July 5, 2024
If you have Scandinavian ancestors, you’re lucky. Norwegians, Swedes and Danes have some of the best historical records available. They’re a bonanza for genealogists.
This is because the countries of Scandinavia all had state churches. Everyone was a Lutheran – at least on paper. There were always nonconformists, but those folks were still required to be baptized, married and officially buried by the Lutheran Church.
The Lutheran Church did an excellent job of keeping track of everyone. Starting in the late 1600s, the churches were required by the government to keep vital records.
Earlier records may only include baptism, marriage and burial records. Later, the records include confirmation, birth date and christening date, engagement or banns plus marriage date, moving in and moving out records and death and burial date.
If you have Swedish ancestors, you are especially fortunate. In Sweden, the church kept what were called Household Examination Records. These are detailed census-type records that have been kept since the late 1600s. The parish pastor visited every family on a regular basis (usually every year). He recorded information about all members of a household including their exact date and place of birth. He also entered marriage dates and death and burial dates. He reported when anyone moved in or out of the household including where they went and the date.
Using church records, it is possible to trace families back for generations. Of course, like any genealogical research, Scandinavian research has its difficulties. To research anyone, it is necessary to know what parish they lived in. All church records are based at the parish level.
Luckily, many Scandinavian records have been digitized and are being indexed. Websites such Family Search and My Heritage have large collections of digitized Scandinavian records. In addition, individual countries have digital archives which contain parish records. Norway and Denmark have free digital archives. Sweden has a great site called Arkiv Digital, but it is subscription, as is their national digital archive website.
Another difficulty in using Scandinavian records is that they are in Danish, Norwegian or Swedish – languages that you may not speak or read. Fortunately, church records all follow the same format. Learning the words for baptism, marriage and burial may be enough to get you started. Many of the digital websites have useful word lists. They also have translations of the headings for common record types.
Compared to research in many countries, Scandinavian research is simple. I have both Norwegian and Swedish ancestors. I have been able to trace them back to the late 17th century. In some cases, I have been able to go back even further. I don’t speak either language, but I was able to find and figure out the records. Scandinavians really are lucky!
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society