Sweden, Södermanland Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language on the Records
Sverige, Sodermanland, Lutherske Kyrkoböcker Register

Record Description
The collection consists of church records from the county of Södermanland for the years 1604-1900; index 1640-1860. It contains clerical surveys, registers of birth, marriage, death, move-in and move-out lists, confirmations, church accounts, and indexes to births, marriages, and deaths. Not all record types are available for all parishes. The earliest records are handwritten in narrative style, and all events were recorded chronologically. After a few years, the records were grouped by event and recorded in separate books.

The collection uses the same record classifications to identify the content of each book as those specified by the National Archives of Sweden. Because of this, the information on the titleboard image may not match the description of the record in the online Historical Records collection or in the Family History Catalog. The information used to create the descriptions was provided by the Archives of Sweden. For a complete list of the record classifications see the section “How to Use the Records” below, or the wiki article: Sweden: Church Archive Cataloging Plan.

For a list of records by parishes published in this collection, select the Browse.

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.

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.

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
 * Father's 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 Collection
For detailed information on using Swedish church records, see the wiki article: Swedish Church 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.

Search the Collection by Name
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. 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.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

Browse the Collection
If you know which parish your ancestor came from and would like to browse the collection, ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page. ⇒Select the Parish. ⇒Select the type of record. The types of record books that are available are different for each parish. See the chart below for the types of records and an English translation of the type of record. ⇒Select the volume and year which takes you to the images.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. You may find clues or new pieces of information about your ancestor. Add this new information to your records for the individual or family.


 * Use christening and birth records of christenings (baptisms) to confirm a person’s birth date and place and to find their parent’s names.
 * Use confirmation records to identify a person’s birth date and place and his or her age.
 * Use death or burial records to identify a person’s birth date and place.
 * Use marriage records to identify a couple and the marriage date and place and to begin compiling a family group. These are an excellent substitute for civil marriage records.
 * Use church records in general to identify other family members who may have served as witnesses to an event.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Most church records list a residence. The residence is a clue to locating your ancestor in the clerical survey and can help you eliminate records that do not apply to your ancestor. The residence is often the name of a farm. If the farm is large it may be divided into smaller, numbered sections. Large cities may also be divided into smaller numbered sections.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank or status within the community.
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. Use the clerical survey to help you sort out which children belong to each set of parents.
 * Locate this farm or numbered section on the clerical survey of the same parish for the same year as your ancestor’s christening, marriage, or death.
 * Search all available clerical surveys during your ancestor’s life. Update your family group records with the new information you have found.
 * Compare the information you find in a clerical survey with the parish register. You may find different information in each record.
 * You may need to search the records of other parishes as your ancestors may have moved in from (infra) or moved to (utfra) another parish.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names as well as nicknames.
 * Search the records of nearby parishes.

Help with the Language
These records are in Swedish so you will need to be able to understand written Swedish. For help with reading the records, please see the following wiki articles:


 * Sweden: Language and Languages
 * Swedish Genealogical Word List

Online Courses
Online courses in reading Scandinavian Gothic handwriting are also available through the FamilySearch Learning Center. Select Scandinavia from the localities list on the left side of the main page.

Related Websites
These records are also available by subscription from the following providers:


 * SVAR
 * ArkivDigital
 * Ancestry.com

Related Wiki Articles

 * Sweden
 * Södermanland County, Sweden
 * Sweden: Church Records

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.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Sweden, Sodermanland Chuch Records, 1640-1860." database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 March 2012), Carl Gustaf Svensson,  9 August 1691; citing Church Records, FHL microfilm 155,038; National Archives of Sweden, Riksarkivet, Sweden, FHL microfilm, 853 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

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