If you should find something wrong, please let me know! Send E-mail to (click on my name) Geir-Arne.

I am begging all of you:
Do not publish my e-mail address in plain text - if you do that - I get a lot of spam.

Explanations of some Norwegian words:

Foreldre - parents

Side - page

Kyrkje - church

år - year

d. y. - “The younger” (when two children have the same name this is the youngest of them)

d. yngste - “The youngest” (when several children have the same name this is the youngest of them)

d. e. - “The older” (when two children have the same name this is the oldest of them)

d. eldste - “The oldest” (when several children have the same name this is the oldest of them)

d. mellomste - “The middlemost” (when several children have the same name this is the middlemost of them)

Søre - “Southern” (Two or more farms with same name – this means the “southern” farm)

søndre - “Southern” (Two or more farms with same name – this means the “southern” farm)

nordre - “Northern” (Two or more farms with same name – this means the “northern” farm)

nere - “Lower” (Two or more farms with same name – this means the “lower” farm)

øvre - “Upper” (Two or more farms with same name – this means the “upper” farm)

ytre - “Outer” (Two or more farms with same name – this means the “outer” farm)

indre - “Inner” (Two or more farms with same name – this means the “inner” farm)

Smed - smith

Kongebrev - marriage license (when marriage in “forbidden relationship” by the law they had to search the King for permission to marry each other – and then they get the “kongebrev” as it is called in “everyday speech”).

Gaardmand/Gardbrukar - farmer

by (at the end of a place name) - Norwegian: “by” = town

bu (at the end of a place name) - Norwegian: “-bu” or “– bod” like: “redskapsbod” = “toolshed” or maybe “bod/bu” = “booth” and/or “stall” .

Explanations about source citations - for those who get files from me:

I started collecting my ancestors in 1990 and I used and old “DOS” program at that time (DOS: disk operating system – based on character – before Microsoft Windows came :-).

In 2001 I changed to use Legacy Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe Edition and have upgraded this program when there was a new release, so now (May 2012) I use version 7.5.0.191 of Legacy Family Tree Deluxe Edition.

When I exported the information’s from the DOS-program to a GEDCOM-file and imported the file in Legacy Family Tree 3.0 Deluxe Edition, the sources I had recorded were put into notes in the new program.

Therefore there are lots of notes that should be put into the source register. I try to do this before sending files to people, so they can get the source citations.

“Kyrkjebok” – means Parish register (church records), the other are almost local history.

Some information is found on the Internet – and is not mentioned with sources, and some information is found in “records of the probate court” and there I have made Norwegian notes, therefore there will not be any source citation on those.

For “Vikedal/Imsland/Sandeid” there are new local history from 2020, 2021, and I have understand1 that Imsland shall come in 2022.

And before the church records were available on the Internet, Nils Dybdal-Holte (who have written some local history) had transcript the oldest church records, and I registered the most from those before the year 1801.

Gard og ætt - “farm and family”

Ministerialbok - Parish register (written by the priest/clergyman)

Klokkerbok - Parish register copy - the book the bell-ringer/clerk wrote as a copy

Soga om … - history about ….

Gamle Vats Herad - old Vats parish

Places are named in this format:

Farm/city/local place, Municipal, County/Province (Fylke in norway), Country

Municipal are used as it was about the years 1920-1950. I have tried to follow up the changing of municipal after that.

                                                                                                                                                         Last updated: 28.05.2022

I trust in: 2 Cor.12:9:

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The pages were made by Geir-Arne Helgeland, and remain as a memory of him.

Born: 17.01.1959

Died: 13.08.2023