Is anyone an expert on Norway?

[Timbottawa]

My 2G-grandparents apparently spent a few years in Norway, probably around 1858-early 1860's.  A son was born in Norway in 1859, and they appear to be missing from the 1861 census, but they returned to Yorkshire by the mid 1860's.  I'm interested to locate a certificate for the birth of the son, Robert NOBLE.

I've fiddled around with Google and various Norwegian web-sites, and have had no luck, but I may have been hindered by my poor (= nil) knowledge of Norwegian!

Can anyone advise?  Thanks!

[suttontrust]

Perhaps the Norwegian Embassy might be able to help, at least in guiding you towards the right sources of information.

[Biker]

Hiya

Not an expert either here  but Cyndi's List has a good list of sites which might help http://www.cyndislist.com/norway.htm

Regards
Jonathan

[jorose]

Have you tried the overseas indexes?  1837online has them for consular bmds (those registered with the English authorities in the area) and births/deaths at sea.  Not everyone registered, though.  If there was a chance his father was in the army there's also military indexes.

Oslo consular births are also available from the LDS.  I suspect these are the same records as on the 1837online indexes, just in another form.

I don't think you'll find much in the Norwegian records themselves - there's the 1865 census, which they don't seem to be on, and church records (which he might appear on, but they might have waited until they got back and had him christened then.)

[Timbottawa]

Thanks very much, suttontrust, Jonathan, and jorose,

I'm going to seem a right idiot, but thanks to jorose's suggestion, I found not only Robert, but two highly likely sisters in the Consular records on 1837online.  I'd like to emphasize that I had searched on 1837online previously, but either the Consular records are a recent addition, or I messed up my search!  Previously I'd only found military overseas records. 

Anyway, three Nobles were registered at the Christiania (Copenhagen) Consulate in about 1858-62 (the precise year is not specified).  I guess that even though Norway had become independent several decades earlier, the UK was still handling Norwegian affairs from Denmark.

Thanks again for your help.
Tim

[Timbottawa]

Hello everyone,

After further review, the Consular records are a bit strange.  There is one set of records up to 1859, and another set from 1860 onwards.  I mentioned finding three Nobles, but it seems there were only two.  Robert appears in the 1860 onwards records, with volume/page number 3/839.  Mary Jane Noble is also there, with the same volume/page number.  But Mary Jane also appears in the pre-1860 records with the same volume/page number.

So it seems that Mary Jane, at least, might have been born right at the end of 1859, and somehow got recorded on both sets of records (in the pre-1860 set she's squeezed in between two other rows, clearly as an afterthought).

BUT ..... in the 1871 census, there is a Mary J living with her parents, recorded as having been born in Leeds, with an implied birth year of 1857!!!  Robert is also in the census, although living with a married older sister, recorded as having been born in Norway, with an implied birth year of 1859.

They would surely not have christened a girl with the same names as an older sister ... and there is no record of a death of the Norwegian Mary Jane either in the Consular or regular records.

Could Mary Jane have been born in Leeds immediately before the family set sail for Norway?  Then, not having registered the birth in Leeds, they registered it on arrival?  But why would she also appear in the Consular 1860-onwards records, if she was born around 1857?

I guess I'll just have to order both certificates to answer these questions!

Cheers
Tim

[loo]

I once traced someone by contacting the Norwegian National Library.  I received an obituary from the librarian within 24 hours, even though, when I inquired, I didn't know if the person was living or dead!!  Definitely worth a try;  she was extremely helpful, and even helped me with my translation when I had a question about my effort to translate the obit from Norwegian to English, using an online dictionary.

[Timbottawa]

Thanks, loo,

I'm awaiting the birth certificates, which will take a few more weeks yet!  I'm hoping that they will indicate where my g-g-grandfather was working in Norway.  At that point, there may be a need to appeal to the National Library, so thanks for your suggestion.

All the best
Tim

[Lindsell]

Yes, I am. I have lived in Norway for over 40 years and I am the English Editor for "Agder Kultur"  - (Cultural Life in the twin Counties of Agder) at Agder University College, Kristiansand, Norway. How far have you got with your research and how can I help you?