Danish Military Levying Rolls (Lægdsruller)

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Danish Lægdsruller, What are they?
Lægdsruller are records of the males who could be enlisted for service in the army or navy. These rolls have many different uses. For genealogical purposes they are used mainly to follow the registered individual's movements, identify a birthplace, find which military unit they were assigned to, and when they completed their obligation.

In 1788, adscription was repealed and the foundation was laid for a civilian service. This was done by regulation on June 20, 1788. Previously the private landowners had the obligation to provide personnel for the army. After adscription's repeal this responsibility was shifted to the king and the state. There was thus created a direct relationship between the state and the conscripts.

In subsequent years there was an agency created by the government known as a lægdsvæsen to watch over its conscripts. It was important for the government to know how large a force it possessed in case of war. Therefore it became the states responsibility to keep detailed records of the male population in lægdsruller.

Lægd
The word lægd comes from the Danish word sammenlægning or combination. Since 1600 the word has been used to indicate the number of farms that together would provide one soldier. The country's militia was established in 1701. At that time the land was divided into lægder of approximately 27.25 acres. Each lægd should in principle make a soldier available.

In 1788 the country's conscription rules were changed and the country was divided into 1,656 different lægder. Each lægd was virtually identical to a parish and from 1843, in the cities the same as a town. Each lægd was sequentially numbered within each county. This means that the first lægd in each county were given lægdsnummer 1 and so forth. Soldiers were no longer conscripted based on the lægds production of grain but rather on the lægds population.

Changes to the miltary obligation law of March 6, 1869 established 6 districts instead of the county sub-divsions or lægds. Here after the lægds were sequentially numbered in each of the 6 districts. After reunification in 1920 the 7th district (Sønder Jylland) was established.


 * Why use the Lægdsruller?
 * Content of the Lægdsruller?
 * How to follow someone in the same county.
 * How to follow someone to a different county.

The Registration Process

 * Administration and Registration Process

Tools for using the Lægdsruller

 * List of the Lægdsnummer
 * Letter associated to the year of registration
 * Common abbreviations in the Army Lægdsruller.

Where do you find the Danish Lægdsruller?

 * Access through Statens Arkiver
 * Access through FamilySearch