I've been told by someone formerly connected with Genline that Ancestry.com has been steadily uploading scans from Genline. I forget how often this was done, but I think it might be once a month or so.
At any rate, Genline has SCB births, marriages, and deaths scanned until at least 1938 and I think they are done up to 1940 in some parishes. Those scans will eventually get onto Ancestry.com.
The SVAR service has those records until 1940 (soon to be 1941) on that fee-based service.
http://www.svar.ra.se (subscription)
This tells how to find them.
http://researchingswedishroots.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archi...
I also see records well into the 1900s on the fee-based Arkiv Digital site.
http://www.arkivdigital.net (subscription)
There are cds for the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Swedish Censuses. (yes, the late 1900s!) If you have DETAILED information about descendants, ask on a message board such as Genforum or Rootsweb, and someone with those cds will do a lookup. (You will need to provide your email because information on living people should not be placed online.)
If you get a lookup on the dvd "Swedish Death Index 1901-2009", then you can use that information to ask for a bouppteckning (estate inventory). That should provide the names of the children still alive at the time of the death of that person.
Use this page to order a bouppteckning.
http://www.riksarkivet.se/default.aspx?id=17462
This is a translation of that ordering page.
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js...
Once you have information on those people from the bouppteckning or the later census cds, you can use a site such as these to get contact information.
http://www.birthday.se
http://www.ratsit.se/
http://personer.eniro.se/
http://www.hitta.se/
The first FAQ on this page provides some other ideas on how to try to find living relatives in Sweden.
http://www.augustana.edu/x14885.xml
If you are planning a trip to Sweden and want to find living relatives, please do not wait until a week or two before your trip to get started searching for relatives. The search is time-consuming and then you have to contact the relatives and arrange (if they are interested) in meeting.
Judy
Friday, December 30, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Mantalslängder (Tax Censuses) on SVAR
It has been a long time since I've updated this blog. Partly I've been too busy, but also I lost my blog's password for a time. (I've finally written it down, so I hope that problem won't happen again.) At any rate, I feel guilty about not posting since September. Perhaps that guilty feeling will inspire me to continue adding tidbits to this blog. ;-)
I don't want anyone to think I'm a spokesperson for SVAR, but they do have some great scanned records. Unfortunately SVAR is not as easy to use as Genline or Arkiv Digital. Some people subscribe and find nothing because they don't know how to find materials on SVAR.(They should have asked for help on a message board or asked for help from SVAR, but they didn't and wasted their money. I still feel sorry for them.)
I have been trying to use the mantalslängder (tax censuses) more because there is a huge gap in parish records of any type for about 20 years in Frändefors parish where two of my grandparents were born. It is therefore quite hard to get back more than a few generations using only the parish records. One useful record is the mantalslängder. They were created just about every year, as far as I can tell (with some gaps, perhaps). Also, the best records are in the Swedish section of SVAR. There are some records which can be found if the site is changed to English, but the choices are far greater if you use the Swedish listings on the left side of the home page.
The mantalslängder is not exactly a census. It is a listing of those who were supposed to pay the "mantalspengar". The listings are for people from about 15-63 years of age. Wives are usually listed as wife, not by name. Soldiers were exempt. I think the extremely poor were exempt. There seem to be age categories into which there are numbers placed. I am far from familiar with every part of this record, but there are listings of the older children (I suppose.) so you can keep track year by year of at least some of the children who belong to a particular family.Servants (farmhands, female farm workers, etc.) and children are just added to a column by numbers. (4 female farm workers, 3 farmhands, etc.)
This site explains the column headings.
http://tinyurl.com/7osmk2y
Years ago I used to order microfilms of the mantalslängder from a Family History Center. They are in the Family History Library Catalog under:
Sweden --> Swedish County --> Census
Once the film is selected, you have to find the film which has the parish you are searching in. Then you have to find the farm or village. This is a bit time-consuming, to say the least.
On SVAR it is easier. It has the mantalslängder from 1642-1820. (I think that the microfilms go later than that, but this is a good start.)
This is how I find those records.
1. Go to SVAR.
http://www.svar.ra.se
2. Sign in. (This is a subscription service.)
3. On the left side of the page, you will find "Skatter" (Taxes).
4. Click on "Skatter".
5. Click on "Mantalslängder 1642-1820".
6. Use the drop-down menu by Län to select the county you need.
7. "Församling". (parish)
a. Type the parish name. (Don't forget to use the "Swedish letters", if necessary.)
b. or you can use the drop-down menu. Choices are: "Innehåller" (contains), "Exakt" (exact), "Del av" (part of), and "Börjar med" (begins with)
8. "Härad" (Judicial District). You can leave this blank, or enter the härad, if you know it.
9. "Startår" (beginning year)
10. "Slutår" (ending year)
11. "Sök" (Search) or "Rensa" (Erase)
12. Click on the "Bild" (Image) for the year you want. Iif you need to move forward to see more choices, click on "Nästa sida" (next page) at the bottom. If you need to move backwards, choose "Föregående sida" (previous page).
13. Once you have reached the images you want, you can adjust the size at the top of the page, but the size will change back to "Fit Page" unless you use the "Installningar" (Adjustments) link at the bottom right of the page.
14. I use the "Zoomnings grad" adjustment. The choices are "Hela sidan" (the whole page) and then the percentage of zoom. "Spara" means Save.
15. "Källa" (source) When you find the page you want, click on "Källa" and then copy the highlighted section. Then paste into your genealogy program.
16. You can move forwards or backwards one page at a time by clicking on the forward or backward arrow points.
17. You can move forwards or backwards five pages at a time by clicking on the +5 and -5 numbers.
18. You can move to the beginning or ending of the volume by clicking on the double arrow points.
19. There is also a drop-down menu which can be used to select the number of the image, which is probably not the exact page number.
20. If you find the image you want, then right click on the image. Move to "Selection" and then to "Copy". Paste into an image program. I use Irfanview, which can be downloaded for free. (I discovered Irfanview at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.)
http://www.irfanview.com
21. You can then save the image using Irfanview.
The guidebook "Cradled in Sweden" discusses the mantalslängder in chapter 11.
There will be a class on Swedish Research with intermediate to advanced topics at this January's Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. (However, as of this writing there are four seats left in this class.) Mantalslängder are among the topics which will be taught. Scroll down on the following website to find the information on the class.
http://tinyurl.com/8432j2q
I don't want anyone to think I'm a spokesperson for SVAR, but they do have some great scanned records. Unfortunately SVAR is not as easy to use as Genline or Arkiv Digital. Some people subscribe and find nothing because they don't know how to find materials on SVAR.(They should have asked for help on a message board or asked for help from SVAR, but they didn't and wasted their money. I still feel sorry for them.)
I have been trying to use the mantalslängder (tax censuses) more because there is a huge gap in parish records of any type for about 20 years in Frändefors parish where two of my grandparents were born. It is therefore quite hard to get back more than a few generations using only the parish records. One useful record is the mantalslängder. They were created just about every year, as far as I can tell (with some gaps, perhaps). Also, the best records are in the Swedish section of SVAR. There are some records which can be found if the site is changed to English, but the choices are far greater if you use the Swedish listings on the left side of the home page.
The mantalslängder is not exactly a census. It is a listing of those who were supposed to pay the "mantalspengar". The listings are for people from about 15-63 years of age. Wives are usually listed as wife, not by name. Soldiers were exempt. I think the extremely poor were exempt. There seem to be age categories into which there are numbers placed. I am far from familiar with every part of this record, but there are listings of the older children (I suppose.) so you can keep track year by year of at least some of the children who belong to a particular family.Servants (farmhands, female farm workers, etc.) and children are just added to a column by numbers. (4 female farm workers, 3 farmhands, etc.)
This site explains the column headings.
http://tinyurl.com/7osmk2y
Years ago I used to order microfilms of the mantalslängder from a Family History Center. They are in the Family History Library Catalog under:
Sweden --> Swedish County --> Census
Once the film is selected, you have to find the film which has the parish you are searching in. Then you have to find the farm or village. This is a bit time-consuming, to say the least.
On SVAR it is easier. It has the mantalslängder from 1642-1820. (I think that the microfilms go later than that, but this is a good start.)
This is how I find those records.
1. Go to SVAR.
http://www.svar.ra.se
2. Sign in. (This is a subscription service.)
3. On the left side of the page, you will find "Skatter" (Taxes).
4. Click on "Skatter".
5. Click on "Mantalslängder 1642-1820".
6. Use the drop-down menu by Län to select the county you need.
7. "Församling". (parish)
a. Type the parish name. (Don't forget to use the "Swedish letters", if necessary.)
b. or you can use the drop-down menu. Choices are: "Innehåller" (contains), "Exakt" (exact), "Del av" (part of), and "Börjar med" (begins with)
8. "Härad" (Judicial District). You can leave this blank, or enter the härad, if you know it.
9. "Startår" (beginning year)
10. "Slutår" (ending year)
11. "Sök" (Search) or "Rensa" (Erase)
12. Click on the "Bild" (Image) for the year you want. Iif you need to move forward to see more choices, click on "Nästa sida" (next page) at the bottom. If you need to move backwards, choose "Föregående sida" (previous page).
13. Once you have reached the images you want, you can adjust the size at the top of the page, but the size will change back to "Fit Page" unless you use the "Installningar" (Adjustments) link at the bottom right of the page.
14. I use the "Zoomnings grad" adjustment. The choices are "Hela sidan" (the whole page) and then the percentage of zoom. "Spara" means Save.
15. "Källa" (source) When you find the page you want, click on "Källa" and then copy the highlighted section. Then paste into your genealogy program.
16. You can move forwards or backwards one page at a time by clicking on the forward or backward arrow points.
17. You can move forwards or backwards five pages at a time by clicking on the +5 and -5 numbers.
18. You can move to the beginning or ending of the volume by clicking on the double arrow points.
19. There is also a drop-down menu which can be used to select the number of the image, which is probably not the exact page number.
20. If you find the image you want, then right click on the image. Move to "Selection" and then to "Copy". Paste into an image program. I use Irfanview, which can be downloaded for free. (I discovered Irfanview at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.)
http://www.irfanview.com
21. You can then save the image using Irfanview.
The guidebook "Cradled in Sweden" discusses the mantalslängder in chapter 11.
There will be a class on Swedish Research with intermediate to advanced topics at this January's Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. (However, as of this writing there are four seats left in this class.) Mantalslängder are among the topics which will be taught. Scroll down on the following website to find the information on the class.
http://tinyurl.com/8432j2q
Friday, September 23, 2011
Births, Marriages, and Deaths on SVAR until 1940
SVAR has the SCB birth, marriage, and death records scanned until 1940. If you know the parish where your relatives lived, this is very helpful. The records for 1941 should be released near the start of 2012.
SCB records are extractions from the full birth, marriage, and death records. They leave out baptism dates, banns dates, and funeral dates, for example. They are still a very useful source of information.
SCB stands for Statistiska Centralbyrån. The Genline site has a useful article which will explain them better than I can do.
http://www.genline.com/databasen/SCB-materialet.php
I will try to explain how to get to those records. Unfortunately, there is no English translation on the SVAR site for this part of the site.
1. Sign into SVAR.
http://www.svar.ra.se
2. Select "Släktforskning" on the left side of the SVAR home page.
3. More choices will open up. Select "SCB utdrag".
4. There are now more choices. Choose "SCB-utdrag-födelse, vigsel, och död 1860-1940".
5. You should have reached a full page called "SCB-utdrag födelse, vigsel, och död 1860-1940". Move down to the box below.
SCB records are extractions from the full birth, marriage, and death records. They leave out baptism dates, banns dates, and funeral dates, for example. They are still a very useful source of information.
SCB stands for Statistiska Centralbyrån. The Genline site has a useful article which will explain them better than I can do.
http://www.genline.com/databasen/SCB-materialet.php
I will try to explain how to get to those records. Unfortunately, there is no English translation on the SVAR site for this part of the site.
1. Sign into SVAR.
http://www.svar.ra.se
2. Select "Släktforskning" on the left side of the SVAR home page.
3. More choices will open up. Select "SCB utdrag".
4. There are now more choices. Choose "SCB-utdrag-födelse, vigsel, och död 1860-1940".
5. You should have reached a full page called "SCB-utdrag födelse, vigsel, och död 1860-1940". Move down to the box below.
Församling (Parish): Fill in the parish name. Be sure to spell the parish the Swedish way. The letters a, ä, and å are not equivalent, and the letters o and ö are not equivalent.
Län (County) Select the county from the drop-down menu.
Startår (Starting Year)
Slutår (Ending Year)
Typ av SCB utdrag (Type of SCB extraction)
Alla Typer (All Types)
Födelese (Births)
Vigsel (Marriages)
Död (Deaths)
6. Sök (Search) and Rensa (Clear).
7. There will be a listing of available records. Bild means image.
8. You can adjust the size of the image at the top of the page, but the size will change back to "Fit Page" unless you use the "Installningar" (Adjustments) link at the bottom right of the page.
9. I use the "Zoomnings grad" adjustment. The choices are "Hela sidan" (the whole page) and then the percentage of zoom. "Spara" means Save.
10. Källa (Source): When you find the page you want, click on Källa and then copy the highlighted section. Then paste into your genealogy program.
11. You can move forwards or backwards one page at a time by clicking on the forward or backward arrow points.
12. You can move forwards or backwards five pages at a time by clicking on the +5 and -5 numbers.
13. You can move to the beginning or end of the volume by clicking on the double arrow points.
14. There is also a drop-down menu which can be used to select the number of the image, which is probably not the exact page number.
15. If you find an image you want, then right click on the image. Move to "Selection" and then to "Select Region". You will see a + sign which can be dragged around the part you want to copy. Move to the top left edge of the image and drag that + sign around the outside of the image.
16. Once you have highlighted the image, right click again, move to "Selection" and then to "Copy". Paste into an image program. I use Irfanview, which can be downloaded for free. (I discovered Irfanview at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.)
17. You can then save the image using Irfanview.
I know that SVAR can be confusing. SVAR is a great site with much valuable information, but it hasn't made things easy for those of us who are not native speakers of Swedish. If you need further elaboration, let me know.
Judy
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Getting into the Swedish Content of the World/International Version of Ancestry.com
I'm taking a detour from discussing how to use SVAR. I've discovered how to get into the Swedish content of the international/world version of Ancestry.com.
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2225
Judy
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2225
Judy
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
SVAR has images of records too.
I used SVAR for quite a while before I found that it had scanned parish records. I've found that quite a few people are unaware of these scanned records. I think that SVAR is an excellent site, but unfortunately it is rather confusing to use. I'll try to explain how to use that site.
http://www.svar.ra.se (subscription)
To view their records, you need to download their reader using the link on the following page.
http://tinyurl.com/3hgcqgy
1. Sign into SVAR.
2. Click on "English" at the top of the page.
3. Click on "Search Records".
4. Find the "Archive Search" box.
5. Select the county from the drop-down box.
6. Select the "Archive Type". There is a drop-down box with the choices "General Part", "Fire Insurance", "Court Records", "Church Records", and "Military Records".
7. Select "Type of Material". (Select "Scanned Images".)
8. Type in "Archive Name". (In the case of "Church Records, type in the parish name. Be sure to spell the parish the way the Swedes do or you won't get any hits.)
9. Click on Search.
There are many scanned church records if that is what you have selected. Not all possible records have been scanned. Look for the blue arrow point to chose records which are currently available.
Example:
I am using this site to look at records for Brålanda parish. I chose "Älvsborg" from the drop-down county menu. I chose "Church Records", "Scanned Images", and typed in "Brålanda" (without the quotes). Then I clicked on "Search". Then I clicked on the "Reference Code" on the next page.
There are a number of records listed, but the only ones which are scanned so far have a blue arrow point. I clicked on "Husförhörslängder" (Household Examination Records). I looked at the listings which had "Image" at the end. Choose the one you want and click on "Image".
You can move forwards or backwards one page at a time by clicking on the forward or backward arrow points.
You can move forwards or backwards five pages at a time by clicking on the +5 or -5 numbers.
You can move to the beginning or end of the book by clicking on the double arrow points.
There is also a drop down menu which you can choose to select the number of the image.
You can adjust the size of the image by hitting the + or - signs, or by using the drop down menu in the middle to choose the size of the image. That only lasts for one page, so if you don't want to continually adjust the size, you can use the link at the bottom right of the page called "Adjustments". Use the "Zoom Scale" to select the size of the image and then "Save".
If you find the image you want, click on "Source". Then copy/paste the highlighted source into your document.
If you find an image you want, then right click on the image. Move to "Selection" and then to "Select Region". You will see a + sign which can be dragged around the part you want to copy. Move to the top left edge of the image and drag that plus sign around the outside of the image.
Once you have highlighted the image, right click again, move to "Selection" and then to "Copy".
Paste into a image program. I used Irfanview, which can be downloaded for free. (I discovered Irfanview at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
http://www.irfanview.com/
You can then save the image using Irfanview.
I'll continue another time with using other parts of SVAR.
Judy
http://www.svar.ra.se (subscription)
To view their records, you need to download their reader using the link on the following page.
http://tinyurl.com/3hgcqgy
1. Sign into SVAR.
2. Click on "English" at the top of the page.
3. Click on "Search Records".
4. Find the "Archive Search" box.
5. Select the county from the drop-down box.
6. Select the "Archive Type". There is a drop-down box with the choices "General Part", "Fire Insurance", "Court Records", "Church Records", and "Military Records".
7. Select "Type of Material". (Select "Scanned Images".)
8. Type in "Archive Name". (In the case of "Church Records, type in the parish name. Be sure to spell the parish the way the Swedes do or you won't get any hits.)
9. Click on Search.
There are many scanned church records if that is what you have selected. Not all possible records have been scanned. Look for the blue arrow point to chose records which are currently available.
Example:
I am using this site to look at records for Brålanda parish. I chose "Älvsborg" from the drop-down county menu. I chose "Church Records", "Scanned Images", and typed in "Brålanda" (without the quotes). Then I clicked on "Search". Then I clicked on the "Reference Code" on the next page.
There are a number of records listed, but the only ones which are scanned so far have a blue arrow point. I clicked on "Husförhörslängder" (Household Examination Records). I looked at the listings which had "Image" at the end. Choose the one you want and click on "Image".
You can move forwards or backwards one page at a time by clicking on the forward or backward arrow points.
You can move forwards or backwards five pages at a time by clicking on the +5 or -5 numbers.
You can move to the beginning or end of the book by clicking on the double arrow points.
There is also a drop down menu which you can choose to select the number of the image.
You can adjust the size of the image by hitting the + or - signs, or by using the drop down menu in the middle to choose the size of the image. That only lasts for one page, so if you don't want to continually adjust the size, you can use the link at the bottom right of the page called "Adjustments". Use the "Zoom Scale" to select the size of the image and then "Save".
If you find the image you want, click on "Source". Then copy/paste the highlighted source into your document.
If you find an image you want, then right click on the image. Move to "Selection" and then to "Select Region". You will see a + sign which can be dragged around the part you want to copy. Move to the top left edge of the image and drag that plus sign around the outside of the image.
Once you have highlighted the image, right click again, move to "Selection" and then to "Copy".
Paste into a image program. I used Irfanview, which can be downloaded for free. (I discovered Irfanview at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
http://www.irfanview.com/
You can then save the image using Irfanview.
I'll continue another time with using other parts of SVAR.
Judy
Some Transcribed Records on SVAR
SVAR is one of the fee-based sites for Swedish research.
http://www.svar.ra.se
SVAR has a number of useful transcribed databases.
1. Click on English at the top of the page.
2. Click on "Search Records".
3. Click on "Databases".
A popular database is the one with censuses. The censuses are complete for 1880, 1890, and 1900. There are "some" census entries for 1860, 1870, and 1910.
If you think you have a released convict from 1877-1925, check out the convict database. There is a transcription and if you click on "Show Source", you will find the original record plus a photo of the convict. This is very interesting.
Here is an example of what you will find about a convict. First you will see his transcribed record.
If you click on "Show source" in the transcribed record, you will see the best part, which is the actual record with the criminal's photo!
I like the "Rosenberg" database. It has geographical locations in Sweden from the 1880s. It might help you read that scribbled location in the old records.
There are other transcribed databases too. Perhaps you will find one which is useful.
Judy
http://www.svar.ra.se
SVAR has a number of useful transcribed databases.
1. Click on English at the top of the page.
2. Click on "Search Records".
3. Click on "Databases".
A popular database is the one with censuses. The censuses are complete for 1880, 1890, and 1900. There are "some" census entries for 1860, 1870, and 1910.
If you think you have a released convict from 1877-1925, check out the convict database. There is a transcription and if you click on "Show Source", you will find the original record plus a photo of the convict. This is very interesting.
Here is an example of what you will find about a convict. First you will see his transcribed record.
If you click on "Show source" in the transcribed record, you will see the best part, which is the actual record with the criminal's photo!
I like the "Rosenberg" database. It has geographical locations in Sweden from the 1880s. It might help you read that scribbled location in the old records.
There are other transcribed databases too. Perhaps you will find one which is useful.
Judy
Monday, September 19, 2011
The Swedish Alphabet
There are extra letters in the Swedish alphabet. The letters å, ä, and ö follow z, in that order. If you are using a Swedish database, you MUST use the correct Swedish spellings. You can not substitute with an a or an o or a", etc. If you do, you won't get any hits.
A Swedish woman named Ingela Martenius has listed these words as the reason why it is important to use the proper Swedish letters. Note that the only difference is the vowel.
kar - tub
kår - corps
kär - dear
kor - cows
kör - choir
There is a very helpful guide telling how to form those letters on the following site.
http://www.augustana.edu/x14886.xml
If you can't create those letters using those directions, then copy/paste these letters.
å
Å
ä
Ä
ö
Ö
Save those letters on your computer so you will always have them when you need them.
Judy
A Swedish woman named Ingela Martenius has listed these words as the reason why it is important to use the proper Swedish letters. Note that the only difference is the vowel.
kar - tub
kår - corps
kär - dear
kor - cows
kör - choir
There is a very helpful guide telling how to form those letters on the following site.
http://www.augustana.edu/x14886.xml
If you can't create those letters using those directions, then copy/paste these letters.
å
Å
ä
Ä
ö
Ö
Save those letters on your computer so you will always have them when you need them.
Judy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)