Sweden Birth and Christening Records: Difference between revisions

From FamilySearch Wiki
VisualWikitext
m (Text replacement - "https://familysearch.org/catalog-search " to "https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog ")
No edit summary
(36 intermediate revisions by 12 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{breadcrumb
Back to [[Portal:Sweden|Sweden Portal Page]]►
| link1=[[Sweden Genealogy|Sweden]]
| link2=[[Sweden Church Records|Sweden Church Records]]
| link3=
| link4=
| link5=[[Sweden Birth and Christening Records|Sweden Birth and Christening Records]]  
}}


The church law of 1686 stated that the parish priest should keep record for “All children legitimate as well as illegitimate with their parents and godparents names (and the) birth and christening date.”<ref>“Alle barns så ächtas som oächtas med dheras föräldrars och faddrars namn födelse och döpelse dag...”: Clemensson, Per and Andersson, Kjell. Släktforska steg för steg. Falköping, Natur och Kultur/Fakta, 2005</ref> The earliest examples of birth and christening records were usually mixed with the engagements and marriages and the death and burials. They were organized chronologically according to the date of birth or christening. The birth and christening records were kept sporadically from the middle of the 1600’s up to about 1688. It is not uncommon in the earlier records to have the birth date missing, or even the name of the mother. This depended upon the record keeping practices of the parish priest. <br>


In Swedish, "födelse och dop anteckningar".<br>
By law the little child should be christened within 8 days. Otherwise the parents became burdened by duty to see that it was done. There was good cause for the parents to be anxious for the child’s christening to be as soon as possible. It was both risky and troublesome to have an unchristened child at home. In the event that there was a complication with the birth and the child’s survival was in question, then an “emergency baptism” (''nöddop'') could be performed by the midwife, father, or any member of the household who had passed confirmation.<br>  


Witnesses to the christening were often relatives. They can be good leads to following the family if you are unsure where one of the parents is from. If family was not readily available the parents might ask a good friend or neighbor to be the godparent. <br>


In a Swedish record of birth / christening, the researcher can expect to find:<br>


The church law of 1686 stated that the parish priest should keep record for “All children legitimate as well as illegitimate with their parents and godparents names (and the) birth and christening date.”<ref>“Alle barns så ächtas som oächtas med dheras föräldrars och faddrars namn födelse och döpelse dag...” Släktforska steg för steg, page 35 </ref> <br>  
• The given name(s) of the child.<br>  


In early accounts the birth and christening entries were often written in a “general church book” that contained all the birth and christenings, engagements and marriages, and death and burial records for a parish. Christening took place as soon as possible after the birth, often at home. Occasionally a birth entry is missing even though you have proved the family’s residence at the time of the birth. This might have been because the birth and christening was recorded on a random piece of paper but never entered into the church book. Other times the entry was recorded on the kladdböcker (a draft copy) before being cleanly written in the church books. In rare cases the birth and christening entries begin around the 1650’s. They became standard by 1688 although the earliest examples may not have survived. If the church accounts book (räkenskaper) pre-dates the birth and christenings you might find mention of a donation to the church when the child was christened. <br>  
• The name of the father and mother (depending on the record keeping of the parish priest). <br>  


By the 1800’s it is common to see the age of the mother included in the entry. <br>  
• The date of the birth and christening (depending on the record keeping of the parish priest). <br>  


In a Swedish birth and christening record you should find:<br>  
• The name of the parents place of residence<br>  


*The given name(s) of the child.
• The names of the witnesses (godparents) who were invited to attend the christening (often relatives of the father or mother). <br>  
 
*The name of the father and mother (depending on the record keeping of the parish priest).
 
*The date of the birth and christening (depending on the record keeping of the parish priest).
 
*The parents place of residence<br>
 
*The names of the godparents ([[Swedish Godparents (Faddrar)|faddrar]]) who were invited to attend the christening. <br>


== Tips  ==
== Tips  ==
*Records were usually kept chronologically by '''baptism''' date, not birth date. If you have an exact birth date, look forward for up to several months after the date to find the entry.
*Sometimes the parish book was kept on a parish basis, other times on a [[Swedish Pastorat|pastorat]] basis.<br>
*Often the mothers name is missing from the early accounts. Her legal representation was through her husband.<br>
*Sometimes the entries have a christening date but no birth date.<br>
*When there are gaps between siblings in the records, check the death and burial and the church accounts records. <br>
*Occasionally one of the parent’s names might not match other entries within the same family. In these cases use other sources to prove or disprove relationship.<br>
*The woman holding the baby at the time of christening is often a close relative or friend of the mother. Sometimes this womans name was listed, even when the mothers was not.&nbsp;<br>
*The birthplace is usually recorded by the mother’s place of residence. <br>
*The word "oäkta” is referring to an illegitimate birth. <br>
*The word "Test." is a abbreviation for Testes which is latin for witnesses (also known as faddrar which is Swedish for godparents)<br>


*The term “nöddöp” is referring to an emergency christening performed by the midwife or any other confirmed person quickly after the birth. <br>
• An interval between births of more than 4 years can indicate a missing child <br>  


For information on absolving illegitimate births, see the article [[Scandinavia Absolution]].
• The woman holding the baby at christening is often a close relative or friend of the mother <br>


=== Where can you find Swedish Birth and Christening Records?  ===
• An illegitimate child is indicated with the word, “''oäkta”''<br>


You can access Birth and Christening Records through the [https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/ FamilySearch Library],or at<br>[https://www.familysearch.org/centers/locations/ FamilySearch Centers,] in [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog FamilySearch,]&nbsp; [https://riksarkivet.se/ SVAR], [http://www.arkivdigital.se/ Arkiv Digital], [http://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com], along with the [http://www.statensarkiv.se/ National and Regional Archives] in Sweden.<br>  
• Sometimes you will find mistakes in the record. Use logic and reasoning when you come across inconsistencies. <br>  


=== Notes  ===
=== Notes  ===


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}  


== References  ==
== References  ==


Clemensson, Per and Andersson, Kjell. <u>Släktforska steg för steg.</u> Falköping, Natur och Kultur/Fakta, 2005
Swedish Wikipedia at: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopbok <br>
 
Wikipedia Community. Födelsebok. Wiki-Rötter, February 2011 See&nbsp;http://www.genealogi.se/wiki/index.php/Dopbok  


Swedish Wikipedia at: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopbok <br>
Släktforskning.. vägen till din egen historia, Elisabeth Thorsell and Ulf Schenkmanis, ICA Förelaget AB 1993


[[Category:Sweden Church Records]] [[Category:Sweden Church Records]]
[[Category:Sweden]]

Revision as of 15:42, 12 February 2011

Back to Sweden Portal Page►

The church law of 1686 stated that the parish priest should keep record for “All children legitimate as well as illegitimate with their parents and godparents names (and the) birth and christening date.”[1] The earliest examples of birth and christening records were usually mixed with the engagements and marriages and the death and burials. They were organized chronologically according to the date of birth or christening. The birth and christening records were kept sporadically from the middle of the 1600’s up to about 1688. It is not uncommon in the earlier records to have the birth date missing, or even the name of the mother. This depended upon the record keeping practices of the parish priest.

By law the little child should be christened within 8 days. Otherwise the parents became burdened by duty to see that it was done. There was good cause for the parents to be anxious for the child’s christening to be as soon as possible. It was both risky and troublesome to have an unchristened child at home. In the event that there was a complication with the birth and the child’s survival was in question, then an “emergency baptism” (nöddop) could be performed by the midwife, father, or any member of the household who had passed confirmation.

Witnesses to the christening were often relatives. They can be good leads to following the family if you are unsure where one of the parents is from. If family was not readily available the parents might ask a good friend or neighbor to be the godparent.

In a Swedish record of birth / christening, the researcher can expect to find:

• The given name(s) of the child.

• The name of the father and mother (depending on the record keeping of the parish priest).

• The date of the birth and christening (depending on the record keeping of the parish priest).

• The name of the parents place of residence

• The names of the witnesses (godparents) who were invited to attend the christening (often relatives of the father or mother).

Tips[edit | edit source]

• An interval between births of more than 4 years can indicate a missing child

• The woman holding the baby at christening is often a close relative or friend of the mother

• An illegitimate child is indicated with the word, “oäkta”

• Sometimes you will find mistakes in the record. Use logic and reasoning when you come across inconsistencies.

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ “Alle barns så ächtas som oächtas med dheras föräldrars och faddrars namn födelse och döpelse dag...”: Clemensson, Per and Andersson, Kjell. Släktforska steg för steg. Falköping, Natur och Kultur/Fakta, 2005

References[edit | edit source]

Swedish Wikipedia at: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopbok

Släktforskning.. vägen till din egen historia, Elisabeth Thorsell and Ulf Schenkmanis, ICA Förelaget AB 1993

Retrieved from "https://integration-ru.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=Sweden_Birth_and_Christening_Records&oldid=552930"