scandinavian ancestry

FAQ

Here's some quick facts about my genealogy services and about genealogy in general.

What resources will I use in my research for your ancestors in Sweden?
  • I have access to an oneline database service with more than 16,000,000 images from the Swedish Church Records. The archives contain church records from the 16th-20th century. Today they cover approximately 26 counties and 2685 parishes, from the North to the very South. The Swedish Church Records archives consist of images scanned from microfilm of the original church records. These microfilms are direct copies of the masters kept at the Swedish National Archives in Stockholm. These reords show household examinations, births, marriages, deaths and church accountings as well as immigration and emigration.
  • Furthermore I have access to the various Swedish census of 1890, 1900, 1970 & 1980 as well as the Swedish Death book - which covers all (most) deaths between 1947-2003.
  • I also have access to a number of online data bases (in Sweden-Denmark-Norway-Finland) as well as a number of useful genealogical cd's, and some 'special' ones if you have ancestors in the Farstorp,Verum and Markaryd parishes. They go back to 1690 -1747 and contain images on all church records available for that period.
  • And, a lot more!
 Why is it so hard to trace Swedish & Scandinavian ancestors in the US ?
  • First of all it's the language. If you  don't know the language you don't know how to find them. And you can't read any records.
  • Geography is another thing. If you find your ancestor coming in to Galesburg in 1880, departed from Gothenburg, it is quite impossibe to tell where he or she really came from. The port of departure was seldom the place of origin.
  • Name change and use of name; if they were born before 1890 they most probably were born with a last name taken from their father's first name, also called a  patronymic, or patronym. It is a component of the last name based on the name of the fathers' first name. In many areas patronymics predate the use of  'family names'. For example, the son and daughter of Peter Magnusson would have different last names - Petersson (for his son) and Petersdotter (for his daughter). Son of Peter or daughter of Peter.
  • Patronymics can simplify or complicate the research! Why?Migration has frequently resulted in a switch from a patronymic to a 'family name' (normally the father's last name) due to different customs. Most immigrants "adapted" to the new customs as soon as birth, marriage, and death certificates had to be written down by someone else. So, your Nels Nelson born in Sweden in 1855 was most probably born with a different last name. Unless you know more about him and his father and his past, his origins, it's going to be difficult to trace him.
  • A Bengta Sonesdotter became Betty Munson or Monson as she entered the US if she was married to a Nils Månsson. As soon as she entered the US her name could have changed. And the women could not keep their maiden names which was the tradition in the Old World. You don't find any maiden names in the US census unless the woman is single. They all get their husbands family name. So it can be really hard to find someone back in Sweden if you  don't know the original name. You may find your female in the emigrant records, with her maiden name, that's easy, but as soon as she reaches a US port it may be a different one.  
  • Read more about name changes and 'tricky' cases in my Special finds section.  

 

 What resources will I use in my research for your ancestors in the US?

  • I have full access to the biggest genealogy site in the world, the most comprehensive one, which also includes all available Swedish Emigrant records and other immigration records, as well as all  available possible information in the US & Canada.

  • + I have access to a number of state archives, regional and local historical societies all over the US as well as in Sweden.

  When should you consider using me and my services?

 

 

  • When you do not have the time to do research

  • When you have research requiring a specialty or other expertise

  • When you have research requiring fluency in foreign language and culture

  • When you face a stumbling 'brick wall' that needs another point of view

 

  • When  you do not have the temperament or patience to do the research

  • When you do not have the appropriate skills to conduct the research

 

  • When you need to do research that requires access to a particular set of records

  • When you have the time and money, but prefer to have a trusted genealogist to perform the research

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

For testimonials; go to Testimonials  

Want to know more about  how I would do to find your ancestors? 

Please feel free to contact me  anytime, with any question you may have.

I look forward to hearing from you.

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