Danish Roots

If you are going to trace your Danish family history, you have to understand the naming patterns that were used in the country in the past. What can be confusing is that there are relatively few given names. There are an awful lot of people with the last name Hansen, Christensen, Jensen, Andersen, Petersen, Jorgensen, Mortensen, Sorensen; well, you get the picture. I have all of them in my family tree.  And to make matters worse, children did not have the same last name as their parents.

So, here we go with a simple explanation of the Danish patronymic naming system followed until the mid-1800s.

It’s really quite simple — the father’s first name became the children’s last name with sen (son) or datter (daughter) added on.  For example, Peter Christensen’s sons would have the last name Petersen, while his daughters would be Petersdatter.

As far as first names are concerned, the traditional naming pattern went something like this: the first son was named after the paternal grandfather and the first daughter after her maternal grandmother. The second son was named after his maternal grandfather and the second daughter after her paternal grandmother. If additional children were born they were usually named after aunts or uncles although some were given Biblical names.

But you can see how even in a small village not all Hansens are related.

Although the records from the Parish churches are probably the most helpful when it comes to researching Danish family history, there are also other important records available.

Census records were maintained and like those in the United States they list everyone in the household and show their age, occupation and relationship to the head of the household. Where they differ is that they were taken on a more or less irregular basis. The first census that has real genealogical value was taken in 1787. Other census’ were taken in 1801, 1834, 1840, 1845, 1850, 1855, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1901, 1906 and 1911.

Unlike the U.S. census, the Danish records are not indexed on a national basis. They were taken at the county level and within each county are arranged by parish.

Military records can also be helpful to the genealogist. From about 1788 and on, records were kept of all men who were eligible to serve in the military. Lists of all males from birth to age 43 were compiled and kept by the parish priest. The records can include other information besides the individuals name, including age, place of birth and the father’s name. These lists were updated every three years. During the years between lists, supplemental records were made showing new births and when an individual moved to another parish. This makes the records valuable in tracing the movement of an individual.

A third type of record is the probate record. Probate records include wills and records of a deceased individual’s estate. These records exist from 1683 when King Christian V decreed that anyone who died and left a child under the age of 25 must have his estate probated. In reality, many estates were probated even when there were no minor children. These records were kept on either the county or parish level.

When tracing your family history in Denmark the most valuable records will be found in the church’s parish records.

The state church of Denmark is the Lutheran Church and since the Protestant Reformation the parish has been where the primary records are kept. These parish records go back to the 1600s. Parish priests were required by law to record all births, marriages and deaths. In later years priests recorded confirmations and also lists of who came into and who left a parish.

Before 1812, when the Danish government developed a uniform set of forms for this information the records can take a variety of forms. The priest could record the information in any manner that worked for him. After the record forms were developed all the births were recorded in order on one set of forms, marriages on another and deaths on another. The same is true for the recording of confirmations and comings and goings in the parishes.

These records have a wealth of valuable information. Birth/christensing records were made when the child was brought to the church usually within a week or so of birth. Information noted includes name of child and the christening date, the names of the parents and the names of the godparents. Often the age of parents and the occupation of the father is listed. The names of the godparents can be very helpful as they typically were relatives of the parents.

Marriage records may have been made at the time of marriage or perhaps earlier at the time the engagement was announced. The names of the bride and groom, their ages and where they lived will be noted. Witnesses to the marriage will also be listed and again, these individuals may be relatives.

Death records were made at the time of burial. They will include the date of burial, age and the father or husband’s name. Some records may also include the cause of death.

These records can be especially valuable not only to determine the events in an individuals life but also to put together family groups as other family members are listed in the records.

The steps to finding your family history depends, at least some extent, on what you already know about your ancestors. Perhaps you are lucky enough to know where in Denmark they immigrated from and when. But often that information has been forgotten over the years.

Before attempting to locate your ancestors in Denmark, or any other foreign country for that matter, the best place to start is at home. Write down what you already know about your family. Perhaps your family is a recent enough arrival in the United States that you can ask the immigrant for information about their past. More likely, however, you are several generations removed from the immigrant or, like myself, you never thought to ask that grandparent for information while they were alive.

A good place to start is to ask your older relatives if they have any information. Look through the written record that may exist in your family. The immigrant ancestor may have brought with him or her documents that will help determine where they came from in the “old country”.  Family Bibles are often a good source of information with births and deaths being recorded. There also may be letters from friends and relatives in Denmark. Maybe you can have the immigrants copy of their naturalization papers. Another valuable source might be what was known as a “conduct book.”  Beginning in 1832 and continuing into the 20th century all Danish domestics were required to have a conduct book in which their employers could make comments about their conduct. These books can be used to track their movement throughout the country. The first page also generally contains valuable information about the worker’s birth date, parents and home parish. The only record I had of my maternal great-grandfather was from his conduct book that my grandmother brought with her in 1912. Using this book I have been able to determine where he was born and his parents names. I also have been able to track his movement through Denmark.

Other items that may be of use are military service records, photos, old newspapers or diaries.

Marie Nielsen – immigrated to the U.S, in 1912

Between 1850 and 1920 more than 350,000 Danes left their homeland to start a new life overseas, most of them in the United States. The 2000 United States census lists 1,430,897 people claiming Danish ancestry. Since you have found your way to this website, your parent, grandparent or great-grandparent likely was one of those immigrants and you are one of those Danish-Americans.

Tracing your Danish ancestry can be a daunting and sometimes frustrating task. The system of patronymic naming that was used well into the 1800’s is only one of the things that can make it difficult to trace your family lineage.

There are, however, resources available that can help, many of them online. Hopefully there will be information on this site that can make your search for you ancestors a little easier as well as providing links to online databases and sharing some Danish history and culture.