Q. What is the meaning of the letters "a" and "c" associated with year dates?
A. The letter "a"
associated with a year indicates that the date is approximate, while the letter
"c" indicates that the year is computed, usually from the year of
death and the age at death.
Q. What is the meaning of the two sets of three letters after birth-death years?
A. These are abbreviations of the parish of birth and the parish of death. Here is a complete (I hope) set of the parishes noted in these pages.
| Bit | Bitterna (R?) | Ljb | Ljusnarsberg (T) |
| Bju | Bjurtjärn (T) | Mel | Mellby (R?) |
| Blo | Blomskog (S) | Mil | Millesvik (S) |
| DEd | Dals-Ed (P) | Mrh | Misterhult (H) |
| Ess | Essunga (R) | Nrd | Nordmark (S) |
| Fal | Falun (W) | Nrb | Norrbärke (W) |
| Fel | Fellingsbro (T) | Nys | Nysund (T) |
| Fil | Filipstad (S) | Nös | Nössemark (P) |
| Fin | Finland | Rmn | Ramnäs (U) |
| Fär | Färnebo (S) | Ram | Ramsberg (T) |
| Grn | Grangärde (W) | Skb | Skinnskatteberg (U) |
| Gry | Grythyttan (T) | Stn | Steneby (P) |
| Gun | Gunnilbo (U) | STu | Stora Tuna (W) |
| Gås | Gåsborn (S) | Svd | Svennevad (T) |
| Häl | Hällefors (T) | Säf | Säfnäs (W) |
| Hjö | Hjulsjö (T) | Sät | Säter (R) |
| Jär | Järnboås (T) | Söd | Söderbärke (W) |
| Jul | Julita (D) | Tor | Torrskog (P) |
| Kar | Karlskoga (T) | USA | USA |
| Kro | Kroppa (T) | Vår | Vårvik (P) |
| Lax | Laxarby (P) | Åml | Åmål (P) |
| Lek | Lekeryd (F) | Åni | Ånimskog (P) |
| Lin | Lindesberg (T) | Älm | Älmeboda (G) |
| Ärt | Ärtemark (P) |
Q. What are the single letters in parens after the parish names?
A. These are abbreviations of the "counties" containing each parish. These designations seem to be generally accepted. A complete set for Swedish "counties" follows.
| A | Stockholms stad | O | Göteborgs och Bohus län |
| B | Stockholms län | OA | Göteborgs stad |
| C | Uppsala län | P | Älvsborgs län |
| D | Södermanlands län | R | Skaraborgs län |
| E | Östergötlands län | S | Värmlands län |
| F | Jönköpings län | T | Örebro län |
| G | Kronobergs län | U | Västmanlands län |
| H | Kalmar län | W | Dalarnas (Kopparbergs) län |
| I | Gotlands län | X | Gävleborgs län |
| K | Blekinge län | Y | Västernorrlands län |
| L | Kristianstads län | Z | Jämtlands län |
| M | Malmöhus län | AC | Västerbottens län |
| N | Hallands län | BD | Norrbottens län |
Q. What does "N. N." mean
where I would expect to see a person's name?
A. The designation "N. N." means "Not Noted". It is typically used where SOME fact is known about the person, but the name is not. Most often this will refer to a wife. In the early days a death might be listed as "Anders Andersson's wife" or "Anders Andersson's widow". Thus a date of death would be known, but no name. For another period of time only first names were used for wives.