The Importance of Location for Norwegian Genealogy, with Dana Kelly

The Importance of Location for Norwegian Genealogy,

with Dana Kelly

https://www.nagcnl.org

Dana Kelly serves NAGC as the Executive Director. She oversees the daily operation of the center and is active in outreach activities and educational programming. An avid genealogist, her first experience with the center was as a member researching her family 20 years ago. Dana’s passion for family history led her to a Scandinavian Studies degree from UW-Madison where she learned to speak, read and write Norwegian. She has served on the board of directors for the Koshkonong Prairie Historical Society since 2009 and is a member of several Norwegian cultural and genealogical organizations including Sons of Norway, Vesterheim, Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, Dane County Area Genealogical Society, and International Society of Online Genetic Genealogists.

Geography is particularly important for Norwegian genealogy because Norwegians didn’t use permanent inherited family surnames until the 20th century in many cases. Since surname searches often don't yield useful results, understanding where your ancestor lived is critical for finding genealogical records in Norway. We will explore techniques for discovering where in Norway your ancestors lived so you can take advantage of the genealogical records available.