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Finland

Public Records

Resources

Online Resources

• 1531-1634 Vanhempi tilikirjakokoelma = Äldre räkenskapssamlingen : 1531-1634 (Old collection of accounts)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• 1635-1809 Uudempi tilikirjakokoelma/Nyare räkenskapssamlingen (New collection of accounts)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• Suomen asutuksen yleisluettelo = General register över besättningen i Finland (SAY)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• See county page for more resources.

Background

Types of Records

• Older collection of accounts (Vanhempi tilikirjakokoelma/Äldre räkenskapssamlingen) & Newer collection of accounts (Uudempi tilikirjakokoelma/Nyare räkenskapssamlingen): like other Finnish public records, these were created primarily for tax-collection purposes. They include land and tenant records, census records, military records, estate tax and rental records, bailiff accounts, lists of fines, and many other judicial documents. These records were not kept uniformly throughout Finland, and in the early years the counties and parishes were not equivalent to the modern divisions.

• General Register of Settlement in Finland (Suomen asutuksen yleisluettelo (SAY)): SAY consists of tables that provide an overview to information drawn from several sources in the Old and New Collections of Accounts covering 1539 to 1809. This project does not include all of Finland, but it does include most of southwestern Finland. It was compiled over several decades by various people; consequently, the format has varied somewhat over time. The original SAY register was written in different colors of ink, each color representing an original source from the Old and New Collections of Accounts. The microfilm copy, however, is black and white; therefore, it may be difficult to identify what source the information came from. To overcome this, it is useful to know that the register follows a general pattern:

The first notations on the page are generally from land records. In the registers that cover 1634 on, the information from the henkikirjat / mantalslängder is entered under the land records.

The next notations come from the tithing records.

Data from tax and military rolls appear last.

The National Archives of Finland has placed color images of this collection online (see Digihakemisto. A printed guide, Suomen Asutuksen Yleisluettelon Opas / Generalregisteret över bosättningen i Finland : En handledning in Finnish and Swedish was published by the National Archives in 1975 and is available to download as a PDF file, also accessible as FS Library book 948.97 A35v no.7 1975. It is usually arranged chronologically, showing 20 years on each double page. It is organized by parishes, villages, farms, and dwellings. For each residence, SAY enumerates the name of farm owners and members of the household mentioned in the original record sources. A check mark appears next to a name that is noted more than once in the records with an additional mark for each time it is used.

Information Recorded in the Records

• Older collection of accounts: A list of contents (sisällysluettelo) for each province appears first. General records (yleisiä asiakirjoja) for the entire country are listed next.
• New collection of accounts: For accounts from 1810-1860 in the FamilySearch Catalog, search items cataloged as "Census - 1810-1860". During this time period, the henkikirjat/ mantalslänslängder were only filmed every five years. These films have internal indexes to the districts and parishes indicating initial page numbers.
  The FS Catalog has two sets of records under the same title (Uudempi tilikirjakokoelma/Nyare räkenskapssamlingen):

• Henkikirjat/mantalslängder: The catalog entry refers to the year and number of each volume. The catalog entry does not describe the records.
• Other records: Besides the henkikirjat/ mantalslängder, this collection also includes other records, such as tithes, general accounts, and so forth. At the beginning of each volume is a list of the contents. An index to the henkikirjat/mantalslängder is available for this time period. It is organized by civil districts (kihlakunta/härad) and cities and specifies the page number on which the district or city begins within each census volume. This index is:

• Luettelo henkikirjamikrofilmien käyttökopioista, 1634-1808 = Över brukskopior av mikrofilmer av mantalslängder, 1634-1808 (List of use copies of life book microfilms). Helsinki, Finland: National Archives, 1989. FS Catalog book 948.97 A33La 1989