Skifteprotokol (Godset example)

I am posting an example of a skifteprotokol recorded on the Gods (Manor) level.  Each Manor owned numerous tracts of land and often times the land was in several different parishes.  The Family History Library Catalog allows you to search by parish and see what Manors had farms in a parish.  It is also wise to search on the herred level in the Family History Library Catalog when reviewing available sources for your parishes.

I have an ancestor, Maren Jensdatter (1679-1741).  She died in Øland, Hjørring, Denmark.  Her husband was a degn (parish clerk).  I thought she might have a probate since her husband was a degn.  I first checked the Deanery probates (not on krabsen.dk) then I checked http://www.krabsen.dk/

From the index I chose the Maren Jensdatter in Østerbye since that town is in Øland. 

This is the title of the volume where Maren's probate is:

Her probate begins on page 84a.



Her husband is Lars Andersen Degn. 
Children listed are:
 Anders Laursen Holbecch, 34 years
Jens LarLaursen, Knudergaard, 32 years
Christen Laursen, home with father, 30 years
Thomas Laursen, Vesterbye in Øland, 28 years
Jørgen Laursen, home with father, 26 years
Laurs Laursen, home with father, 24 years

Websites for Danish Research

I thought it might be handy to list the websites I use and why I use them. 

1. www.arkivalieronline.dk  This is a collection of actual images from church books and censuses (folketælling).  The site is in Danish and requires registration.  There is a guide in English for first time users.  The images are good quality and it is easy to save the image.  You will want to change the name when you save it.  I put the name of the record I am saving (i.e.:  Brovst 1812-1832 opslag 34).  You may also want to put the name of the person in the file name so you can identify who you have found.
2. ddd.dda.dk  This is a collection of indexed records:  Censuses, Migration (in and out of Denmark) some Probates (Thisted, Aalborg, Viborg, and Randers), some church books and various other records.  I use it mostly for censuses.  As far as I have found, nearly all of Denmark is indexed for 1787, 1801 and 1834.  Some features of the site are in English but most results will be in Danish.  There are many others and the site is constantly updated as new records are indexed.  Remember, this is not complete and the indexers can make a mistake.  You will always want to check the indexed record against the original record.
3. www.familysearch.org  The surname searching on the original familysearch site will treat Pedersen and Pedersdatter as the same surname.  It will also include known variances like Kristensen, Christensen, Christiansen, Xtensen, Xsen, and the female equivalents.  Most of my research has been in Hjørring and all of Hjørring has been extracted or indexed through about 1860.  (Brovst, Øster Svenstrup and Sejlstrup are in the Vital Records Index while the rest of Hjørring is in the International Genealogical Index (IGI).  Also available here are research guides, maps, and word lists.
4.   www.krabsen.dk  There are two indexes on this site that are invaluable:  the probate index for Vendsyssel (Thisted, Hjørring, and northern Aalborg) and the place index.  The probate index does not have the records of every manor, the deanery probates, and records found on the herred and amt level.  You will need to search the filmed copies to review these records.  The place index is not complete but still valuable for helping you determine where a farm is  or how to spell the name.
5. www.sognetraef.dk  This is a website that allows you to coordinate research with others (usually in Denmark). 
6. www.kms.dk  This is a site that contains historic maps of Denmark.  You can search by town or village name. 

I use these websites constantly.  I have found them very user-friendly.  Some of them require some knowledge of Danish but you need that to do Danish family history anyway. 

Tax Lists

Yesterday, I spent a good deal of time playing with Danish Tax Records for Aalborghus Amt.  I learned the basics about Danish Tax Records from the following article:  http://www.progenealogists.com/denmark/articles/danadv.htm  Mr. Horlacher provides a great overview of the basics of tax record research.  I have had a blast using the tax records.  They present a great puzzle to solve.

I have been looking at records for Hjørring/Thisted/Ålborg.  The three records that cover the time period I need are the Kontributionsregnskaber, Ekstraskatteregnskaber, and Konsumtions- familie og folkeskatsregnskaber. 

The Kontributionsregnskaber is mostly statistical information but there are some lists included.  Here is an example from 1742 for Jetsmark, Hjørring, Denmark. 

This is the title of the tax list added by an archivist.

This “list” is has many parts.  Several are letters from the officials.  However I did luck out with this part:

This is the sub-title within the tax list.

It was a small list of the major tax payers.  While this list is certainly not a list of everybody in the parish, it is at least a list of some people.  There is very little genealogical information given here but sometimes this may be the only record source available for your area in a particular time.

Here we see Jetsmark Sogn.  The first farm/community mentioned is Kaasbye.

Those listed are:
Olluf Thomasen and Niels Nielsen
Jesper Pedersen
Anders Andersen
Poul Jensen
Mikkel Christensen