Is there a handout for reading the headings etc Finland, Church Census records
example:
"Finland, Church Census and Pre-Confirmation Books, 1600-1916", ,
FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLJP-63YT : Sat Mar 09 10:46:09 UTC 2024), Entry for Maria Lisa Paulsdr. Wiiretjäror, vuodesta 1865 vuoteen 1874.
Also any clues for what the abbreviations and little notes might say? I can read the names and guess for the column headings. The various dates noted down for each year—why are there two dates listed? Coming in and going out during each year?
Commentaires
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This record is written entirely in Swedish. The headings don't even have alternate Finnish vocabulary, so I suspect this parish was a Swedish speaking parish.
I am not aware of any Swedish/English or Finnish/English parish heading translation for Finnish records. There are some for Swedish records. One of them is here: Swedish Parish Register and Household Exam Roll Headings .
This link will direct you to a site for Finnish Communion records and how to read them: https://www.swedishfinnhistoricalsociety.org/2018/09/26/the-basics-of-reading-a-parish-communion-record/.
The dates in the columns with the heading "Begått H. H. Nattvard.", are the dates the person received Holy Communion (hence the term "Communion books").
The other notes in the far right column for Anders Mattson Siniluoto and his wife Maria Lisa Paulsd[otter] Wiiretjärvi (not Wiiretjäror-that has been indexed incorrectly), indicate that they were married on 21 June 1868. He came from Salo Kapeli(?) and she came from Pyhäjoki in 1869. Their marriage record is here in the Pyhäjoki parish marriage records (first entry on left-hand page): https://en.digihakemisto.net/item/1247157734/5882134281/23.
A great site for finding abbreviations in Finnish (or Swedish) records is here: https://www.genealogia.fi/lyhenteita/. For example, for Maria Lisa Paulsd[otter], the right-hand column reads "fr. Pyhäjoki 1869". If you search "fr" in the list, there are many (7) instances, but one of them is "från" which translates to "from" in Google translate.
Another really good Swedish/English dictionary is here: https://swedishgenealogyguide.com/dictionaries/swedish-historical-dictionary-database-shdd. With this one, you can search for Swedish words and get the English translation. It is important to use the diacritics if they exist in the word you are looking for. Also, for best results, do not type in too much information in the search - start with just 3 or 4 or 5 letters.
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This record is Maria Lisa Pahlsdotter (Paulsdotter) with her family at Wiiretjärvi, Pyhäjoki (next to last name on the page): https://en.digihakemisto.net/item/1247005194/5882248739/102 .
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Anders Mattsson Siniluoto is here with his family (8th name from the bottom): https://en.digihakemisto.net/item/1247686817/5962239701/164 . His father is Matts Johansson (b. 17 Dec 1820) and his mother is Sofia Andersdotter (b. 20 Sept 1815). The parish is Saloinen which is next door to Raahe (Swedish-Brahestad).
Anders' birth record is here (4th entry-left page) : https://en.digihakemisto.net/item/1247743623/6280842925/13 .
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Wow, Norm Baker, you have been so helpful. Thanks for filling in all my "blank". I am a rank beginner in Finnish Records, but have done some Danish so I could follow the format..
About Maria Lisa Pahlsdotter, do you mean her surname is not Wiretjärvi? that is just the place she came from?
How do I tell the difference between the surname and the place because the Siniluoto family used it as a surname. I know it is also a very small place/pennisula south of Raahe and Saloinen. I have been adding the Siniluoto and in the surname box. How about the sons who went to the US, came in as Leonard Siniluoto but soon dropped Siniluoto and added Bloom. His brother Alexander Siniluoto dropped it too and added Blue. How should I be putting the surnames/s in the vital page?
I will take a look now at all the links you gave me. Again Thanks, what a great Christmas present!
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I am glad I was able to help! That's why we do this😁
As far as how names should be entered in FamilySearch Tree, I will refer you to this FS Wiki article, however, you should be aware that there have been some people in this community who disagree with this information: . For my part, I think the information in the article makes as much sense as anything else I have heard for recording names from Scandinavian records.
When entering sources for an individual, I usually recommend entering names exactly as they are written/spelled in the records. Also, I recommend entering all "Alternate Names" for a person in the FS Tree - that will help the computer program to locate possible duplicates for a person. For example, Maria Lisa Paulsdotter should probably be entered as Maria Lisa Pahlsdotter and Maria Lisa Wiiretjärvi. There may be even more altenate names that could be added.
Just to illustrate why it is important to include farm names, I helped a family a few weeks ago at the Family Search Library in Salt Lake City who had an ancestor named Johan Gustaf Matinpoika Frändi (Frändi was the name of the farm where he was born). His father died and his mother remarried a man who lived on the farm Seppälä. When Johan Gustaf emigrated to the United States, he came under the name Johan Seppälä, but knowing that his previous farm was Frändi, helped to confirm that we had the correct person in Finland.
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Thanks for the naming help. I will take a look at it in a minute.
I wanted to tell you that when I went to the link. https://en.digihakemisto.net/item/1247686817/5962239701/164
where Matts Johansson was listed as father, I read the others on the same page and saw him repeated with I think his mother and siblings. It is the just above. I can tell because his name & birthdate match. These are nice records! If I can read them correctly!
A separate question is how can I determine who the others are in each group. I mean the ones who are not potential family as their names & dates are not coinciding with the family. I think they are farm hands. I try to list them in the Notes section, but there are details I miss…just not experienced enough to catch the small words.
Is there any Finnish reference book like Ernest Thode's German Genealogical Dictionary, that lists the ending of words. That is my bible for figuring out German. Who is the major writer for Finnish records?
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It takes a bit of experience to determine the relationships in communion records. The record you ask about (above) lists the relationships of most of the family (if there is one). Common abbreviations (for these Swedish language records) are "Sn = son" and "Dr. = daughter". But you must be careful because "Dr." often means "dräng - farmhand/batchelor". If there is any question about the relationship, find the birth record (if a birth date and place can be determined) and that will tell you who the parents are. You probably already know that if you have been working with Danish records.
I do not know of any Finnish reference book which would pertain to genealogical records which explains the endings of words. However, this Wikipedia article on Finnish noun cases may be of some use: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_noun_cases .
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Thank you so much. I do apprecaite your time and talents.
I have so many more questions, but I do not want to wear out your patience. Should I put in anohter question, so you can take someone else's case?
If you would like to continue: I have read all you sent me and I gone over carefully the 1839-1845 Saloinen, Salo By, Nr 6 Siniluoto group. Most of them in the second grouping I think are related, I can attach my notes.
(Mother)Caisa Mattsdr b 1790 (birthplace ??) with son Johan Johansson 1824, dau Caisa Lisa Johansdr b1827, dau Anna Gretta Johanson b 1829. son Matts Johannson Siniliuoto, b 1820. and wife Sofia Andersdotter
their children Johann, b 1841, d 1842, Anders, b 1842, Matts b 1846 d 1842, Johanna b Aug 1845, d Nov 1845
The above are clear but I will find baptism for each.
****But right above Gretta Johanna b Jun 1825 there is ? Steffani who I think is husb to Gretta and their child Caisa Sophia b 7 NOv 1843. Jacob Staffani 39 July 1831 is he the father?
You havd done so much. I do appreciate it.
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The nice thing about the Communion records is that if there is something you can't decipher and the family hasn't moved to another place, you can look in the next set of records to try to figure it out.
Looking in the Communion book for 1846-1855 you can see the same people but in a little better order. That record is here in the Finnish site Digihakemisto: https://en.digihakemisto.net/item/1247698727/5962303843/16. And also here in the Family Search Catalog (this one is more difficult to locate, but you have the option of changing the brightness and contrast of the image to make it easier to read): https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSG1-Z9M2?cat=2806287&i=15&cc=2805467.
Looking at the families in the 1846-1855 book, I don't believe the Steffanssons are related to the Matts Johansson you are asking about. The word before Jacob Steffansson's name looks like "Bror = brother", so he is probably a brother to one of the Steffanssons nearer the top of the page-but I can't figure out that relationship from this record. However, you can clearly make out Matts Johansson's family (wife and children) in the 1846-1855 record. You can also see that Matts died in 1849. I couldn't quite make out the date so I found the record in the deaths for 1849. It turns out to be 28 Dec. See here: https://en.digihakemisto.net/item/1247788582/6280814621/10 . He died of "lungsot = tuberculosis".
Side note: you will see some people with the surname "Henrici" in this record. In some parishes, rather than write out the patronymic surname (for instance, "Henricksson") the priest (or whoever was writing the records) would simply write "Henrici" - but it is the same as Henricksson. Names like that should be put in FamilySearch Tree as an "Alternate Name".
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