Genealogical Resources
FHGC staff and volunteers are happy to assist visitors to the museum with their family history research. Indexes to many of these resources will appear on this page.
Resources at the FHGC include:
- The Danish Immigrant Museum Wall of Honor files
- Danish immigrant biographical files
- Danish-American obituary collections
- Over 800 family histories, biographies and memoirs of Danish immigrants
- Copenhagen Police Emigration index (1868-1911)
- Danish Brotherhood in America lodge records (1881-1995) and death index (1916-1995) -- see below
- Danish maps, gazetteers and local histories
- Bien (newspaper), 1893-present
- The Danish Pioneer (newspaper), 2000-
- Scandinaviens Stjerne (newspaper), 1851-1900
- Many Danish-American organizational newsletters
- HeritageQuest Online™
- Ancestry LibraryEdition™
- Select Iowa Lutheran church records
- Cemetery transcriptions
- Indexes to Elk Horn-Kimballton newspapers
- Microfilmed and print Iowa county histories
- General genealogical reference materials
- Handouts for getting started and suggested research resources
- Internet workstations and wireless access
- EmibasTM Swedish emigration database
Patrons may also rent a wide variety of microfilmed material from the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City and request that they be sent to the FHGC.
Researching Danish-American AncestorsResearching immigrant ancestors is done the same way as researching non-immigrants - by working backwards generation by generation from the present to the past. Collect as much information as possible on the children of the immigrants, the immigrants themselves, and any known siblings. Typical information sources for Danish Americans include the following resources:
- death, burial, marriage, confirmation, birth and baptismal records; also marriage applications
- obituaries and tombstone inscriptions
- 40th or 50th anniversary newspaper articles
- newspaper articles for ‘round’ (80, 90, 100) birthdays
- funeral home records
- church records (Lutheran records are especially valuable)
- federal census information, beginning in 1930 and working backwards
- state census information (Some states have excellent mid-decade state censuses)
- declarations of intent and final naturalization petitions for foreign-born males over 21 (before 1920) and all foreign-born individuals after 1920. Before 1920 minor children and wives automatically became citizens when the male head of household did; children who had reached majority before then had to apply in their own names.
- county and town histories in the area(s) of settlement
- Danish Brotherhood Records (found at FHGC and at the Danish Immigrant Archives & Library at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska)
- Social Security applications
- WWI and WWII draft registration records
- land records, including homestead files
- online sources, such as the Ellis Island passenger arrival records (NYC arrivals 1892-1924), and the USGenWeb for the area(s) in which family members lived
Once the above materials have been checked, family documents such as correspondence (including letters, postcards, diaries, or photographs from relatives in Denmark) can help to form a picture of when immigrants came to this country, where they settled, and often where they came from.
The FHGC has an experienced and dedicated group of researchers who will be happy to answer questions. To request paid research see the Research & Translation Services page.
Genealogical Links
For a listing of webpages and helpful facts that we've found useful for tracing your ancestors and finding living relatives see our Genealogy Links page.
North American Recipients of Scandinavian Medals:
A listing of U.S. and Canadian residents on whom the Order of Dannebrog or other royal Danish medals have been bestowed. Medals from other Scandinavian countries have been noted when known. Please send additions or amendments with documentation to the Family History & Genealogy Center.
- North American Medal Recipient Index
- A 1903 listing of Dannebrogsmænd only may be found here.
For useful books and other items of interest to genealogists visit our Museum Shop
