Do you want to know what really happened to your Swedish ancestors?
If that’s you, you’re in the right place.
I work with descendants of Swedes around the world who want to understand their Swedish heritage. If you want to take your genealogy research beyond hints in your family tree, then Find a Swede is for you.
Find a Swede guides descendants of Swedes to their heritage through curiosity, effective methods, and in-depth research
Hej,
I’m Annika Höstmad, a Swedish genealogist, member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the owner of Find a Swede.
I’m a fairly typical Swede. I’m quiet, most of the time, and love nature. But I’ll pass on the pickled herring.
An example of work I’ve done
Anders emigrated from Dalsland in Älvsborg County in 1863 and his descendant wanted to know about the prelude and conditions. This was before passenger lists were kept in Sweden, so in order to document his emigration, I searched the newspaper archive.
Only six months before emigrating, Anders served 28 days on bread and water. He was convicted of spreading misleading doctrine and distributing the Holy Communion as a Mormon.
The family left their home at Easter of 1863. The river boats to the port in Gothenburg had not yet started for the season. The nearest train was a long ways away. It’s quite possible that the family walked. A few days after they went, a group of Mormons gathered in a town outside of Gothenburg. It would have been an hour 18 hike for the family. The newspapers even detailed how the group went by train to the port the next morning.
The emigration itself can be confirmed by a letter to a Gothenburg newspaper. A divorced woman describes how her ex-husband was changed by joining the Mormons. So much so that she was granted a divorce. Her ex emigrated with the Mormons that spring day and brought their child onboard. She writes “I have though succeeded to make my motherly feeling effective through an all forgoing sacrifice, because I have succeeded to return the tender legacy carried under my chest, from the road of temptation to the motherly womb, who by the father’s prey otherwise would have been lost for me on this earth.”
Through the genealogy records, custom maps, contemporary maps, and photographs, my client got a glimpse of Anders’ life in Sweden and the conditions for his emigration.
Values
Find a Swede is based on the conviction that everyone has the right to search their personal history. Whether we’re searching our past to uncover a family secret or from pure curiosity.
How we can work together
I offer done for you research with translations of each record used. Read the details and request a proposal.
I translate Swedish documents into English. Submit your documents directly on the site.
How you can learn more about Swedish genealogy
Get professional guidance in your research. Shortcut to Sweden is an email course about Swedish genealogy. It takes you through the methods, the records, and the conditions that help you understand your family’s history.
Swedish Genealogy Glossary
Get the glossary for your research. Use the translations from my cheat sheet to read the old Swedish records.
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Swedish Ancestry 101: Resource Toolkit to Kickstart Your Swedish Family History Research
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Swedish Genealogy Word List
Word lists are hit or miss. But you can use this one without knowing Swedish grammar. It also has general tips for reading old Swedish. Get it for free by joining my newsletter with updates and special offers.
Client review
Find a Swede was so helpful! I had come to a brick wall with my great, great grandfather in Sweden. Find a Swede was able to find him, and find both his parents. I was given a report on their lives from birth to death, complete with translations and copies of all the records. It really brought them alive to me. It also led to more discoveries on that side of the family too.
I never would have been able to do it on my own. I will definitely use Find a Swede again in the future and recommend them to anyone researching their Swedish ancestors.
-Susan T.