Swedish Cultural Tidbits

 

Sweden Before 1900

This is some reference material so you don't have to read this information more than once -- unless you want to, of course. It will be linked from family stories as needed.

Content:


The Role of the Church

The Church of Sweden has been Lutheran since the 1500's, previously having been Catholic. In the era about which I write, there was no separation of church and state. The church was a dominant force and there was no freedom of religion for most Swedes. For Jews and those of certain other faiths, marriage to a Lutheran was not allowed. Lutherans could not leave the church and change religions until 1860. Each year, the parishioners were tested on their knowledge and understanding of their Lutheran faith. The ministers and other church leaders could place parishioners in the stocks for transgressions and a parishioner could not marry unless the minister approved. Many emigrants, such as my grandparents, joined other denominations in the US, while others rejected religion. Religious freedom was one of the reasons for emigration from Sweden.


The Military Late Allotment System

To maintain a standing military in earlier times, the lowest ranks of the infantry and navy were filled by a system known as the allotment system. The system was revised in 1682, with the newer system being known as the Late Allotment System. In rural areas, farmers were grouped with other farmers into a "rote", which was given a number. The rote was responsible to provide a soldier or sailor, along with his military equipment. The man had the use of a cottage, a barn and some tillable land. When at home, he helped the farmers with their work. When he was unable to fulfill his military duties, due to age or health, he was discharged and had to leave the cottage so that his replacement could move in. His family would need to find a new home if he died while in service. Sometimes the man or widow and younger children would stay in the home as servants or lodgers.


Names

The book Cradled in Sweden devotes 14 pages to a discussion of names. Surnames were complicated before about 1901, when a law was passed requiring fixed family names and discontinuing the use of patronymics. The adoption of family names had previously been normal for the upper class and more common in cities and among craftsmen than among the rural farmers. To change a surname required that the individual had only to tell the parish minster and obtain his approval. So when Peter Persson asked to take the surname Fröling, the parish minister approved the change and wrote it into the church records, making it official. However, Peter's children would choose for themselves what surname to use. Also note that Peter is a name which may appear in several forms: Per, Pehr, Petter, Petrus and others. There are other Swedish names which have interchangeable spellings. A spelling standardization in 1906 caused more complications, such as replacing C with K in most contexts.


Example of a Name Change in the Clerical Survey Records


Military Names

Military surnames add another level of complexity. With the repetitive nature of patronymics, many men had the same surname. In a military situation of life and death, confusion could be dangerous, so unique surnames were a requirement. When a man joined the military, he would usually be assigned a new surname. Some of those surnames belonged to the position, rather than to the man. Unrelated men would take the same surname over time. Some children used their father's military surname, while others used the patronymic or invented a new name.

An unscientific tally of a single muster roll for a single Södermanland company showed that 75 percent of  the men originally had one of the following patronymics, listed in order from most frequent to less frequent: Andersson (20 percent), Olsson and Olofsson, Jonsson (with variants), Ersson and Ericsson, Nilsson, Pehrsson (with variants), Larsson.


A Chart of Common Patronymic Names Documented in a Single Military Muster Roll


Training for a Trade or Craft

Young men who trained for a trade moved from place to place to serve as an apprentice (lärling) with different tradesmen. Later they spent time working as a journeyman (gesäll) before becoming a full-fledged tradesman. Eventually they might become a master of their craft. In cities, they would be a member of a guild, while that was not required in the rural areas. The guild system was abolished in 1862.


Farmers

There were various types and classes of farmers in the rural areas. Most of my farming ancestors were crofters, torpare. Crofters had a small cottage and some fields to work and often struggled to feed their family. They had to work many days for the land owner in order to "pay" for their croft.


The Job Search

Young people of the lower classes who left home would move around looking for a better job, a croft or a spouse. Typically the moves would be in the autumn, after the harvest. Moves should have been noted in the household surveys and moves between parishes should have been listed in moving in and out records. Not all moves were well documented.


Chain Migration

People who move to another country or even another state may invite their extended family to join them in the new location, making a chain of migrants. Such was the case with the family of Peter Persson Fröling. The first emigrant who settled in the US wrote home about their experience. Other family members followed over a period of several years. According to Cradled in Sweden, the "great exodus" was from 1850 to 1925. About half a million people emigrated from Sweden to the United States between 1881 and 1900.


Emigration Records

Leaving Sweden was documented like leaving the parish. The parish minister or clerk gave the emigrant a moving certificate and made notations in the church records. The household survey might indicate the date or the year of departure and the destination, which could simply say North America. If the moving out records survive, similar information would be found in that record. Often the details of wives and children were not in the moving out records. When the emigrant arrived at the port of departure, the police in that port city recorded the ship they left on, the ship's destination, the emigrant's destination and the date of sailing. The police lists also included the emigrant's age or birthdate and departure parish or birth parish, including the names of family members. The police lists started later than the emigration wave, so are not complete.


Sample Moving Certificate from 1859 for the family of Anders Fors


Health

Today Sweden is a progressive society with good health care. However, that was not the case in the past. Diseases such as tuberculosis, measles and cholera were common. Infant and maternal mortality were high, especially for the poor. Periodic famine swept the country, including an extended period from 1867 to 1869, which accelerated emigration.  


Taxes

A head tax was collected each year for about 300 years. The laws for who was taxed and how much was charged changed over time. Generally, tax was collected for people between 16 and 62 who were able to work. The infirm and military men were exempt.


Estate Inventory or Probate

At the death of an adult, an inventory of their estate was supposed to be made. Not everyone had such an inventory, especially those who lived in poverty. Also, many of the inventory records have been lost through the years. Those that survive can be a wonderful genealogical resource. There is a preamble that is supposed to list all the heirs of the deceased. For those with children in other countries, the preamble generally listed their names and locations. If a child had died leaving children, those grandchildren were named as heirs. In the absence of descendants or a spouse, siblings were named. Guardians for minor children and unmarried daughters were named and were usually family members.


Example of a preamble to an estate inventory. 
Deceased was torparen Erik Carlsson of Näsbystugan in Björnlunda parish, Södermanland.
He died on 17 August 1857, leaving widow Brita Stina Olsdotter and adult sons Anders and Carl Erik.



Sources

Many of these tidbits I've gleaned from webinars and workshops. However, there are some specific sources listed below that have been very helpful. An entertaining, emotional and educational novel that I recommend is Augusta's Daughter: Life in Nineteenth Century Sweden. The author manages to present many of the social and religious issues in a story that spans some 25 years.


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