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Each book or series of books represents a 3-10 year period of time within a parish. Every year until 1894 the Parish Priest would visit each home and test each individual's knowledge of the catechism. They would also collect information about birth dates, marriages, deaths, where people had moved to or from, etc. Each year the priest would come back and update the information of the previous year, noting changes within the population of the home. After 1894 the examinations were less focused on doctrinal knowledge and more focused on enumerating the Swedish population.
MyHeritage has produced an every-name index to the more than 5 million images provided by our Swedish partner ArkivDigital. This portion of the Swedish Household Examination Books (Husförhörslängder), mostly covers the years 1880-1920, with some few exceptions from the early 1800's and late 1700's. The Examination books are an invaluable collection that can provide insight into the make-up of families within Sweden, from birth to death or emigration. Because the books were updated every year, families can be traced year to year, and often from location to location throughout the country. Until 1894 the Parish Priest would visit each farm or home within his Parish in order to grade and document each individuals understanding of the catechism. After 1894 the Examinations Books were replaced by Församlingsbok, records of the Church of Sweden which were used to officially enumerate the population from year to year, but the focus on examining the knowledge of the catechism had been removed. |
