1773, the church, along with all of the church books and records, burnt to the ground. The story goes that: “The 14th December 1773, Pastor Byberg had reprimanded his servant girl, Maria Cathrina Rasmussen, who had done something wrong. The girl. . . the following night set fire to the priest's farm, which burnt completely to the ground. . .” taking the church books and the pastor's archive with it. Due to the fire, the earliest records for the parish begin in 1773.

Place Names
Ballegaard, Bjørnodde, Bredgrund, Bredsten, Broholm, Bøgegaard, Bøghoved, Bøgehoved, Damgaard, Damkobbel, Drejet,  Ellegaard, Elmegaard, Enggaard, Fensgaard, Frederiksberg, Gammel Færgegaard, Gammel Kronborg, Grundtoftgaard, Grønmark, Gyldborggaard, Gaasevig,  Hagenseg, Hartsø, Hartsømølle, Hjortholm, Hjortholm Domæne, Holmkobbel, Holmslykke, Hylbjerggaard, Højgaard,  Kegborg, Kegnæs, Kegnæs-Ende, Kegnæsfærge, Kegnæs Færgegaard, Kegnæshøj, Kobbelgård, Kobbelled, Kongshoved, Kronborg,  Leygaard, Lillekobbel, Lundgaard,  Midtkobbel, Mosegaard, Møllegaard, Mølmarkgaard, Møltoftegaard, Nygaard, Ny-Kronborg, Nymark, Nystaden, Nørregaard, Nørrsminde, Pildøffel, Præstegaarden,  Ravngaard, Rosendal,  Sadbjerg, Segebjerggaard, Skolekobbel, Skoven, Skovgaard, Smedegaard, Solbjerggaard, Strandgaard(en), Strandlykke, Søgaard, Sønderby, Sønderbygård, Sønderkobbel,  Torsbækgaard, Torsthoved, Trenge, Tørvebækgaard,  Vesterby, Vestergaard, Vesterkobbel, Vestermark,  Ømosegaard, Østerborggaard, Østerby, Østergaard

To see what kind of place it is you will need a Danish Gazetteer.

Surrounding Parishes

 * Lysabild
 * Tandslet
 * Hørup
 * Ulkebøl
 * Sønderborg
 * Dybbøl
 * Broager

Birth, Marriage, and Death Online Records

 * Free Online Database: 


 * The vast majority of research you do in Denmark will be in church parish registers, which are held in the Danish State Archives available online at ARKIVALIERONLINE. Select your county and parish from the drop-down lists.


 * 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: 


 * FamilySearch offers free online lessons about reading old Danish handwriting:, , and
 * 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.

Collections

 * Church Records
 * Kirkebøger - Getting Started
 * Find church books on Arkivalieronline
 * Denmark Church Records

Church records (Kirkebøger) for this parish are digitized and available online for the years 1774-1952. The church record headings are in latin while the text is in Danish. Click on the following link to learn how to access these records: English Guide to Arkivalieronline.


 * Civil Records

Civil birth, marriage, and death records for this parish and are available for the years 1874-1973. Use the following link to access the records: Kegnæs Personregisterfører.

- Click on the birth, marriage, or death "biregister" link, and then the red link "Læs scannet udgave af arkivserien her" in order to access the records -


 * Court Records
 * Danish Chancellery - Getting Started!
 * Danish Chancery Court Records
 * Denmark Court Records
 * Military Records
 * Lægdsruller, Danish Military Levying Rolls, is a census of men eligible to join military (1789-1932)
 * What's on Lægdsruller and Søruller
 * Danish Military Levying Rolls (Lægdsruller)


 * Probate Records
 * Registers of Wills in the Danish Chancellory
 * Danish Chancellery - Getting Started!
 * , index and images.

Related Sources
Denmark Online Genealogy Records FamilySearch Genealogy Research Groups

Family History Library Records
Click Denmark, Sønderborg Records for a full listing of records at the Family History Library, that may be digitized. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. Click on "Places within Denmark, Sønderborg" and then select your parish.

Societies and Libraries
Lokalhistorisk Forening for Kegnæs Sogn (local historical society)

Storetoft 25, Kegnæs

6470 Sydals

http://www.skla.dk/kegnaes/

Kegnæs Lokalhistoriske Arkiv (local historical archives)

Nørrelandevej 59, Kegnæs

6470 Sydals