Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809. During the era of the Allotment System regiments were also established in the Finland part of Sweden.
How to research soldiers in Finland
When you do genealogical research on Swedish ancestors you will eventually find an ancestor who served in the military forces as an infantry soldier or a cavalryman during the days of the Allotment System.It is then natural that you might want more information about your soldier. When you research soldiers it is principally the general muster rolls (GMR) you research. In order to do that you need to find the name of the regiment your soldier served in.The Allotment System was the system of organizing and financing the Swedish armed forces between 1682 and 1901.It is important to understand the concept of the Allotment system and to know the meaning of the term “rotar” (pl.) or "rusthåll" when you do research of soldiers in Sweden / Finland. "Rotar" was used in the infantry and "rusthåll" in the cavalry. For more information, see the The Allotment SystemUntil 1809 Sweden consisted of 4 larger regions or "lands"; Götaland, Svealand, Norrland and Finland. In other words, Finland was up until 1809 one of four Swedish "lands" (landsdelar); a fully integrated part of Sweden. However, Finland was lost to Russia in a war which lasted between 1808 and 1809. From 1809 Finland was a part of Russia, the Grand Duchy of Finland (an autonomous part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian Emperor as Grand Duke between 1809 - 1917).Regiments were established in all Swedish regions, including Finland. Therefore were also the regiments in Finland a part of the Swedish Allotment System. The first information you get regarding an ancestor's military life will probably come from the Household Examination Rolls (HFL). So, if you know the parish (socken) where your ancestor lived as a soldier you have a good chance to find the name of his regiment.The regiments established in present-day Sweden (i.e. in Götaland, Sveland and Norrland) are easy to find if you use Lieutenant Colonel Claes Grill's work "Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket I - IV" (Statistical Digest of the Swedish Allotment System) from 1856. If you know the name of the parish you just look up which regiment(s) had “rotar” in your parish.However, Lieutenant Colonel Claes Grill's work was made in 1856, long after Finland was ceded to Russia which means it doesn’t contain any information about the Swedish regiments in Finland.It is therefore more difficult to find the regiment of a soldier in Finland if you just know the parish.
Help to find the right regiment in Finland prior to 1809
This article will help you to find the right regiment among the regiments in Finland. The page is based on a publication made by “Den Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademin” (The Swedish Royal War Science Academy) titled “Fd. finska arméns indelning och förläggning” (The former Finnish military allotments), published about the same time as Grill’s work, i.e. mid 1850’s.Grill’s work is more deep-going and lists all “rotar” per parish and regiment. The publication made by The Swedish Royal War Science Academy regarding Finland only lists parishes per regiment, not on "rote" level.The provincial regiments:The provincial regiments were established in the 1620’s (including the regiments in Finland) and these regiments were later approved of in the Swedish Constitution of 1634. There were 20 infantry regiments established in Sweden of which 7 were in Finland and there were 8 cavalry regiments established of which there were 3 in Finland.
Infantry Regiments
The Allotment System in Finland during the
Swedish period (1)
Contents (click on preferred chapter in gray navigation list below):
The regiments in blue above were the infantry regiments established in Finland.
Cavalry Regiments
The regiments in blue are the cavalry regiments in Finland.When the Allotment System was introduced in 1682 it also included Finland. The year when respective regiment actually became a part of the Allotment System varies both in Sweden proper and in Finland. Most regiments became allotted during the last two decades of the 1600’s while the Österbotten Regiment in Finland wasn’t allotted until 1733.
Working Order
1.First, establish the parish where the ancestor lived as a soldier2.Second, find this parish in the parish register at this website3.In the Parish Register, find which regiment(s) had “rotar” in this parish4.In the Regiment Register, find which of the regiment’s companies had “rotar” in the parish
Source References
1."Fd. finska arméns indelning och förläggning" (The former Finnish military allotments), Kongl. Krigs-vetenskaps-Akademins (The Swedish Royal War Science Academy) publication, n:o 9, September 1852 and n:o 10 October 18522."Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket" (Statistical Digest of the Swedish Allotment System), by C. Grill from 1856
Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809. During the era of the Allotment System regiments were also established in the Finland part of Sweden.
How to research soldiers in Finland
When you do genealogical research on Swedish ancestors you will eventually find an ancestor who served in the military forces as an infantry soldier or a cavalryman during the days of the Allotment System.It is then natural that you might want more information about your soldier. When you research soldiers it is principally the general muster rolls (GMR) you research. In order to do that you need to find the name of the regiment your soldier served in.The Allotment System was the system of organizing and financing the Swedish armed forces between 1682 and 1901.It is important to understand the concept of the Allotment system and to know the meaning of the term “rotar” (pl.) or "rusthåll" when you do research of soldiers in Sweden / Finland. "Rotar" was used in the infantry and "rusthåll" in the cavalry. For more information, see the The Allotment SystemUntil 1809 Sweden consisted of 4 larger regions or "lands"; Götaland, Svealand, Norrland and Finland. In other words, Finland was up until 1809 one of four Swedish "lands" (landsdelar); a fully integrated part of Sweden. However, Finland was lost to Russia in a war which lasted between 1808 and 1809. From 1809 Finland was a part of Russia, the Grand Duchy of Finland (an autonomous part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian Emperor as Grand Duke between 1809 - 1917).Regiments were established in all Swedish regions, including Finland. Therefore were also the regiments in Finland a part of the Swedish Allotment System. The first information you get regarding an ancestor's military life will probably come from the Household Examination Rolls (HFL). So, if you know the parish (socken) where your ancestor lived as a soldier you have a good chance to find the name of his regiment.The regiments established in present-day Sweden (i.e. in Götaland, Sveland and Norrland) are easy to find if you use Lieutenant Colonel Claes Grill's work "Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket I - IV" (Statistical Digest of the Swedish Allotment System) from 1856. If you know the name of the parish you just look up which regiment(s) had “rotar” in your parish.However, Lieutenant Colonel Claes Grill's work was made in 1856, long after Finland was ceded to Russia which means it doesn’t contain any information about the Swedish regiments in Finland.It is therefore more difficult to find the regiment of a soldier in Finland if you just know the parish.
Help to find the right regiment in Finland
prior to 1809
This article will help you to find the right regiment among the regiments in Finland. The page is based on a publication made by “Den Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademin” (The Swedish Royal War Science Academy) titled “Fd. finska arméns indelning och förläggning” (The former Finnish military allotments), published about the same time as Grill’s work, i.e. mid 1850’s.Grill’s work is more deep-going and lists all “rotar” per parish and regiment. The publication made by The Swedish Royal War Science Academy regarding Finland only lists parishes per regiment, not on "rote" level.The provincial regiments:The provincial regiments were established in the 1620’s (including the regiments in Finland) and these regiments were later approved of in the Swedish Constitution of 1634. There were 20 infantry regiments established in Sweden of which 7 were in Finland and there were 8 cavalry regiments established of which there were 3 in Finland.
Infantry Regiments
The Allotment System in
Finland during the Swedish
period (1)
The regiments in blue above were the infantry regiments established in Finland.
Cavalry Regiments
The regiments in blue are the cavalry regiments in Finland.When the Allotment System was introduced in 1682 it also included Finland. The year when respective regiment actually became a part of the Allotment System varies both in Sweden proper and in Finland. Most regiments became allotted during the last two decades of the 1600’s while the Österbotten Regiment in Finland wasn’t allotted until 1733.
Working Order
1.First, establish the parish where the ancestor lived as a soldier2.Second, find this parish in the parish register at this website3.In the Parish Register, find which regiment(s) had “rotar” in this parish4.In the Regiment Register, find which of the regiment’s companies had “rotar” in the parish
Source References
1."Fd. finska arméns indelning och förläggning" (The former Finnish military allotments), Kongl. Krigs-vetenskaps-Akademins (The Swedish Royal War Science Academy) publication, n:o 9, September 1852 and n:o 10 October 18522."Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket" (Statistical Digest of the Swedish Allotment System), by C. Grill from 1856
