Bessastaðir Parish, Gullbringu, Iceland Genealogy

Compiled Genealogy
Íslendingabók (genealogical database): is a database created by the biotechnology company deCODE genetics and Friðrik Skúlason, attempting to record the genealogy of all Icelanders who have ever lived, where sources are available. As of February 2020, the database contains information on 904,000 individuals, an estimated half of the total population of Iceland since the settlement of the island in the 9th century. Coverage among Icelanders born in the 20th and 21st centuries is 100% and the database is estimated to contain 95% of individuals born since 1700. Each individual’s record contains information on parents, siblings, mates and children along with birthdates, death dates and places of birth and death. Connections toward parents have been 95.5% filled for those born in the 20th century.
 * Íslendingabók Access to the Íslendingabók website is limited to individuals with Icelandic national identity number, kennitala. Each user can view information on his or her extended family, which by definition are all ancestors of the user along with descendants of the user’s great-grandparents.

Indexes

 * 1703, 1816-1920 National Archives of Iceland Digital Census Transcripts Bessastaðir Parish, Gullbringu
 * National Archives of Iceland Census Database index and images. Search nationwide by name, or search by name, farm/house, position, parish and/or county by opening Advanced Search.

Digitized Records

 * 1703, 1816-1920 National Archives of Iceland Searchable Census Database index and images.
 * 1835 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * National Archives of Iceland Digital Census Browsable Images Alphabetical by counties.
 * 1860 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Indexes

 * 1747-1921 Church Books, 1747-1921 - at FamilySearch, index and images. These records have indexes available online, but the images can only be viewed using computers at FamilySearch centers and libraries affiliated with FamilySearch. Contains the parish registers of Garðar á Álptanesi parish in Garðahreppur (district) and Bessastaðir parish in Bessastaðahreppur (district) in Gullbringusýsla (county).
 * 1744-1965 - at FamilySearch, index and images, incomplete. Coverage Table.  How to Use This Collection.

Digitized Online Records

 * 1747-1921 Church Books, 1747-1921 - at FamilySearch, index and images. These records have indexes available online, but the images can only be viewed using computers at FamilySearch centers and libraries affiliated with FamilySearch. Contains the parish registers of Garðar á Álptanesi parish in Garðahreppur (district) and Bessastaðir parish in Bessastaðahreppur (district) in Gullbringusýsla (county).
 * National Archives of Iceland Browsable Church Census Records Alphabetical by county.

Indexes

 * 1730-1905 - at FamilySearch, index, incomplete. Coverage Table.  How to Use This Collection.
 * 1770-1920 - at FamilySearch, index, incomplete. Coverage Table.  How to Use This Collection.
 * 1747-1921 Church Books, 1747-1921 - at FamilySearch, index and images. These records have indexes available online, but the images can only be viewed using computers at FamilySearch centers and libraries affiliated with FamilySearch. Contains the parish registers of Garðar á Álptanesi parish in Garðahreppur (district) and Bessastaðir parish in Bessastaðahreppur (district) in Gullbringusýsla (county).

Digitized Online Records

 * 1747-1921 Church Books, 1747-1921 - at FamilySearch, index and images. These records have indexes available online, but the images can only be viewed using computers at FamilySearch centers and libraries affiliated with FamilySearch. Contains the parish registers of Garðar á Álptanesi parish in Garðahreppur (district) and Bessastaðir parish in Bessastaðahreppur (district) in Gullbringusýsla (county).
 * 1747-1960 Iceland, Gullbringa, Garðar á Álptanes, priest service books, 1747-1960 - at FamilySearch, images. These records have readily available digitized images, but are not indexed.
 * 1831-1953 Iceland, confirmation reports, 1831-1958 - at FamilySearch, images.
 * National Archives of Iceland Browsable Priesthood Books (Parish Registers) Alphabetical by county.

For Additional Records
The FamilySearch Catalog may list other records for this parish. Additional topics, such as "Genealogy" or "History" might be found now. Other records may still only be available in print or on microfilm. Also, over time more records might become available, so check back from time to time.
 * Iceland, Gullbringu, Bessastaðir in the FamilySearch Catalog.

Civil Census Records

 * Name
 * Position in society
 * Age
 * Birthplace
 * Sometimes birth date

Church Census Records
The following information may be found in these records: It may also include information about when they were confirmed members of the Lutheran church and how well they can read the Bible and catechism.
 * Name of the farm where the family lives
 * Name of each person
 * Age
 * Occupation
 * Sometimes baptism and marriage dates are listed.

Priest Service Books
The following information may be found in these records:

Births and Baptisms

 * Child's name
 * Gender
 * Date and place of birth
 * Date of baptism
 * Parents' names
 * Father's occupation and residence
 * Names of witnesses at christening and their residence.

Marriages

 * Name of bride and groom
 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Residence
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of parents
 * Names of witnesses

Deaths and Burials

 * Name and age of deceased
 * Father of deceased child
 * Spouse of deceased adult
 * Date of death and burial
 * Residence
 * Occupation
 * Cause of death

Arrivals and Removals

 * Names of persons moving into the parish
 * Ages
 * Relationships when accompanied by other family members
 * Occupations
 * Former residence and new residence.
 * Destination (Removals)

Confirmations

 * Names of confirmand
 * Age (generally 14)
 * Residence
 * Date of confirmation
 * Father's name
 * Date of birth

Reading Icelandic

 * Icelandic Genealogical Word List This word list includes only words most commonly found in genealogical sources. For more help, use an Icelandic-English dictionary.
 * An Icelandic-English dictionary


 * Danish Genealogical Word List and Latin Genealogical Word List. Iceland was under Danish rule until 1918. Records written before the mid 1800s may include Danish and some Latin words. Note that in the 1801 census, Danish and to some extent Latin, rather than Icelandic, are used throughout the text.
 * Icelandic Alphabet and Keyboard

Online Lessons

 * Introduction to Church and Census Records in Iceland
 * '''Icelandic Parish Records Tutorial, Icelandic Roots Genealogist (includes census instructions).
 * Scandinavian Handwriting Printable Handout
 * Scandinavian Fixed and Movable Feast Days Handout