SWEDISH GENEALOGY
Most Swedish emigrants left the country from the ports in Gothenburg, Gothenburg and Bohus County. The Swedish name is Göteborg, but Gothenburg has been the official name in German and English since its founding. Gothenburg is now the second largest city in Sweden, filled with trams, with the
A lot has changed since 1850 The Swedish emigration started 170 years ago. A lot has changed in the world since 1850. Sweden may be one of the countries that have changed the most. When you think about Sweden today, it’s not obvious what life was like for our ancestors. Many things are
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
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
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
Let’s face it. Genealogy isn’t cheap. Between the database subscriptions and the family tree software it adds up. It doesn’t matter whether you are just starting out and not ready to spend the money, or if you are on a budget for any other reason. It is still possible to research your ancestry in
Lucia in memory of saint Lucy Swedes celebrate Luciadagen, St Lucy's Day, on 13 December. You have probably heard of it before, but what is it? It is an event in memory of the catholic saint Lucy, Lucia. Originally, St Lucy's Day fell on winter solstice. This was when Sweden followed the
Newspaper clippings are a great resource in family history. The easiest way to find them in Sweden is through the National Library of Sweden. Its collection of digitalized daily newspaper is free to search at https://tidningar.kb.se/. It allows for w*ldcard searches, in case you want to compensate
Alma Kjellander and her family On 11 October 1895, Alma Kjellander set off on a journey to emigrate from Sweden to America. Alma Kjellander lived on Storegården (The big farm), Äspered Parish, Älvsborg County in the south of Sweden. The rest of the household was: Alma's mother
