Sisimiut Parish, Greenland Genealogy

Background

 * Sisimiut, formerly known as Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest arctic city in North America.
 * It is located in central-western Greenland, on the coast of Davis Strait, approximately 320 km (200 mi) north of Nuuk.
 * There are no signs of Norse settlement in the region. At the time of Hans Egede's establishment of the first Danish colonies, Dutch whalers dominated the area and swiftly burnt down his Bergen Company whaling station on Nipisat Island.
 * It was not until Jacob Severin was granted a full monopoly on the Greenlandic trade and permitted to act as an agent of the Danish navy that the Dutch were finally removed in a series of battles in 1738 and 1739.
 * The present town was established in 1764 by the General Trade Company as the trading post of Holsteinsborg ("Fort Holstein"), named for the first chairman of the Danish College of Missions in Copenhagen which underwrote and directed the missionary work in the colony.
 * At the time of its founding, the Kalaallisut name of the place was Amerlok, after its fjord.
 * The colonists formally established several villages in the region, of which only two remain to this day: Itilleq and Sarfannguit.[
 * Under the Royal Greenland Trading Department, Holsteinsborg was a centre of the trade in reindeer skins.
 * The 1775 Bethel-kirken ("Bethel Church") or Blå Kirke ("Blue Church"), is the oldest surviving church in Greenland.
 * In 1801, a smallpox epidemic decimated the population of Sisimiut and other coastal settlements, although the population growth quickly resumed due to plentiful marine life on the coast.
 * The 20th century saw industrialization, through the construction of a shipping port, and a fish processing factory of Royal Greenland in 1924, the first such factory in Greenland.
 * Fishing remains the primary occupation of Sisimiut inhabitants, with the town becoming the leading centre of shrimping and shrimp processing.
 * Until 2008, Sisimiut had been the administrative centre of Sisimiut Municipality, which was then incorporated into the new Qeqqata Municipality on 1 January 2009, with Sisimiut retaining its status as the administrative centre of the new unit, consisting also of the former Maniitsoq Municipality and the previously unincorporated area of Kangerlussuaq.

Place Names
Farm names or small village names within this parish include these place names and variations:

Census Records

 * 1834-1870 Greenland, Denmark, Censuses, 1834-1870 (in Danish) at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1834-1921 Greenland Censuses, 1834-1921 (in Danish) - incomplete indexes
 * Dansk Demografisk Database - incomplete indexes

Church Records

 * 1771-1848 Greenland Kirkebøger, 1752-1861 at FamilySearch Catalog - index and images.Includes born and baptized, confirmed, married, dead and buried and communions for most parishes. Holsteinsborg 1771-1848 vol. 2.
 * 1801-1936 Sisimiut/Holsteinsborg Church Records - at Greenland National Archives Kirkebóger, images only, complete.
 * 1801-1927 Church books in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg) parish - at Danish Family Search, index and images, incomplete.

Church Location and Contact Information
Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg) præstegæld Postboks 25 3911 Sisimiut Greenland Telephone: (+299) 865053 Telefax: (+299) 864320 E-mail: sisimiut@ilagiit.gl Website

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.