Two explanations about fires hindering research in the Swedish parishes of Tånnö, Värnamo and Voxtorp are here and here.

There are workarounds of course, but pre-1860 research would consume many hours and yield few results because all three parishes belonged to the district of Östbo ~ and there was a fire there too.

Which is how my Swedish 4th great-grandparents became the starting point for my 2022 search for living descendants.

The 1861-1873 husförhörslängder is the only extant household record in which my 4th great-grandfather Andreas Jonasson appears. Thankfully, that record includes a wealth of additional information.

According to this page in the parish record (shown above), my 4th great-grandfather Andreas Jonasson (line 2) was born in Voxtorp (one of the burned-records parishes) on the second of June 1810. He was listed as Inhys. This is the abbreviation for inhyseshjon, defined in the Swedish Genealogical Dictionary as a person living gratis at someone’s house; a cottager. Because previous years’ records were lost to fire, I may never know what Andreas did for work as a young man. He died on the 17th of October 1865, which is recorded in the column headed Död.

After Andreas’ death, the entry for my 4th great-grandmother Ingrid Stina Jonasdotter (line 3) was updated from H. [hustra or wife] to Enk. [enka or widow]. Stina was born in Voxtorp 05 Nov 1809. Following along line three, to the right we see Stina is ständigt sjuk, sängliggande [constantly ill, bedridden]. Andreas’ and Stina’s daughters Elin Maria (line 4) and Anna Catharina (line 5) were also in poor health and unable to work.

The couple’s youngest son Sven Gustaf appears on line 6; he was born in Tånnö on 01 Aug 1852. According to the book “Ah dublåe Himmel,Tånno gårdarna och torpen i Tånno socken”, Sven moved to Denmark, then to Germany and “probably later went to North America”. More research is needed here.

Two of the couple’s children are on line seven; Anders Håkan born 03 Oct 1840 and my 3rd great-grandmother Johanna Christina Andreasdotter born 20 Sep 1836. Both names have been crossed out because each moved out of Källaremon. Anders Håkan later returned with his wife Britta Cathrina Larsdotter and their sons Lars Johan and Carl Anders.

Another son of Andreas and Stina appears on line 8; Johan Andreasson born 10 Jul 1834. His wife Christina Andreasdotter and their three children Andreas Gustaf, Mina Elise and Carl Alfred are recorded below Johan on lines 9-12.

This brings the number of Andreas and Stina’s known children to six;

1. Johan ~ born 10 Jul 1834
2. Johanna Christina ~ born 20 Sept 1836
3. Anders Håkan ~ born 03 Oct 1840
4. Elin Maria ~ born 27 Nov 1843
5. Anna Catharina ~ born 30 Jun 1849
6. Sven Gustaf ~ born 01 Aug 1852

My 4th great-grandparents may have had additional children, as there are gaps of several years between some of the six birth dates above, but there are no records available in which those children might appear.

A closer look at this page of the 1861-1873 Tånnö households record book reveals marriage dates and parishioners’ moves in and out of the parish ~ all information that must be confirmed in other sources. And while this blog post is a rough account of the page above, creating this list of six is a good first step in finding living descendants of Andreas Jonasson and Ingrid Stina Jonasdotter, my mormor’s mormor’s morföräldrar, my maternal grandmother’s maternal grandmother’s maternal grandparents.