Sweden, Gotland Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Sverige, Gotland, Kyrkoböcker Register

Record Description
The collection consists of church records from the county of Gotland. It contains indexes to births, marriages, and deaths and also images of clerical surveys, registers of birth, marriage, death, move-in and move-out lists, confirmations, church accounts, etc.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in most Lutheran birth or christening or birth (Födde) records are:




 * Child’s name
 * Christening date
 * Sometimes the birth date
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents’ marital status
 * Parents’ residence
 * Fathers’ occupation
 * Sometimes the mother’s age
 * Witnesses and their residences

The key genealogical facts found in most Lutheran marriage (Vigde) records are:




 * Groom’s name
 * Depending on the time period, the groom’s marital status, residence, and age
 * Bride’s name
 * Depending on the time period, the bride’s marital status, residence, and age
 * Witnesses and their residences

The key genealogical facts found in most Lutheran death or burial (Döde) records are:




 * Name of the deceased
 * Death date
 * Burial date
 * Residence
 * Occupation
 * Age
 * Marital status and sometimes the spouse’s name
 * Sometimes other biographical notes

The key genealogical facts found in most Lutheran moving records (Inflyttnings and Utflyttnings) are:


 * Name of person moving
 * Former residence
 * New residence
 * Residence
 * Occupation
 * Age
 * Sometimes marital status

The key genealogical facts found in most Lutheran clerical surveys (Husförhörslängd) are:


 * Name of each member of the household
 * Birth dates
 * Birthplaces
 * Residence
 * Occupation
 * Deaths within the year
 * Marriages within the year
 * Moves within the year (including where they moved to or from)
 * Marital status
 * Relationships

The key genealogical facts found in most Lutheran church account registers (räkenskaper) are:


 * Name
 * Date
 * Residence within the parish
 * Amount paid
 * May give reason for payment

How to Use the Records
To begin your search you will need to know:


 * Name of your ancestor
 * Date of the event
 * Parish name

If you do not have this information, it may be necessary to go to a more recent generation to begin your search.

Help with the Language
These records are in Swedish so you will need to be able to understand written Swedish. Some of the key words you will need to understand in order to use this collection are:

For additional help with reading the records, please see the following wiki articles:


 * Sweden: Language and Languages


 * Swedish Genealogical Word List

Search the Collection
Place the information you have into the appropriate fields in the search screen and press search. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

Using the Information
Use the information from the list of possible matchs to locate your ancestor’s record. Carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details.


 * Tip - Make a photocopy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed.
 * Tip - Add any new information to your records of each family. This entry may also give you enough additional information to create a family record if you do not already have one.

The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following steps can help you learn more about your family:


 * Look in the entry for the residence where your ancestor is living. It may be the name of a farm, the number on a farm or the number or small jurisdiction within a city.


 * Tip - Farms are named in Scandinavia. If the farm is large enough it will be divided into numbered sections. Cities are also divided into similar numbered sections. One clue to finding the residence is to look for an “i.” In Swedish this is the word “in.” What the entry is telling you is the person or persons named are living in the following place.


 * Locate this farm or numbered section on the clerical survey (Husförhörslängd) of the same parish for the same year as your ancestor’s christening, marriage, or death.


 * Tip - In Sweden, the ministers were required to keep a yearly census of their parish. This is called the Husförhörslängd or clerical survey.


 * Search the clerical survey for your ancestor’s family. Sometimes the families are in alphabetical order, but usually you will need to read each family entry of the farm or numbered section. When you locate your family, make a record of all the information given in the entry.


 * Tip - These entries usually include many biographical details of each individual within the family.
 * Tip - The witnesses or sponsors are often relatives.


 * Using the information found in the clerical survey entry, continue to search each succeeding or preceding year. Update your family group records with the new information you have found.


 * When you have completed searching the clerical surveys, return to the parish register and verify the new information in the parish register. You may need to search additional parish registers as your ancestors may have moved in from (infra) or moved to (utfra) another parish.

Record History
The Lutheran Church was the official church in Sweden and the ministers recorded all vital events. The ministers also compiled a yearly household examination (much like a census) of each family within the parish arranged by farm or dwelling. After 1860, the ministers were required to send a yearly summary of all vital events to the government. These records are very accurate and cover most of the population.

Related Websites

 * Genealogy Research in Sweden
 * Genline : Swedish Genealogy Online
 * Arkiv Digital: Swedish Church Records Online (in color)

Related Wiki Articles

 * Gotland County, Sweden
 * Swedish Church Records
 * Sweden

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Example of a Source Citation for a Record Found in This Collection

 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

"Sweden, Gotland Church Records, 1582-1940; index 1655-1860," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org); from the National Archives of Sweden, Riksarkivet SVAR. FHL microfilm, 445 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed in the wiki article Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.