Your Swedish Roots: A Step by Step Handbook

Nicely worn and a good guide to have at hand

Frankly, as someone struggling to grasp the necessary basics to research my Swedish ancestry I wanted to say "thank you" every few pages in this book. The authors seemed to sense exactly what I needed to know and the questions that were plaguing me. They accomplish the task at hand by picking a Swedish couple that emigrated to the U.S. and begin the search there in t U.S. with some very basic information. They then worked their way back explaining what step they would take next and why they chose that particular approach. They show you actual Swedish records, translate the headings, and then always have a section on "What we learned from that record.The style of the book makes you feel like a couple of master genealogists just allowed you to tag along and see how its done. They include a fast reference list of Swedish words and abbreviations you need. They also have a section on finding living relatives and planning a trip to Sweden. Bottom line is that this is one of two must-have books on Swedish ancestry and it is the first and most important book of the two for that undertaking. The second book would be Cradled in Sweden.One foot note, Swedish records are so far superior to doing research in the U.S. Once you get past the translation of basic record headings, and finally grasp the unusual naming system, and the record system, the records are amazing. Once you link to Sweden you are likely to be able to go back to 1700 with little problem and if you are just a little lucky maybe to 1600 or earlier. Also, everyone in Sweden under 50 years old reads and speaks English well. An indispensable asset is AnbytarForum at [...] God bless these remarkably helpful people for their unselfish help to total strangers.Good luck

This book (in kindle format) is a great help to anyone whose research takes them back to Sweden. As of 2016 (when I purchased it) there is some info that is a little out of date, but still useful: Genline was purchased by Ancestry.com in 2012 (and just discovered that many individual parish records can be searched directly online now through Ancestry. Like, you can search the book page by page.) Yet, the info on parish book records is indispensable! This book helps make sense of these records and also is helpful to organize your search - as well as be aware of the pitfalls of researching in a country where so many Olofs/Nils married so many Karolinas/Brittas! It's also helped to understand how parishes-municipalities are set up (to find who holds records) and the different regions of the country. It's a great book if you're ready to begin research into Sweden and also worth re-reading sections as you're doing that. Just know that parish records are hand-written and not all priests' writing and sense of organization were equal! And their handwriting gets a little cross-your-eyes-dicey in the mid 1700's. Great book, well worth having, I kept saying (yes, aloud!) "This is the book I've been wishing for!" :-)

I've been doing genealogy for several years but have hesitated trying to research my grandfather's Swedish family history. It's hard enough researching in the U.S. but the Swedish language is so different, it's so far away, and handwriting is doubly tough not recognizing the parts of words. This book is the best I've seen at trying to help you work through all of the issues you will have. The book explains where to look for all of the Swedish records (they kept great records). It explains the child naming traditions that were in effect until the 20th century. It explains the Swedish alphabet. The book explains why people left Sweden in the first place. And it takes you through an example of tracking down the history of a specific Swedish family. The book even prepares you for a trip to Sweden if that's your plan. It has a list of the most common words you'll find while researching and their translation. Most all of the records I've been looking at so far are handwritten Swedish and in photocopy form, not indexed but this book does a good job helping you work through the problems. A great book!.

Just starting my Swedish genealogy research. Bought this book in preparation for a Swedish genealogy workshop in three weeks. Initial purchase was Kindle format. Great for reading text but graphics/photos were not great quality. Then bought paperback format. Graphics/photos were very good (and helpful). Size of paperback made graphics very useful. In paperback graphics/photos seemed to disrupt the reading of the text.In summary - very useful book for Swedish genealogy work, probably essential if you do not know any Swedish. Did not mind purchase of both Kindle and paperback formats as they served different purposes for me. Always like convenience of having my books as close as my tablet.

There are so many resources in this book. I can’t wait to find my family in Sweden.

I purchased this book on one of the used book sites. So happy with the service and condition of the book. I devoured the info in this book. It was so thrilling to match up the cities and regions that I had info on from my family research. I have already made plans with the additional info on places to visit provided in the book. I so want to see the museums and buildings with an emphasis on the 1800's. Combined with the Vikings and exploration periods.

This is the best book I have read on researching your Swedish heritage. It gives good illustrations and gives step by step information on how to work your way through the parish records to find your family. I purchased this before paying for a subscription to Gen Line so I would know what to do and how to go about searching for the records I need. It also tells how to find out which parish to research to locate your family. I discovered that I have more research to do before I spend the money for GenLine. Thanks to this book I'm saving money in knowing what information I need before going through the parish records. This book is worth every penny.

Excellent service and book.