How do I read this record? Looking for a death record for Bollnas about 1772
I looked at the death records for Bollnas, particularly for 1772 and 1773 for the death of Margareta Persdotter (father was soldier Per Lind). I have cause to believe she died July of that year but it may be wrong. Anyway I am having a hard time figuring out how that record is organized. It looks like there is a list of people who contributed money and then a list of those who died, then more contributors and then more dead. Am I reading that right? Can someone explain how to read that record?
Geri
Answers
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Hello #[Geri Brinley] ,
The book that you are asking about (Bollnäs (X) LIb:4 (1770-1791) is not a death and burial book. It a draft copy of the church accounts book of donations and parish expenses. I'm looking at page 14 from May 1771 - May 1772 and this is what I see going from left to right. The date on the far left is the date of donation. Testamenten efter Döda refers to a funeral donation to the church. The word testamente normally refers to a will in the Swedish language. But wills were not common in this time period because most people let the estate inventory laws dictate the divisions. In this case, the pastor or co-minister wrote the name of the deceased, place of residence at time of death, name of the deceased, age, and cause of death in the center column. Then on the far right is the amount of money that was donated in copper money (they had a dual silver and copper standard between 1624 - 1776). The actual death and burial book didn't begin before 1795. They must have thought that because the information was recorded in a book, it fulfilled the 1686 law to record information about death and burials. I would guess that diocese officials were inspecting the books in 1794 and told them they needed to keep a separate record for that purpose and that's why they begin in 1795. Somebody in the archive found this system and cataloged the early accounts books as "death records".
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That was really helpful Geoffrey. Thank you so much for explaining it to me. I guess it is possible that I could get some information about a death but since the two I was looking at were children they probably wouldn't have been recorded in a donation or a will. Could the father have made a donation to the church for the child's funeral? Would the details of the birth be recorded then?
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Hello Geri Brinley,
In looking at the page from 1771 there were many donations made for the funerals of children. It's worth looking. On the other hand, it makes me wonder what happened if the parents were extremely poor? I would guess the donation was waived which might mean the book is incomplete. Maybe this is another reason why the other death and burial book was started in 1795. To your second question, the record shows ages at time of death and the father of the childs name.
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