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Military Strategies and Tools for Swedish Family History

Sweden was founded in 1523 with Gustav Vasa as king. Since this time forward to the present, Sweden has continually had a military. During this time hundreds of thousands have served and have been an important part of the population. The many wars during the 17th and 18th centuries involved a significant portion of the male population. Many people with Swedish ancestry can trace their lineage back to an ancestor who served in one of the branches of the Swedish Military. Various records have been created and preserved for who servedg in the military. These records may give information to help extend a line or they may give insight into the ancestor’s life and living conditions thus creating a richer family history.

Research Strategy (1692-1901)

Step 1:

Military records are organized by regiment (by company for the Navy). Before beginning research in Swedish military records, you need to determine the branch of the military, the regiment, company and the soldier number for your military person and the time period of service. The first step is to find out these 5 things about your military person.

Tip: If your soldier or sailor is in the "Central Soldier Index", using it first could save you time.  

Step 2 (in Research Strategy)

After having found  the branch of military, regiment, company number, service man's number, and time period he served, find the military man in every general muster rolls from enlistment to discharge or death. General Muster Rolls are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, at Family History Centers, at the subscription website SVAR (http://www.svar.ra.se/), and many are available at the subscription website Arkiv Digital (http://www.arkivdigital.net/) 

Step 3 (Research Strategy)

Now check the military records chart and see if there are additional military records besides the general muster rolls that may pertain to your soldier or sailor.

Step 4 (Research Strategy) 

Check the local genealogical society to see if books have been written or databases created for military units for your area.  Names, addresses and links to local genealogical societies in Sweden can be found by going to the county pages in the FamilySearch wiki (https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Sweden) and clicking on "Genealogical Societies" under the heading "Tools".  

Occupational Title of Military Man

To find the branch of the military in which your ancestor served, note his occupational title used in the church records (christenings of his children, his marriage, his death, the death of his children or wife, household examination records). Compare the occupational title of your military man to the table below to determine the branch of the military.

Examples of military occupation titles in Church Records

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Household Examination Record with Sold. (Soldat) Clas Nilss. Bohm. Sold. indicates that he was in the infantry. AD online Daretorp parish AI:1 1790-1812 b.75 s. 136

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Birth Record of Gjertru daughter of Båtsm. (Båtsman) Måns Brink and wife Ingri Svensdotter. Båtsm. (Båtsman) indicates he was in the Navy. AD online Fridlevstad CI:4 (1766-1834) Bild 148/sid 285 (v95712.b148.s285).

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Marriage Record of Ryttaren Åke Modig and pigan Elna Trulsdotter. Ryttaren indicates the groom was in the Cavalry. AD online Glumslöv EI:1 (1796-1861) Bild 7/sid 11. (v.109477.b7s11)

Sources: "Soldatforskning – några grundläggande källor”. Lars Ericson Wolke. SLÄKT Historiskt Forum NR 4 2010 page 29-31

Research of Soldiers, Sweden. Hans Högman. http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/swegen.htm “Find Your Ancestors in the Swedish Military Sources”.

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Using Grill’s books

To find the name of the regiment in which your ancestor served, consult the set of books called “Statistiskt sammandrag af Svenska indelningsverket” (Statistical Digest of the Swedish Army System) commonly called “Grill”. During the years 1855-1858, Claes Lorentz Grill, an artillery officer, compiled two volumes containing four parts.

Volume one contains part 1 which includes: 1. An index of parishes in Sweden 2. A lengthy introduction to the allotment system, 3. Tables of the cavalry regiments Volume two contains parts 2 - 4. 1. Part 2 – tables of the infantry regiments 2. Part 3 – tables of the navy companies 3. Part 4 – tables of the extra units

Steps to finding regiment in Grill 1. In the index of parishes at the beginning of part 1 Volume one find your parish.

Image: Parish Index in Grill

The parishes are arranged alphabetical followed by an alphabet letter in parenthesis. The letter designates the name of the county. (For a list of the counties with their assigned alphabetical letter click here). Next will be a Roman numeral which indicates the part number in Grill’s books. The number following the Roman numeral is the page where this parish in found in the particular part indicated. Example: Folkärna is in (W) county which is Kopparberg county part two (Volume 2) page 29. It is also found in part four (Volume 2) page 10.

2. Once you know the volume number, part number and page number in Grill’s books turn to the page. Here you will find the name of the regiment, company name and/or number, Soldier number of individual. (Note: Grill’s books are reliable only after 1858. Before 1858 numbers may vary. Also the books were compiled before the spelling reform and will contain the old spellings of places.)

Example: Skärsta parish (Jönköping county) is found in volume two, part two, page 148 By turning to page 148 the name of the regiment is written across the top of the page. Find Skärsta parish on the left of page. Here we see all the names of the rotar that supplied soldiers. These farms were named Gestra, Rudu, V. Bosgård, N. Bosgård, Edsqvarna, Krubbarp, etc. Some rotar supplied more than 1 soldier. Each soldier was given a number and the soldier number (or numbers) follow the name of the rote. This particular parish was responsible to supply 38 soldiers to the Jönköping regemente. Notice the columns to the right. All the companies in the regemente are listed. In the column labeled “N:o 1 Lif-Kompaniet” the number 38 is written. All 38 soldiers were serving in this regiment. The numbers in the righthand columns indicate the company name and/or number.

Image: Skärsta parish on page 148

The navy was not divided into regiments but was divided into companies with each company assigned to a naval base. For example here we see that the parish of Onsala in Halland County was assigned to supply 13 sailors to the “Norra Hallands (1:a) Båtsmans-Kompani which belonged to the Karlskrona navy base. Name of Company is given at top of page. The Naval base (instead of regiment) is given just below the name of the Company . Again the rotar or rusthåll that supply the sailors are listed along with the sailor numbers. Onsala supplied 13 sailors (numbers 1 through 13). Valda parish supplied 9 sailors (numbers 14 through 22).

Image: Onsala parish page 52 (Part III)

Source: Släktforskarna och Krigsarkivet, En vägvisare till de militära källorna. Meddelanden från Krigsarkivet XIX. Page 51 ”At hitta rätt kompani”.

Translation of above article

Page 51
When someone doing Swedish genealogical research finds an ancestor listed as a soldier in the household examination record new opportunities are opened but also some challenges. As a rule only the title (type of military service) is given in the household examination record – that means “soldat” (foot soldier), “ryttare” (cavalryman), båtsman (sailor) or the like. To find a soldier in the regiment archive only with the help of the title is possible but will take a very long time. It is therefore, simplier to find out which regiment and company to which the soldier belonged.

Thanks to the artillery officer, Claes Lorentz Grill (1817-1907) there is a simpler way. During the 1850’s he wrote “Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningverket eller tabellariska förteckningar öfver arméens boställen samt öfver samtlige rusthåll och rothåll i riket” (Statistical summary of the Swedish Allotment System or Table lists over the military residences and the units supplying men for the military) commonly referred to as ”Grill”. At the first glance it appears rather complicated with many tables and columns but it is very easy to use when the system is understood.

“Grill” consists of four parts (indicated by Roman numerals) which came out separately during the years 1855-1858. They were later compiled in two volumes which the first volume consisting of part I and the other consisted of parts II-IV. Part I contains a lengthy introduction to the allotment system, the history, the organization, recruiting, discharging, and many other things – very interesting reading. Later follow the tables of the cavalry regiments (rusthållet).

In the second volume is part II about the infantry regiments (rotehållet) and part III covers the navy (båtsmanshållet) . Finally comes part 4 which covers the extra units called at times of war and special needs.

The tables for the cavalry and the infantry regiments are arranged in the same manner, but sometimes use different meanings. The Cavalry’s unit responsible to supply a cavalryman was the rusthåll while the comparable unit responsible for the infantry soldier was the rote. The cavalrymen were in Skvadroner (Squadrons) and the infantry were in companies. Hereafter companies and rotar will be used while talking about both the cavalry and the infantry.

The tables begin with a short description of the regiment, when it was created, name changes and reorganizations, and how many men were serving. Thereafter follows an enumeration of all the residences of officers,  listed after the officer's rank, with the name of the residence, the size and where it was located. Furthest to the right in the table if information about which rank and company the residence belonged to before 1833.

Under the heading “Nummerstyrkans Förläggning och Indelning i Kompanier” comes the pages which are of real interest for the genealogist. Here are listed all the rusthåll and rotar within the regiment. All the rotar from a specific parish are readily shown together. The parishes in turn are organized by härads and by län. The rotar are mentioned by name and number. Furthest to the right on the table is a column for all companies within the regiment. For each parish is given how many rotar there are in a respective company. As a rule all the rotar in one parish are in the same company, but sometimes they can be divided between two companies.

Last for each regiment where the company headquarters lies is given, where each respective company should gather before departure together with where they meet and drills take place. Finally is given in which area the regiment’s drafted soldiers are mustered.

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NAD (Nationell Arkiv Databas) http://www.nad.riksarkivet.se/

Using NAD to find military units for a soldier. NAD can be used to obtain the regiment name and also the name and/or number of company for army and cavalry units in each parish. (NAD gives company name or number for sailors) NAD does not give the individual soldier numbers within the parish. There are, however, only 100 to 200 soldiers in a company so knowing the company narrows your search down to that number.

1. Go the the website http://www.nad.riksarkivet.se/
2. Type in the name of the parish and the word "Kyrkoarkiv".
3. Click on the word "Sök" (search).
4. Click on the blue link for the name of your parish plus the word "Församling".
5. Now click on the link for your parish name plus the word "forsamling" which follows the word "Hänvisningar till orter".
6. Here you will find a jurisdiction box and at the bottom the military units (Militär indelning) are given for the parish.

Image: Example in NAD of Kristdala parish

Here we see this parish supplied cavalry men, Infantry men, and also sailors.

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Central Soldier Index (Centrala soldatregistret) http://soldat.dis.se/

This free online database is an index of soldiers who served between the years 1682-1901 and were part of the new allotment system. The database is not comple for the entire time period. Many of the men who served in the navy are not included.

This index will give you the regiment and the company number for your military man if he is included in the index. This will help you go directly to your soldier in the general muster rolls and other military records.

Soldiers in the index database are assigned a number. For example KR-07-0884-1869-1848-SkGu. The key  to this number is as follows:

KR = abbreviation of the regiment (Kronoberg Regemente)

07 = company number (7th company)

0884 = cottage number of the regiment (see explanation below)

1869 = year he began military service

1848 = year of birth

SK = first two letters of his military surname

Gu = first two letters of his first (given) name

The cottage number of the regiment is the same as the military man’s regimental number. Men can be found by either regimental number or company number in the general muster rolls.

Source: The Central Soldiers Register. http://soldat.dis.se/ About the database.

General Muster Rolls (Generalmönsterrullor)

General Muster Rolls are the basic documents used in genealogical research for Swedish soldiers. These records were kept from the 1680’s to the 1880’s and listed the unit’s entire staff and an account of equipment, horses, etc. The name comes from the record being written in connection with the mustering or inspection of the entire regiment at the drill location. A muster was to be held every third year (later every 5 years). In wartime, however, much longer gaps occured and some General Muster Rolls were made in the field for the entire regiment or the portion which was at the battle field.

In research of army soldiers and officers it is best to search General Muster Rolls first so that you get a picture of the scope of the person’s military service. Be sure to get all muster rolls that your military man was in rather than just one. Thereafter, this information may be supplemented and extended with a variety of other military documents.

Four copies were made of the General Muster Roll.

1. One copy was sent to the “Krigskollegium” in Stockholm and is now found at Krigsarkivet. This collection of the General Muster Rolls is the largest and the best preserved.
2. Another copy went to “landshövdingen” and is now found in the provincial archives (Landsarkivet).
3. One copy was kept by the regimental commander. This copy is now part of the regimental archive (regementsarkiven) kept at Krigsarkivet.
4. One copy was divided out to the company captains. This copy is now part of the regimental archive (regementsarkiven) kept at Krigsarkivet.

Organization of the General Muster Rolls

• Within each general muster roll the soldiers were listed company by company.
• Higher ranked officers, the so-called regimental officers, are listed in the beginning of the GMR (Major down to Colonel).
• The first and second lieutenants plus the captains were called company officers. They were listed in the beginning of their respective company. The non-commissioned officers are accounted for in the beginning of their respective companies. The lower ranks are listed among the men.
  4. Information in the general muster rolls varied greatly from one regiment to another and from one time period to another time period.

Availability

1. Originals are available at Krigsarkivet (The Military Archives) in Stockholm, Sweden (part of the National Archive http://www.riksarkivet.se/).
2. The copy that went to the “landshövdingen” is kept at the various provincial archives (Landsarkiven).
3. General Muster Rolls are available on microfilm at the Family History Library and the Family History Centers.
4. General Muster Rolls are also available on the subscription website “Svar” (http://www.svar.ra.se/).
5. Many General Muster Rolls are available at the subscription website ArkivDigital (http://www.arkivdigital.se/).

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(Generalmönsterrullor livregemente till häst Södermanlands Compagnie - Used by permission of Krigsarkivet.)

Here we see the first and second lieutenants listed at the beginning of the general muster rolls for their company.

Following are three general muster rolls for three centuries. They show how information expanded through the centuries.

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Kronobergs-regemente 1697 General Muster Roll Bild 109-sid95 ArkivDigital
Column headings
1. Härad / District
2. Sochn (Socken) / Parish
3. Nummeris – Indelning / Number in the allotment system
4. Nummeris – Regements / Number in the regiment
5. Nummeris – Compag. (Compagni) / Number in the company
6.Knechtar Namne / Soldiers names
7.Blef knecht åhr / Year became soldier
8.1693 åhrs General Munstring annotation / The notes from the year 1693 General Mustering
9. 1697 åhrs dito / The year 1697 ditto (notes from General Mustering)

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Västgöta-dals-regemente 1767-1773 Arkiv Digital Bild-232-sid 442
The column headings for the above muster are:
1.Nummer Regements / Number in the regiment
2. Nummer Compani  / Number in the company
3. Rotarnas namn /  Name of the “rote”
4. Soldaternes namn, beskaffenhet och födelse ort, med the sedan 1749 års General Munstrings skedde förändringar / The soldiers’ names, condition and birth place with changes that have taken place since the General Mustering in the year 1749.
5. Ålder Age
6.Tienste år / Service years
7. Gift eller ogift  /Married or unmarried
8. 1749 åhrs General munstrings Annotioiner  / Annotations from the General mustering in 1749
9. Närvarende munstrings anmärkningar / Notes from the present mustering

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Västgöta-Dals-regemente 1872-1875 (Arkiv Digital Bild 622)
Column Headings
Swedish English
1. Regements Nummer / Number in the Regiment
2. Kompani Nummer / Number in the Company
3. Roternes namn och belägenhet / Name of the ”rote” and location
4. Manskapets förra och nuvarande namn, födelse ort och tid, antagnings-datum samt sedan sista General-Mönstring med detsamma skedde förändringar. / Military man’s previous and present name, birth place and date, admission date and any changes that have occurred since the last General Muster.
5. Lefvads-år / Age
6. Tjenste-år vid annat Regemente / Years of service with another regiment
7. Summa Tjenste-år / Total years of service
8. Längd – fot / Height – feet
9. Längd – tum / Height – inches
10.Gift eller ogift / Married or unmarried
11. Sista General-mönstrings Anteckningar / Notes from the last General Muster
12 Närvarande General-mönstrings Anteckningar' / Notes from the present General Muster

References:
Ericson, Lars. Källor för Soldatforskaren. Kronobergs Genealogiska Förening. Första upplagan 1988.
Högman, Hans.

Additional Military Records of the Army and Cavalry

FHL = Family History Library, SV = Svar, AD = ArkivDigital, KA = Krigsarkivet, LA = Landsarkiven

Table for Navy

Modern military records (After 1885)

Värnplikt

Through the 1901 års försvarsbeslut (the Defense Decision of 1901) a compulsory draft system was inaugurated in Sweden. During the 1900s, the greater part of the male population has completed military service. The system has left an archive where male relatives can be found. Among other records Krigsarkivet has preserved 2.5 million stamkort(military cards) of those drafted between 1919 and 1969. Some cards have been lost but most remain. The stamkort shows the military service completed, basic education, exercises, and deferments with all the dates. Another name for stamkort isvärnpliktskort.

Reference:

Per Clemensson and Kjell Andersson. Släktforska Vidare. Författarna och Natur och Kultur/LTs förlag. 2003. Värnplikt page 16 and 17.  

Image of Stamkort

Example of a stamkort. The name of the man is in the upper right corner. His name is Bengt-Åke Lennart Fredriksson. His personnummer precedes his surname. The first 6 digits of his personnummer are his birth date (451101 means born 1945 November 1)

Military Word List

References

Google Books, Swedish and English Pocket-Dictionary, Carl Deleen, Örebro, Printed Lindh, 1829.

Norstedts http://www.ord.se/

• This page was last modified on 14 June 2012, at 21:38.
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