Swedish Church Records
Household examination rolls
 (Sign: A I)
Information about the family
In these books you will find the whole family on one page, property per property,
per village. For the countryside all villages are presented, per community and
geographical order. Every spread usually represent one big property and at the left
side of the spread you will often find the head of the family (the fader) in the top and
below the wife and children. If they had any farmhand and maids they usually were
written at the end of the page.
In the Household examination rolls you can find this information:
- all family members with their names
- all family members day of birth (time of birth of the parents, then you can start
your research back in time)
- place of birth (parish, county, then you know which birthbook you shall check in to get their parents - now you are on your way back in time).
- occupation of the parents
- wedding date
- vaccination
- confirmation
- move records in/out of a parish (usually dates and place. Here you will also find information about emigration.)
- the examination (notes about Christianity knowledge, reading knowledge, the Sacrament etc.)
- deceased (which year)
- other notes (if a person have commited a crime, date of the verdict can be written).
Household examination rolls apply between certain years, for example 1820-1830. Then you will have to go through many Household examnation books to get the whole picture of a
persons life. Also take notice of that during several years the priest in the parish
could change and some information could during time be misleading.
So the above information ought to be verified with the birth book , confirmation books,
moving records and wedding and death books.
About the "Examination" in Sweden
In the Church law from 1686 you will find direction about examination. First it was all about
cure of souls but later on the visit by the priest was dominated by the inquiry of the total
family. The examination by the priest was not so popular so many people tried not to attend this meetings.
Each year it was time for the "Examination". The priest arrived to the families home, where he
asked the family members about Catechism (katekesen) and checked their knowledge in reading.
Everything was written down thoroughly. The examination also became a day with trustful
talkes and also a moment of gathering that often ended with a "Examination party".
Household Examinations were still going on until the end of 1800 and in some parts of the country it
even continued several years after 1900 |
| Note ! These books can look different depending on in which parish you are searching in. Most of the books contains same information but can be written in a different way. This you will notice more and more when you search way back in time. |
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