Tracing your Swedish immigrant ancestors is a rewarding journey, but it often feels like solving a puzzle. Between 1850 and 1930, over a million Swedes moved to North America. Because so many shared similar names, and those names often changed in the US, it is easy to get confused. However, with the right strategy, you can find out who your ancestor was in Sweden.
Start with US Records
It is best to have a specific place of birth before looking in Swedish records. Without a specific town or parish, distinguishing your ancestor from thousands of others with the same name is nearly impossible. To find that information, you should exhaust these five types of US records first:
The Challenge of Names
Be very careful with names, as they often changed. In Sweden, they used a patronymic system (taking their father's first name as a last name), but in America, they adopted fixed surnames.
The suffix "-sson" often became "-son" (e.g., Andersson to Anderson). First names were translated: "Johan" became "John," "Karl" became "Charles," and "Per" became "Peter." Sometimes, soldiers or tradesmen in Sweden adopted "ornamental" nature names like "Berg" (Mountain) or "Lund" (Grove) to distinguish themselves, which they kept in America. Be flexible with spelling and naming patterns to ensure you are tracking the right person.
Locating Them in Swedish Records
Once you have a birth date and potential location, you can jump to Swedish records. Even if you don't have the exact parish, having a specific birth date and parents' names might be enough to find them.
Household Examination Books
Sweden had an incredible system called Household Examination Books (Husförhörslängder). Unlike a census taken every ten years, these books were updated yearly by the parish priest. They list families together, including parents and siblings, and track where people moved. If a person left for America, it was recorded in these books. These are the most important records for linking generations.
MyHeritage has a searchable collection of Sweden Household Examination books, which are vital for tracking your family. It is even possible to search on your ancestor's specific birth date in these records, and your ancestor will be listed with parents, so it's possible to find your ancestor in Sweden through these records.
Emigration Records
When Swedes left the country, they often appeared in emigration registers. These can help confirm you have the right person leaving at the right time. Ancestry has a collection of the Swedish Emigration Records.
Verify Your Findings
Finally, avoid making assumptions. Because names like Eriksson or Larsson were so common, there may be many people with your ancestor's name and age in Sweden. You need multiple records in both countries to verify the identity.
If you have a theory of who your ancestor was in Sweden, try to disprove it. If the person you found in the Swedish records died there or married locally, they obviously didn't immigrate to America. You must verify that the timeline of their life in Sweden matches with their arrival in the United States. By double-checking your facts and utilizing a variety of records, you can uncover your Swedish roots.
Written by Jonathan Nielsen, owner of EverythingArticles.com