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11 Facts for Family History in Sweden

The Swedish society in the nineteenth century can be hard to understand. It’s far from what the western world is today. Some of the history even differs from the rest of Europe. Here are eleven quick facts and busted myths that will help you with your family history in Sweden.

1. The most important records for family history in Sweden are church records

Every year, the priests checked the reading and the understanding of scriptures in the parish. In connection with this, each person was entered into household records. That’s the most useful record in Swedish genealogy. The church also kept the birth ...
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Midsummer in Sweden

Medieval roots

Glad midsommar! Midsummer in Sweden is an old tradition. Swedes often joke about it being our unofficial national day. Midsummer was first documented in Sweden in the year 1555. At the time it was celebrated with dancing in the light of bonfires in the fields or in the town squares.

It might seem like the Swedish Midsummer has pre-Christian roots. There is no evidence for that. For centuries, the Swedish Midsummer’s Day was celebrated on the ...
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Torp – The Swedish Croft

Maybe you have seen the word torp, croft, in your Swedish genealogy. An ancestor may have been a crofter, torpare. Or your ancestor was a soldier and lived at a soldier’s croft, soldattorp. But what is a Swedish croft?

The modern Swedish Croft is an old cottage

Today the word croft makes Swedes think of a little red cottage. Many crofts are now vacation homes. ...
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Swedish Church Västra Götaland, Lysekil, Lysekil, Bohuslän, Byggnadsverk-Religionsutövning - kyrkor-(01) Exteriörer, Miljöer-Kust- och skärgårdsmiljö from Swedish National Heritage Board - Riksantikvarieämbetet

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Swedish Birth and Christening Records

Like all Swedish Church records, the Swedish Birth and Christening records vary. They look different in different parts of the country. The difference between a record from the 18th century and the 20th century is even larger. But each entry in a book is fairly similar, making it a little easier. Learn to start reading the records here.

There’s usually at least a date of birth, a name, and set of parents. Reading the handwriting can be a challenge, especially in the 18th ...
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Place Names in Sweden

You will get a little closer to your ancestors, when you understand the meaning of place names in Sweden.

First a word of caution. We want to be careful with making conclusions. The origin of a name might be more complicated than it appears, which is why this post only include some of the clearest ones.

Bear in mind that over the centuries the pronounciation of a place name can change. Eventually it may be written as something other than the original wording. On ...
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9 Things to Learn from the Swedish Household Records

There are few hard rules when reading a household record. Parishes used different books. Record keepers emphasised different things. But there are some things that are more likely than others to appear in the Swedish household records.

Our example is from the household records in Brålanda Parish, Älvsborg County, for the years 1813 to 1819 from ArkivDigital [1].

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This is Småland

One of the houses in Småland where the book series Emil of Lönneberga by Astrid Lindgren plays out.

One out of five Swedish emigrants came from Småland. It’s a province (landskap) in the south of Sweden. Many know Småland as the birth location of their ancestor and don’t have any other clues. So let’s have a look at Småland!

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Laga Skifte – How Sweden Changed Through Land Reforms

Can you imagine being forced by law to leave the farm your family has lived on for generations? That was the reality for many Europeans in previous centuries. Sweden implemented land reforms in the 1700s and the 1800s. The last one was laga skifte. If you haven’t stumbled upon the term before, it provides a good tool for Swedish genealogy. More on that later.

The land reforms are also useful to know about if you want to understand the life of your Swedish ...
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Why every other Swede was poor in 1850

Almost every Swede has poor ancestors

Most people with Swedish ancestors, have ancestors who were poor. Because every other Swede was poor in 1850.

You will see it in the titles. They were crofters, backstugusittare or inhyseshjon, maids, farmhands, and day laborers. Sometimes there’s a comment saying utfattig (penniless). Or they were living på socknen, without steady ...
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