Statistics Sweden's circular letter
To all vicars and parish priests, except in Stockholm, regarding the general census to be taken at the end of the year 1900
The government ("Kungl. Maj:t") has through a letter to the Statistics Sweden of the 21st September 1900 ordained:
[The Swedish abbreviation "Kungl. Maj:t" literally means "Royal Majesty" but was used by the government under the 1809 Swedish constitution. This constitution was in use 1809-1974.]
That the census information for the entire country, except the city of Stockholm, should be provided, in accordance with the announcement of 4th November 1859, by vicars and parish priests in the form of extracts from the parish books of each parish. For the city of Stockholm the information should be compiled in the same way as for the 1890 census. This means that the information that should be provided by the citizens of Stockholm for the 1901 tax census should also contain those special details that are necessary for the 1900 census. The information should thereafter by city officials be extracted and provided as census information. The census should also include those, in the tax records remaining, people that are mentioned in the §10:7 of the decree of the 28th May 1897 regarding the tax census in the city of Stockholm.
That for parishes where the parish books is not ordered by place of dwelling but instead chronologically or alphabetically should, in addition to the extracts from the parish book, also extracts from the property register belonging to the parish book be provided if it is deemed necessary by Statistics Sweden.
That the extent of the census information should be the same as that for the 1890 census with the exception that epilepsy should also be added to the list of conditions that should be recorded as a disability.
That the extracts from the parish books should contain transcripts of the special list, made in accordance with the circular letter of the 20th of January 1865. The list includes persons remaining in the catechetical register but not living in the places they are recorded. The extracts should also include extracts from the book over "non existent". The transcripts and the extracts should only contain those people that have been recorded, and not deleted from the records, during the period 1891 to 1900.
That the ward supervisors, in the city of Stockholm, should, each one for his ward, produce a list of those persons, who, although they remain in the tax census lists, have not been present for the tax census registration in the beginning of the years 1892 to 1901. The list should also include those persons that have been recorded in, and not deleted from, the book over "non existent". It should be noted that those persons that reappear, before the completion of the list, should be counted as if they had been present in the original tax census registration and in addition the ward supervisors should also provide extracts from the parish records.
That regardless of what information the aforementioned census records could give about prisons, hospitals, asylums, nursing homes, institutions for the deaf-mute and for the blind and other such institutions, full census information about all persons belonging to, or living in, such institutions, regardless if they, in the church book, are recorded as residing in the institution or not, should be sent in by the director or governing board of the institution.
That the Statistics Sweden has to receive and process all aforementioned extracts and lists and has to decide whether or not extracts from the property register belonging to the parish book should be provided by the parish. The Statistics Sweden has the right to take all measures, and to give all instructions, that are necessary for the preparation and taking of the census. This should, for the census in the city of Stockholm, be done in cooperation with the office of the governor-general [Överståthållareämbetet].
As a result of the government letter the Statistics Sweden hereby states about the 1900 census:
1. The census information for the entire country, except the city of Stockholm, should be provided by vicars and parish priests in the form of extracts from the parish book, showing the status at the end of the year, at 31st of December 1900, regardless of changes that has occurred after the aforementioned day. Children born in the year 1901 or persons moving in to the parish that year should not be included in the extracts, but people existing in the parish book before 1901 who have died in 1901 should be recorded as being parish members at the end of the year 1900.
2. The information should be recorded with the enumeration forms sent out by Statistics Sweden. One form for the extracts and another form for summations.
3. The extracts should be provided for every parish that has a parish book. When a vicarage consists of several parishes new forms should be written for every parish. If a parish is divided, between two counties or between a rural part and a city part, extracts should be provided for each part of the parish, as if the parish part was a parish of its own. In these cases the word "parish" in the heading of the form should be changed to "parish part". Each page should have a heading, containing the parish name. Each page should also be numbered.
4. The extracts should contain, in the proper columns, with few exceptions, the same information that in the decree of the 6th of August 1894 was stated for the parish books. Therefore almost nothing else is requested than the reproduction of the content in the columns in the parish book. The rules for filling out the enumeration forms is described here and in the following form filled out with an example. Of the 18 columns in the parish book only the columns 1,2,3,5, 7-8 and 14 are in the enumeration form for the census.
5. For every page in the extracts from the parish book the number of households or "consumption units" should be summed up at the bottom of column 1. The number of persons (in columns 7 and 8) should be summed up at the bottom of the column. The total number of persons should be summed up at the bottom of column 14. (As a control it should be noted, as the page contains 50 rows for names, that the number of persons summated in column 14, together with the number of rows used for village names or other things sum up to the number 50.) When the sums of households and persons have been calculated they should be recorded in a special form (mentioned under paragraph 2) for summarizing the page sums to a total sum for the parish.
6. In the aforementioned total sum all people recorded as living in the parish should be included. The sum should not include those listed as "remaining non existent". These people should be recorded at the end of the extract under the heading "remaining non existent since the years 1891-1900". The extracts from the parish books should contain transcripts of the special list, made in accordance with the circular letter of the 20th of January 1865. The list includes persons remaining in the catechetical register but not living in the places they are recorded. The extracts should also include extracts from the book over "non existent". The extracted information for these people should, as far as possible, correspond to the information in the parish book and also contain information about the possible place of residence outside the parish. For parishes where there are no remaining non existent persons from the years 1891 to 1900 the extracts should contain a specific note about this fact.
7. The correctness of the extract should be confirmed by the vicar or parish priest with a signature on the last page of the extract. There should also be a signature on the page of summations mentioned under paragraph 5.
8. By the total sum in the aforementioned summation form the total number of residents in the parish will be known. That sum should then be used to correct, if necessary, the report "summary of population" of the 31st of 1900 before it is sent to the Statistics Sweden.
9. The extracts from the parish book and the summation forms should be sent together with the aforementioned summaries for the year 1900 from the books of births, marriages and deaths. The information should be sent within the stipulated time that is before the end of February 1901. (See Appendix to the Swedish Statutes for the year 1895, number 20, page 3, paragraph 8).
10. If a parish can not send in the extracts and the population summary within the stipulated time it can be given one month respite by the dean, who has to inform the Statistics Sweden about the delay.
Stockholm the 1st of October 1900. ELIS SIDENBLADH. Karl Sidenbladh.
Instructions for filling out the enumeration forms
(See also the following form containing an example)
These instructions apply to the enumeration forms used in all counties and parishes except in the city of Stockholm. In Stockholm other enumeration forms were used.
On filling out the form for extracts from the parish book the following rules should be followed:
1. Within the column called "Household or consumption unit" persons belonging to the same household or consumption unit should be kept together with a bracket and a one (1) before each person. People living by themselves should only be marked with a one (1).
2. If the parish book is kept by place of dwelling the names of villages or other places of residences (blocks or wards in cities) should be written on a special row and underlined. It should be noted if the village or place of residence belongs to another jurisdictional district than the rest of the parish. The word "urban district" [municipalsamhälle] should also be added for those rural areas where the population has the right to, independent of the rest of the parish, tend to their own common concerns as stated in the police regulations, fire-fighting regulations and building by-laws for cities and as stated in the public health act regarding cities. It should be noted if a place of residence belongs to such an urban district.
3. If the parish book is not ordered by place of dwelling, but instead chronologically or alphabetically after names, should the aforementioned information about village, place of residence (blocks or wards in cities) and about urban districts and jurisdictional district be noted in the extract (in column 1 or in column 14) in accordance with the parish book. In the cases where the necessary clarity can not be achieved an extract from the property register belonging to the parish book may be requested at a later time.
4. The list of persons should contain the full name of every person, with the given name before or after the last name according to the custom in the parish book. There should also be a note about the person's position within the family, for example wife, son, daughter, the husband's son in his first marriage etcetera. Appropriate abbreviations may be used. The persons title, if it differs from what is stated in the occupation column (column 2), should also be recorded. There should also be a note stating if the person isn't baptized or not baptized by the church of Sweden. No person may occupy more than one row in the enumeration form.
1. Occupation (office or trade) should be recorded as accurately as possible, not only for a man but also for a woman who has or performs in a trade, office or occupation. It should not only be written worker, factory worker, journeyman, widow etcetera, but instead brick yard worker, journeyman tailor, textile mill worker, practicing copper smith etcetera. If someone has more than one occupation the main occupation is recorded. For every household head some manner of living should be recorded even if it is not a proper occupation. Examples can be pensioner, dependent tenant, pauper, asylum tenant etcetera.
2. Foreign tribe, for example finn, sami, gypsy, should be recorded. In the absence of any better principle the ethnicity can be determined from the language commonly used in the household.
3. For those persons that are in some way disabled it should be recorded if a person has epilepsy, is mentally ill (having been mentally healthy earlier), is an idiot (being mentally retarded from childhood), is blind or is deaf-mute.
When recording birth year and place of birth the appropriate abbreviations can be used.
For a correct distribution of sex and marriage status a one (1) should be put in one of these columns in accordance with the label in the column header. This applies also for infants.
Of the information that should be recorded in this column in the parish book the only information that should be included in the extract (with the exception of some cases of place of residence as stated in paragraph c) for column 1) are information about foreign religious belief, exit from the church of Sweden, foreign nationality and absence.
1. If the parish book contains information about foreign faith, this information should be recorded in this column in the extracts, not only from column 14 in the parish book, but also from the other columns.
2. If someone has applied for exit from the church of Sweden it should be recorded if the exit has taken place. The time of exit is not necessary to record. It should also be recorded into what foreign faith the person has wanted to convert.
3. Foreign nationality should be recorded as accurately as possible. Recording names such as Germany or the German Empire is not sufficient, instead a state should be recorded, for example Prussia, the kingdom of Saxony, Hamburg, Bavaria etcetera.
4. If a member of the parish is absent for a long time from the parish the place of residence for the person should be recorded, if it is known, and also the persons occupation at the other place. Examples can be: studying at the N.N. university or school, admitted to the N.N. hospital or prison, at sea or something similar. In this column it should also be recorded if only one husband or wife is present in the household. The other husband or wife, and his or her place of residence, should be recorded in this column.
Regarding summation and the rules for filling out the form for "summary of summations" see the paragraph 5 in the circular letter.