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Onsøy is a peninsula and a former municipality in
Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...
county,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. The administrative centre was Gressvik.


History

The parish of ''Onsø'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see
formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...
). A part of Onsøy with 170 inhabitants was moved to the neighboring municipality
Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...
on 1 January 1968. On 1 January 1994 the rest of Onsøy was incorporated into Fredrikstad. Prior to the merger Onsøy had a population of 12.923.


Etymology

The
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
form of the name was ''Óðinsøy''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the god
Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
, the last element is ''øy'' meaning 'island'. The former island was later turned into a peninsula because of
post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound an ...
.


Onsøy Church

Onsøy Church (''Onsøy kirke'') was built in 1877. The architect was Henrik Thrap-Meyer. The church is of Gothic Revival style and constructed of brick with has 375 seats. Onsøy Church is located in Fredrikstad parish. Jens Bjelke was buried in the churchyard.


Elingaard Manor

Elingaard Manor (''Elingaard herregård'') is a
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
located on Onsøy. The current main building was erected in the Renaissance style and was completed early in 1749. The building was constructed on two floors and consists of a main wing and two side wings. Outside is a garden laid out by English model. The manor house was developed by Chancellor
Jens Ã…gessøn Bjelke Jens Ã…gessøn Bjelke (2 February 1580 – 7 November 1659) was a Norwegian nobleman who was Chancellor of Norway from 1614 to 1659, and was succeeded by his son Ove Bjelke. He was the son of Ã…ge Bjelke and Margrethe Thott. At the time of hi ...
(1580–1659). Jens Bjelke, one of the wealthiest men in Norway, was the grandson of
Jens Tillufssøn Bjelke Jens Tillufssøn Bjelke (died in Copenhagen, 14 October 1559) was a Denmark–Norway, Danish-Norwegian nobleman and a feudal lord of Jämtland, Jemtland, Norway, was originally from Denmark, Danish Skåne (now Sweden, Swedish). Jens Tillufssøn Bje ...
and the father of
Jørgen Bjelke Jørgen Bjelke (2 June 1621 – 17 June 1696) was a Dano-Norwegian or Norwegian officer and nobleman. He was born at Elingaard Manor on Onsøy near Fredrikstad, in Østfold County, Norway, and died in Kalundborg, Denmark. Early and personal lif ...
. His elder son Admiral
Henrik Bjelke Henrik Bjelke (13 January 1615 – 16 March 1683) was a Norwegian-Danish military officer who served as Admiral of the Realm of Denmark-Norway from 1662 to 1679. He was in command of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy from 1657 to 1679. He own ...
(1615–83) inherited Elingaard Manor. Elingaard manor is currently operated as a museum.''Elingaard herregård'' (Norway.com)
/ref>


Farms of Onsøy

Onsøy is a former municipality in the Norwegian county (''fylke'') of Østfold, in the region of Østlandet. Østfold was known from 1662 to 1919 as Smaalenenes county (''amt''). Currently it is part of the municipality of Fredrikstad, which was established in 1838 and merged with the municipality of Glemmen in 1964. A small portion of Onsøy was switched to Fredrikstad in 1968, and the remainder of Onsøy joined Fredrikstad in 1994, along with the municipalities of Borge, Onsøy, Kråkerøy, and Rolvsøy. From 1070 to 1968, Onsøy was a parish in the Oslo diocese; since 1969 it has been part of the Borg diocese. From 1559 to 1660 it was part of what was then known as Akershus county (''len'').


Maps of the farms of Onsøy

Coordinates are approximate.
Note that each map has a maximum number of listings it can display, so the map has been divided into parts consistent with th
enumeration districts (''tellingskrets'')
in the 1920 census. This map will include one farm (''gaard'') name per farm number; other farm names or subdivision numbers may exist. Tellingskrets (enumeration districts): 1: gaards 1-15 (lime); 2: Haredalen, gaards 35-39 (black); 3: gaards 16-34 (blue); 4: Ã…le gnr. 40-47 (green)
Tellingskrets (enumeration districts): 5: Græsvik (lime); 6: Hauge (black); 7: Aale nedre og Rød (green); 8: Okseviken - Krosnes - Viker (red); 9: gaards 56 Fjelle store to 63 Oksrød (purple); 10: Slevik (teal); 11: gaards 74 Fuglesangen to 83 Sund lille (blue) Tellingskrets (enumeration districts): 12: Stene (lime); 14: gaards 106 Rauø to 112 Engelsviken (black); 15: Manstad (blue)


Farm names and numbers

Following are the farms in the Onsøy (formerly Smaalenes) municipality, as they are listed in O. Rygh's series
Norske_Gaardnavne ''Norske Gaardnavne'' (English: Norwegian Farm Names) is a 19-volume set of books based on a manuscript prepared from 1897 to 1924 by Oluf Rygh, a noted professor of archaeology, philology, and history at the University of Oslo. The book contains a ...
("Norwegian farm names"), the Smaalenes volume of which was published in 1897. Here is a digital version of that volume:

The farm numbers are used in some census records, and numbers that are near each other indicate that those farms are geographically proximate. Handwritten Norwegian sources, particularly those prior to 1800, may use variants on these names. For recorded variants before 1723, see the digital version of O. Rygh. Note that the 1920 census records mapped above may not match O. Rygh. Additional farm numbers missing from the O. Rygh record were found in th
1950 Draft Land Registry
Farm names were often used as part of Scandinavian_family_name_etymology#Norway, Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and
patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...
or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, o
toponymic
as a surname when they emigrated, so in those cases tracing a surname may tell you specifically where in Norway the family was from. This tradition began to change in the mid to late 19th century, and inherited surnames were codified into law in 1923.


References


Other sources

*Borges, Grethe (2007) Elingaard : et gammelt herresete (Fredrikstad] : Fredrikstad museum) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onsoey Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 1994 Former municipalities of Norway Fredrikstad Manor houses in Norway 1838 establishments in Norway