MyHeritage has good news for genealogists who have ancestors from Finland. MyHeritage has added 33 million Finland Church Records to their collection. You can search those records for free.
MyHeritage was founded by a team of people with a passion for genealogy and a strong grasp of internet technology. Their mission is to make it easier for people around the world to use the power of the internet to discover their heritage and to strengthen their bonds with family and friends.
MyHeritage has recently added a huge collection of 33 million digitized Finland Church Records to their MyHeritage SuperSearch. The records in the Finland Church Census and Pre-conformation Rolls, 1657-1915 collection were maintained by the Lutheran Church in Finland. The collection provides insights into the entire population of Finland during that period.
Under agreement with the National Archives Services of Finland, MyHeritage is the first to have undertaken the challenging project of indexing the church records and pre-confirmation books. They are now available online for the first time, fully indexed and searchable, and only on MyHeritage.
The records contain a wealth of information. Household members are listed together, and family relationships are included. More recent records include birth dates (and often the birthplace if the person was born in a different parish). It includes marriage dates (or a note indicating that the person had married). It includes death dates (or an indication that the person has died). There are notes about where a family had moved from or where they moved to. There are notes about the individual’s reputation, physical or mental disabilities, and more.
The collection covers almost 300 years. As such, the data entered varies dramatically over the years. Early surveys were less robust. Standardized forms were introduced in 1780.
The Lutheran Church was the state religion in Finland for hundreds of years. Official Finnish church records began in 1686, when a royal decree required that the church must keep records. Some parishes had already started doing that, so there are some records from 1657.
You can view the newly digitized Finland Church Census and Pre-Confirmation Rolls for free. A subscription to MyHeritage is required to view records and Record Matches. If your family tree is not yet on MyHeritage, upload your family tree as a GEDCOM file, and you can immediately benefit from Record Matches from this new collection.
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