Thankful Thursday: The Norwegian Research Awards

Trophy by sheikh_tuhin

Over the past month I've spent a lot of time trying to locate and verify information about my Norwegian ancestors.  I shared some of what I learned as I found my GGGrandparents and later as I learned more about what's in a name, that of my Great Grandmother Kari Belle.

Now it is time to properly and officially thank those websites, their creators, and the individuals who continue to assist me in my quest to learn more about the Norwegian branch of my family.  After all, it is the time of year for awards shows.

My personal award for ...

• Wonderful Collection of Norwegian Records - The Digital Archives of Norway for their digitized census, church parish, land, and immigration / emigration records.
• Translation Assistance - a four-way tie among Google Auto Translate (translates the majority of text on a page), Google Translate (translates keyed in words and phrases), John Follesdal for his online Norwegian - English Dictionary, and FamilySearch.org for their Norwegian Word List.
• Years of Meticulous Records - all the Lutheran Church clerks and ministers whose Klokkenboks and Ministerialboks serve as a substitute for vital records.
• By My Side "Cheat Sheet" - "Column Headings For Parish Records", another helpful posting by John Follesdal that helps in locating and identifying specific information.
• Helpful Wiki -  FamilySearch.org wiki on Getting Started With Norway Research.  Its contributors had provided information that answered so many of the questions I had when I first started my Norwegian research, especially about land ownership and naming customs.
• Personal Family History Book - Overli-Belle-Siem Family compiled by a second cousin, Marion Myhre Chappelle.  This 108-page book gave me so many places to start in my search for information.

As I stand here in my virtual sequined dress and dangling earrings, I know there are many other sites and helps I need to thank for aiding in my Norwegian research.  Maybe I'll actually visit Norway someday, but until then, I'll keep using sites such as these to strengthen my connections with Norway, its history, and my ancestors.  To all, many, many thanks.

photo from Wiki Media, by Evan Amos