Sweden Birth and Christening Records: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:50, 9 September 2008

The earliest birth registers are not actually birth records, but instead, are christening records. According to the Lutheran belief, a new born child required a Christian christening as soon as possible after birth. The soul of an infant who died without receiving a Christian christening went directly to purgatory and the salvation of that child’s soul was placed in jeopardy. Christenings of babies took place in the first week of life and generally on the first or second day after birth. In the event that there was a complication with the birth and the child’s survival was in question, than an “emergency baptism” (nöddop) could be performed by the midwife, father, or any member of the household who had passed confirmation. If the child later strengthened, then a second christening was performed in the church with the minister officiating.

In a Swedish record of christening/birth, the researcher can expect to find
• The given name(s) of the child
• Before 1800, the name of the father; after 1800, also the name of the mother
• The date of the christening; after 1800, also the date of birth
• The name of the farm or village where the parents reside
• The names of the witnesses invited to attend the christening (often relatives of the father or mother)

When working with Swedish Church Records of Birth & Christening

REMEMBER:

• An interval between births of more than 4 years can indicate a missing child
• Babies were often home christened & later christened in church
• 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”
• Ministers can make mistakes. User logic and reasoning when you come across inconsistencies in a record

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+<br>The earliest birth registers are not actually birth records, but instead, are christening records. According to the Lutheran belief, a new born child required a Christian christening as soon as possible after birth. The soul of an infant who died without receiving a Christian christening went directly to purgatory and the salvation of that child’s soul was placed in jeopardy. Christenings of babies took place in the first week of life and generally on the first or second day after birth. In the event that there was a complication with the birth and the child’s survival was in question, than an “emergency baptism” (''nöddop'') could be performed by the midwife, father, or any member of the household who had passed confirmation. If the child later strengthened, then a second christening was performed in the church with the minister officiating.
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+In a Swedish record of christening/birth, the researcher can expect to find<br>• The given name(s) of the child<br>• Before 1800, the name of the father; after 1800, also the name of the mother<br>• The date of the christening; after 1800, also the date of birth<br>• The name of the farm or village where the parents reside<br>• The names of the witnesses invited to attend the christening (often relatives of the father or mother)
-In Swedish, "födelse och dop anteckningar".<br>
+When working with Swedish Church Records of Birth &amp; Christening
+<u>'''REMEMBER'''</u>:
+• An interval between births of more than 4 years can indicate a missing child <br>• Babies were often home christened &amp; later christened in church <br>• The woman holding the baby at christening is often a close relative or friend of the mother <br>• An illegitimate child is indicated with the word, “''oäkta”''<br>• Ministers can make mistakes. User logic and reasoning when you come across inconsistencies in a record
-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>
+<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>
+<br>
-By the 1800’s it is common to see the age of the mother included in the entry. <br>
-In a Swedish birth and christening record you should find:<br>
-*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 parents place of residence<br>
-*The names of the godparents ([[Swedish Godparents (Faddrar)|faddrar]]) who were invited to attend the christening. <br>
-== 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>
-For information on absolving illegitimate births, see the article [[Scandinavia Absolution]].
-=== Where can you find Swedish Birth and Christening Records?  ===
-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>
-=== Notes  ===
-{{reflist}}
-== References  ==
-Clemensson, Per and Andersson, Kjell. <u>Släktforska steg för steg.</u> Falköping, Natur och Kultur/Fakta, 2005
-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>
-[[Category:Sweden Church Records]] [[Category:Sweden Church Records]]