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Jo Anne Sadler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
1100 Posts |
 Posted - 08/11/2003 : 05:46:28
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Don't quite agree with you about birth and death records not being available for the South until the 1930's.  I have checked several states on Vitalrec.com and their are earlier records available. Birth and death records are always kept at the County and State level, you have to check both and there, of course, are fees involved. www.vitalrec.com. lists all the states and counties to write for records and the dates the records are available. Generally, state records are the more current records and the county records have older information.
You can order all the available Federal census microfilms from a local Family History Center, the current cost is less than $4.00 for a thirty day rental.
I don't feel churches are no help, I have had great success from religious institutions, however, their job is ministering, not providing genealogical services. What I was trying to say was that most churches are greatly understaffed and a little patience is required. |
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Brining
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
868 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2003 : 05:50:30
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Hi Laura I know the cost of the genealogy sites is outrageous. Heritage Quest has the census on CD for sale. The 1900 census for Barron county is about $20.00 which isn't too bad if you know that is where your grandmother lived. I haven't used them yet but hope to once I figure out where my husband's anestors lived in New Jersey.
Carla |
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llj
Starting member
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2003 : 18:40:36
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Hello -
I'm sorry - I didn't mean to imply no records are available before 1930. For me personally I found that most records were not always available because they weren't always reported. As a result I assumed it was the same in Wisconsin. Most of my Father's family lived in areas when they were still considered a territory - Missouri - Arkansas - Oklahoma. Also many court houses were burned or damaged durring the Civil War which made my searches more difficult. In my case, the areas I was searching had these situations plus destruction by flood & tornado. In some areas old records were thrown out to make room for newer records. I should have explained my situation better. I appologize.
I have tried not to rely on churches too much for the very reason you state - many churches are staffed by volunteers & they simply don't have the time to devote to genealogical research. In my case the Lutheran church in Barron Co. is still attended by family members & they encouraged me to contact them.
Is the Local Family History Center you spoke of part of the LDS? If so , there is one not too far from where I live - they set up appointments ahead of time. (Again - they are staffed by volunteers. They have a waiting list for people wanting to make an appointment - I am on that list.)
I will also check out Heritage Quest. I had never heard of that before. It would be well worth the $20.00 as I have many other ancestors from Barron County.
I appreciate all the help & appologize for not explaining my self better. Thanks - Laura |
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Brigetta
New on board
Canada
1 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2005 : 08:38:05
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Hello, i was reading this conversation. :) And I noticed Carla, you mentioned "Kolstad" I heard there has been only two tribes of Kolstads in Norway that of course over the years went different ways. I am looking for a book I have seen once on this Kolstad family. Sorry for budding into the conversation.
Thanks,
-Brigetta
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TLarson
Senior member
USA
205 Posts |
Posted - 19/07/2009 : 23:13:52
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| How are you related to Ole Gundbjornson Kolstad? I had a ggggrandfather with that name that died in Minnesota. Same one? |
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Lislcat
Advanced member
USA
690 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2009 : 04:55:12
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Hi,
I have had great luck with searching Lutheran Church records at the Wisconsin Historical Society. I'm not sure if they have the churches in Barron County, but the churches I was searching for, were very tiny churches in small towns and they had them. Not all funerals are listed in church records, but I did find a few. I found birth, confirmation and marriages listed in the church records. If you're not able to visit the Wis Hist Society, then I would contact them and ask if they have the records. www.wisconsinhistory.org
Good luck! |
Lislcat |
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Hopkins
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
3351 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2009 : 13:06:25
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I contacted a small rural midwest Lutheran church where I'd had emigrant ancestors by mail to find out if they still had the old old records. Yes, they did but no one in the tiny town was able to read Norwegian anymore to be able to help me by 'long distance' lookup. I requested their permission to visit and look through the records myself and the church council kindly considered and approved my access.
That summer I spent my summer vacation on the long trip back to northern Iowa and I made my appointment to meet the pastor and get access to the old old church books. A current member of the congregation was assigned to stay with me and watch to make sure nothing was damaged or taken.
Fortunately, I had practiced using the old Norway church records (accessed only through LDS microfilm at the time) and had thoroughly studied again and again John Follesdal's invaluable article on how to read and interpret them. That little Iowa congregation had conducted all their business and kept their records in Norwegian up until World War I.
While I was in the vicinity I also visited all the little cemeteries nearby and noted the names and information still visible there. The families had tended to bury their members in clusters in certain areas.
The trip was quite worthwhile and I found much family information in the fragile old church volumes. You can find many records if you really try. Sometimes you have to think like Sherlock Holmes or Columbo - detective work!
By the way, the member of the congregation that was asked to watch over me while I looked at the old books, turned out to be a 2nd or 3rd cousin. We had never known of each others existence before we two strangers were just chatting to get a little aquainted. Small world.
The church was Ullensvang Lutheran Church in Thor, Norway township, Humboldt County, Iowa. They also hold the original records for at least two other small Norwegian Lutheran churches that had been nearby and which had later been consolidated into the one congregation. |
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Nelson family
