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Onsøy is a peninsula and a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre was Gressvik.

History

The parish of Onsø was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). A part of Onsøy with 170 inhabitants was moved to the neighboring municipality Fredrikstad 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 form of the name was Óðinsøy. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the god Odin, the last element is øy meaning 'island'. The former island was later turned into a peninsula because of post-glacial rebound.

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 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 Ågessøn Bjelke (1580–1659). Jens Bjelke, one of the wealthiest men in Norway, was the grandson of Jens Tillufssøn Bjelke and the father of Jørgen Bjelke. His elder son Admiral Henrik Bjelke (1615–83) inherited Elingaard Manor. Elingaard manor is currently operated as a museum.

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 the 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: Åle 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 ("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 the 1950 Draft Land Registry.

Farm names were often used as part of Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and patronymic or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, or 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

1. "Onsøy kirke". Den Norske Kirke. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
2. Jens Bjelke (Store norske leksikon)
3. Henrik Bjelke (Store norske leksikon)
4. Elingaard herregård (Norway.com)

Other sources

• Borges, Grethe (2007) Elingaard : et gammelt herresete (Fredrikstad] : Fredrikstad museum) ISBN 978-82-90301-21-2
• Dag Jukvam / Statistics Norway (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen".

59°15′N 10°51′E / 59.250°N 10.850°E / 59.250; 10.850

• Populated places established in 1838
• Populated places disestablished in 1994
• Former municipalities of Norway
• Fredrikstad
• Manor houses in Norway
• 1838 establishments in Norway