Trace your Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish ancestors! This convenient guide will help you discover your Northern European family history while optimizing your research time. Highlights include: • Strategies for identifying immigrant Scandinavian ancestors, plus how to trace them back to Europe from North America • Methods for locating Swedish genealogy records, Norwegian genealogy records, or Danish genealogy records within your family's town of origin • Detailed guides to finding and decoding common Scandinavian records, including: church records, civil registration records, census returns, property deeds, military records, and many more • Quick guides to Scandinavian history, geography, and language • Historical timelines, sample records, and resource lists that will bring your family history to life If your family tree includes Swedish roots, Danish roots, or Norwegian roots, The Family Tree Scandinavian Genealogy Guide is a must-have for your genealogy research.

Trace your Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish ancestors! This convenient guide will help you discover your Northern European family history while optimizing your research time. Highlights include: • Strategies for identifying immigrant Scandinavian ancestors, plus how to trace them back to Europe from North America • Methods for locating Swedish genealogy records, Norwegian genealogy records, or Danish genealogy records within your family's town of origin • Detailed guides to finding and decoding common Scandinavian records, including: church records, civil registration records, census returns, property deeds, military records, and many more • Quick guides to Scandinavian history, geography, and language • Historical timelines, sample records, and resource lists that will bring your family history to life If your family tree includes Swedish roots, Danish roots, or Norwegian roots, The Family Tree Scandinavian Genealogy Guide is a must-have for your genealogy research.

Provides tips and resources to use when tracing Scandinavian-American ancestory.

"The Research Guide for Norwegian Genealogy provides the building blocks of knowledge and methods for Norwegian Americans who are trying to discover their Norwegian ancestors. As we think about our ancestors, we want to know where they lived and what they were like. We wonder why they left their beautiful homeland and why they chose top relocate where they did in North America. This guide will take you through the different types of records available in the US and in Norway to helkp you locate the place (or places) in Norway your ancestors left behind and perhaps answer some of those questions about why they hay have left and what their lives were like"--

"America fever" gripped Sweden in the middle of the nineteenth century, seethed to a peak in 1910, when one-fifth of the world’s Swedes lived in America, cooled during World War I, and chilled to dead ash with the advent of the Great Depression in 1930. Swedish Exodus, the first English translation and revision of Lars Ljungmark’s Den Stora Utvandringen, recounts more than a century of Swedish emigration, concentrating on such questions as who came to America, how the character of the emigrants changed with each new wave of emigration, what these people did when they reached their adopted country, and how they gradually became Americanized. Ljungmark’s essential challenge was to capture in a factual account the broad sweep of emigration history. But often he narrows his focus to look closely at those who took part in this mass migration. Through historical records and personal letters, Ljungmark brings many of these people back to life. One young woman, for example, loved her parents, but loved America more: "I never expect to speak to you in this life. . . . Your loving daughter unto death." Like most immigrants, she never expected to return. Another immigrant wrote back seeking a wife: "I wonder how you have it and if you are living. . . . Are you married or unmarried? If you are unmarried, you can have a good home with me." Ljungmark also focuses closely on some of the leaders: Peter Cassel, a liberal temperance supporter and free-church leader whose community in America prospered; Hans Mattson, a colonel in the Civil War and founder of a colony in Minnesota; Erik Jansson, a book burner, self-proclaimed messiah, and founder of the Bishop Hill Colony; Gustaf Unonius, a student idealist and founder of a Wisconsin colony that faltered. The story of Swedish immigrants in the United States is the story in miniature of the greatest mass migration in human history, that of thirty-five million Europeans who left their homes to come to America. It is a human story of interest not only to Swedes but to everyone.

Get a start on your Swedish family history with Your Swedish Roots, a step-by-step handbook to help guide you in researching your Swedish ancestors. First, learn general information about Sweden, Swedish naming practices, and the Swedish language. These basics will help you research names of ancestors and search through Swedish records with greater ease. Next, learn what Swedish records are available, where to find them, and how to use them. Swedish church records will be one of the most value to you, as they are very complete and well preserved. Finally, follow sample cases on particular Swedish families to learn helpful research steps for your own family history. As you learn about your Swedish ancestry, you will experience the rewarding feelings that come from seeking out and discovering your ancestors.

"Readers may find themselves ordering their own DNA testing kit upon finishing this." —Publishers Weekly "The Soul of the Family Tree posits that a spiritual grounding in one's family history can combat 'historical amnesia' and nurture a sense of belonging." —Foreword Reviews Growing up in a passionately Norwegian-American Iowa town, Lori Erickson rolled her eyes at traditions like Nordic Fest and steaming pots of rømmegrøt. But like many Americans, she eventually felt drawn to genealogy, the "quintessential hobby of middle age." Her quest to know more about the Vikings and immigrants who perch in her family tree led her to visit Norse settlements and reenactments, medieval villages and modern museums, her picturesque hometown and her ancestor's farm on the fjords. Along the way, Erickson discovers how her soul has been shaped by her ancestors and finds unexpected spiritual guides among the seafaring Vikings and her hardscrabble immigrant forebears. Erickson’s far-ranging journeys and spiritual musings show us how researching family history can be a powerful tool for inner growth. Travel with Erickson in The Soul of the Family Tree to learn how the spirits of your ancestral past can guide you today.

Genealogists understand the value of a name and all the family history information names can provide. Now you can learn more about the Scandinavian names in your family tree with this comprehensive guide. Discover the meaning of more than 1,000 Scandinavian names, including Danish names, Finnish names, Norwegian names and Swedish names.You’ll also find: • Naming patterns and traditions of Scandinavian countries • Scandinavian emigration patterns • A pronunciation guide

This revised, expanded version of an article originally published in American Genealogy Magazine, discusses the many theories about the origin of the Black Dutch (including claims that have been dismissed), the term's use as a derogative, and conclusions. Illustrated with rare pictures, In Search of the Black Dutch identifies 154 American families reporting Black Dutch ancestry.