Family Tree Search Tips and Resources
Gather as much information as possible from family members and documents (e.g., records,photos). That may help you figure out when your ancestors came to Canada, place of origin and their destination.
Many Danish Canadian families came north from the United States, where they may have lived for one or more generations. If you can't find archival information in one country, check records for the other country.
Danish names may have changed since the person left Denmark. During the immigration process, many Danish names were anglicized, misspelled, recorded incorrectly, or shortened. If you're having trouble following a trail, check out spelling variations or "sounds like" names. For example: Nilssen, Nilsen,Nielsen, Nielson, Nelson.
Family Tree Search Resources
People
- Immediate orextended family members
- Long-time family friends, neighbours and co-workers (especially the older generation)
- Friends from current or past churches (especially Danish Lutheran or Lutheran churches) attended by family members
Records (Note: Some are online or can be ordered online for a fee)
- Cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions (many are online)
- Census information
- Church of the Latter Day Saints' (LDS, Mormon Church) research centers (local and online). Note: This is a good starting point, but you may find that that some information has not been verified by documentation.
- Church records (especially from Danish Lutheran or Lutheran churches)
- Danish Brotherhood Records (available at the Danish Immigrant Archive at Dana College in Blair,NB, USA
- Death/burial,marriage and birth/baptismal records
- Funeral home records
- Land records ,including homestead files
- Military service records
- Naturalization records and petitions for citizenship
- Newspaper articles and announcements (births, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.)
- Obituaries
- Online genealogical sites
- Town or county histories and museum archives in the area of settlement
Online Resources: Starting Points
- Rootsweb.com (general inquiry site)
- Cyndi's List: Denmark (gateway to thousands of genealogical web pages)
- LDS Familysearch.org (online search site)
- The Global Gazette: Canada's Online Family History Magazine
Online Resources: Canada
- Alberta Archives Homestead Search (fee applies)
- Alberta Genealogical Society
- British Columbia Genealogical Society
- Collections Canada Library and Archives (provides genealogy and queries)
- Exploring Family History in Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan Archives site)
- Manitoba Genealogical Society
- New Brunswick Genealogical Society Inc.
- Ontario Genealogical Society
- Pier 21 Research Materials
- Pier 21: Canada's Immigration Museum
- Saskatchewan Genealogical Society
Online Resources: United States of America
- Ellis Island Records Search (New York passenger lists)
- Homestead.com: Danish Genealogy
- National Danish- American Genealogical Society
- Searchable US Death Index
- The Danish Emigration Archives
- The Danish Immigrant Museum
- US National Archives: Resources for Genealogists/Family Historians
Online Resources: Denmark
- Danish Association of Family Farms (English)
- Danish Emigration Archives Database
- Danish Genealogy Research
- Danish State Archives Online includes images of original church records andsearchable census records (in Danish)
- Dansk Demografisk Database (Danish emigration records, census records, probaterecords (click on Union Jack for English version)
Helpful Books (Available for Purchase)
- Danish Federation Heritage Book
- Global Genealogy: Canadian Resources
- How Do I Prove It?
- In Search of your European Roots
- The Beginner's Guide to Danish Genealogical Research
More Immigrant Stories:
- Find homestead maps and more in our Library
- Did Lars Pedersen abscond––or go down on the Titanic?
