Genealogy
Swedish American Historical Society
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Genealogy |
Swedish American Historical Society |
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Genealogists agree that chasing one's ancestors is made much more interesting--and often easier!--if the researcher is knowledgeable about the world in which the ancestor lived. What were the social, political, religious, economic conditions in which great-great-grandfather had to function, raise and support a family? What was life like in the home parish in Sweden, in the farming community where the family settled in Iowa or Nebraska or perhaps Washington State, or in the factory and foundry towns such as Minneapolis, Chicago, New Britain and Worcester? What prompted your ancestor to leave his native land forever? What problems, exciting challenges, failures and successes did the Swedish immigrant face? And what has happened to the second, third, and now fourth generations of Swedish-Americans?
It is questions like these that the Swedish-American Historical Society tries to have answered--through study of the experiences of individuals, communities and organizations in Swedish America. We hope to bring alive the story of the Swedes who came in such numbers "till Nord Amerika," (as the Swedish pastor would note opposite the emigrants' names page after page after page in the parish records)
We suggest that for learning more about the experiences of a particular Swedish-American community, or about, for example, settlement patterns, the early Swedish American press, religious and social institutions, education, labor and employment issues, Swedish-American artists and travelers, etc., you look at the publications the Society has available (see our Booklist webpage) or check out the The Swedish-American Historical Quarterly (formerly entitled The Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly).
If you are interested in the history and records of Swedish-American organizations in the greater Chicago area, our archives may be of interest to you. Please check out our Archives webpage.
The Society by definition does not engage in genealogical research. This specialty is, of course, the province of organizations like the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, the Library of Congress, the Mormon Family Library, and--for the Swedes who immigrated--the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center in Rock Island, Illinois. To say nothing of the genealogical websites which have exploded in numbers in the past year or so.
For those interested in researching records in Sweden on the Web, we suggest that along with many other sites included on our list of "Sweden Web Links," you check out the website "Swedish Roots--for the descendants of the Emigrants" edited by Elisabeth Thorsell for Sveriges Släktforskarförbund (The Federation of Swedish Genealogical Societies). This part of the "Rötter" website is newly expanded and aside from providing a wealth of information includes an English-language discussion board where you can post queries.
Lycka till! (Good luck!) with your research!
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