Kunoy Parish, Norðoyar, Faroe Islands Genealogy

Background
Kunoy (Danish: Kunø) is a village, and seat of Kunoy Municipality in the Faroe Islands. The village itself is located on the western shores of the island of Kunoy, which the town is named after. However, Kunoy is not the only town on the island; Haraldssund has, on the east shore of the island, is the only other settlement on the island. Kunoy (meaning Woman island, is an island located in the north-east of the Faroe Islands between Kalsoy to the west (with which there is no physical link) and Borðoy to the east (to which it is linked via a causeway). There are two settlements on Kunoy: Kunoy (population 64), on the west coast and Haraldssund on the south-east coast. A third settlement, Skarð, was the site of a fishing accident on Christmas Eve, 1913, which killed seven men (all the male population except a 14-year-old and a 70-year-old). The women decided to move to Haraldssund, and the area is now deserted.

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

Census Records

 * 1801-1901 Faroe Islands, Denmark, Censuses, 1801-1901 (in Danish) at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1801-1925 Danish Family Search - incomplete indexes
 * Dansk Demografisk Database - incomplete indexes

Church Records

 * 1760-1861 Norðoyar Kirkjubók, 1760-1861 at FamilySearch Catalog - images. Contains church records from Norðoyar sýsla and præstegæld, which includes the parishes of: Viðareði (Viderejde), Hvannasund (Kvannesund), Fugloy (Fuglø), Svínoy (Svinø), Kunoy (Kunø), Mikladalur (Mygledal), Húsar (Husum) and [Klaksvík (Klaksvig) formerly called Vág (Vaag)].

Cemeteries

 * Kunoy Cemetery at FindAGrave.com

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.