Which Rasmus Gudmundsson is ours? Separating Identity using Swedish Tax and Church Records

In part one of this four-part series on Scandinavian research, we discussed patronymics and naming traditions common in Scandinavian genealogy. We also identified two research objectives as we are trying to uniquely identify Rasmus Gudmundsson, born in Malmöhus, Sweden, around 1719. However, before we can start researching, we need to understand which records are available for Malmöhus County in the 1700s and where we can find them.

The Research Process:

Locality Research

A map for Malmöhus County shows that the Norra Vram and Kågerød parishes are located right next to one another.¹

 

The FamilySearch Research Wiki provided valuable background about the parishes and records:

Kågeröd parish is an old parish that, in 2006, merged into Kågeröd-Röstånga parish.² Before 1658, the area belonged to Denmark. Between 1669 and 1996, Kågeröd was a part of Malmöhus County. In 1997, it became part of the modern county of Skåne. Norra Vram parish experienced a similar development as Kågeröd and became part of Bjuvs parish in 2006.³

The most common records to use for Swedish research are:

• Household examinations
• Church records (birth/christening, marriage, and death/burial)
• Probate records
• Tax records
• Moving records

 

Household examinations are church books containing information about all the people who lived in a specific parish and can be compared to annual census records. Every parish was subject to the legal requirement of maintaining a household exam beginning in 1686, though many earlier books are missing. The purpose of the Household Examination Records (also known as Clerical Surveys) was to help the Lutheran State Church in its responsibility to keep track of the people. Each family is listed together with names and relationships. The records may contain birth, marriage, and death dates/places, in addition to relocations. This is a wonderful record to get an overview of the family.

Church records typically contain birth/christening, marriage, death/burial information, and other entries. These records may include exact dates and places for each event, names of children, parents, spouses, witnesses, and other useful information. Since the information in these records was usually recorded at the time of the event, it is very reliable and valuable proof of a child/parent relationship.

 

Probate records (or estate inventories) are the most common legal process of administering a person’s estate after their death in Sweden and were required by law. The records created describe the distribution of a person’s estate among heirs and creditors. In addition to the information concerning the deceased, the records contain the names of the heirs, their ages, and their relationship to the deceased. In some cases, also spouses and children of heirs are included.

 

 

 

Tax records date as far back as 1620 in some counties and cover times when household examinations were unavailable. Though these records only include taxable people ages 15 to 63 (18 to 63 after 1841), they help determine the farm or residency where a family lived when the roll was taken. The head of household is always listed by name, while other taxable family members might be included by name and relationship or only a slash mark.

 

Moving records are often overlooked in genealogical research but can be very helpful in establishing where a person or family came from and where they went. To avoid becoming a burden on their new parish, each person or family was required to meet with the priest to get a moving certificate. In addition to stating where they came from and where they were going (ensuring that they had work or family where they arrived), the moving certificate may include many personal details, like names of all family members, birthdates, occupations, etc.

Using the FamilySearch Wiki, we found the following record availability for Kågeröd and Norra Vram parish records:

Now that we have all the needed background of the parishes and records, it remains to look at where we access these records. The first two repositories are located in Sweden and only contain Swedish records, while the other three are international genealogical companies covering worldwide records. All have many records available online.

• Arkiv Digital (arkivdigital.se)
  • Rich in records of all kinds
  • Indexed and searchable
  • Browsable and linked original documents
  • Membership required
• Riksarkivet (Riksarkivet.se)
  • Rich in records of all kinds, even more than Arkiv Digital
  • Less indexed and searchable
  • browsable and linked original documents
  • Free
• FamilySearch (FamilySearch.org)
  • 30 collections: Mostly church records, including some household examinations and emigration
  • Some are Indexed and searchable
  • Browsable and some linked original documents
  • free
• Ancestry (Ancestry.com)
  • 76 collections: Mostly church records, including some household examinations and emigration. They also include letters, Jewish, war, and Swedish-American records
  • Some are Indexed and searchable
  • Browsable and some linked original documents
  • Membership required
• MyHeritage (MyHeritage.com)
  • 15 collections, including Church records, household examinations, and emigration.
  • Some are Indexed and searchable
  • Browsable and some linked original documents
  • Membership required

 

In part three, we will start the research and answer the first question: Did Gudmund Rasmusson marry twice, or are these two separate families?

In part four, we will continue our research of Rasmus and answer the second question: Which of the two Rasmus married the two Hannas and died in Kågeröd in 1773?

 

To receive 15% off a Scandinavian research project, by our Scandinavian research expert, contact us here and mention coupon code SCNBLOG23.

1. ”Malmöhus County, Additional Parish Boundaries Information,” map of Malmöhus, Sweden; online image, FamilySearch Wiki (FamilySearch.org : accessed 26 September 2023).
2. ”Kågeröd parish, Malmöhus, Sweden Genealogy,” guide to Kågeröd Parish; webpage, FamilySearch Wiki (FamilySearch.org : accessed 26 September 2023).
3. ”Norra Vram parish, Malmöhus, Sweden Genealogy,” guide to Norra Vram Parish; webpage, FamilySearch Wiki (FamilySearch.org : accessed 26 September 2023).