Swedish Parish Register and Household Exam Roll Headings

Back to Sweden►

Before 1894 there was no national standardization of the formats used in the Swedish church records. At best, a diocese would influence their parishes regarding record formats. As a general rule entries in Swedish church records tend to be grouped together. That means births/christenings tend to be on contiguous pages, then marriages, then deaths. Sometimes the marriages are listed first, then birth/christenings, and so forth. An index page may give page numbers where different life events are recorded in that particular book. To help yourself, it is always advisable to look for the pattern used in the records you are reading.

When the Tabellverket was replaced by the Statistiska centralbyrån in 1858, the new statistical committee pushed for standardization in the church records. The idea was supported by the Prästeståndet but met resistance in rural areas. In the end they came up with guidelines for an option of using a 5 year husförhörslängd, or a 10 year husförhörslängd. In 1894 the husförhörslängd was discontinued, and another book called a Församlingsbok was used in its place.

The link below points to a very general list of key words for the Swedish parish records. It can be used as a partial guide:

Swedish Parish Register and Household Exam Roll Headings