Welcome to the new Find a Swede
A knock on the window in our remote cottage? Usually I’ll convince myself that it’s the wind and go back to sleep, but this was the middle of the day and we had surprise visitors.
Our 100-year-old cottage was once the summer home of a family of six, some 50 years ago. Back then, the garden was full of fruit trees and lilacs, and the blue millefleur wallpaper in the living room was put up by a grandfather.
I learned this in one brief connection and it nearly didn’t happen.
The day before was my birthday. My husband and I went to see stand-up in the city—absolutely hilarious and overstimulating. Sleep-deprived and slow, I just made it to the cottage in time before our unannounced visitors arrived to relive childhood memories.
And so it happened that we met up to exchange stories of our shared summer house and those connected to it, right in our kitchen, in its perpetual state of renovation. It hit me that this is what I was creating in my business Find a Swede: a place to connect with the past no matter the circumstances.
The gap
The goal of Find a Swede has always been to help descendants of Swedes around the world connect with their family history, not just the names and dates, but the real people behind the data, sometimes against the odds. While this has mainly been accomplished through detailed client projects, other parts have since taken priority.
Swedish genealogy records are digitized, but that doesn’t necessarily make Swedish family history make more sense. In a small, remote country, it’s difficult to put your findings into perspective, because access is not understanding. For example, teenage marriage used to be the norm in many countries, but not in Sweden. On the other hand, Swedish women often moved in with single men to work as a maid and ended up marrying them. If you want to learn where you came from—the accomplishments and the scandals—it’s vital to understand Sweden to know your story.
What Find a Swede offers
One year later, Find a Swede is open again. I like to think of this new phase of Find a Swede as a café. Think of this café as one where the menu comes with a trusted guide. My goal is to give you what you need to move forward, not overwhelm you with data. You’re welcome to sit down and pick what you want when it suits you, whether it’s tomorrow or in three years.
The structure of this new Swedish genealogy café is ready. The foundation is in place, and I’ve fine-tuned the menu and picked out new tablecloths.
Self-guided teaching
The backbone of Find a Swede is Shortcut to Sweden, an ecosystem of self-guided tools and resources that help lifelong learners explore their Swedish ancestry without the constraints of language and context.
Among the resources is Shortcut to Sweden: Illustrated Genealogy Glossary, built on words as they’re found in records, shown with script font examples from three centuries. Shortcut to Sweden: Foundations teaches Swedish records, history, and methods and answers the common questions that arise when researching Swedish roots.
I share my exact resources for client projects inside Shortcut to Sweden: Navigator, an online hub for Swedish genealogy research. The subscription includes a monthly newsletter where I guide you on how to use the tools and explore your ancestry on your own terms. This is where we go deeper than anywhere else.
Guidance in your mysteries
Personalized guidance and feedback will be available seasonally between August and February. I’ll post an update when the time comes.
Welcome
The easiest way to enter the café and get acquainted with the menu? Sign up for my newsletter Exploring Swedish Roots. It takes you through the complexities of Swedish genealogy—and what to do about it. Chances are you’ll read seven out of ten emails I send you… See you there!