Bøur Parish, Vágar, Faroe Islands Genealogy

Background

 * Bøur (Danish: Bø) is a village in the Sørvágur Municipality of the Faroe Islands, with a population of 75.
 * Bøur is a small village on the west-side of Vágar on the north side of Sørvágsfjørður, Faroe Islands.
 * The old houses in the village are bunched together with narrow lanes between them, and at the western end stands the cosy church, which was built in 1865.
 * Bøur is an ancient settlement and is mentioned in the so-called Dog Letter dating from 1350 AD, but it is probably older.
 * The village is also mentioned as having a church in a document dated 1710, but it is not known when the first village church was built.

Place Names
Farm names or small village names within this parish include these place names and variations:

Census Records

 * 1801-1901 Faroe Islands, Denmark, Censuses, 1801-1901 (in Danish) at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1801-1925 Danish Family Search - incomplete indexes
 * Dansk Demografisk Database - incomplete indexes

Church Records

 * 1797-1874 - Vågø (Vágar) Kirkjubók, 1797-1874 at FamilySearch Catalog - index and images. Contains church records from Vågø (Vágar) præstegæld and syssel (sýsla) in the Faroe Islands; which includes the parishes of: Midvåg (Miðvágur), Sandevåg (Sandavágur), Sørvåg (Sørvágur), Bø (Bøur) and Myggenæs (Mykines).

Reading the Records
Because the Faroe Islands were under the jurisdiction of Denmark, many research resources relating to Denmark will be helpful in using Faroe Islands records.
 * Help Reading Danish Records:


 * Denmark Parish Register Headings provides translated examples of parish headings. You will be able to interpret much of what is in the records using these headings. Danish Word List covers typical  terms found in the records. Fixed and Moveable Feast Days for: Denmark will help you translate dates written in feast day form. Denmark surnames are patronymic and change every generation, so carefully study Denmark Names, Personal.


 * Help Reading Old Handwriting: 


 * Scandinavian Handwriting
 * Scandinavian Handwriting, part 3 - No part 2 available
 * Gothic Script and examples (Danish)
 * Gothic script help links (Danish)


 * Knowing What to Look for Next:


 * To understand the best research strategies for these records, see Denmark Church Records Christenings Guide.