It was a very elegant small pack of sewing needles which aroused the Georg Löwenhielms interest in genealogy. Nålbrevet first had been with his parents and then put in a desk drawer for many years without Georg given it any interest.

” One day, when I looked closer at nålbrevet I saw a small patch under the needles. On the small patches was the name of Yhnell a year. Then I understood that the needles must have been used when my uncle’s baptismal gown was sewn, ” says Georg.

Read more: ”don’t Forget to talk with your living relatives.”

He has known very little about his mother’s family. Now sitting George on the city archives in Stockholm and going through the microfiches, which he made up from the collections. The cards show mantalskrivningsregister in Stockholm during the 1910s.

– My uncle moved now and then. I would like to find out where he lived during his last years of life, ” says Georg.

Georg, Who are looking for addresses where relatives lived with the help of microfiches on the accommodation directory for Stockholm in 1914. Photo: Mickan Palmqvist

the town hall drop-in in its reading room for the visitors who need free help to get started with their family history. For the help are experienced genealogists volunteers from Storstockholms genealogiska förening, SSGF.

” We agree with the open digital archive and about thirty computers for the visitors. The cooperation has been going on for six years and is very much appreciated, ” says Peeter Mark, head of the reading room at the city archives.

Despite the fact that the drop-in time has not yet started, it is full activity in the reading room. All the computers are already occupied by the prospective amatörforskare. On the screens shown avfotograferade documents from the Swedish church books, estate inventories, or at reasonable times. The data in the file is recorded in the beautiful illustrative letters, but not always easy to read.

sitting in the volunteer Barbro Nordlöf and helps Torkel Dreyfert to the right. He has been looking back on her father’s side to a rider in the cavalry in the 1630s. Now he does his research on his grandfather’s mother’s side, in Västergötland, sweden.

“We thought we found her födelseuppgifter 1848, but it was a tvärnit,” he says.

It was very common that families had many children, but a large part of them died at birth or as young, of measles, chicken pox, scarlet fever or diphtheria.

Barbro Nordlöf, could conclude that it was wrong Hedda Larsdotter they have found. This Hedda had died in the English disease at the age of three.

“Now, we’ll look further in the födelseboken for gränsorten Otterstad,” says Barbro.

as a volunteer at the city archives, then the drop-in evenings, started six years ago. She herself has indulged in family history for more than forty years.

” I have not had a family of his own so it is fun to look out more for their brother or sister and syskonbarns behalf. It will never be finished, ” she says.

When she looked back, she has encountered many soldiers. The war is becoming very well-trained when you do family history research, she can be found.

– But most of the drop in disease, not battle, ” she says.

The most harrowing aspects of genealogy is all the dead children, like Barbro. It was very common that families had many children, but a large part of them died at birth or as young, of measles, chicken pox, scarlet fever or diphtheria.

– All of these mothers who die in childbirth is Bahsegel also very sad to see, ” she says.

particularly common with children without official father, something that Doug, with many years of work within the social services behind him, not only is the negative of.

– Quite often lived these couple together in all cases. Stockholmsäktenskap called it and it is comparable with to be a partner in the day. For women, it could mean a greater freedom than to be married to the father, ” she says.

Barbro can see that many of the visitors come back week after week. Many need help to read the old books written by priests through the centuries. On the town hall provides the SSGF and with special courses in reading older handwriting.

Maria Lindberg Howard has a difficult to read copy of a förlossningsjournal from 1843 to his great grandfather. She needs help to find out why he was left out on the Swedish children’s welfare foundation as a child. Photo: Mickan Palmqvist

looking for information on his great grandfather. He was born in the klara district in 1843, and was left as a child to the Swedish children’s welfare foundation since his mother died of ”svartkoppar”.

” It was poor and unknown father. I know that his mom passed away. I have found when he was brought in, and when he was out, but I would like to know how the decision was made, but I have no idea where I should start, ” says Maria.

a relative has she been given a task that he was made after a referral from any sort of precursor to the poorhouse. She has a unreadable copy of the förlossningsjournalen. Now she will order up the original.

Maria is writing a book about his great grandfather and has managed to identify a large part of his life. From the Swedish children’s welfare foundation sent her great-grandfather to the province of Småland. After ten years he came back to Stockholm, where he received the help of an unknown benefactor who gave him free accommodation and saw that he was studying.

” Her, I have also researched on. She was probably just a kind person with a big heart. He just had the good fortune to run into her.

eventually it was Mary’s great-grandfather was training to be a priest.

Janne norberg b. costs of researching backwards on his styvmormors page. Photo: Mickan Palmqvist

in the inner reading room where you may read documents from the archive in the original. He is back on his styvmormors page for its cousins behalf.

” I have found the two brothers for several generations back that came as jewelers and goldsmiths from Karlshamn to Stockholm and formed families here. Two of them, stroking in a cholera epidemic in the 1850s.

Just today he goes through check – and utflyttningsregistren of Jacob and Catherine wards to see where the brothers ‘ wives and children gone.

– It is so so interesting to see what roots you have, even if this is my dna relative. You get a completely different understanding of its history when it becomes personal, ” says Jane Bradley.

Jamie has also taken a dna test to find their roots in a longer-term perspective, backwards.

– It is so much fun with dna because then you can really prove the relationship. It’s not always books are correct. Sometimes you could give a neighbor as a father.

started family research back in 1990 and has ”mapped out the whole family inside and out”.

Right now she has an inventory of the estate after his sister-in-law father in Skåne in front of him on the computer screen.

Kerstin Anim Addo began family research back in the 1990s and comes to the town hall each week. Here she gets the help of volunteer Chris Henning. Photo: Mickan Palmqvist

” I have worked as a ålderdomshemsföreståndare and assisted living. Then I had all the names in his head. When I became a pensioner, I filled the void with the names of all the relatives I found instead.

She has also found the unpleasant things far back in the family as she at any time had not wanted to know. Them she does not want me to write about. An interesting observation she made:

” I’ve found five or six suicides in the family. They have always been in the richer part of the family. Those who were poor lived until they were over 90 years.

George, Who takes a break from mikrokorten to talk a little more with the DN. He explains that he was in the 80s when he began researching his mother’s family. Now he is a bit over 90, but has no thoughts of slowing down.

” It becomes a kind of archaeological work. You dig up the people that existed once upon a time. I have now charted my mother’s family quite well. But there are still gaps. It gives me a great satisfaction. When I find something new I become euphoric!