Maps are an important source to locate the places where your ancestors lived. They help you see the neighboring towns and geographic features of the area your ancestor came from. Maps can help you locate places, parishes, churches, geographical features, transportation routes, and proximity to other towns. Maps may be published individually or in a bound collection called an atlas. Maps may also be included in gazetteers, guidebooks, local histories, and history texts.

Different types of maps can help you in different ways. Historical atlases describe the growth and development of countries. They show boundaries, migration routes, settlement patterns, military campaigns, and other historical information. Road atlases provide detailed information about the road systems of Norway.

The names of the Norwegian counties [fylker] changed in 1918. You can find the changes in:

List of Parishes, Clerical Districts, and Regions, with Maps of the Counties in Norway Salt Lake City, Utah: Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1992. (FHL book 948.1 E77l; microfiche number 6068227; computer number 0663365).

This publication shows outline maps of each county with parishes and clerical districts. It also contains a list of regions (districts) of Norway and shows which parishes belong to which region. The names of these regions are historical. Their boundaries determined by geological features.

Using Maps

Maps must be used carefully for several reasons:

• Several places have the same name. For example, there are eight parishes called Nes in present-day Norway. You must determine which Nes your ancestor came from.
  
• Spelling was not standardized when most early records were made. You may find the spelling of a place is different on an old map than how it is spelled today. For example, Heddal was formerly spelled Hitterdal.
  
• Place-names are often misspelled in American sources. Difficult names may have been shortened and important diacritical marks omitted.