The first Scandinavians arrived in North America nearly 1,000 years ago on Viking ships. Today, an estimated 11 million Americans have Scandinavian ancestry. This webinar will provide an introduction to essential records, repositories, and strategies for exploring your Scandinavian roots, focusing on Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. You’ll learn how to address challenges in Scandinavian research including language barriers, common names, patronymic surnames, name changes, and more. We will also discuss the historical context that transformed the region and influenced the lives of your ancestors.

This syllabus is intended to accompany our online lecture Basics of Scandinavian Research (archived recording as of 9/7/23: https://americanancestors.org/video-library). It includes a reference for all resources mentioned in the session, plus links to many others.

Created by Sheilagh Doerfler

Published: August 2023

PDF Download, 9 pages