Military Hans Högman
Copyright © Hans Högman 2017-08-10

Research of Soldiers, Sweden

Finska regementen  (Regiments in Finland)

Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809 when we lost the Finnish part of the nation in a war with Russia. There were a lot of regiments established in Finland and the majority of them were allotted regiments. So, there are also rolls to be found for the regiments in Finland. However the regimental archives for the Finnish regiments are relatively small and in some cases poorly preserved. Many archives were lost in the war and when Sweden surrendered Finland to Russia the regiments in Finland were disestablished. According to the peace treaty of Fredrikshamn in 1809 a lot of regimental archive material was to be handed over to the Russians. This material hasn't been that important to the genealogist since it was mostly maps and charts that were handed over. There are not only Army archives for the Finnish units but also Navy archives. The Navy's naval stations were in Sweden but there were allotted båtsmän in the Finnish coastal areas belonging to different båtsmans rotar. The Galley Fleet (The Army Fleet) however had two squadrons in Finland, The Finnish squadron or the Sveaborg squadron from 1758 and the Åbo squadron from 1793. In the Navy archives there are also the Sea Artillery regiments garrisoned at Sveaborg, Kristina and Varkus. The Swedish name for the Galley Fleet is "Skärgårdflottan" and the two squadrons in Finland are called  "Finska eskadern" or "Sveaborgseskadern" and "Åboeskadern". A "båtsman" is the Navy's counterpart to the Army's allotted soldiers.

Stamrullor / Stamkort  (The Successors to the GMRs)

Stamrulla: The general muster rolls were kept until the 1880's. They were then replaced by the "stamrulla" ("stam" rolls and "stam" records). The "stamrulla" was introduced in 1885. They were organized as the company rolls or the "annotationsrullorna" (note rolls) but they also contained notes about the soldier's private circumstances, craftsmanship etc. At this time, such rolls were only kept at the enlisted regiments (värvade regementen). In 1889, they were introduced to the allotted regiments as well. The "stamrulla" contains information like name, date of birth and rank or position. After 1885 the stamrulla is the most important source of information for the research of soldiers and officers. The "stamrulla" were kept until the end of World War II and contained between 1919 and 1945 only regular servicemen, i.e. officers and NCOs, not draftees. In 1945 the "stamrulla" was replaced by the tjänstekort (Service Records). Stamkort: Sweden got a Universal Conscription System in 1901 when the Allotment System was abandoned. For the "värnpliktiga" (conscript soldiers or draftees) the stamrulla was replaced with the stamkort ("stam" records) in 1919. The stamkort are also called "värnpliktskort" (draftee records). The stamkort contains information on the draftee like; name, date of birth and from 1947, when the "personnummer" (Personal identification number) was introduced. Here you will also find information about which branch of the army (truppslag) he served in and any possible misconduct.

Lantvärnet - (An Forerunner to Beväringen)

The soldiers of the "Lantvärnet" are in the collection "Lantvärnet". These general muster rolls contain the same type of information as the GMR for the allotted soldiers. 

Beväringen - (An Early Forerunner to the Universal Service System)

"Beväringen" was an early conscription system and was introduced in 1812. It was a forerunner to the universal Conscription Service System of 1901. Every male between the age of 21 to 25 was required to serve in the  military as conscripts (draftees). For some reason, the hiring of substitutes was allowed, i.e. to pay someone to do the service in his  place. This was a demand from the farmers. The first muster for the "beväringen" was held in 1813.  Initially they were trained together with the soldiers from the Allotment  System. The conscripts of beväringen was kept in the so-called beväringsmönsterrullorna (Conscript rolls). These rolls are from 1886 called inskrivningslängder (Enrollment rolls). From 1886 were all draftees assigen a inskrivningsnummer (enrollment number) at the time of the registration (muster).

Värnpliktstiden - The period of the Universal Service System (1901 - 2010)

The Allotment System was abandoned in 1901 and replaced with a Universal Service System (draft service) with a conscript army ("värnpliktsarmé"). The system is called "Allmän Värnplikt" in Swedish and a draftee (conscript) is called  "värnpliktig". Like during the Allotment System, in order to find a draftee in the inskrivningslängderna (enrollment rolls) you must know the parish where he lived at the time he was drafted (registered). Between 1902 and 1952 these rolls were, like the earlier rolls, organized geographically. From 1953 these rolls are organized by the draftees "personnummer" (a national personal identification number). Like prior to 1902, the draftees (värnpliktiga) were assigned an enrollment number (inskrivningsnummer). This enrollment number was a three-part registration number with one part for the place in the roll, one part for the roll area and the third part for the year of enrollment. For more information, see inskrivningsnummer (enrollment numbers). In 1919 individual stamkort/värnpliktskort (draft card) were introduced which contained similar information as the earlier stamrulla.

Collections Regarding Officers and NCOs

There is much richer trove of material regarding officers as compared to that of the soldiers. In these collections you need to know the regiment in order to find your officer. If you don't know the name of the regiment you can search him in some of the many indexes at the War Archives, for example in the index of the "Biograficasamlingen" (the Biography Collection) or in the index of the "Arméns pensionskassas meritband" (The Army's pension fund's list of qualifications). As mentioned earlier, officers and NCOs are listed in the general muster rolls (GMR). GMRs were kept until the 1880's when they, for the officers and NCOs, were succeed by the so-callled "stamrulla" ("stam" rolls). In 1945 the "stamrulla" were replaced by the "Tjänstekort" (Service records). In 1959 the name of the "tjänstekort" was changed to "Rullkort" (Roll cards or Roll records). Salary documents can give you some information about an officer's military career. The collections Meritförteckningar (List of qualifications) and tjänsteförteckningar (Service records) are valuable sources of information. NCOs are not normally represented in these collections. In the "meritförteckningar" you will find information like place of birth, education and latest duty or service. The Army's officer's "meritförteckningar" will be found in the Army's Pension Fund's (Arméns pensionskassa) collection which stretches from 1757 to 1937. The merits were sent to the Pension Funds to be a base for upcoming pensions. For the time between 1757 and 1895 there is a personal index at the War Archives. Other collections with listings of qualifications is "Meritförteckningar" for the 1600's to 1800's, "Tjänsteförteckningar för i armén kvarstående officerare 1815 - 1883" (Service Records for Army Officers in active service 1815 to 1883) plus "Tjänsteförteckningar 1886- 1940". The "Biograficasamlingen" (the Biography Collection) is an interesting collection for the genealogist. The collection consists of documents sorted alphabetically on family name and concerns officers from all of the fighting services. The content of the collection varies and you might even find letters, clippings from newspapers etc. If you are lucky you could find a private archive for an officer. The odds for this are bigger if the officer had a higher rank. There is an archive register for every private archive. At the War Archives there are also two portrait collections; The "Porträttsamlingen" (The portrait collection) and the "Flottans porträttsamling" (The Navy portrait collection). Here you will find photos of officers or photos taken of portrait paintings. There is also a collection of group photos, "Gruppfotosamling". The allotted officers received a fringe benefit in the form a officer residence and its associated farmlands. Every officer and NCO had a residence granted from the Crown. In the regimental roll "indelningsverk" (The Allotment System) or "jordebok" (Property register) you will find information about each officer's and NCO's residence. Like the soldiers' crofts, the officers' and NCOs' residence were inspected now and then. The protocols from these inspections can give valuable information about an officer's residence. A very large number of inspection records were preserved. However there is a homestead index at the researcher’s hall at the War Archives. The officers were trained at different military schools or academies in order to be more qualified, promoted and get a higher rank. In the school's archives you might find grades and certificates and sometimes also different examination papers. An officer wrote many reports and documents during his daily work. In the collection "order, rapporter" (orders and reports) you can see what was going on at the regiment and thereby what the officer did in his line of work.  

The Army Rolls

The General Muster Rolls (Generalmönsterrullorna, GMR)

The first military source the genealogist normally comes in contact with is Generalmönsterrullan (GMR) or in English: the General Muster Roll. A general muster (GM) was called at each regiment every 3rd year (later every 5th year). The general muster rolls were kept at the regiment s and since a new general muster roll was set up at each general muster you must know the time frame when your soldier served in the regiment. A general muster was an inspection of the regiment, where its strength in numbers, equipment, etc. was noted. The GMRs are a part of förteckning nr 23 (Catalogue No 23) and covers, with a few exceptions, the years 1685 to 1885. This is most of the period of the new Allotment System (1682 - 1901). There were no general musters called during the last years of the Allotment System, which was abandoned in 1901 and replaced with a conscript system. For the last year of the Allotment System you can instead use the rolls "stamrullorna". Within each general muster roll the soldiers were listed company-by-company. So it is a good thing if you know the company name of your soldier. Higher ranked officers, the so-called regimental officers, are listed in the beginning of the GMR.s In the Swedish Army the officers, from the rank of Major to Colonel, were called regimental officers - they were on the staff. The First and Second Lieutenants plus the Captains were called company officers. They were listed in the beginning of their respective company. The NCOs are also accounted for in the beginning of their respective companies in the rolls. The lower ranks are listed among the men. The information you need to do research in the GMR is: the regiment, company, the soldier's number, parish and, of course, the soldier's name. You also have to know the time frame so you can order the right GMR for the regiment. The Grill books are the best source for finding the regiment of your soldier. Observe that the Grill works were written in the middle of the 1800's and therefore reflect the names of the regiments and the companies at that time. In early years, the names of some companies within the regiments might be different. How companies or soldiers were numbered within the regiment could also have been different in the early days. The General Muster Rolls were kept in four copies: 1. One copy was sent to Krigskollegium - War Office (these copies are now at the KrA) 2. One copy was sent to the Landshövdingen (the County Governor) of the County (these copies are now at the Landsarkiven - The Regional Archives) 3. One copy was kept at the Regimental Commander's office (these copies are now at the KrA) 4. One copy was split into 8 parts, one for each company, so each Company Commander had his own copy (these copies are now at the KrA) Information you will find in the GMR In the general muster rolls you will find information about the soldiers/cavalrymen, all listed company-by-company as mentioned above. For the soldiers you will find information such as: soldier names soldier numbers (both within the company and within the regiment) the name of the rote place of birth (normally just the name of the province, not the parish) age number of years in service height (normally in feet and inches) former occupation as a civilian civil status (married or not) Further, you will find notations on how well he had served/conducted as a soldier (normally at discharge), information about the campaigns he participated in, wounds and injuries, if he was absent or present at the general muster, etc. These kinds of information were kept in a special remark columns called "annotationer" in the roll. There were two Remarks columns. The first remark column  contains notations from the previous general muster and the second column from the current general muster. In those columns you will find the remark "approberad" if the recruit had been approved as a soldier. If the soldier was present at the GM you will see the remark  "presens" or if he was absent; "absens". After 1810 you will also find information on medals for bravery and other medals. From 1850 onward the GMRs are much more detailed. The soldier's patronymic name is in the rolls from the first half of the 1800's. In the GMR of the cavalry regiments there are also information on each horseman's horse. If you study the GMRs from different periods of time you will get information on how the unit has changed over the years. After a war there could be many changes to the regiment and a lot of newly recruited soldiers. However, there are no summaries of what happened to the regiment during the years of war. When a new soldier was recruited and approved by the Company Commander he became a recruit. He did not become a soldier until the next general muster of the regiment. It was at the GM he was accepted or "approberades" as it will read in the rolls. It was the same routine when a soldier was discharged. A soldier didn't formally get discharged until the next GM. The discharge could be on request from the soldier or an order from the Army. The reason would be advanced age, war wound or sickness. A regimental Commander could also discharge a soldier between two general musters if the rote farmer supported the proposal or if the rote farmer brought forward such a suggestion. This was called an "interimsavsked" (interim discharge) and it had to be approved at the next GM. The information about the age of the soldier should not be accepted without further checking. The reason for that is different among the allotted regiments (indelta regementen) and the enlisted regiments (värvade regementen). In the allotted regiments the young recruits often stated a higher age than his real age just to be accepted as a recruit. Normally a recruit in an allotted regiment had to be between the age of 18 and 30. The Company Commander was often aware of this but could keep it to himself in order to sign up a good recruit. For a soldier approaching the age of discharge, he could suddenly become older or younger in the rolls depending on whether he wanted to be discharged or not. In the enlisted regiments the situation was a bit different. It was much more difficult to enroll soldiers in the enlisted regiments than in the allotted regiments, the discipline and moral wasn't as good. In the enlisted regiments the soldier had the same reason to lie about his age in order to be accepted as in the allotted regiments, however here they stated a younger age than their real age. At a GM with an enlisted regiment they wouldn't normally accept a recruit older than 20 - 23 years of age. To be enrolled, a man older than 23 could lie about his age. In order improve his chances to be approved, the enlisted recruit could also lie about his civil status and state that he was married even if he wasn't. It was common to first of all enroll married soldiers since they were less prone to run away. A change of the soldier's name can cause a lot of problems for the genealogist. The soldier's number belonged to the rote. If the soldier was transferred to another rote he always got the soldier's number of the new rote. If the soldier moved to a new rote within the company he kept his soldier's name.  However if he was transferred to another company he might have to change the name if there was a soldier in the new company with the same name. A soldier's name had to be unique within a company. A soldier could also change his name on his own request without moving to another rote. A young soldier could also be forced to change his soldier's name if a corporal or an older soldier was transferred to his company and had the same name as he had. In situations like this it was common that the younger soldier had to change his name. It was common that the children of a soldier kept their patronymic name. However this could vary in different provinces but it became more common in the 1800's that the children adopted their father's soldier's name. At this time it also became common for the soldiers to keep their soldier's name when they were discharged from the military. You also have to be aware that when a soldier was discharged, the new soldier of the rote could be assigned the same soldier's name as his predecessor. This was quite common. If the new soldier on the rote also had the same Christian name (given name) as the former soldier it could be difficult to observe the fact that there was a change of soldiers on the rote. It would be even more difficult to observe the change of soldiers if the new soldier also had the same patronymic name as his predecessor. Another situation that could mislead the genealogist is the situation where the soldier had died and the predecessor married the former soldier's widow. A soldier that was promoted to corporal for example had to move to the rote of the corporal he was succeeding. One way of keeping track of a soldier, especially when he was transferred a lot, is to check his age and the number of service years in all GMRs, in order to secure the identity of him. The soldier's name and number is not enough since they could change. For the enlisted regiments, the general muster rolls are only preserved for the regiments that were garrisoned in Sweden/Finland and in Swedish Pommern (Pomerania, Northern Germany).

Brödmönstringar (Interim Musters)

Between each General Muster there were so-called "brödmönstringar" ("bröd" musters). After each GM a "brödmönsterrulla" ("bröd" muster roll) was set up at the regiment where current notes were made until the next GM. So, this roll will cover the periods between the GMs. It contains the same type of information as the GMRs. In addition to this they also contain notes about military peacetime works (arbetskommenderingar) like construction or repairing of fortresses, bridges, canals and other public works facilities. These type of notes also contains specifications of the length of these works plus information on possible personal injuries. These rolls were kept for the allotted regiments between 1820 and 1901. The military peacetime works are accounted for in more detail  in the so-called kommendörrullorna ("kommendör" rolls) where you will find information such as dates,  types of equipment used, injuries incurred by soldiers, etc. If you know the year of the soldier's  recruitment you can have a look at the rekryteringsrullan/inmönstringsrullan (recruitment rolls/enrollment rolls) where you might find information about the soldier's patronymic name (his surname before he joined the Army), date of birth, place of birth and sometimes the soldier's father's name. Here you also might find the certificates presented when he was recruited, certificates from his parish minister, previous employer and medical certificates. These rolls are not as well preserved as other rolls and there are very few of them around before the 1800's.

Rullor 1724 -  (Rolls starting from 1724)

Another source of great value and a complement to the GMRs is the series "Rullor 1724 -", förteckning nr 450 (catalogue no 450). This series of documents might cover possible gaps in the respective regiment's rolls. These rolls contain similar information as the GMRs.

Rullor 1620 - 1723 (Rolls 1620 - 1723)

For the period covering the older Allotment System and for the period of the new Allotment System until 1723 there are a series of rolls in förteckning nr 22 (catalogue no 22). This series is the most important source regarding the Swedish Great Power Period. There are, however, great gaps in these rolls. There is no information for the period 1708 - 1709, since most of the rolls for this period were destroyed at the Swedish surrender to Russia after the battle of Poltava in 1709. Much information regarding the Swedish regiments in the Baltic countries are also missing since the Baltic states were lost to Russia in 1710. However for the Swedish/Finnish regiments these rolls are excellent sources of information.

Krigsmanshuskontoret  (Pensions)

This series contains information regarding the pensions of soldiers and officers. Some series start in the 1630's and 1640's. The series is in förteckning nr 14 (catalogue no 14). From the 1680's there is a number of alphabetical indexes covering the "gratialisterna"  (the grantees). These indexes are split into different groups. First there are the veterans at the Vadstena Krigsmanshus (Vadstena Veterans house) in the province of Östergötland. Then there are the veterans that lived in the Vadstena area, next a series of  tax collection districts and last the largest part of the pensions that were distributed via the regiments. The division of the indexes depends how the pension was distributed. The tax collection districts were responsible for the pension to the veterans that had moved far away from their former area where they lived as a soldier. The regiments (the regimental clerks) were responsible for the pension to the veterans that still lived in the regimental area.   In these series you can follow the destinies of soldiers after they have been discharged. Before 1730 there was very little monetary support to the ex-serviceman unless they had been wounded. They also had to have a good conduct during the service years in order to get an allowance. There were very few officers at the Krigsmanshus, only the poor ones. In 1757 the officers and the NCOs were separated from the Krigsmanshus when the "Pensionskassan" (the Pension Funds) was founded. After that year the Krigsmanshuset only handled the lower ranks and the soldiers. In 1783 the Krigsmanshus was reorganized into Krigsmanshuskassan. In these rolls you also might find information about the soldier's wife and children.

Regementsräkneskaper, 1654 - 1723 (Regimental Accounts, 1654 - 1723)

This series contains information valuable for the genealogist researching officers and NCOs at the allotted regiments during the period of the Swedish Great Power Period. They are a part of  förteckning nr 24 (catalogue no 24) plus supplements in förteckning nr 451 (catalogue no 451). In these rolls you can follow the careers of the officers and NCOs. These rolls contain information regarding enrollment, discharge, promotions, signatures or  owner's marks etc of the officers and NCOs. If an officer's next of kin, his wife for example, has cashed the officer's salary in his absence you might get information on the officer's  family affairs. This series is not complete for years of war since the clerks in Stockholm didn't have full details of the changes in these matters if they happened in the field army.

Avlöningslistor (Payroll Lists)

The payroll lists in the Militiekontoret's (Militie office) register 1636 to 1865 (G.IV:b) is a valuable source of information. This series contain annual figures about officers, NCOs and the staff at the allotted regiments.

Roterings och utskrivningslängder (Conscription Rolls)

The series "Roterings och utskrivningslängder" (Conscription Rolls), förteckning nr 25 (catalogue no 25), is organized province-by- province and contains above all census information (mantalslängder). The series starts in the 1620's. These rolls contain information about all men above the age of 15 liable for conscription. At the muster the armed forces enrolled every 10th man as a soldier. The men chosen were noted in the rolls. Within each province the rolls were organized härad-by-härad (härad = administrative county district) or parish-by-parish.

Soldatkontrakt (Soldier Contracts)

When a soldier was recruited, a contract was made up between the recruit and the rote. In the contract was information about the terms of agreement like salary, recruitment money (lega), annual supply of hay, seed ("hemkall"), etc. There are not many contracts preserved from the 1700's, however in the 1800's they are better preserved.

Torpsyneprotokoll (Soldier croft inspection records)

At regular intervals, especially when a new soldier was moving in to the soldier croft, an inspection was made of the croft and a report was drawn up. During the inspection all deficiencies and faults of the croft that needed to be addressed was noted in the minutes. This could be faults like a leaking roof, a broken window, a door needed mending etc. These records are much more detailed for the officer's homesteads and better preserved, sometimes even back to the 1720's. The inspection records are kept, besides at the War Archives, also at the Provincial Archives.

Övriga rullor (Other Rolls)

In the Punishment Rolls (straffrullor) you will find information about the soldiers that were punished because they had broken some military regulation. The rolls contain information like type of misdemeanor and punishment. The punishment rolls are considerably thicker for the enlisted regiments. From the 1800's there are also the medical rolls (sjukrullor). They were kept chronologically as the soldiers got sick. Each soldier's entry tells the sickness or disease they had (often in Latin) and the type of treatment they received. At times of war, rolls were kept to record the men being shipped to the war zone, the so-called Embarkation rolls (Embarkerings- eller inmönstringsrullor). Similar rolls were made up at different occasions  in field and also when the regiment returned home. These rolls are very variously preserved, but when you find them they give great information about the campaigns and battles the soldier have participated in. You will also find notes if a soldier had been wounded, killed or taken prisoner of war. For prisoners of war (POW), there are as a rule only information about when they were taken prisoner and when they returned back home. However, for many POWs even this information is missing, they just "disappear" from the rolls. One exception is the Swedish prisoners of war in Russia after Poltava 1709 during the Great Nordic War. These Swedish POWs are very carefully noted in the rolls and for them there is a lot more information. Among other things, there is information regarding how long soldiers were in the hands of the Russians in order to pay them a correct salary when they returned home. Whenever a soldier was killed in war, taken prisoner or passed away, there is a chance you might find information about his family. The soldier's wife or children could claim the salary that was due to him. On such occasions, his family might then show up in the rolls. A large collection of petitions with these requests ("suppliker") are kept at the War Archives.  
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Related Links

The Allotment System Swedish Regiments Swedish Military Unit Numbers Tutorial: How to Research Soldiers Tutorial: Conscription Enrollment Numbers Example of soldier rolls & documents  About the enrollment Numbers (Conscripts) Examples of different notations in general muster rolls Terms, soldier research The rote numbering of the Södermanland regiment

Source References

Krigsarkivet och släktforskaren, Christopher von Warnstedt, SSGFs skriftserie, nr 1. 1989. Släktforskaren och Krigsarkivet by Lars Ericsson, article in Båtsmän, ryttare & soldater, Årsbok Sveriges Släktforskarförbund 1988. Soldatforska, Lars Ericson Wolke, 2012 Soldatforskning, by P Clemensson, L Ericsson, P Frohnert and B Lippold. Krigsarkivet 1995. Släktforskarna och Krigsarkivet, en vägvisare till de militära källorna. Message from Krigsarkivet XIX, 2000. Beståndsöversikt Krigsarkivet Inskrivningar av värnpliktiga 1812 - 1969, en översikt av Evabritta Personne, 1968. My own experiences Top of page
Military Hans Högman
Copyright © Hans Högman 2017-08-10

Research of Soldiers,

Sweden

The Army Rolls

The General Muster Rolls

(Generalmönsterrullorna, GMR)

The first military source the genealogist normally comes in contact with is Generalmönsterrullan (GMR) or in English: the General Muster Roll. A general muster (GM) was called at each regiment every 3rd year (later every 5th year). The general muster rolls were kept at the regiment s and since a new general muster roll was set up at each general muster you must know the time frame when your soldier served in the regiment. A general muster was an inspection of the regiment, where its strength in numbers, equipment, etc. was noted. The GMRs are a part of förteckning nr 23 (Catalogue No 23) and covers, with a few exceptions, the years 1685 to 1885. This is most of the period of the new Allotment System (1682 - 1901). There were no general musters called during the last years of the Allotment System, which was abandoned in 1901 and replaced with a conscript system. For the last year of the Allotment System you can instead use the rolls "stamrullorna". Within each general muster roll the soldiers were listed company-by-company. So it is a good thing if you know the company name of your soldier. Higher ranked officers, the so-called regimental officers, are listed in the beginning of the GMR.s In the Swedish Army the officers, from the rank of Major to Colonel, were called regimental officers - they were on the staff. The First and Second Lieutenants plus the Captains were called company officers. They were listed in the beginning of their respective company. The NCOs are also accounted for in the beginning of their respective companies in the rolls. The lower ranks are listed among the men. The information you need to do research in the GMR is: the regiment, company, the soldier's number, parish and, of course, the soldier's name. You also have to know the time frame so you can order the right GMR for the regiment. The Grill books are the best source for finding the regiment of your soldier. Observe that the Grill works were written in the middle of the 1800's and therefore reflect the names of the regiments and the companies at that time. In early years, the names of some companies within the regiments might be different. How companies or soldiers were numbered within the regiment could also have been different in the early days. The General Muster Rolls were kept in four copies: 1. One copy was sent to Krigskollegium - War Office (these copies are now at the KrA) 2. One copy was sent to the Landshövdingen (the County Governor) of the County (these copies are now at the Landsarkiven - The Regional Archives) 3. One copy was kept at the Regimental Commander's office (these copies are now at the KrA) 4. One copy was split into 8 parts, one for each company, so each Company Commander had his own copy (these copies are now at the KrA) Information you will find in the GMR In the general muster rolls you will find information about the soldiers/cavalrymen, all listed company- by-company as mentioned above. For the soldiers you will find information such as: soldier names soldier numbers (both within the company and within the regiment) the name of the rote place of birth (normally just the name of the province, not the parish) age number of years in service height (normally in feet and inches) former occupation as a civilian civil status (married or not) Further, you will find notations on how well he had served/conducted as a soldier (normally at discharge), information about the campaigns he participated in, wounds and injuries, if he was absent or present at the general muster, etc. These kinds of information were kept in a special remark columns called "annotationer" in the roll. There were two Remarks columns. The first remark column  contains notations from the previous general muster and the second column from the current general muster. In those columns you will find the remark "approberad" if the recruit had been approved as a soldier. If the soldier was present at the GM you will see the remark  "presens" or if he was absent; "absens". After 1810 you will also find information on medals for bravery and other medals. From 1850 onward the GMRs are much more detailed. The soldier's patronymic name is in the rolls from the first half of the 1800's. In the GMR of the cavalry regiments there are also information on each horseman's horse. If you study the GMRs from different periods of time you will get information on how the unit has changed over the years. After a war there could be many changes to the regiment and a lot of newly recruited soldiers. However, there are no summaries of what happened to the regiment during the years of war. When a new soldier was recruited and approved by the Company Commander he became a recruit. He did not become a soldier until the next general muster of the regiment. It was at the GM he was accepted or "approberades" as it will read in the rolls. It was the same routine when a soldier was discharged. A soldier didn't formally get discharged until the next GM. The discharge could be on request from the soldier or an order from the Army. The reason would be advanced age, war wound or sickness. A regimental Commander could also discharge a soldier between two general musters if the rote farmer supported the proposal or if the rote farmer brought forward such a suggestion. This was called an "interimsavsked" (interim discharge) and it had to be approved at the next GM. The information about the age of the soldier should not be accepted without further checking. The reason for that is different among the allotted regiments (indelta regementen) and the enlisted regiments (värvade regementen). In the allotted regiments the young recruits often stated a higher age than his real age just to be accepted as a recruit. Normally a recruit in an allotted regiment had to be between the age of 18 and 30. The Company Commander was often aware of this but could keep it to himself in order to sign up a good recruit. For a soldier approaching the age of discharge, he could suddenly become older or younger in the rolls depending on whether he wanted to be discharged or not. In the enlisted regiments the situation was a bit different. It was much more difficult to enroll soldiers in the enlisted regiments than in the allotted regiments, the discipline and moral wasn't as good. In the enlisted regiments the soldier had the same reason to lie about his age in order to be accepted as in the allotted regiments, however here they stated a younger age than their real age. At a GM with an enlisted regiment they wouldn't normally accept a recruit older than 20 - 23 years of age. To be enrolled, a man older than 23 could lie about his age. In order improve his chances to be approved, the enlisted recruit could also lie about his civil status and state that he was married even if he wasn't. It was common to first of all enroll married soldiers since they were less prone to run away. A change of the soldier's name can cause a lot of problems for the genealogist. The soldier's number belonged to the rote. If the soldier was transferred to another rote he always got the soldier's number of the new rote. If the soldier moved to a new rote within the company he kept his soldier's name.  However if he was transferred to another company he might have to change the name if there was a soldier in the new company with the same name. A soldier's name had to be unique within a company. A soldier could also change his name on his own request without moving to another rote. A young soldier could also be forced to change his soldier's name if a corporal or an older soldier was transferred to his company and had the same name as he had. In situations like this it was common that the younger soldier had to change his name. It was common that the children of a soldier kept their patronymic name. However this could vary in different provinces but it became more common in the 1800's that the children adopted their father's soldier's name. At this time it also became common for the soldiers to keep their soldier's name when they were discharged from the military. You also have to be aware that when a soldier was discharged, the new soldier of the rote could be assigned the same soldier's name as his predecessor. This was quite common. If the new soldier on the rote also had the same Christian name (given name) as the former soldier it could be difficult to observe the fact that there was a change of soldiers on the rote. It would be even more difficult to observe the change of soldiers if the new soldier also had the same patronymic name as his predecessor. Another situation that could mislead the genealogist is the situation where the soldier had died and the predecessor married the former soldier's widow. A soldier that was promoted to corporal for example had to move to the rote of the corporal he was succeeding. One way of keeping track of a soldier, especially when he was transferred a lot, is to check his age and the number of service years in all GMRs, in order to secure the identity of him. The soldier's name and number is not enough since they could change. For the enlisted regiments, the general muster rolls are only preserved for the regiments that were garrisoned in Sweden/Finland and in Swedish Pommern (Pomerania, Northern Germany).

Brödmönstringar (Interim Musters)

Between each General Muster there were so-called "brödmönstringar" ("bröd" musters). After each GM a "brödmönsterrulla" ("bröd" muster roll) was set up at the regiment where current notes were made until the next GM. So, this roll will cover the periods between the GMs. It contains the same type of information as the GMRs. In addition to this they also contain notes about military peacetime works (arbetskommenderingar) like construction or repairing of fortresses, bridges, canals and other public works facilities. These type of notes also contains specifications of the length of these works plus information on possible personal injuries. These rolls were kept for the allotted regiments between 1820 and 1901. The military peacetime works are accounted for in more detail  in the so-called kommendörrullorna ("kommendör" rolls) where you will find information such as dates,  types of equipment used, injuries incurred by soldiers, etc. If you know the year of the soldier's  recruitment you can have a look at the rekryteringsrullan/inmönstringsrullan (recruitment rolls/enrollment rolls) where you might find information about the soldier's patronymic name (his surname before he joined the Army), date of birth, place of birth and sometimes the soldier's father's name. Here you also might find the certificates presented when he was recruited, certificates from his parish minister, previous employer and medical certificates. These rolls are not as well preserved as other rolls and there are very few of them around before the 1800's.

Rullor 1724 -  (Rolls starting from 1724)

Another source of great value and a complement to the GMRs is the series "Rullor 1724 -", förteckning nr 450 (catalogue no 450). This series of documents might cover possible gaps in the respective regiment's rolls. These rolls contain similar information as the GMRs.

Rullor 1620 - 1723 (Rolls 1620 - 1723)

For the period covering the older Allotment System and for the period of the new Allotment System until 1723 there are a series of rolls in förteckning nr 22 (catalogue no 22). This series is the most important source regarding the Swedish Great Power Period. There are, however, great gaps in these rolls. There is no information for the period 1708 - 1709, since most of the rolls for this period were destroyed at the Swedish surrender to Russia after the battle of Poltava in 1709. Much information regarding the Swedish regiments in the Baltic countries are also missing since the Baltic states were lost to Russia in 1710. However for the Swedish/Finnish regiments these rolls are excellent sources of information.

Krigsmanshuskontoret  (Pensions)

This series contains information regarding the pensions of soldiers and officers. Some series start in the 1630's and 1640's. The series is in förteckning nr 14 (catalogue no 14). From the 1680's there is a number of alphabetical indexes covering the "gratialisterna"  (the grantees). These indexes are split into different groups. First there are the veterans at the Vadstena Krigsmanshus (Vadstena Veterans house) in the province of Östergötland. Then there are the veterans that lived in the Vadstena area, next a series of  tax collection districts and last the largest part of the pensions that were distributed via the regiments. The division of the indexes depends how the pension was distributed. The tax collection districts were responsible for the pension to the veterans that had moved far away from their former area where they lived as a soldier. The regiments (the regimental clerks) were responsible for the pension to the veterans that still lived in the regimental area.   In these series you can follow the destinies of soldiers after they have been discharged. Before 1730 there was very little monetary support to the ex-serviceman unless they had been wounded. They also had to have a good conduct during the service years in order to get an allowance. There were very few officers at the Krigsmanshus, only the poor ones. In 1757 the officers and the NCOs were separated from the Krigsmanshus when the "Pensionskassan" (the Pension Funds) was founded. After that year the Krigsmanshuset only handled the lower ranks and the soldiers. In 1783 the Krigsmanshus was reorganized into Krigsmanshuskassan. In these rolls you also might find information about the soldier's wife and children.

Regementsräkneskaper, 1654 - 1723

(Regimental Accounts, 1654 - 1723)

This series contains information valuable for the genealogist researching officers and NCOs at the allotted regiments during the period of the Swedish Great Power Period. They are a part of  förteckning nr 24 (catalogue no 24) plus supplements in förteckning nr 451 (catalogue no 451). In these rolls you can follow the careers of the officers and NCOs. These rolls contain information regarding enrollment, discharge, promotions, signatures or  owner's marks etc of the officers and NCOs. If an officer's next of kin, his wife for example, has cashed the officer's salary in his absence you might get information on the officer's  family affairs. This series is not complete for years of war since the clerks in Stockholm didn't have full details of the changes in these matters if they happened in the field army.

Avlöningslistor (Payroll Lists)

The payroll lists in the Militiekontoret's (Militie office) register 1636 to 1865 (G.IV:b) is a valuable source of information. This series contain annual figures about officers, NCOs and the staff at the allotted regiments.

Roterings och utskrivningslängder

(Conscription Rolls)

The series "Roterings och utskrivningslängder" (Conscription Rolls), förteckning nr 25 (catalogue no 25), is organized province-by-province and contains above all census information (mantalslängder). The series starts in the 1620's. These rolls contain information about all men above the age of 15 liable for conscription. At the muster the armed forces enrolled every 10th man as a soldier. The men chosen were noted in the rolls. Within each province the rolls were organized härad-by-härad (härad = administrative county district) or parish-by-parish.

Soldatkontrakt (Soldier Contracts)

When a soldier was recruited, a contract was made up between the recruit and the rote. In the contract was information about the terms of agreement like salary, recruitment money (lega), annual supply of hay, seed ("hemkall"), etc. There are not many contracts preserved from the 1700's, however in the 1800's they are better preserved.

Torpsyneprotokoll (Soldier croft inspection

records)

At regular intervals, especially when a new soldier was moving in to the soldier croft, an inspection was made of the croft and a report was drawn up. During the inspection all deficiencies and faults of the croft that needed to be addressed was noted in the minutes. This could be faults like a leaking roof, a broken window, a door needed mending etc. These records are much more detailed for the officer's homesteads and better preserved, sometimes even back to the 1720's. The inspection records are kept, besides at the War Archives, also at the Provincial Archives.

Övriga rullor (Other Rolls)

In the Punishment Rolls (straffrullor) you will find information about the soldiers that were punished because they had broken some military regulation. The rolls contain information like type of misdemeanor and punishment. The punishment rolls are considerably thicker for the enlisted regiments. From the 1800's there are also the medical rolls (sjukrullor). They were kept chronologically as the soldiers got sick. Each soldier's entry tells the sickness or disease they had (often in Latin) and the type of treatment they received. At times of war, rolls were kept to record the men being shipped to the war zone, the so-called Embarkation rolls (Embarkerings- eller inmönstringsrullor). Similar rolls were made up at different occasions  in field and also when the regiment returned home. These rolls are very variously preserved, but when you find them they give great information about the campaigns and battles the soldier have participated in. You will also find notes if a soldier had been wounded, killed or taken prisoner of war. For prisoners of war (POW), there are as a rule only information about when they were taken prisoner and when they returned back home. However, for many POWs even this information is missing, they just "disappear" from the rolls. One exception is the Swedish prisoners of war in Russia after Poltava 1709 during the Great Nordic War. These Swedish POWs are very carefully noted in the rolls and for them there is a lot more information. Among other things, there is information regarding how long soldiers were in the hands of the Russians in order to pay them a correct salary when they returned home. Whenever a soldier was killed in war, taken prisoner or passed away, there is a chance you might find information about his family. The soldier's wife or children could claim the salary that was due to him. On such occasions, his family might then show up in the rolls. A large collection of petitions with these requests ("suppliker") are kept at the War Archives.  

Finska regementen  (Regiments in Finland)

Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809 when we lost the Finnish part of the nation in a war with Russia. There were a lot of regiments established in Finland and the majority of them were allotted regiments. So, there are also rolls to be found for the regiments in Finland. However the regimental archives for the Finnish regiments are relatively small and in some cases poorly preserved. Many archives were lost in the war and when Sweden surrendered Finland to Russia the regiments in Finland were disestablished. According to the peace treaty of Fredrikshamn in 1809 a lot of regimental archive material was to be handed over to the Russians. This material hasn't been that important to the genealogist since it was mostly maps and charts that were handed over. There are not only Army archives for the Finnish units but also Navy archives. The Navy's naval stations were in Sweden but there were allotted båtsmän in the Finnish coastal areas belonging to different båtsmans rotar. The Galley Fleet (The Army Fleet) however had two squadrons in Finland, The Finnish squadron or the Sveaborg squadron from 1758 and the Åbo squadron from 1793. In the Navy archives there are also the Sea Artillery regiments garrisoned at Sveaborg, Kristina and Varkus. The Swedish name for the Galley Fleet is "Skärgårdflottan" and the two squadrons in Finland are called  "Finska eskadern" or "Sveaborgseskadern" and "Åboeskadern". A "båtsman" is the Navy's counterpart to the Army's allotted soldiers.

Stamrullor / Stamkort  (The Successors to

the GMRs)

Stamrulla: The general muster rolls were kept until the 1880's. They were then replaced by the "stamrulla" ("stam" rolls and "stam" records). The "stamrulla" was introduced in 1885. They were organized as the company rolls or the "annotationsrullorna" (note rolls) but they also contained notes about the soldier's private circumstances, craftsmanship etc. At this time, such rolls were only kept at the enlisted regiments (värvade regementen). In 1889, they were introduced to the allotted regiments as well. The "stamrulla" contains information like name, date of birth and rank or position. After 1885 the stamrulla is the most important source of information for the research of soldiers and officers. The "stamrulla" were kept until the end of World War II and contained between 1919 and 1945 only regular servicemen, i.e. officers and NCOs, not draftees. In 1945 the "stamrulla" was replaced by the tjänstekort (Service Records). Stamkort: Sweden got a Universal Conscription System in 1901 when the Allotment System was abandoned. For the "värnpliktiga" (conscript soldiers or draftees) the stamrulla was replaced with the stamkort ("stam" records) in 1919. The stamkort are also called "värnpliktskort" (draftee records). The stamkort contains information on the draftee like; name, date of birth and from 1947, when the "personnummer" (Personal identification number) was introduced. Here you will also find information about which branch of the army (truppslag) he served in and any possible misconduct.

Lantvärnet - (An Forerunner to Beväringen)

The soldiers of the "Lantvärnet" are in the collection "Lantvärnet". These general muster rolls contain the same type of information as the GMR for the allotted soldiers. 

Beväringen - (An Early Forerunner to the

Universal Service System)

"Beväringen" was an early conscription system and was introduced in 1812. It was a forerunner to the universal Conscription Service System of 1901. Every male between the age of 21 to 25 was required to serve in the  military as conscripts (draftees). For some reason, the hiring of substitutes was allowed, i.e. to pay someone to do the service in his  place. This was a demand from the farmers. The first muster for the "beväringen" was held in 1813.  Initially they were trained together with the soldiers from the Allotment  System. The conscripts of beväringen was kept in the so-called beväringsmönsterrullorna (Conscript rolls). These rolls are from 1886 called inskrivningslängder (Enrollment rolls). From 1886 were all draftees assigen a inskrivningsnummer (enrollment number) at the time of the registration (muster).

Värnpliktstiden - The period of the Universal

Service System (1901 - 2010)

The Allotment System was abandoned in 1901 and replaced with a Universal Service System (draft service) with a conscript army ("värnpliktsarmé"). The system is called "Allmän Värnplikt" in Swedish and a draftee (conscript) is called  "värnpliktig". Like during the Allotment System, in order to find a draftee in the inskrivningslängderna (enrollment rolls) you must know the parish where he lived at the time he was drafted (registered). Between 1902 and 1952 these rolls were, like the earlier rolls, organized geographically. From 1953 these rolls are organized by the draftees "personnummer" (a national personal identification number). Like prior to 1902, the draftees (värnpliktiga) were assigned an enrollment number  (inskrivningsnummer). This enrollment number was a three-part registration number with one part for the place in the roll, one part for the roll area and the third part for the year of enrollment. For more information, see inskrivningsnummer (enrollment numbers). In 1919 individual stamkort/värnpliktskort (draft card) were introduced which contained similar information as the earlier stamrulla.

Collections Regarding Officers and NCOs

There is much richer trove of material regarding officers as compared to that of the soldiers. In these collections you need to know the regiment in order to find your officer. If you don't know the name of the regiment you can search him in some of the many indexes at the War Archives, for example in the index of the "Biograficasamlingen" (the Biography Collection) or in the index of the "Arméns pensionskassas meritband" (The Army's pension fund's list of qualifications). As mentioned earlier, officers and NCOs are listed in the general muster rolls (GMR). GMRs were kept until the 1880's when they, for the officers and NCOs, were succeed by the so-callled "stamrulla" ("stam" rolls). In 1945 the "stamrulla" were replaced by the "Tjänstekort" (Service records). In 1959 the name of the "tjänstekort" was changed to "Rullkort" (Roll cards or Roll records). Salary documents can give you some information about an officer's military career. The collections Meritförteckningar (List of qualifications) and tjänsteförteckningar (Service records) are valuable sources of information. NCOs are not normally represented in these collections. In the "meritförteckningar" you will find information like place of birth, education and latest duty or service. The Army's officer's "meritförteckningar" will be found in the Army's Pension Fund's (Arméns pensionskassa) collection which stretches from 1757 to 1937. The merits were sent to the Pension Funds to be a base for upcoming pensions. For the time between 1757 and 1895 there is a personal index at the War Archives. Other collections with listings of qualifications is "Meritförteckningar" for the 1600's to 1800's, "Tjänsteförteckningar för i armén kvarstående officerare 1815 - 1883" (Service Records for Army Officers in active service 1815 to 1883) plus "Tjänsteförteckningar 1886- 1940". The "Biograficasamlingen" (the Biography Collection) is an interesting collection for the genealogist. The collection consists of documents sorted alphabetically on family name and concerns officers from all of the fighting services. The content of the collection varies and you might even find letters, clippings from newspapers etc. If you are lucky you could find a private archive for an officer. The odds for this are bigger if the officer had a higher rank. There is an archive register for every private archive. At the War Archives there are also two portrait collections; The "Porträttsamlingen" (The portrait collection) and the "Flottans porträttsamling" (The Navy portrait collection). Here you will find photos of officers or photos taken of portrait paintings. There is also a collection of group photos, "Gruppfotosamling". The allotted officers received a fringe benefit in the form a officer residence and its associated farmlands. Every officer and NCO had a residence granted from the Crown. In the regimental roll "indelningsverk" (The Allotment System) or "jordebok" (Property register) you will find information about each officer's and NCO's residence. Like the soldiers' crofts, the officers' and NCOs' residence were inspected now and then. The protocols from these inspections can give valuable information about an officer's residence. A very large number of inspection records were preserved. However there is a homestead index at the researcher’s hall at the War Archives. The officers were trained at different military schools or academies in order to be more qualified, promoted and get a higher rank. In the school's archives you might find grades and certificates and sometimes also different examination papers. An officer wrote many reports and documents during his daily work. In the collection "order, rapporter" (orders and reports) you can see what was going on at the regiment and thereby what the officer did in his line of work.  

Related Links

The Allotment System Swedish Regiments Swedish Military Unit Numbers Tutorial: How to Research Soldiers Tutorial: Conscription Enrollment Numbers Example of soldier rolls & documents  About the enrollment Numbers (Conscripts) Examples of different notations in general muster rolls Terms, soldier research The rote numbering of the Södermanland regiment

Source References

Krigsarkivet och släktforskaren, Christopher von Warnstedt, SSGFs skriftserie, nr 1. 1989. Släktforskaren och Krigsarkivet by Lars Ericsson, article in Båtsmän, ryttare & soldater, Årsbok Sveriges Släktforskarförbund 1988. Soldatforska, Lars Ericson Wolke, 2012 Soldatforskning, by P Clemensson, L Ericsson, P Frohnert and B Lippold. Krigsarkivet 1995. Släktforskarna och Krigsarkivet, en vägvisare till de militära källorna. Message from Krigsarkivet XIX, 2000. Beståndsöversikt Krigsarkivet Inskrivningar av värnpliktiga 1812 - 1969, en översikt av Evabritta Personne, 1968. My own experiences Top of page