Skúvoy Parish, Sandoy, Faroe Islands Genealogy

Background

 * The village Skúvoy (Danish: Skuø) lies on the east side of the island with the same name.
 * Skúvoy is the only village on the island. The inhabitants of Skúvoy mainly earn their living from agriculture.
 * In the 14th century the plague (The Black Death) killed all inhabitants of the island except for one young girl. In the 18th century it happened again.
 * An epidemic of smallpox raged the islands and exterminated the entire population on Skúvoy.
 * The church in Skúvoy dates from 1937. There have been several churches here over the years. The first one said to have been built by Sigmundur Brestisson in the year 999.

Place Names
Farm names or small village names within this parish include these place names and variations:
 * Skuø
 * Skuøe Annex Sogn og Bye
 * Skuøe Sogn og Bøygdelaug i Sandøe Præstegield
 * Skuø bøigd

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

 * 1720-1857 - Sandoy Kirkjubók, 1720-1857 at FamilySearch Catalog - index and images. Index, Incomplete. Contains church records from Sandoy (præstegæld) in Sandoy (syssel) on the Faroe Islands. Includes the parishes of Sandur, Skopun, Skálavík, Húsavík and Skúvoy. Stóra Dímun is located in Skúvoy parish.

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.