Dorotea Parish, Västerbotten, Sweden Genealogy

Guide to Dorotea Parish, Sweden ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

History
Dorotea parish has been continually populated since 1713 when the first permanent settler Jon Ersson Kervalainen and his family moved into the area in what is now known as Svanabyen. The settlement expanded as more people moved in, and with them the desire to have their own chapel. The site selected for the church was in the village of Bergvattnet. In honor of Queen Fredrika Dorotea Vilhelmina (1781-1826), a request was made to King Gustav VI Adolf that the parish be named Dorotea. On 21 May, 1799 royal assent was recieved and the village renamed Dorotea. The original church burnt down 17 August 1932. The new church was built on the same site and completed in December 1934.

(2) Dorotea parish was formed in 1795 by breaking away from Åsele parish. The parish was named Bergvattnet until 7 May 1799. In 1905, Risbäck's parish was broken out of Dorotea parish.

Dorotea parish together with Åsele parish until 7 May 1799 formed a common pastorate. Thereafter, the Dorotea parish formed its own pastorate until 1905. From 1905, Dorotea was the mother parish in the joint pastorate with Risbäck parish.

From 1980, Dorotea and Risbäck formed a common church community with a common economy.

The documents of the pastorate and the church community for Dorotea-Risbäck's church community are included in the Dorotea church archives.

Dorotea parish belonged to Västerbotten county, but part of the parish, Norrby, was in Västernorrland county until 1846 when the village was transferred to Tåsjö parish in Västernorrland county.

In 1864, Tannsjö was transferred to Bodum parish and Bellvik was simultaneously transferred to Tåsjö parish, both parishes in Västernorrland County. In 1891, Bellvik was added to Dorotea parish.

In 1865, the village of Lillånäset was transferred from Frostviken parish to Dorotea parish. After Risbäck parish was formed, the village became part of that parish.

Place Names
Abborrholmberget, Arksjö, Avasjön, Avaträsk Bellvik, Bergvattnet, Borga, Bredsele, Brännåker, Båtas, Båtas 2  Dabbnäs

Fjälltuna

Granberget, Granliden, Granåsen, Grubbsjön Harrsjö, Häggås, Högland  Krokå  Laiksjö, Lavsjö, Långfors, Långsele, Lövsjö  Mårdsjö, Mellan Rissjön  Norrby  Ormjsö Östra (Ormsjö East), Ormsjö Västra (Ormsjö West)  Pastorsbostället  Rajastrand, Risbäck Solberg  Storbäck, Storjula, Stornäs, Sutme, Svanabyn, Sörfors  Tannsjön, Tvåtjärn, Tvärsele Utklyvning  Vallsjö, Veksjön

Sweden 1951 Place Names Register and the Swedish Parish Pages list in this Wiki will give you searchable lists of places, particularly parishes and the farms within those parishes.


 * Surrounding Parishes

Census Records

 * Sweden Household Examination Records (Husförhörslängder)--explanation of this church record which is functionally the census of Sweden.
 * Sweden Household Examination Books, 1840-1947 ($), index and images. Also on Ancestry.com ($), Arkiv Digital ($), and SVAR at Riksarkivet.

Online Database Church Records
The easiest way to access the Swedish Church Records is through the internet, using these five sites (see links to specific collections below). Four of these sites require a subscription for access.


 * at FamilySearch.
 * MyHeritage.com ($),
 * ($),
 * Arkiv Digital ($), and
 * SVAR at Riksarkivet.

Help Using ArkivDigital: Online Databases for Sweden

 * These lessons will teach you how to use ArkivDigital:
 * ArkivDigital: Explore Your Swedish Heritage

FamilySearch Library Records
Click Sweden, Västerbotten Records for a full listing of microfilmed records (some digitized online) at the FamilySearch Library, that may be digitized. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a FamilySearch Center near you. Click on "Places within Sweden, Västerbotten" and then select your parish.

Military Records

 * Sweden Military Records
 * Central Soldiers Register Instructions [ Search Engine]

Related Sources
Sweden Online Genealogy Records Ask the Community

Help Reading Swedish Records

 * You do not have to be fluent in Swedish to read these records! They have a limited vocabulary: mother, father, born, bride, groom, married, etc. The rest of the content will be names, dates, and places, which do not need translation.
 * This Swedish Word List covers typical terms found in the records.
 * Swedish Historical Dictionary Database, SHDD: This interactive dictionary allows you to enter a word in the search box and receive the translation.
 * Feast Day Calendar (Moveable) and Feast Day Lists (Fixed and Moveable) will help you translate dates written in feast day form.
 * Sweden surnames are patronymic and change every generation, so carefully study Sweden Names, Personal.
 * For help with reading the column headings found in more recent records, see [[Media:Swedenish Par Reg and Exam headings.pdf|Swedish Parish Register and Household Exam Roll Headings]].
 * Instructions, document examples, and translations are given for Reading Swedish Birth and Christening Records 1717, 1752, 1771, 1792, 1803, 1834, 1854.

Help Reading Old Handwriting

 * Reading Gothic Handwriting for Swedish Genealogy, Lesson 1
 * Spelling and Phonetics for Swedish Genealogy, Lesson 2 — Names, dates, and key genealogical words
 * Reading Gothic Handwriting for Swedish Genealogy: Put It All Together, Lesson 3
 * Birth and Christening Records for Swedish Genealogy


 * FamilySearch Online Lessons - Reading Scandinavian Handwriting:
 * Scandinavian Handwriting
 * Scandinavian Handwriting, part 3
 * No part 2 available

Help With Research Objectives and Strategies
Sweden Research Strategies