Ancestors from Norway - Buskerud genealogy resources

Index | Norwegian genealogy resources | Buskerud

Buskerud

    Buskerud fylke is named after the old Biskopsrud farm in Åmot in Modum kommune (municipality) - a pearl in the central part of Norway. The name of the farm is derived from Biskop (bishop) and rud (clearing), so Buskerud means "the bishop's clearing". The area of the original farm is today the site of an agricultural college.
    Buskerud fylke stretches from the Oslo fjord to the Hardangervidda mountains in the northeast. The southeastern part of the county is flat, with fertile farmland, while in the northeast the mountains and valleys dominate: Eggedal, Hallingdal, Hemsedal, Numedal, Sigdal, Ustedalen, and Uvdalen are some of these valleys.
    In 1623 silver was discovered at Kongsberg, giving rise to Norway's largest mining industry. From 1623 to 1957 a total of 1,350,000 kilograms of ore was mined at Kongsberg! The mining operations also gave rise to industries such as the Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk (a weapons manufacturer), Norway's first institution of higher learning - Bergseminaret - and the Royal Mint. Another important mining operation was the cobalt mines in Modum. During the 1830's these mines produced great quantities of cobalt, a blue pigment widely used in the glass and porcelain industry.

1. Genealogy organizations

DIS-Buskerud is a local chapter of the Norwegian genealogy organization DIS-Norge (in Norwegian only).

Buskerud Slektshistorielag - the Buskerud Genealogical Society (English summary).

Gjallarhorn is a local genealogy group that covers Vestfold and Buskerud. (in Norwegian only).

The Historical Society of Hole - brief information in English about the society and about Hole, near Ringerike.

Hallinglaget - an organization formed in the US in 1907 by immigrants from Hallingdal and their descendants.

Ringerike - Drammen Districts Bygdelag This bygdelag is an association of individuals whose ancestors came from eastern Buskerud including 1. Ringerike (Ådal, Hønefoss, Norderhov); 2. Hole; 3. Modum; 4. Øvre Eiker; 5. Nedre Eiker; 6. Drammen (Bragernes, Strømso, Skoger); 7. Lier; 8. Røyken; and 9. Hurum

Sigdalslag - a bygdelag serving people with ancestry in Sigdal, Eggedal and Krødsherad in Buskerud fylke.

The Numedal-Kongsbergs lag was established in 1908. "Numedals Lågen Lag is a "lag" primarily made up of descendants of people who emigrated from the Numedal Valley, the Kongsberg-Sandsvær area, and Kommuner of Lardal and Larvik of Norway. We do, however, have many members who still live in Norway and also some who just have an interest in Numedal without having "roots" there."

2. Buskerud resources

Census records

Buskerud census records & more (listed by municipality) from the Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. You can also search nationwide by going to the Digitalarkivet home page or by using the links below.
1664-66 Census for Bragernæs deanery from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
1801 census - Buskerud from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
1865 census - Buskerud from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. Also available at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
"The 1875 census for Buskerud" has not been entered into a database yet, so it is not available from the Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen or from the The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
1900 census - Buskerud from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. Also available at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
Other Buskerud census records (None as of 26 October 2002) from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.

Other records (Some links may not include information for this county):

Tax lists, Tax censuses, and lists of landed property rent from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
Military rolls from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
Church registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
Emigration records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
Probate registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. See also Skifteregister - (Probate registers) at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø (Very few are available online).
Fire assessment registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
Citizenship (Borgerskap) records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
Other records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
The Digital Inn from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
1886 Matrikkelen from The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
1950 Matrikkelen from Dokumentasjonsprosjektet (in Norwegian only).

See also Buskerud kilder from the web site Slektshistoriske kilder 1500-1900 from the Norwegian genealogy organization DIS-Norge. This web site has extensive links to various genealogy databases for each fylke in Norway. (In Norwegian with some English).

Bygdebooks

Buskerud bygdebooks is a list I have made of the bygdebooks that cover various areas in Buskerud.

LDS Family History Library online catalog

The LDS Family History Library Catalog is now on the Internet. The link is to the "Place search" page of the web site. In addition, don't forget the International Genealogical Index (IGI) and the other databases available on the LDS web site. To make your search a little easier, I have created a list of clerical districts in Buskerud.

3. Buskerud regions and 'kommuner'

Traditionally, Buskerud is divided into 5 different geographical regions:
    1) Kongsberg and Numedal are the southwestern part and consist of the city of Kongsberg with its rural parts, and the rural municipalities of Flesberg, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal.
    2) Hallingdal is in the northwest, and the municipalities of Hol, Ål, Gol, Hemsedal, Nes and Flå, belong to this region.
    3) The middle county consists of the municipalities of Sigdal, Krødsherad and Modum.
    4) The Ringerike-region consist of the municipalities of Ringerike, with the city of Hønefoss, and Hole.
    5) The southeastern part, which is the most populous region, includes the municipalities of Øvre Eiker, Nedre Eiker, Lier, Røyken, Hurum and municipality and city of Drammen. The Drammen region is, in terms of population, larger than the other regions together.

4. Buskerud maps

Small interactive map of Norway - shows where Buskerud is located. Click on Buskerud and you can see a small map of Buskerud showing the 'kommune' (municipalities) of this 'fylke'.

Large map of Buskerud from the NORWAY LIST Web Site. Kommune names are underlined.

5. Buskerud genealogy query pages

Buskerud queries from Rootsweb.com's "Norway Message Board"

Slektsbiblioteket Queries is a new and very promising Norway query page.

Slektsforskerbasen from DIS-Norge - a list of more than 4,000 genealogists who are researching their Norwegian ancestors. Sorted by kommune (municipality).

Norway-L@rootsweb.com mailing list archives is another often overlooked resource. You can search the archive to find out if others are researching the same families or places in Norway, and then contact them.

6. Buskerud museums

Museumsnett Norge - Buskerud museums has a list (in English) of the museums in Buskerud to help you plan you visit to Buskerud!

Ringerike Museum includes information on the Buskerud County Photo Archive.

Kunstnerdalen In the heart of Buskerud there is a valley which was central to the golden age of Norwegian painting. The Valley of Artists it is called, because well-known painters such as Edvard Munch, Chr. Krogh, Tidemand & Gude, and others painted many masterpieces here.

Sigdal and Eggedal Museum - a regional museum for Krødsherad, Modum and Sigdal.

Eggedal Mill A water-powered country mill from 1912. All original fittings and machines have been preserved unaltered. The mill is in a 3-storey, timber building, idyllically located by Klemmafossen Waterfall.

Blaafarveværket During the 1830's, the cobalt mines in Modum produced great quantities of this important export product. Cobalt was a material widely used in the glass and porcelain industry as a blue pigment.

The Gloger organ at the Kongsberg church - Kongsberg is the only Scandinavian town with a fully restored 42 voice baroque church organ.

7. Miscellaneous Buskerud web sites

Medieval Scandinavia has a wealth of history and genealogy information from Ringerike municipality in Buskerud fylke. It also has information on Norwegian measurements and currency; Norwegian history, stavechurches, etc. This award-winning web site is a great place to visit!

Job opportunities in Buskerud. It might seem a bit strange to find such a link on my web site, but the link is to a great web page on the history of Buskerud. From the Go Norway web site.

www.aadal.com is a "must visit" web site if your ancestors came from Ådal. The web site includes a large database of ancestors, an alphabetic list of 1,000 places in Ådal from 1600 up to day, and much, much more!

Susan Helgeson's Genealogy Page is a marvelous example of web page design. Her Helgeson ancestors were from Ål clerical district, and left for America in 1850.

Nes kirkesogn i Hallingdal contains transcripts of the parish records from Nes clerical district. It is part of Steinar Vissebråten's home page.

Emigration Web Norway is a great web site about emigration from Numedal and Hallingdal.

Farms in Ådalen by Bjørn Einarsen includes information about emigration from Ådalen to America.

The port of Drammen has a web site with the history of the the port in English!

The Numedal Valley and Øvre Eiker are both from Tourist Magazine Norway.

Please notify me of any links that are not working
properly as well as any suggestions for additional links.

Unfortunately my schedule does not permit me to answer
individual requests for assistance with genealogy research

John Follesdal
Copyright 1996 - 2002
This page was created 12 December 1996
Last updated on 26 October 2002