Naming Practices - Norway

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Robert Heiling

Naming Practices - Norway

Legg inn av Robert Heiling » 05 apr 2005 18:06:52

Hei

I'd like to double-check my understanding of Norwegian naming practices
or be corrected. The following household is taken from the 1900 census,
More Og Romsdal, Vestnes, and the farmname is EINEN. (please forgive my
formatting)

Name Family status Marital status Occupation Birth year

Ole Einen hf g Husmand, forpakter m J 1844
Berte Einen hm g Husmandskone 1845
Peter Helland s ug Skomager 1877
Olufine Helland d ug Husligt arb., kreaturstel. 1881
Nils Helland s ug Arbeider i snedkerfabrik 1883
Marie Helland d ug Barn 1888

Julie Helland d ug Barn
1890
Hans Helland hf g Driver snedker- og dreierfabrik1869
Seriana Helland hm g Snedkerkone 1875
Olav Helland s ug Barn
1900

Questions:
Ole & Berte have the surname Einen because that's the farm that they
currently reside on? They changed their surname to Einen when they moved
there from wherever they had been before? The children have the name
Helland because that is the name of the farm that the family lived on
when they were born? I note that there is/was a local parish farm by
the name of Helland and wonder if that is likely the place that they
previously resided? I see that Helland seems to be more of a place on
the map now than a farm.

For those who are familiar with the numerous errors in the US censuses
of given & surname spelling errors, birthdate errors, placename errors,
etc; would you say that the Norwegian censuses have far fewer errors?
about the same number? more?

Mvh
Bob

Ivar S. Ertesvåg

Re: Naming Practices - Norway

Legg inn av Ivar S. Ertesvåg » 05 apr 2005 18:40:21

Robert Heiling wrote:
Hei

I'd like to double-check my understanding of Norwegian naming practices
or be corrected. The following household is taken from the 1900 census,
More Og Romsdal, Vestnes, and the farmname is EINEN. (please forgive my
formatting)

Name Family status Marital status Occupation Birth year

Ole Einen hf g Husmand, forpakter m J 1844
Berte Einen hm g Husmandskone 1845
Peter Helland s ug Skomager 1877
Olufine Helland d ug Husligt arb., kreaturstel. 1881
Nils Helland s ug Arbeider i snedkerfabrik 1883
Marie Helland d ug Barn 1888

Julie Helland d ug Barn
1890
Hans Helland hf g Driver snedker- og dreierfabrik1869
Seriana Helland hm g Snedkerkone 1875
Olav Helland s ug Barn
1900


Link to "Digitalarkivet":
http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/we ... k=100#ovre

Questions:
Ole & Berte have the surname Einen because that's the farm that they
currently reside on? They changed their surname to Einen when they moved
there from wherever they had been before? The children have the name
Helland because that is the name of the farm that the family lived on
when they were born?

This seems to be a special case. The answer to the first question is
apparently "yes". For the remaining, there are some questions to the
source and the regitration of it.

It appears that the farm name i Helland nedre. This is farm No.45 i
Vestnes, and it is the vicars's recidence. Einen is a 'husmannsplass'
(small, rented farm) under Helland. Geographically, Einen may be in some
distance from the main farm houses of Helland but still within the area
of it.

Thus, somehow, the person registering the family in the census has
witten Einen as surname for the parents and Helland for the children.
This may be correct or incorrect - there is no general rule that can
help you figuring out this.


I note that there is/was a local parish farm by
the name of Helland and wonder if that is likely the place that they
previously resided? I see that Helland seems to be more of a place on
the map now than a farm.

For those who are familiar with the numerous errors in the US censuses
of given & surname spelling errors, birthdate errors, placename errors,
etc; would you say that the Norwegian censuses have far fewer errors?
about the same number? more?

Mvh
Bob


Ivar S. Ertesvåg

Re: Naming Practices - Norway

Legg inn av Ivar S. Ertesvåg » 06 apr 2005 16:42:33

Robert Heiling wrote:
[....]
For those who are familiar with the numerous errors in the US censuses
of given & surname spelling errors, birthdate errors, placename errors,
etc; would you say that the Norwegian censuses have far fewer errors?
about the same number? more?

I was wondering about errors because I haven't been successful in
locating a Peter Helland who was born 1883 with a father named Ole and
who was probably from that general area of Norway. I've searched for the
variations of Peter, Peder, Petter, Per, Pehr and numerous spelling
variations of the surname, but the household listed above is the only
one that comes close. Could the census taker have written down the wrong
birthyear for Peter or could he have reversed the names of Peter & Nils
there? Have you observed errors like that in the 1900 census and are
they common? In the US censuses, the information could have been given
to the census taker by any member of the household or even a neighbor
and not just the head of household, so errors are frequent. Is that also
true of the Norwegian census?

This is hard to answer. Humans make errors... also in the 1900 census.
The accuracy most likely depends on the census taker (often a teacher or
other reliable person) - and even over the period of conduct by one
single census taker (he got tired, bored, impatient, in short of time,
etc....).
The interesting matter here is whether this specific family was
correctly registered. Normally, this can be verified from other sources,
in particular, the parish registry. Furthermore, the source for "your"
Peter's birth year should also be scrutinized.


Thanks again!

Bob

Robert Heiling

Re: Naming Practices - Norway

Legg inn av Robert Heiling » 06 apr 2005 17:59:04

"Ivar S. Ertesvåg" wrote:

Robert Heiling wrote:
[....]
For those who are familiar with the numerous errors in the US censuses
of given & surname spelling errors, birthdate errors, placename errors,
etc; would you say that the Norwegian censuses have far fewer errors?
about the same number? more?

I was wondering about errors because I haven't been successful in
locating a Peter Helland who was born 1883 with a father named Ole and
who was probably from that general area of Norway. I've searched for the
variations of Peter, Peder, Petter, Per, Pehr and numerous spelling
variations of the surname, but the household listed above is the only
one that comes close. Could the census taker have written down the wrong
birthyear for Peter or could he have reversed the names of Peter & Nils
there? Have you observed errors like that in the 1900 census and are
they common? In the US censuses, the information could have been given
to the census taker by any member of the household or even a neighbor
and not just the head of household, so errors are frequent. Is that also
true of the Norwegian census?

This is hard to answer. Humans make errors... also in the 1900 census.
The accuracy most likely depends on the census taker (often a teacher or
other reliable person) - and even over the period of conduct by one
single census taker (he got tired, bored, impatient, in short of time,
etc....).

This is all true and in my fairly extensive reading of US censuses that all
happens - name errors, date errors, age errors, and so on - and for some of the
reasons you mention. My question might seem naive on the surface, but it is
based upon a lack of knowledge of how Norwegian censuses are conducted. For all
I know, there might be a rule, for instance, that information could be *only*
taken from the head of household. Measures such as that would increase the
accuracy and cause me to accept data from a Norwegian census that I might reject
from a US census.

The interesting matter here is whether this specific family was
correctly registered. Normally, this can be verified from other sources,
in particular, the parish registry. Furthermore, the source for "your"
Peter's birth year should also be scrutinized.

That's right and I will question my source again, but a 6 year error seems
unlikely unless I have mistakenly been given the wrong person's birthdate or my
source has been given such. If that Einen household census record becomes more
credible I'll pursue investigation of the nedre Helland pasish registry.

Thanks again for your help!

Mvh
Bob

Ivar S. Ertesvåg

Re: Naming Practices - Norway

Legg inn av Ivar S. Ertesvåg » 06 apr 2005 22:18:02

Robert Heiling wrote:
"Ivar S. Ertesvåg" wrote:


Robert Heiling wrote:
[....]

For those who are familiar with the numerous errors in the US censuses
of given & surname spelling errors, birthdate errors, placename errors,
etc; would you say that the Norwegian censuses have far fewer errors?
about the same number? more?

I was wondering about errors because I haven't been successful in
locating a Peter Helland who was born 1883 with a father named Ole and
who was probably from that general area of Norway. I've searched for the
variations of Peter, Peder, Petter, Per, Pehr and numerous spelling
variations of the surname, but the household listed above is the only
one that comes close. Could the census taker have written down the wrong
birthyear for Peter or could he have reversed the names of Peter & Nils
there? Have you observed errors like that in the 1900 census and are
they common? In the US censuses, the information could have been given
to the census taker by any member of the household or even a neighbor
and not just the head of household, so errors are frequent. Is that also
true of the Norwegian census?

This is hard to answer. Humans make errors... also in the 1900 census.
The accuracy most likely depends on the census taker (often a teacher or
other reliable person) - and even over the period of conduct by one
single census taker (he got tired, bored, impatient, in short of time,
etc....).


This is all true and in my fairly extensive reading of US censuses that all
happens - name errors, date errors, age errors, and so on - and for some of the
reasons you mention. My question might seem naive on the surface, but it is
based upon a lack of knowledge of how Norwegian censuses are conducted. For all
I know, there might be a rule, for instance, that information could be *only*
taken from the head of household. Measures such as that would increase the
accuracy and cause me to accept data from a Norwegian census that I might reject
from a US census.

The instructions for the census can be found at
http://www.rhd.uit.no/census/ft1900.html
It (and the text at the registration forms) clearly states that the
forms should be filled out by the head of the houshould or by the census
taker assisted by the head of the houshold. The census taker should
visit every houshold and make sure that the forms are properly filled out.


The interesting matter here is whether this specific family was
correctly registered. Normally, this can be verified from other sources,
in particular, the parish registry. Furthermore, the source for "your"
Peter's birth year should also be scrutinized.


That's right and I will question my source again, but a 6 year error seems
unlikely unless I have mistakenly been given the wrong person's birthdate or my
source has been given such. If that Einen household census record becomes more
credible I'll pursue investigation of the nedre Helland pasish registry.

for sake of order: the parish is Vestnes
(nedre Helland is the farm name)

Robert Heiling

Re: Naming Practices - Norway

Legg inn av Robert Heiling » 06 apr 2005 23:25:50

"Ivar S. Ertesvåg" wrote:

Robert Heiling wrote:
[....]
My question might seem naive on the surface, but it is
based upon a lack of knowledge of how Norwegian censuses are conducted. For all
I know, there might be a rule, for instance, that information could be *only*
taken from the head of household. Measures such as that would increase the
accuracy and cause me to accept data from a Norwegian census that I might reject
from a US census.

The instructions for the census can be found at
http://www.rhd.uit.no/census/ft1900.html
It (and the text at the registration forms) clearly states that the
forms should be filled out by the head of the houshould or by the census
taker assisted by the head of the houshold. The census taker should
visit every houshold and make sure that the forms are properly filled out.

Thanks for that clarification. That process, if always honored, is much more thorough
than the way it has been done over here. It makes those census records far more
credible.

The interesting matter here is whether this specific family was
correctly registered. Normally, this can be verified from other sources,
in particular, the parish registry. Furthermore, the source for "your"
Peter's birth year should also be scrutinized.


That's right and I will question my source again, but a 6 year error seems
unlikely unless I have mistakenly been given the wrong person's birthdate or my
source has been given such. If that Einen household census record becomes more
credible I'll pursue investigation of the nedre Helland pasish registry.

for sake of order: the parish is Vestnes
(nedre Helland is the farm name)

Thanks for that clarification also! Within the past few hours, I was able to locate
what certainly must have been that particular Peter Helland in the New York Ellis
Island ship passenger lists. The age matches an 1877 birthyear and he was from
Romsdal. If we can resolve that 6 year discrepancy, my friend will probably want to
pursue this further including those Vestnes parish records.

Thanks again!

Mvh
Bob

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