Äldre inlägg (arkiv) till 2002-04-07

[Kay King]

Hej,
I understand that frequently inductees into the Swedish military were issued names different from their patronymic name.  Were these names issued with any regard to the man's village, his livelihood, or his personal choice or were they just assigned randomly?  Did the military keep records of these name changes; if so, how does one begin to trace this change?
I appreciate any suggestions to my questions.
Tack sä mycket.      Kay King

[CPeterson]

I have the same question.  My grandfather,August Wall was given the name Vall (Wall) when he entered the military. He lived in the parish of Vallerstad.  Clyde D Peterson

[Malin Warnqvist]

Hi Kay and Clyde!
 
This is what I've learned at the genealogy course:
 
The soldier was given the name when he entered the military. This was because it's hard to keep track of all Anders Svensson or Johan Olsson etc! :-) How the name was issued depends on part of the country and also the time in history... At the coast the soldier (or mostly boatsmen) maybe got his name after fishes or sea birds! Sometimes the name was derived from where he lived (as Vall - I have a soldier called Holmström who lived at the croft Holmen). Sometimes he got his name after his apperance (my boyfriend has an ancestor called Hvithår - Whitehair) or just opposite his way (Stark - Strong - if he was a small, weak man (or also if he *was* strong...)).
 
As far as I know the militaries didn't keep any records of the changes of names, but sometimes you can find in their rolls both his patronymicon and his soldiers name.
 
One thing you should remember is that a soldiers name often was connected to that particular rote (sorry, I don't know the English word by heart...) which means that when the soldier retired, his substitute got the same name! Sometimes the following soldier was a son of the first, but more often he was not related at all! But they have the same surname...
 
Have a nice day!
 
/Malin

[Jojje Lintrup]

It was the Company Commander, often a Captain, who decided what to call the soldiers when they enlisted. He could choose the same name as the precursor, or a brand new name. In the parish of Mora in the province of Dalarna, there was a soldier called Skåpråtta, cupboard rat, maybe because he got caught eating from the pantry?! The name depended of the mood the Company Commander was in at the time of the enlisting. Some regiments had an old tradition, that was harder to brake than others, but there are no rules to follow even in the same province.
It's easy to understand the traditions of the soldiers' names, remembering all the nicknames we used in the military service. I think all my comrades had some kind of nickname, and were never called by their own civil names. It was so rare, that when the girlfriends made a visit, and asked for their mates, it was impossible to grasp whom it was.

[CPeterson]

Thankyou very much for your helpful responses.  It is much appreciated.  Clyde D Peterson

[Rolf Staples]

Hi!
Let me put my oar in the water here too!
My great grandfather was Karl Johan Wik,soldier at Wargtorp in Skollersta,Narke.Could anyone tell me the origin of this name?Would it be possible to find his patronym?
Any info would be appreciated.
Thank You!
Rolf Staples

[penny]

I found in the book Cradled in Sweden, Nordquist was a soldier name. My great grandmother went by the surname Nordquist. Could someone tell me if this meant that her father was a soldier. Or could it have been her grandfather. I guess what I am asking is when a person took a soldier name was that name passed on from generation to generation? And is Nordquiest a soldier name?
Thanks for any help.

[Susanne Åkerfeldt]

Hi! Penny -  Normally the children of a soldier did not took on his soldier's name, which was his very special name. Instead they took their father's name. Like me ggg grandfather was a soldier called Anders Djerf, while his son - my gg grandfatherr - was called Per August Andersson. have never heard about Nordquist (litterally translated Nord = north; kvist = branch) being a specific soldier's name, but maybe someone else can clarify that for you?
Rolf - In many cases the soldier's registers also hold information about the person's patronym. Also if you go back in the church records, from the household examination rolls (husförhörslängder) to the birth records you will eventually find your person listed under his birth name, which would have a surname not being the soldier's name he was eventually given to use. Hope this helps some!

[Elisabeth Thorsell]

During the 1700s soldier's children seldom used their father's soldier's name, but during the 1800s it is quite common.
 
Nordquist can well be a soldier's name, but it is also of a type of names that is common for ordinary people.
 
You can read more about Swedish names at the following address:
 
http://home4.swipnet.se/~w-49407/nwonamn.htm

[Virginia Fox]

My ggggrandfather, Pehr Bygden and his brother Lars were the son of a man with military name of
Svarfvare,who had been a soldier in Nysaatra.Pehr was born in 1777. They lived in Stroembaeck. We understand they were the first to use the name Bygden. Is there a way to find out what the original name might have been? Would that mean that all Bygdens are somehow related?
 
Thank you,  
Virginia Bygden Fox

[Hans Högman]

Hi Virginia,
 
I have no information about your soldier but general information about soldiers' names.
When a soldier was enrolled the Captain of the Company gave him a special soldier's name. In each Company the soldiers had to have a unique last name.
When a soldier died or was retired the new recruit often inherited the old soldier's name.  
The same name could be used at different Companies, however within the same company every soldier's name was unique.
This means that many soldiers in a Regiment over a period of time could have used the same name. However, this doesn't mean they were related.
When a soldier retired he normally took back his ordinary last name, the patronymic name. But it also was not unusual for them retired soldiers to keep their soldier's name, especially during the 19th century.
 
So to answer your question, every person that has been carrying the soldier's name Bygden is not likely to be related.
If you are interested in the Swedish naming practices there is more to read at: http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/Naming%20practice_eng.htm
 
The primary source if you are researching soldiers is the General Muster Rolls. The War Archive in Stockholm stores the Swedish Military records.
In order to search these rolls you must know the name of the Regiment and the name of the Company. But in order to find the soldier in the rolls you also must know his name and his soldier's number or the name of the military “rote” (Ward) he belonged to.
 
In order to find out which unit he served in you must know where he lived as a soldier: the County (län) and preferably the parish (socken) and of course the years. The name of the military ward (rote) is the best information to get hold of.
The book “Statistiskt sammandrag av det svenska indelningsverket” (Statistical Digest of the Swedish Allotment System) by Claes Grill is the best literature to locate the unit a soldier served in. This book is available at the Family History Library.  
 
I don't have access to the Grill books right now, but maybe someone has a copy available.
 
Between the 1680s and 1901 Sweden had a system of organizing and financing the Swedish armed forces called the Allotment System. More information about the Allotment System is available at: http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/slsoldat_eng.htm
 
Hasse

[Wimmergren]

My gggggrandfather was a calvary captain  
named Karl Jonsson, living in the cavalry  
cottage Humlenas,  whose son, Nils Magnus,  
used the surname Wimmergren. I'm totally  
confused on how this happened. I understand  
about military surnames, and I know gren  
means branch but I can't find a translation for  
wimmer. Does anyone know? It could go a  
long way in helping me trace even farther  
back.  Everyone I've found so far is in Malghult,  
Kristdala.
 
Elisabeth Kauffman Humphrey

[Torbjörn Norman]

Hi  
May be he had taken his surname from the town of Vimmerby, obout 50 kilometers NV from Kristdala.
I am sure Sam Blixt can help you with his big data-file but I think he is sleeping now.
Torbjörn i Björklinge

[Bo Persson]

Carl Jonsson Wimmergren was not a cavalry captain, he was a dragoon. He lived in the tenement dragoon holding Humlenäs (on the lands of the village Malghult) in Kristdala parish, about 40 km SE of Vimmerby. The name Wimmergren is quite obviously derived from Vimmerby; the first dragoon or horse-soldier using it was Petter Wimmergren, who first was serving for the farm Sjundekvill in Vimmerby parish (1746) and later (latest from 1748) for Malghult. Probably the following dragoons for Malghult were named Wimmergren after him; a soldier´s name normally belonged to the file he was serving, and the fact that several consecutive soldiers used the same name had nothing to do with consanguinity.
 
You can not translate a name like this literally; in Sweden the last element 'gren' is a very common affix in family names, like 'ström', 'man', 'berg' etc. and is used in a figurative sense. Often, but not always, the name´s first part alludes to the person's geographical origin. In this case, the first Wimmergren came from Vimmerby (or, at least, served there first), but the following Wimmergrens were, as stated above, most likely named after him.

[Wimmergren]

I understand the parish records have Karl  
Jonsson listed as a calvary captain - why  
would this be if he wasn't? Also, the parish  
has his name spelled Karl, not Carl. Is that  
significant? I appreciate learning that  
Wimmergren derives from Vimmerby - is there  
a listing for Karl/Carl Jonsson or his family in  
those parish records also? Is there a book or  
a reference I can turn to where I can learn  
more about this and whether Wimmergren  
was adopted by the Malghult soldiers?

[Bo Persson]

The parish records call Carl Jonsson Wimmergen 'dragon', which in English is 'dragoon'; to call him 'cavalry captain' is unfortunately an erroneous translation: a cavalry captain (in Swedish 'ryttmästare') is an officer, while Carl Jonsson Wimmergren was a common soldier.  
 
In the original records, his name is spelled Carl, which was the most common spelling during the period from the late 16th century to the 1870's; thereafter, the name has often been normalized spelled Karl - that is the only difference.
 
I think it is quite safe to say that the name Wimmergren came in use for the dragoons in Humlenäs because of Petter Wimmergren. The only way to confirm that is to check out the muster rolls of his regiment, Smålands ryttare.

[G.Stark]

The farthest back I can get on my family is to a  
SVEN ANDERSSON1 STARK born 1788 in Sweden, and died March 31, 1830 in Soldiers Home, Raby
Gullerstorp, Hångsdala, Sweden. It is said he fought against Napolean in 1813 to 1814. With this information how could I search further to find his real last name? And what were the Swedes messing with the French for?

[Sam Blixt]

The real name before he became soldier seems to be Andersson. For to be sure You have to look at the origin deathbook for Hångsdala parish 1830.
 
You can also put Your question under Landskap, Västergötland, Socknar, Hångsdala and there hope that someone will answer.
 
Regards/Sam Blixt/Oskarshamn

[Doug Holtz]

Hello;
My great grandfather was a Krantz.  He comes to the USA as a 13 year old boy.  How do I get information on him and his parents?  He was supposedly born in Halland province.
Thanks
Doug Holtz
Milwaukee, WI

[Christina Backman]

Doug!It would help if you could give us his full  
name, the date of his birth and the year he  
came  
to the US or whatever details you have.  
Regards Christina Backman

[Caroline Carlson-Vanlandingham]

My great uncle, Johan August Carlsson was in the Swedish Army for 13 years.  He was born on March 29, 1855 to Carl Svensson and Anna Catarina Andersdotter at Hinneryd parish Kronoberg County, Smäland Sweden.  When he was in the Army his last name was Ryberg, which name he kept the rest of his life. I believe in the army he was a tailor (skräddrare) and served in Hinneryd area. He was given a small farm when he left the service named Tiböke near the town of Hinneryd. He left Sweden in early 1888 and his family emigrated in late 1888. Where would I find the information on this gentlemans army career?

[Hans Högman]

Hi Caroline,
 
I have two pages that might help you. One is Genealogy in Sweden which have a section on Military research.  
http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/swe_genealogy.htm
 
In order to do research on ancestor that's been in the Swedish army you also need to know about The Allotment System (Indelningsverket). The Allotment System was a system of organizing and financing the Swedish armed forces in earlier times.
http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/slsoldat_eng.htm
 
Hans

[Steve Sell]

My greatgrandfather was from Stockholm and supposedly deserted the cavalry in 1882. His name was Olof Rossberg and brought his wife Cecelia Risval to Chicago. I would like to find his regiment. Thanks

[Maxine]

Since I have been reading about the Swedish  
Military;I have one question.  
My gggrandfathers name was Per Olof Bring  
and he  
was in the military probably at young age  
before  
he married his wife and all the children were  
born while he was in military. He retired and  
pasted his Soldier name of Bjur to his son.
What I was wondering is would the name  
Bring be  
his soldier name and he have another last  
name or  
was Bjur the only military name for him?
Maxine

[Jan Jutefors]

Maxine,
 
Both BRING and BJUR was rather common military name. The name was connected to the settlement and a man who had the name Bring at one place, could be named Bjur if he moved to another.  
After he left the services, the soldier had the right to keep the name.  
This boys had usually common name, patronymicon, the father's first given name ended with -sson. Therefore the military wanted to give them specific names so they easily could separate them. Often they used the same name as used by the person before at the same place. Sometimes the name was a military term, sometimes it was a name inspired of the name of the settlement. If it was called Liden (the place in on the hillside), the soldier could be called Lidman or Lidberg.

[Mats Högberg]

As one of my ancestors born Per Staffansson, son of Staffan Persson. Per Staffansson was a soldier and lived in the soldier cottage nr. 63 in Stora Tollstad in Sjögestad parish. Since then, his name was Per Tollfeldt which he kept until he died in 1789.
 
Once my ancestor retired he left to Gustad in Vikingstad parish. The new soldier that came to the soldier cottage nr. 63 in Stora Tollstad took the name Jonas Tollfeldt. He had no family relations to my ancestor.
 
The name was taken from the settlement as described by Jan above.
 
Kind regards
Mats Högberg

[Birger Bring]

Hi Maxine,
 
Bring is not that common. It is certainly a military name. Your old man was probably in the Swedish navy. Do you know from what part of the country he came?
 
Birger Bring

[Maxine]

Birger Bring,
this is all I have on Per olof Bring -- He was  
born Aug 4, 1825 in Kalmar ( in Smaland)  He  
was  
a Grenadian in the regiment in the town of  
Linkoping but had his home for his family in  
Berga at Ostro (East) Skukeby.He had  
married  
November 11, 1848 to Inga Stina  
Persdotter(born  
August 12, 1821 in Ostra Harg parish.  
He son Carl Johan Bring was born in a  
Grenadian  
(Soldier) cottage in Berg Ostra Skrukeby  
parish  
north of the town Linkoping and close to the  
southeast end of the lake Roxen.
 
Per Olof Bring was a soldier until 1879 and  
after  
his son Frans Oscar took over and got his  
soldier  
name Bjur.
My Great Aunt said that Bring was a soldier  
name  
that Carl Johan used in America.
Maxine
I sure would like to know what Per Olof Bring's  
real last name was if Bring was his soldier  
name.
I would also like to know more about what  
rank  
and what ship and what he did in Navy if he  
was  
in Navy..
Maxine

[Jan Jutefors]

Maxine,
 
I have found both Frans Oscar and his father as soldiers in Östergötland:
 
Name: BRING Peter Olof  
Act number: FL-01-0145-1847 (He was acceped as soldier at this place 1847)
Born: 1825
Dead: 1914
Patronymicon: Olofsson
Holding number: FL-01-0145
Company: LIV
File: Berga
Parish: Östra Skrukeby  
Regiment: Första livgrenadjärregementet  
 
 
Name: BJUR Frans Oskar  
Akt number: FL-01-0145-1878 (accepted 1878)
Patronymikon: BRING
Born: 1860
Dead: 1907
Holding number: FL-01-0145  
Company: LIV  
File: Berga
Parish: Östra Skrukeby  
Regiment: Första livgrenadjärregementet
 
SOLDATREGISTRET ÖSTERGÖTLAND
Garnisonsmuseet Centralexp
581 98 LINKÖPING  
Tfn: +46 13 16 18 65 Fax: +46 13 16 18 65
E-mail: garnisons.museet@telia.com
Copy of the act: SKR 20($ 2) and a prepaid and addressed envelope. Researching: SKR 50 /hour.
 
You can contact the Registration Office for eventually more information. They have a little fee as described above.
 
Good Luck!

[Maxine]

Jan,
does patronymicon- Oloffsson and  
Patronymikon-
Bring mean that was Per Olof's real last name  
or  
civilian name or family last name? The same  
with  
Frans Oscar; would his family name be  
Pettersson  
since his father was Per Olof or would it be  
Olaffsson?
I am confused. I would like to trace back even  
further, but I don't know what the real last  
name  
was since it probably wasn't Bring.
Thanks for all the help,I really really  
apprecitate all that you guys have helped me  
with.
Maxine