Norway

Category: Fylke.  Called Nordre Bergenhus amt until 1919 [“Sogn og Fjordane,” Ancestors from Norway website].

[Mons Andersen Holmevig 1761-1846; Paul Anthonsen Tønning 1763-1822; Birthe Olsdatter Teilov 1767-1834; Jon Clemetsen Grønfur 1768-1838; Johanne Corneliusdatter Yttreide 1768-1845; Sigri Martinsdatter Erdahl c1772-1838; Jørgen Lassesen Erdal 1773-1835; Ingebor Henrichsdatter Wiig 1775-1851; Anton Paulsen Tonning 1795-1846; Clemet Johnsen Grønfur 1802-1850; Elizabet Jørgensdatter Erdal Grønfur 1803-1868; Sigrid Monsdatter Holmevig Tonning 1812-1901; Jon Gronfur Svoren 1840-1919; Johanne Lunde Svoren 1844-1882; Elizabeth Svoren Almlie 1871-1889]

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Sogn og Fjordane includes the areas of Nordfjord, Sunnfjord, and Sogn.  Nordfjord includes the kommunes of Eid, Gloppen, Hornindal, Selje, Stryn, Vågsøy, and Bremanger.  Norway’s longest fjord, Sognefjord, and largest glacier, Jostedalsbreen, as well as Europe’s deepest lake, Hornindalsvatnet, are located in the fylke.  Major industries included cattle and sheep raising, fruit raising, fishing, and tourism.  [“Sogn og Fjordane,” Ancestors from Norway website].

In the early nineteenth century, the fjords made the communities of Sogn og Fjordane closely knit together, but a bit isolated from the rest of the country [Rasmus Sunde, “Emigration from the District of Sogn, 1839-1915” (Thesis, History Department, University of Trondheim, 1974)].  In the 1830s, travel was more common and the first Sogn family left for America in 1839 [Sunde, “Emigration”].  “Between 1856 and 1865 present-day Sogn og Fjordane lost a larger proportion of her population through emigration than any other Norwegian county” and most of those from the Sogn area [Sunde].  Many fewer left from the Sunnfjord and Nordfjord areas, and emigration was sparse until the mid-1860s [Leiv H. Dvergsdal, “Emigration from Sunnfjord to America prior to 1885” (Thesis, History Department, University of Trondheim, 1976)].

In Sogn, the population had increased dramatically, and the cultivation of potatoes supported the increase [Sunde].  When the limits of agricultural land and economic prospects were reached in that region of narrow valleys, something had to give [Sunde].  In 1855, a local report suggested that the major reason people emigrated were for “the hope of better conditions and easier work” [Sunde].  In Vik and central Sogn, early emigrants tended to be families, while the majority were young, single people after 1880 [Sunde].

In Sunnfjord, the fjords provided alternative income sources from fishing that weren’t as available in Sogn [Dvergsdal, “Emigration”].  In the 1880s, immigration peaked, which coincided with a good economy in America and more pre-paid tickets being sent back to relatives [Dvergsdal].

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Further Reading:

Dvergsdal, Leiv H. “Emigration from Sunnfjord to America prior to 1885.” Thesis, History Department, University of Trondheim, 1976.

Helland, A.T. Norges land og folk: Nordre Bergenhus amt, udg. 1901.

Sunde, Rasmus. “Emigration from the District of Sogn, 1839-1915.” Thesis, History Department, University of Trondheim, 1974.

Archives/Museums:

Nordfjord Folkemuseum, Sandane.

Sogn og Fjordane Fylkesarkivet, est. 1983, Leikanger.  Fyklesarkivet i Sogn og Fjordane on Flickr (several for Oppstryn & Erdalen), and cultural articles / leksikon on the Fylkesarkivet website.

Other Sites:

Nordfjordlaget in America, established 1909.

Sogn og Fjordane genealogy, familysearch.org.  Includes map of kommunes and parishes.