Finding Records that show Family Structure for Swedish Family History Research
Records that show the structure of a family are key to family history. These records show relationship between individuals that help you to form the basic structure of a family group. Usually people see familial structure in records such as the Household Examination Records, Mantals tax records, Probates, and other documents. In Swedish research, the records that show family groups are generally considered a secondary source. The actual birth, marriage, or death information needs to be verified in a primary source such as the birth and christening, engagement and marriage, or death and burial records. To do find records that show family structure, you must know 2 things:
- 1. The approximate time when the family was living together
- 2. The name of the jurisdiction associated to the record type you want to search, for example: if you want to see the family in a household examination you need to know the name of the parish the family was living in (knowing the name of the farm or village is helpful too.)
Sometimes finding the estimated residential year or place of residence can be a challenge. In situations like this, you must turn to other records for clues. The easiest way to do this is to find a member of the family on a record of event (such as a birth, marriage, or death.) After finding the record of event, you have an established time and place to search associated records.
Remember the entire kingdom of Sweden was organized into jurisdictions long before records were being kept. The majority of the population is recorded on many records that show family structure. The table below is a list of Swedish records that show family structure. The records have been ranked with the best source at the top, followed by others that might help.
If you find a possible match in a record, but need help to read or interpret the entry, go to the FamilySearch Sweden Genealogy Research page in facebook for assistance (the information in the FamilySearch Forums is easier to use at a later date.)
| Name of Record | Jurisdiction | Record Description |
|---|---|---|
| Husförhörslängder | Församlingar (parishes) | These are the household examination records that were used for religious and later demographic purposes. Time Period: 1600’s – 1894 (depending on the parish and diocese.) |
| Mantalslängder | Häradsskrivare and Magistrat | Mantal records created by the häradsskrivare or city magistrate office (the local level.) Time Period: 1750’s – 1965 |
| Mantalslängder | Länstyrelsen: Landskontor | Mantal records created by the Landskontor office within the Länstyrelsen (the County level.) Time Period: 1750’s – 1965 |
| Mantalslängder | Kammarkollegiet | Mantal records created for the Kammarkollegiet for the national treasury (the national level.) These copies were sent to Stockholm. These are the records in the FamilySearch collection and SVAR. Time Period: 1750’s – 1965 |
| Mantalslängder | Riksens ständers kontor | Mantalslängder sent to Estates of the Realm Office in Stockholm. Time Period: 1719 - 1765 |
| Länsräkenskaper: mantalslängder (with) personskatte-längder | Länstyrelsen: Landskontor | County mantal account records with individual tax records. Time Period: abt. 1630 -1860 |
| Mantalsuppgifter | Magistrat (in the cities) | These are the Mantals tax preparation forms that were used mostly in the cities. Time Period: Existed in the 1700’s but more common in the 1800’s |
| Kommunion-längder | Församlingar (parishes) | Parish communion records (sporatic.) Time Period: 1700 and 1800’s |
| Bänklängder | Församlingar (parishes) | Parish seating records (sporatic.) Time Period: 1600 -
1800’s |
| Visitations-handlingar avskrift husförhörslängder and bänklängder | Domkapitel (diocese) | Diocese visitation transcripts of household examinations and parish seating (sporadic.) Time Period: 1600 - 1800’s |
| Landskaps-handlingar och länsräkenskaper: mantalslängder with personskatte-längder | Kammarkollegiet | Provincial documents, county account records. Mantal and other individual tax records sent to the Chancellery in Stockholm. Time Period: abt. 1540 - |
| Länsräkenskaper: husförhörslängder | Kammarkollegiet | Appending documents to the mantalslängder. Time Period: 1812 - 1815 |
| Utskrivinings- och roteringslängder | Kammararkiv | Military rotation and rote lists. Time Period: 1625 - 1680 |
| Utdrag ur husförhörslängder och församlingsböcker | Statistiska Centralbyrån (SCB) | Extracts from husförhörs-längder and församlings-böcker sent to SCB (every 10 years.) Time Period: 1860 - 1945 |
References[edit | edit source]
- Clemmensson, Per & Andersson, Kjell. Släktforska Steg för Steg. Natur och Kultur, Falköping 2005
- Norstedt Förlagsgrupp AB. Norstedts Engelska Ord. at www.ord.se
