Østfold County, Norway Genealogy

Guide to Østfold ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records. Østfold is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus County in Norway as well as the counties of Älvsborg, Värmland and Göteborg och Bohus in Sweden. There was a name change in the early 1900 from Smaalenene to Østfold. Østfold is located east of the Oslo fjord and prior to the time of Harald Hårfagre ca. year 900 it was under Swedish rule. Later, when Norway was under Danish rule it was divided into many small counties. The old name for Oslofjorden was Fold and the meaning of Øst is East which translate to the name Østfold. This name has roots back to 1543.

Cities
As of 2009 Østfold County has six cities:


 * Askim (Eidsberg kommune)
 * Fredrikstad
 * Halden
 * Moss
 * Mysen (Eidsberg kommune)
 * Sarpsborg

See Østfold County

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 Østfold
 * Norway Indexed parish register transcriptions
 * The Family History Library has microfilms for all Østfold 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, , and
 * 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
Parish priest's census (scanned)


 * Nedre Borgesyssel prosti, Prestemanntall 1, 1664 - 1666
 * Øvre Borgesyssel prosti, Prestemanntall 2, 1664 - 1666 (The parishes of Kråkstad, Nesodden, Vestby and Ås are located in Akershus county)

The bailiff and the magistrate's census (scanned)


 * Idd og Marker fogderi, Tune, Veme, Åbygge og Hvaler fogderi, Onsøy fogderi, Rakkestad og Mossedal fogderi, Heggen og Frøland fogderi, Fogdemanntall 1, 1664


 * Moss, Onsøy, Tune og Veme fogderi, Nedre Romerike fogderi, Manntall 1, 1701 (parishes in Østfold missing)

Searchable censuses


 * 1801 Census
 * 1865 Census
 * 1875 Census Partial
 * FamilySearch database - How to Use this Collection
 * 1885 Census (Citites only)
 * 1891 Census (scanned)
 * 1900 Census
 * 1910 Census

Family History
Norwegian American Bygdelagenes Fellesraad. Østfoldlag

The book is now available as a downloadable PDF file on the internet Østfoldslekt.

Government Offices and Sites

 * Østfold fylke

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 1697 for Heggen og Frøland fogderi, ungtmannskap
 * Militærrulle 1693 for det Østlandske dragonregiment

Passenger Lists

 * Emigranter over Fredrikstad 1883-1890


 * Emigranter fra Kristiania 1871-1930 new version


 * Emigranter fra Oslo old version 1867-1930


 * Emigranter over Fredrikstad 1883-1890

Probate Records

 * Digitised probate records for Østfold county
 * 1640-1903 - at FamilySearch — index

Taxation
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