Swedish American Genealogist
Volume 24 | Number 3 Article 10
9-1-2004 Great-Grandpa Was a Soldier Elisabeth Thorsell
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Recommended Citation Thorsell, Elisabeth (2004) "Great-Grandpa Was a Soldier," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 24 : No. 3 , Article 10. Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol24/iss3/10
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- How can I find out more?
BY ELISABETH THORSELL
2 From the late 1600s until 1901, was anostgote orsmalanning , which the companies were made up by Sweden had its very own system of is not much help when you try to soldiers from the same area, a ha recruiting soldiers. In Swedish it is trace him. His patronymic is probab rad [legal district] or two, and the called lndelningsverket, which has ly missing, but genealogy is not name of the company often pointed been translated as "The Allotment supposed to be easy, or it would not to that area. But that still leaves 150 System." In short it meant that a be a sport. men to look through. Is there no ex group of farms (a rote) hired a young Other than the G MR there are tra help in finding great-grandpa? man to be the soldier for them. His many other kinds of rolls, kept on the salary was the use of a cottage and company level, like brodrullor (bread What is Grill? some farming land, some foodstuffs rolls), sjukrullor (sick rolls), and Yes, there is a most useful book called in kind and a small sum of money. straffrullor (penal rolls). There are Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska Maybe he could also borrow a horse also orderbocker (command books) indelningsverket [Statistical Digest or a pair of oxen when he needed to. and husesynsprotokoll (inspection of the Swedish Army System] by The rote farmers took care of the minutes) from soldiers' cottages. All Claes Grill, first published in 1855- farming when the soldier had to go the original records are kept in the 1858 in four volumes. This work, to war. If he died, his family had to Krigsarkiuet (War Archives) in Stock usually just called Grill, was thus move elsewhere, as the new soldier holm. printed while the system was not for the rote needed the cottage. The GMRs and lots of other mili much changed from the way it was During the centuries it is esti tary records are microfilmed, and can in the late 1600s. mated that almost 500,000 men were be bought on microfiche from SVAR3 soldiers for the various rotar, which in Sweden. The Family History Li means that most families have one brary [FHL] in Salt Lake City has C. GRILL or more soldiers among their ances most of the records too. STATISTJSRT SA.MJlfANDRA.G. tors. Finding great-grandpa? SVENSKA INDELNINGSVERKET Swedish Military From earlier research you know that Records great-grandfather was named Sven PO.RSTA BANDET The Swedish army and navy kept Ring and that he lived in Ringarum detailed records about their soldiers parish in bstergotland. You also and boatsmen, but how can you ac know that he served for the Andra cess them? Liugrenadjarregementet [2nd Regi First a little about the most com ment of Life Grenadiers]. mon types of records. The basic record is the Generalmonsterrulla Help from the Mormons [General Muster Roll, GMR], which In the FHL catalog you go to, for F ACSJMH£U1'GA VA M£1> HECISTER 1978 was rewritten every three years in instance, the "Place search" and peacetime. In the GMR you can find enter "Ostergotland", and then go UTGIVEN AV LANOSA RKIV ET I C•TEDQHC OCtlFfiRF..NlNGt-:N CENEAUIGlSK UNGDO'tf information on when the soldier was down the page to "Military records" enrolled and when he was dis and Bingo! there you have the GMR charged, his height, marital status, for the Andra Livgrenadjarrege age, and from where he came. During mentet. Grill has been reprinted in two the later 1800s his previous name1 A normal regiment in the old days volumes during the 1970s, and again is listed and also his exact birth date consisted of 1,200 men, divided into in the 1980s. When you want to use and parish of birth. During earlier 8 companies, so do you have to read Grill, be sure to get hold of one of the times one only gets to know that he through all 1,200 individuals? No, reprints, as they contain a most
16 Swedish American Genealogist 2004:3 useful parish index which is lacking in the original. The FHL catalog has the following call number for the reprint: 948.5 M27g v. 2, but it is not avail able on microfilm. They do have the original on microfilm: FHL Film 84652, but then you miss the parish A soldier's cottage in Mark hiirad, index. Viistergotland (From Indelningsverkets soldater i Orby socken 1681-1901[1991}) How to use Grill Now, your ancestor was the soldier Sven Ring from Ringarum in Oster Rimbo (B) I: 108; II: 15; III: 25; IV: 44 Run tuno (D) I : 120; II: 41; gotland. This is what you do: III: 34; r7I Ringorum (E) I: 157; III: 36; IV: 11 "'I IV: 47 Rute (I) III: 45; IV: 48 Step 1 / Rinkoby (L) I: 21 7; II : 193 Ryo (L) I: 198; II: 195; IV: 35 Find Ringarum in the parish index Rinkoby (T) I: 126; II: 72; Ryd (R) I: 141; II: 105; IV: 23 IV: 17 in the front of the first Grill volume. Ryd Vostro se Vo stro Ryd Rinne (E) I: 162; II: 60; IV: 15 Ryd Ostro se Ostro Ryd Rydo Ripso (D) II : 41; IV : 11 (R) I: 141; II: 106; IV: 25 Ringarum (E)4 has three references, and you start by looking up page 157 in the first volume.
Step 2
HAratl. Soeken. Jlnllil tl1Allll'. -.8 tn111111nr oel• CoH1panl-11nu11ne 1•.
Oslkind J o11sf1t>rJ;J kapell lsniis Ai L C& sAker '!. Hl'o.wik ~l. . . , lfifr{J(h/iammnr Li.in ii 4. Sii.neby 6. Stirhvlu,llu i. l,untlbv ts. ll~·liuoe 0, 10. 6------Q"a,..rebo 1'1·ytsgH r1l 1; 0 :.. • • • 3!--1------·- --, (j, thtxby Vf'c k,:li!lrt l. I Tunn 12 . JiimjO 131 14. Bj U1'1,ek i 11d lfoddby flagchy 15. fio111mg111ntl Gl'iund1y 16. , , 1 ------1'dby Stens,•11 17 . Fyrby 18. Alm;.it o. HI. Alm•) 20. Lj uu go 21. / ======1=111 ,, Blinnrs1n 22. 6 ------0. Ny t~~~:,~:rr1.,'~~. : ~======j
liii11ii lu1p1dt (CQ.tbrb1a ) MJij c 26. 11 - j - - -1- - 12 1/ummar SJ;iiltuik Oq;f.'r hoF 27. Aslrnsum 'l8...... · · · · • · 2 - _ - - _: _ - lt. i nd ltingarum Go s um 2.lJ. Friiernm 30. Fi1 .s tcbo 3 1. • · · · • · · 3 ------Biirr1tm (S:l P,1r) 1 No rrnrn 32. B111·1·u!!1 33. • ,,· 0 'l - Moga/a -·1- - - - - X.skog 31. SVr by 35. Osby :rn1 37. ,\ s1: u 38. • il ~lmby ;.) 31) : ~ liullt:1•i;J.a 40. , , , , • . . . . . , - - - - - 1 - - Here you find first the name of the hdrad (legal district), Hammarkind, then the parish, and within the parish the names of three rotar, and you recognise that Sven Ring lived at Fastebo, and thus had number 31. The next question is which company did he serve in? Follow the Ringa rum line to the right, until you come to the number of soldiers for the parish. then follow that column upwards until you reach the company names. Sven A Life Grenadier in his uniform, model 1815. Ring was soldier #31 of the Lif-Companiet (Life Company), which incidentally was commanded by the colonel himself.
Swedish American Genealogist 2004:3 17 Step 3 The first part of the information for each regiment has a very short history of it, where you can find name changes, and changes from cavalry to infantry, etc. In short the following picture tells the story of the Andra Liv grenadjdrregementet. The regiment started as the Ostgota Kavallerirege mente [f.d. means fore detta (previous)] Cavalry. In 1770 they changed the name to Cuirassiers, and in 1791 the regiment was de-horsed, no more use for so many cavalry soldiers, and united with the Forsta Livgrenad jdrregementet, the former bstgi:ita Infantry Regiment. The regiment, as a former cavalry regiment, only numbered 1,000 men, from bstergi:itland and Kalmar Zan. F. D. OSTGOTA KAVALLERI·REGEMENTE, fran 1770 Cu irassiercr, af'sall 179 1, och lorii11dradcs Lil l lnfanlcri, mot haslvaka JJ S•afgifts cr!Uggande af de ruslandc - l'orst p~ 50 il r, och el'tcr dmna Lid s fiirlop p ytlcr li gare pa 5 och sist pfl 25 ilr ell er ti lls ilr 1871 - var friln 179 I lli renadt, under ell gcmcnsam Chef, med Ostgiila Infanlcri, och kallades Lif-Gre11adicr-lt egc111en tets lt11 st.h ill ls-llivisio11 , hva rcflcr denna orga nisation il r 1816, sam tidigt med Brigadi ndel ningens infiirandc, upphorde, och
18 Swedish American Genealogist 2004:3