The 1801 Census

The Census of Norway from the year 1801
A document previously presented on the Internet by the Department of History, University of Bergen, reports: "On 28 November 1800 a royal decree ordered that a census should be held in Denmark, Norway and Iceland on 1 February 1801. The result was the first census to be held in Norway, where the name and other information were collected for each person." Click here for more background on this subject.

The Census of Norway from the year 1801, previously presented in the website of the University of Bergen's Department of History's website, is now included in Digitalarkivet (The Digital Archive of Norway). Click on Digitalarkivet to reach the site's homepage. Then, in the page's bottom toolbar, select English and, in the top toolbar, select 1801.

The original University of Bergen homepage reported that the site had "...a digital letter-by-letter copy of the original census, [which is] organized by parish...The parishes (approx. 300) have been put together in counties (17)." Click here for a description of Norwegian administrative units and a map of modern Norway.

The Editor's Paternal Ancestors
All the known paternal ancestors of the editor resided in the county of Christians amt - now called Oppland. Click here for a list of the 17 (19 today) counties in 1801. The editor's ancestors are reported to have lived in three Christians amt parishes - Fåberg, Toten, and Jevnager. Click here for a list of the parishes in Christians amt, in 1801.

Fåberg parish
In the Fåberg parish (Lillehammer kommune) the editor found, two paternal great-grandfathers of his paternal grandfather: 22-year-old, Servant Syver Pedersen living on the Boleng farm and 21-year- old, Soldier Ole Halversen living with his parents (60-year-old, Innerstar lodger Halvor Christensen and 61-year-old Eli Halvors-datter) on the Rindahl farm.

Toten parish
In the Toten parish (Østre Toten/ Vestre Toten kommuner), the editor found ancestors living on four farms: the Malterud Store, Maltrud Lille, Kauserud and Verslien farms. The editor's paternal grandmother's paternal great-grandparents Farmer Ole Jensen and his wife Marthe Fridericksdatter (both aged 52) were residing on the Malterud Store farm, while the couple's 32-year-old son, Cottar with land Johannes Olsen, resided on the Malterud Lille farm. The editor's paternal grandmother's paternal grandmother, 11-year-old Christine (Kirstine) Hansdatter, and her two elder siblings were living on the Kauserud farm with their parents: 70-year-old Farmer Hans Olsen and 58-year-old Marte Andersdatter (the paternal great-grandparents of the editors paternal grandmother). A maternal great-grandparent of both the editor's paternal grandparents, 12-year-old Hans Davidsen was living on the Verslien farm with his parents (46-year-old Farmer David Hansen and 40-year-old Helene Haagensdatter).

The Toten Økomuseum reports that Kari Larsdatter (Hans Davidsen's future wife) was born in 1796. The editor found two five-year-old children named Kari Larsdatter residing in Toten parish, in 1801. One was residing on the Gjestrum farm, the other on the Hørserud farm.

Jevnager parish
The Toten Økomuseum reports that the Myrstuen farm, in Jevnager parish, was the birthplace of Ole Johannessen (born in 1813), a son of the editor's paternal grandmother's maternal great-grandparents (Johannes Olsen and Agnete Evensdatter). Neither were residing on the Mysrstuen farm in 1801. The editor found a 12-year-old Johannes Olsen on the Torbiørnrud Med Opperud farm and a 15-year-old Johannes Olsen on the Wirstad farm, but he found no one in the census, in Jevnager parish, named Agnete Evensdatter.

Norwegian naming practices
Two explanations of Norwegian naming practices follow: Johan I. Borgos and Jan Oldevoll.

Click here for more information concerning the birth families of the grandparents of the editor's paternal grandparents.