Bridge to Sweden

Bridge to Sweden Newsletter no 16 January 2005
Norrtälje in winter Photo: Marie Louise Bratt
Gott Nytt År! (i.e. Happy New Year) As I write this newsletter, it's dark outside, even though it's only 3PM. During the day the sun hang just over the horizon, making long shadows. Snow just fell on Norrtälje, where my husband and I live since a few months back, and suddenly the city seems a lot brighter, and so does the many lights in houses along the Norrtälje streets. The horrible earthquake in Asia happened a few of days ago. Over a hundred thousand people have been killed, from Asia and tourists from all over the world. Thousands of Swedes, who were in Thailand for the jul holidays, are now missing, many probably dead. As I listen to people I meet, here in Sweden, I hear about missing family members and friends. I know you are joining me as I wish them life, health and being together again.
What's in this newsletter? 1. Svealand, what is it? A slice of Sweden, located between Götaland, in the south, and Norrland, in the north. 2. Finding the Swedish parish - a few tips. 3. Ready to visit Sweden? Will 2005 be the year when you realize your dream of traveling to that Swedish village, where your grandmother grew up.
1. Svealand is made up of six landskap. Uppland and Södermanland, with Stockholm right between them, border the Baltic sea. Going west, along Lake Mälaren, we enter Västmanland and Närke, then Värmland, before arriving at the Norwegian border. To the north of Värmland is Dalarna, the entryway to Norrland.
Uppland and Södermanland (often called Sörmland), to the east, is interesting because many emigrated from Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, actually located both in Uppland and in Södermanland! Many emigrants moved to Stockholm from their villages and only then left for Canada, USA or elsewhere. Uppland includes two län, Uppsala län and Stockholms län, whereas Södermanland refers to both landskap and län. In Stockholm mantalsregister, i.e. the registration of adults, mostly men, was used and registers exist for the years 1800-1875, on CD, which is now in my possession. So if your ancestor came from Stockholm, I'll be happy to help. A few other websites about Uppland, Södermanland and Stockholm, which might interest you.
Västmanland is located just north of Lake Mälaren, with the city of Västerås as its urban center. We visited beautiful Lindesberg last summer with a great family from Jamestown and Boston. Miners migrated, in the 1900's, from these areas to North America, for better job opportunities.
Närke, just to the south of Västmanland, is also a mining area. The city of Örebro is located in Närke and the län is called Örebro län. You might want to contact Stadsarkivet i Örebro with an index of emigrants (and more) from Örebro län. The website is unfortunately not in English.
Värmland, furthest to the west, has huge forests and rivers, where you often catch a glimpse of a moose crossing the road. If your family came from Värmland, there are some helpful organizations you could contact: Värmlandsarkivet with birth, marriage and death records, household examination records (husförhörslängder) etc. Emigrantregistret i Karlstad, also called the Kinship Center, has records of emigrants, and more. The Karlskoga Heritage Society, is the place to contact if your emigrant came from Karlskoga - 3786 people did (information from the CD Emigranten). By the way, Karlskoga is located in the landskap of Värmland, but in the län of Örebro. So a person from this area is a "värmlänning" (from Värmland), but her birth records are in Örebro län!
Dalarna (the word means the valleys) is where the famous dalahäst came from. People from Dalarna have a reputation of being somewhat stubborn, which perhaps explains a thing or two about your relative! Last summer we visited Leksand, a picturesque little town on the shore of Lake Siljan, with some of our guests. We spent hours at Släktforskarnas Hus, the House of Genealogy, a great place for research among records from Dalarna and from other parts of Sweden. Also the staff is extremely helpful, which added to our enjoyment. There is a charge, but it's well worth it! Dalarötter, has a few interesting articles, in English, about patronymic names and farm names.
Landsarkivet i Uppsala has records from Uppsala län, Södermanlands län, Västmanlands län, Örebro län and Dalarnas län, at least up to year 1895, and increasingly for the 1900s too. Visits are free, but if a trip is not possible, write to them.
2. How do you find the Swedish parish? ... and why is it so important? Because the präst (priest) in each församling (parish) recorded births, marriage, deaths and other information in kyrkböckerna, the church records. He kept these books in the parish office and later transferred them to Landsarkiven, the regional archives, where they are organized by parish. But what if you don't know the name of the parish your emigrant came from? Try one or several of these ideas: First of all, ask your relatives, especially older ones. Your great aunt or mother's cousin might remember where grandpa grew up. Look for any letter, record or Bible, written in Swedish or in English. If the language is a problem, send me a copy and I'll try to help. No charge for a few lines; for more see my translation page. Swedish-American and Canadian churches kept excellent records of their members. If your ancestor might have belonged to a church, contact the Swenson Center, which has many of these records on microfilm. Send for your grandmother's birth, marriage and death certificates, the vital records, where you might find the parish she or her parents came from. Grandpa's obituary might well include the place of birth. If not, look for other family members' obituaries. Cyndi's List has interesting links. Check out the census, for the US or Canada, especially later ones. You'll probably not find a place of birth (except for "Sweden"), but the year of immigration, helpful because now you can find both passenger lists and naturalization records. Naturalization records from year 1906 on (in the US), and from 1917 (in Canada), are quite interesting indeed, because they often have your emigrant's address in Sweden, which is exactly what you want! You can find these documents at the National Archives, and in Canada at the Library and Archives of Canada. Try the US passenger lists too. From 1892 on many immigrants entered through Ellis Island, New York City, and you can search their website. US Ports of Arrival and Their Available Passenger Lists 1820-1957 has information about other available lists. Please contact me, if you wish, with as much information about your emigrant as possible. I'll check the CD Emigranten, which is based upon Swedish passenger records, and other sources too.
If you enjoyed this newsletter and found it useful, please remember to forward it to friends and relatives who might be interested. And if you no longer want to receive it, just let me know and I'll remove your name from my list of subscribers. Med hälsningar från Sverige (with greetings from Sweden) Marie Louise Bratt www.bridgetosweden.com Note: The music on this page is Lillbacksvalsen, from Hälsingland.