[#1743] 1801 Census

[Gjest Mike Dahlberg]

Does anyone know how the 1801 & 1865 censuses were collected? I have noticed some things that appear to indicate that perhaps there was self reporting, but would there have been universal enough literacy at that time to allow for that? For instance my ancestors in the 1801 census have all their children listed as deres børn, and the next entry on the page, for the same farm but another family shows deres datter. Also in the 1865 census on a single page I find one family showing their religeon as Fri Apostlisk, and the next family, with the same church spelling it as one word, Friapostliske. If one clerk-functionary made all of the entrys you would expect that the spelling and/or way of refering to children would stay constant at least on the same page. Please excuse the use of english on what is basicly a Norwegian site but unfortunately I have no Norwegian.

[Gjest Jan Oldervoll]

No reason to excuse the English.I 1801 the Census was collected by the parish priest on the country-side, and by what is called rodemester (an official in charge of part of the city) and the cities. In 1865 the list was put in writing by the teacher in the coutry-side, probably also in the towns.