Sumba Parish, Suðuroy, Faroe Islands Genealogy

Background

 * Sumba or Sumbø is the southernmost village of the Faroe Islands, located on the island of Suðuroy. It is located in Sumbiar Municipality.
 * The village lies on the west coast as the only one on the island except from Fámjin.
 * Sumba is said to be one of the oldest villages in the Faroe Islands.
 * The municipality has 353 inhabitants (as of 2012). 239 of these people live in Sumba.
 * The other villages in the Municipality of Sumba are: Lopra (88 inhabitants), Akrar (26 inhabitants), and formerly Víkarbyrgi (0 inhabitants).
 * The church in Sumba dates from 1887.

Place Names
Farm names or small village names within this parish include these place names and variations:
 * Akrar
 * Lopra
 * Sumba
 * Sumbø
 * Víkarbyrgi

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

 * 1745-1916 - Suðuroy Kirkjubók, 1745-1916 at FamilySearch Catalog - index and images. Contains church records from Suðuroy nordre and Suðuroy søndre sysler on the Faroe Islands. Includes parishes of Porkeri, Sumba, Hov, Vágur, Hvalba, Froðba, and Fámjin.

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.