Sweden, Household Clerical Surveys, 1880-1896

This collection includes household examination rolls/clerical survey records (Husförhör) for the years 1880 through 1896.

Household examination rolls make up the main church register in Sweden. In them, everyone in a parish, including children, is listed household by household. These records came about from examinations held each year to determine people’s knowledge of the catechism.

The household examination has details such as name, occupation, date of birth, birth parish, marriage, etc. The records also have information about when people moved to and from the farms or crofts. The entire family is listed together, which makes it easy to find a person’s children or parents. The examination forms typically cover a five-year period, which can provide interesting details about how a household may have changed over that time.

These records are particularly valuable because they allow you to track your ancestors from place to place in Sweden. If your ancestor immigrated to America, that date will also be noted in the records, although the specific destination is typically not listed. Use that date to locate your ancestor in the Gothenburg, Sweden, Passenger Lists, 1869–1951.

Most persons in the original record were not listed with surnames. In order to assist in searching records, surnames have been inferred. During this time period, surnames could be inherited, patronymic, or taken from another source such as a farm name. The inferred surnames are to be used as a guide.

Because vital events are often recorded in these records, they can be used in conjunction with the births, marriages, and deaths in Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1941, to help fill out what you know about the family.

Abbreviations commonly found in these records include:

• D. or dtr. – dotter (daughter)
• do – ditto
• Dr. – dräng (male farmhand)
• f.d.—före detta (former)
• Hn – hustrun (wife)
• M. – mannen (the man)
• Pig. – piga (woman farmhand)
• S. – sonen (son)

For more abbreviations and translations, see the Swedish Dictionary & Abbreviations in our Swedish Research Center.