I'm heading to Sweden in May and am trying to narrow down info on where my grandparents came from. They came from family farms which may not even excising now. I'd like to at least explore the area. Any info on these two places greatly appreciated.
Gunnarsjo. (Elfsboslan)
Halsvik
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7193 posts
Elfsboslan must be a creative spelling of Elfsborgs län (Modern spelling: Älvsborgs län). Gunnarsjö is a parish that at the time was located in the southernmost part of Älvsborgs län, but through administrative reforms is now a part of Varberg municipality in Hallands län.
Posted by
OP
Oregon
9 posts
Thank you. This very helpful! I have been confused trying to really locate this place. I figured out Alvsborg but couldn’t understand the relationship to the town or Varberg or Gunnarsjo. This makes sense now.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7193 posts
You'll find it around 30 km north east of Varberg. And if you want to explore the area, Varberg is a good base.
Posted by
Washington DC
28450 posts
Just in case you have time for some additional exploration, there's quite a nice emigration museum in Vaxjo. The glass museum under the same roof is also worth a visit if you have any interest in that. Vaxjo is about 2 hr. 40 min. from Varberg by car but would take considerably longer to reach by public transportation.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7193 posts
Driving from Varberg to Växjö in 2:40 is on the optimistic side. By train and bus it takes 3:30, so the difference is not huge.
Posted by
182 posts
I was assisted two ways in Sweden: one through the discussion boards on Ancestry.com. A Swedish genealogist helped to unravel the mystery and helped me find my great grandmother. There were so many "Augusta Carlsons" in Sweden at the time.
I also wrote to the genealogy society in Sweden in Halland. They helped me find a cousin who communicated with me. We met when I traveled to Sweden about ten years ago.
Posted by
391 posts
If you don't want to pay Ancestry's monthly subscription, try FamilySearch.org by the LDS church.
They also have research communities where you can get assistance with translations and transcriptions.
Go to Community.FamilySearch.org and click on Groups. You'll probably get more help in the Nordic Countries Research group. But they have groups for the individual countries as well.
My grandparents were Danish and I've had a lot of luck with a website called DanishFamilySearch.com. I find it easier to find church and census records there than through the LDS website and they have forums for getting help with translations and transcriptions. Maybe there is something similar in Sweden?
Good Luck with your research.