Researching Your Scandinavian Ancestors Part 4: Identifying the Correct Rasmus Gudmundsson

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

Previously, in 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. We did locality research for Kågeröd and Norra Vram parishes and had a brief introduction to household examinations, church, probate, tax, and moving records. We also looked at repositories for Swedish records before diving into the research, which helped separate the two Gudmund Rasmusson families. In this final post, we use christening records for Rasmus’ children to identify which of the two Rasmus died in 1773.

1. Did Gudmund Rasmusson marry twice – first to Elsa Thuesdotter and then to Karna Larsdotter, or are these two separate families? Gudmund could have had a son, Rasmus, with Elsa. If both Rasmus and Elsa died and Gudmund married Karna, their oldest son could have been renamed for his deceased half-brother, Rasmus.
2. If these are two separate families, which of the two Rasmus married the two Hannas and died in Kågeröd in 1773?

 

Identifying the correct Rasmus Gudmundsson

None of the records used to separate the two families proved which Gudmund Rasmusson was the father of Rasmus Gudmundsson, who died on Böketofta farm in Malmöhus, Sweden, on 7 February 1773.¹ Nor were there any household examinations available or Rasmus. He died before the 1773 household examination for Kågeröd parish was recorded, and earlier household examinations for Kågeröd are unavailable. Another important source that could connect “our” Rasmus to the correct father is probate records.

By Swedish law, all who died should have had their estate probated within three months to ensure that all the rightful heirs got their share.² The probate commonly lists all the properties and debts the deceased had, but, more importantly, for genealogy, it usually lists all the heirs and their relationship to the deceased. Probate records often include the heirs’ current location at the time of death, their spouse if married, and the age of a minor.

Probate records for either Gudmund of Bensige or Gudmund of Böketofta could provide the needed proof of parentage of the Rasmus in question. However, many probate records went missing over time. Only index books for the region were available online, and neither of the two Gudmunds nor their wives were listed. Hence, it was time to turn the attention to Rasmus’ children to see if there were any clues.

As mentioned at the beginning of this series, children were often named after their ancestors. The oldest son would be named after his paternal grandfather, while the second oldest son would receive the given name of his maternal grandfather. The girls would be named in a similar fashion after their grandmothers. Previous research had identified Rasmus’ children with his first wife, Hanna Andersdotter, as:

1. Påhl, born 1745³
2. Else, born 1747⁴
3. Pehr, born 1749⁵
4. Anders, born 1752⁶
5. Påhl, born 1755⁷
6. Jons, born 1757⁸
7. Ellna, born 1760⁹
8. Nils, born 1762¹⁰
9. Ingar, born 1765¹¹

With his second wife, Hana Davidsdotter, he had the following three children:

1. Hanna, born 1767¹²
2. Hanna, born 1769¹³
3. Anders, born 1771¹⁴

 

Rasmus and his wives diverted from the tradition of renaming grandparents when they named their children. The two oldest sons were named Påhl and Pehr instead of Gudmund and Anders, after their paternal and maternal grandfathers. However, they kept to other traditions. The oldest Påhl, born in 1745, died in 1754.¹⁵ The year after, in 1755, Rasmus’ newborn son is named Påhl after his deceased big brother.¹⁶ Rasmus’ first wife, Hanna Andersdotter, died in 1766.¹⁷ 11 months later, Rasmus married his second wife, Hanna Davidsdotter.¹⁸ Their first child, a daughter, was named Hanna, likely after Rasmus’s deceased wife.¹⁹ (Though, in this case, it’s harder to tell since Rasmus’ second wife was also named Hanna). The first Hanna died less than a month old.²⁰ Two short years later, the parents named their second daughter Hanna, likely after her deceased sister.²¹ Meanwhile, in 1768, Anders, born in 1752, died.²² His youngest brother, born in 1771, was renamed after him.²³

One might question the naming of daughter Else, born in 1747.²⁴ From previous research, we know that Gudmund of Bensige was married to Elsa Thuesdotter. However, since other grandparent naming rules were not kept, this wasn’t enough evidence to decide which couple was Rasmus’ parents.

The Lutheran tradition of christening children at a very young age included godparents. The godparents were responsible for the child’s religious upbringing and would often step in if something happened to the parents. For this reason, most godparents were chosen among close family members and friends. Parents, siblings, and cousins of the father and mother were the most common choices. Additionally, close friends and neighbors might receive the honor.

Our next step would, therefore, be to review the godparents of all of Rasmus’ thirteen children in hopes of finding either Rasmus’ siblings and/or parents listed. In part three, we identified the siblings of Rasmus of Norra Vram as Cecilia, Lars, Kirstina, and Pär. Research on the children of Gudmund and Elsa of Bensige proved the following children: Anna, born 1699²⁵; Olof, born 1701²⁶; Elin, born 1704²⁷; Nils, born 1706²⁸; Carl, born 1710²⁹; Karna, born 1714³⁰; Rasmus, born 1718.³¹

With the names of both Rasmus’ siblings in place, it was time to address the godparents of Rasmus’ children. The list below only contains godparent names recognized among the siblings.

• Påhl, born 1745:  Sissa Gudmundsdotter (Sissa is a common spelling of Cecilia).³²
• Anders, born 1752: Sissa Gudmundsdotter³³
• Påhl, born 1755: Sissa Gudmunsdotter and Pär Gudmundsson³⁴
• Nils, born 1762: Karna Gudmundsdotter, wife of Nils Matthison³⁵
• Ingar, born 1765: Pär Gudmundsson³⁶
• Hanna, born 1767:7 Kirstina Gudmundsdotter, wife of Ola Trulson.³⁷

 

Of all of Rasmus’ children, only six had had his siblings listed as godparents. Among other godparents were Hanna’s siblings, neighbors, and friends. Five of the christenings included Cecilia “Sissa,” Pär, and Kirstina, who all were siblings of Rasmus born in Norra Vram. This is a strong indication that he was the sought-after ancestor. However, one christening record included Karna of Bensige farm in Kågeröd, leaving a shadow of doubt whether this was the correct conclusion. So, let’s take a look at Karna.

Karna Gudmundsdotter was born in 1714 on Bensige farm to Gudmund Rasmussen.³⁸ As Gudmund and Else Thuesdotter were married at this time, Else was likely her mother. Karna married Nels Matthisson of Askegården on 25 February 1733.³⁹ Askegården was a farm in Vram, and it is possible Rasmus’ and Nels’ families knew each other from Vram. After they married, Nels and Karna moved to Böketofta in Kågeröd, where Karna died in 1788.⁴⁰ This is the same farm where Rasmus and Hanna lived; the two families would certainly have known each other.

Conclusion:

This research aimed to determine if Gudmund Rasmussen of Norra Vram and Gudmund Rasmussen of Kågeröd were two different individuals with separate families. If so, the research also aimed to determine which of their sons, named Rasmus, died in 1773. Though no records directly proved when Rasmus was born and who his parents were, there clearly were two different Gudmund Rasmussen with sons named Rasmus. It is likely that Rasmus, who died on 7 February 1773, was born on 6 March 1720 in Norra Vram to Rasmus Gudmundsson and Karna Larsdotter.

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