When your grandparent boarded the ship for North America or Australia, perhaps he or she left brothers and sisters behind in Sweden. If so, their children and grandchildren, your Swedish relatives, might be wondering about you, wanting to find you, but not know how and where. The reality is that it's much easier for you to find them in Sweden than for them to find you. But you might need some help!
I have worked with Swedish genealogical research for many years, and have much experience and knowledge when it comes to finding families here in Sweden. In fact, there are few cases where I have not found a relative in Sweden! I’m very familiar with Swedish archives, church records, and most important, the Swedish language, the one I grew up with!
An initial consultation -
for free!
I'd be happy to
hear from you, but please start by reading my
newsletters
to learn about
archives, records and areas of Sweden. Then send me what you know about
one of your emigrants, be it
your maternal grandmother, mormor, or paternal grandfather,
farfar.
Here is the information that would be useful, if you have it:
Name and date of birth
Province and parish in Sweden
(where born or lived)
The year of emigration and the destination in the US, Canada etc.
Travel companions
(spouse/children)
Here is an example:
My paternal grandmother (farmor, in Swedish), Anna Strandberg, was
born on March 23, 1883, in Växjö, Småland. She emigrated around 1900,
alone, to Jamestown, N.Y.
Remember that the names used by your emigrant in an English speaking country usually were different from the ones used in Sweden. Here are some common name changes:
English first names
Charles, Charlie
Andrew
Annie
John
Gus
Peter
Ernest
Frank
Henry
Carrie
Mary
Martha
Nels
Swan
Susan
Margaret
Karl
Anders
Anna
Johan
Gustaf
Per, Petter
Ernst
Frans
Henrik
Karin
Maria
Märta
Nils
Sven
Susanna
Margareta
Bengston, Benson
Johnson
Peterson, Petersen
Pearson
Lawson
Carlson
Nelson
Swanson
Bengtsson
Johansson, Jonsson, Jönsson
Pettersson
Persson
Larsson
Karlsson
Nilsson
Svensson
Just send an email or a letter to Bridge to Sweden, Marie Louise Bratt, Vigelsjöhöjden 1B, 76152 Norrtälje, Sweden. and I'll check the following databases, when appropriate.
1. Emigranten, especially Emihamn, based upon the Swedish passenger lists, when people boarded the ship, usually in Göteborg or Malmö. This is quite complete, but starts only around 1869.
2. Emibas, an incomplete (unfortunately) database of emigrants, with information taken from the church records. Often very useful when you know the emigrant’s date of birth (if he or she is included, of course)
3. Sveriges befolkning (Swedish census) from 1890 or 1900
The
price
After the initial, and free, research I will be happy to give you
a price for further work.
More
research - for a fee
After this jump
start, you might be able to do more research on your own. If you need
further help, or don’t have the time for research, I’m available to do
it for you.
With enough information
from you and our initial research, I can find your emigrant's parents
and siblings, with dates and places of birth, and their residence. You
might also be interested in finding out what happened to those siblings
who stayed in Sweden (assuming some did), especially if they married and
had children, and grandchildren, who are alive today!
What do you get?
names, dates and places of
birth of parents and children
names of all the places
(farms, villages, parishes, counties) where the family lived
a full report of all
findings
a family tree
copies of the church records
used
If
you are interested in finding living Swedish relatives:
at least one living Swedish relative with his or her address
if you wish, I'll also
contact this relatives (or relatives) by phone to start your contact
Note that it could happen, but has rarely happened, that records are
so poor that it's impossible to take the research up to the present
time.
Useful links for your research (all in English):
About genealogy
-
Cyndi's List
strongly recommended
About
Swedish genealogy
- Swedish Genealogical Society (Rötter), click on English Summary
- SVAR, part of National Archives
- Genline, with filmed church records
- Local Swedish Genealogical Societies (only partially in English)
- Find your Swedish Roots is an interesting website, entirely in English, edited by the well-known genealogist Elisabeth Thorsell.
- Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center
- SARA, if your ancestors settled in Worcester, MA
- Utvandrarnas Hus (House of Emigrants) in Växjö, Småland
Swedes in America
Swedish
shopping
- Discover Sweden's Finest to buy Swedish foods, books, gift items and much more. Yes, you can find Vilhelm Moberg's books about emigration here (The Emigrants etc.)
- Swedish Country Interiors