Preamble of Swedish Probate (Bouppteckningens ingress)

The “preamble” of the probate contains the most genealogical information. In the preamble, you will normally find:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Death date of the deceased (usually a few lines below the date of the inventory)
 * Residence (farm or village) of the deceased at death
 * The date of the inventory (usually at the top of the preamble)
 * Names of men who performed the inventory (värderingsmän)
 * The name of the surviving spouse
 * Names of the heirs ages, and residence (The names of sons-in-law, if any daughters are married, names of grandchildren if their related parent to the deceased is dead)
 * Names of guardians for heirs not of "legal age".The guardian was supposed to be the nearest male relative on the side of the family of the deceased, but this rule was not always followed but should be taken into consideration.

You may also find the date of probate (or the name of the court (ting) such as “vårtinget, etc.) Name of guardian of minor children

Vocabulary
The following Swedish words may assist you in understanding better the content of the genealogical information found in the probate’s preamble. The words in the Old Spelling column are from Carl Björkmans Svensk engelsk ordbok from 1889.