bigpigeon.us webpage Home > Resources > Finding Danish Ancestors, updated by RAC 3 Feb 2020.
This brief tutorial shows three examples of on-line searching to learn more about ancestors who emigrated from Denmark in the late 19th century. To be successful in these searches, you already need some information about your ancestor. I assume that you have already used the search features of ancestry.com and familysearch.org to obtain this information. In particular, I assume that you have searched:
  • the All Collections and Public Member Trees sections of ancestry.com.
  • the Danish birth/christening and marriage areas of familysearch.org.

If you don’t known much about Denmark, you might go to the About Denmark page and look at my About Denmark tutorial before proceeding.

I use three major on-line avenues to find Danish roots:
  • Danish emigration records.
  • Danish census records.
  • Danish parish records.

==> Part 1 - The Danish emigration database

The Danish emigration database is useful if:
  • Your ancestor left Denmark between 1869 and 1908.
  • You know the name your ancestor used at the time.
  • You know the approximate year of emigration.
Sample usage of the Danish Emigration database:
I already knew that my great-grandfather, Lars Rasmussen, came to America with his family in 1882. I then found his emigration record thusly:
  • Go to http://www.ddd.dda.dk/ddd_en.htm.
  • Under Other databases, click on Emigrants (select language). This should bring up a search screen. After selecting the English language, this screen is named Copenhagen Police Emigration Protocols.
  • Enter your ancestor’s name (e.g., Rasmussen, Lars) at the top, enter the presumed emigration year (e.g., 1882) in the presentation date field at the bottom, and click start search.
  • Among the 14 hits was my great-grandfather, Lars C. Rasmussen, with contract number 335600 and a registration date of 22 Apr 1882. 
  • To find the others in his party, I wrote down the contract number, clicked Retur til søgeside, and near the bottom of the new search screen entered the contract number (335600) and the date (1882 4).
  • Records for all seven members of the family then appeared.
Comments on the emigration records:
  • The Rasmussen family’s records were more-complete than many, including the last residence (Voer parish, Hjørring county, Idskov settlement) as well as the destination (Council Blufs, Iowa, USA).
  • The ship’s name often is Indirekte, as most Danish emigrants crossed the Atlantic by stages:
  • First a smaller ship to a major port in England, Germany, or Scotland.
  • Then a large ship across the Atlantic, most-often to New York Harbor.
Comments about the Danish Emigration Database:
  • The wildcard symbol is “%”. E.g., Christ%nsen will search for both Christiansen and Christensen.
  • This database covers only those who registered with the Copenhagen police during the years 1869-1908.
  • I know of families who should be in the emigration registry but don’t appear in the on-line database.

==> Part 2 - Danish Census Records

Danish census records are useful providing you know:
  • Your ancestor’s name in Denmark.
  • Your ancestors approximate birth year.
  • The names of others in your ancestor’s family.
  • The Danish county your ancestor lived in (its even better if you know the parish).
Sample usage of Danish census records:
I found my great-grandfather Lars Rasmussen family’s 1880 census record thusly:
  • Go to http://www.ddd.dda.dk/ddd_en.htm.
  • Under censuses, click on Go to database.
  • Click on Advanced search. You should now see a search screen.
  • In the search screen I entered:
  • In the Name field enter Lars % Rasmussen (the wildcard % will capture all middle names).
  • In the County field enter Hjørring.
  • In the Census Year field enter = 1880.
  • Click the Search button
  • Seven hits are returned, including my great-grandfather. (An error gives my great-grandfather’s residence as Skæve Parish rather than Voer Parish.)
  • Click on Details. This lists all members of the household, including the parish in which they were born.
Commentary about Danish census records:
  • Despite the error in the data shown in the above example, I have found the census data to be very accurate.
  • Perhaps the biggest hurdle in searching Danish census data is finding the county to search. Here is some general guidance:
  • http://www.dis-danmark.dk/kort/kort.htm shows Danish counties in the1793-1970 period. If you click on a county, you will see a second map showing the parishes within that county.
  • https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Denmark:_Parish_List  lists alphabetically all Danish parishes.
  • In 19th century Denmark, most people remained in the county in which they were born.

==> Part 3 - Danish parish records

Danish parish records plusses and minuses:
  • Parish record books provide a trove of information, such as birth and christening, confirmation, marriage and death.
  • Some parish record books include additional sections, for instance a log when a resident moved into or moved out of the parish.
  • Unlike emigration and census records, one sees raw data rather than transcriptions.
  • The data is written in Danish script, which is often difficult to read.
  • Data is indexed by page rather than by individual record.
  • One needs to know the parish of interest, the subject’s name, and the approximate year.
  • Little help is available in English.
Sample usage of Danish parish records:
I knew that my great-aunt, Bendine Rasmussen, was born in 1881 in Voer parish. I located her christening record thusly:
  • Go to the Danish archives website, https://www.sa.dk/en/. (I found this site slow to load.)
  • Scroll down to the text Find original documents from the archives online:.
  • Select Parish Registers and click the Search button.
  • A screen headed Kirkebøger appears. Click on Kirkebøger fra hele landet (Church books from all areas).
  • A screen headed Kirkebøger fra hele landet appears. Click on the down arrow on the right of the Amt (County) box. 
  • A list of all counties appears. Click on Hjørring Amt and then click the down arrow on the right of the Arkiv box. 
  • A list of parishes in Hjørring County appears.
  • Scroll down through this list until Voer Sogn (Hjørring Amt) appears. Click on Voer Sogn. 
  • A list of two series of parish books appears. Click on the second series (years 1814-2003). 
  • A screen with two windows appears. The left window is used to navigate though the pages in the books in the series. The right window displays page images.
  • Scroll down through the left window until you see the book 1881 FKVD - 1.
  • Click on the associated + button. The left window changes to include page numbers for the new book. The right window shows that we are now viewing book 7, with dates 1881-1890. (Albæk is mentioned, being the nearest town to Voer Kirke, which lies in the countryside.)
  • Click on 2 in the left window and enlarge using the + key at the top of the right window. You can navigate though the page using the little image in the lower right.
  • Note that female births occupy pages 61 through 122. (Bendine Rasmussen was born in 1881, so I’ll first look on page 61.)
  • Click on 61. This brings up page 66 of the parish record book (because page numbers in the left screen do not match exactly page numbers in the record book.
  • Click on 56. This brings up page 61 of the parish record book. Bendine Rasmussen is not on this page.
  • Use the arrow on the top of the right window to go to the next page.
  • Bendine Rasmussen’s christening record is on this page. She is female birth #18. She was born 1 August. She was christened in Albæk Church 22 September 1881 with parents identified as farmowner Lars Kristian Rasmussen and housewife Karen Marie Andersen of Hald. The mother is age 38. The sponsors, godmother and godfather, are Mrs. and Mr. Peter Madsen, also of Hald in Idskov.
Getting help with Danish parish records:
  • Because of the difficulties in accessing Danish parish records you might want to pay for the services of a third party comfortable with the organization and content of parish records and with reading Danish script. 
  • For instance, you can contact the Genealogy Center at the Museum of Danish America at http://www.danishmuseum.org/explore/genealogy/translations-and-research. The hourly fee for services such as looking up entries in Danish parish records is $30 for members of the Museum, $40 otherwise.
  • Due to the cost and wait involved, you might want to do some on-line searching of Danish archival information yourself. If you want to learn more about using on-line Danish archives, look at https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Digitized_Danish_Records_Online_-_Arkivalieronline.

Some Links to the Danish American Heritage Society website:
I have just written this page and it is bound to be incomplete or to contain errors. I hope you were able to successfully work through my three examples. Please send me feedback via the contact form on this site. Thank you for visiting and may you have many successful searches!