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The “''preamble''” of the probate contains the most genealogical information. In the preamble, you will normally find:<br>a) the name of the surviving spouse<br>b) the names of sons, their ages, and residences<br>c) the names of daughters, their ages, and residences<br>d) the names of sons-in-law, if any daughters are married <br>e) the names of guardians for under-aged or minor heirs<br>f) the names of grandchildren, if their related parent to the deceased is dead<br>g) the name of the guardian of the widow<br>h) the name of the place of residence (farm or village) of the deceased | The “''preamble''” of the probate contains the most genealogical information. In the preamble, you will normally find:<br>a) the name of the surviving spouse<br>b) the names of sons, their ages, and residences<br>c) the names of daughters, their ages, and residences<br>d) the names of sons-in-law, if any daughters are married <br>e) the names of guardians for under-aged or minor heirs<br>f) the names of grandchildren, if their related parent to the deceased is dead<br>g) the name of the guardian of the widow<br>h) the name of the place of residence (farm or village) of the deceased | ||
Some important insights to remember about probates:<br>a) male heirs became of age at marriage or if not married, at age 25 years <br>b) female heirs became of age at marriage, of if not married, they remain minor<br>regardless of their age<br>c) make it a practice to scan the debts/assets sections of the probate. As it is<br>true today, so it was then, money was often loaned/borrowed by relatives<br>d) half of the value of the estate went to the surviving spouse<br>e) male heirs received a double portion to the inheritance female heirs received<br>f) a surviving spouse could petition the court for a special status called “''utskifte<br>bo''”, which means that for as long as the widow remained unmarried and had<br>one minor heir in the household, the probate could be held up indefinitely.<br>Note: a stepmother could delay the probate for stepchildren by petitioning for<br>“''utskifte bo''” status <br>g) based upon which spouse predeceased the other, guardians were usually chosen<br>from the paternal side of the deceased according to the following order: grand-<br>father, brother, uncle, male cousin<br>h) only between 1/4 and 1/3 of the Swedish population was ever probated. There <br>needed to be adequate holdings to justify the holding of a probate inventory<br>i) At the end of the probate document, the following persons normally signed: (a <br>signature infers that each heir is in agreement with the inventory) surviving<br>spouse, sons, sons-in-law, appraisers. Note: most of the population of the late<br>1700s and early 1800s could not write. Therefore, one of the appraisers guided<br>the heir’s hand while he held the pen. Often signatures were simply initials.<br>For example, Jöns Andersson might write his name as J (öns) A (nders) S (on) | Some important insights to remember about probates:<br>a) male heirs became of age at marriage or if not married, at age 25 years <br>b) female heirs became of age at marriage, of if not married, they remain minor<br>regardless of their age<br>c) make it a practice to scan the debts/assets sections of the probate. As it is<br>true today, so it was then, money was often loaned/borrowed by relatives<br>d) half of the value of the estate went to the surviving spouse<br>e) male heirs received a double portion to the inheritance female heirs received<br>f) a surviving spouse could petition the court for a special status called “''utskifte<br>bo''”, which means that for as long as the widow remained unmarried and had<br>one minor heir in the household, the probate could be held up indefinitely.<br>Note: a stepmother could delay the probate for stepchildren by petitioning for<br>“''utskifte bo''” status <br>g) based upon which spouse predeceased the other, guardians were usually chosen<br>from the paternal side of the deceased according to the following order: grand-<br>father, brother, uncle, male cousin<br>h) only between 1/4 and 1/3 of the Swedish population was ever probated. There <br>needed to be adequate holdings to justify the holding of a probate inventory<br>i) At the end of the probate document, the following persons normally signed: (a <br>signature infers that each heir is in agreement with the inventory) surviving<br>spouse, sons, sons-in-law, appraisers. Note: most of the population of the late<br>1700s and early 1800s could not write. Therefore, one of the appraisers guided<br>the heir’s hand while he held the pen. Often signatures were simply initials.<br>For example, Jöns Andersson might write his name as J (öns) A (nders) S (on)<br> | ||
===Finding a Probate=== | |||
In order to find a Swedish probate record, you must know the name of the court district<br>(''härad'') to which the parish belonged at the time of the ancestor’s death. Most härads consisted of between 3 to 8 parishes. | In order to find a Swedish probate record, you must know the name of the court district<br>(''härad'') to which the parish belonged at the time of the ancestor’s death. Most härads consisted of between 3 to 8 parishes. | ||
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As is generally the case, if the husband pre-deceases the wife, there is usually a probate done for the husband. If the wife remains a widow and never remarries, then the possibility that there will be a probate taken at her time of death is greatly diminished. On the other hand, should the widow remarry and have additional offspring by a subsequent spouse, the chances are enhanced that a probate exists for her. | As is generally the case, if the husband pre-deceases the wife, there is usually a probate done for the husband. If the wife remains a widow and never remarries, then the possibility that there will be a probate taken at her time of death is greatly diminished. On the other hand, should the widow remarry and have additional offspring by a subsequent spouse, the chances are enhanced that a probate exists for her. | ||
There are certain life circumstances which suggest to the researcher that there is a strong likelihood that a probate exists and therefore, should be looked for. Some of these circumstances are:<br> | There are certain life circumstances which suggest to the researcher that there is a strong likelihood that a probate exists and therefore, should be looked for. Some of these circumstances are:<br> | ||
< | a) Before a surviving spouse could remarry it was required by law that a probate be completed.<br> | ||
b) If the deceased is survived by minor children and these children are under the age of 25.<br> | |||
c) If the deceased is unmarried.<br> | |||
d) At the time of the first spouse’s death, the probability of a probate is greater than at the time of the surviving spouse’s death, providing that the surviving spouse did not ever remarry.<br> | |||
e) If the deceased leaves behind a large estate of property and personal effects | |||
<br> | |||
===Vocabulary=== | |||
The following Swedish words may assist you in understanding better the content of the genealogical information found in the probate’s preamble: | The following Swedish words may assist you in understanding better the content of the genealogical information found in the probate’s preamble: | ||