Monica Fogelqvist, Swedish professional genealogist
I was born in Jämtland in the north of Sweden and
have since lived in many different places, both in Sweden
and in Europe.
I have always been interested in history and old things and have been doing genealogy research back and forth for more than 45 years, depending on my family situation at the time. Like most genealogists, I started to sort out my own family, but this has over the years changed and I am now mostly doing research for Scandinavian descendants from all over the world.
Besides my different assignments for people who can not or do not want to spend time sorting out their own ancestry, I occasionally do research for the programs "Who do you think you are?" and "Finding your roots", and I have done this for, among others, Kate Winslet and Judi Dench, as well as Amy Carlson and Julia Roberts, whom all have Scandinavian roots.
Something very close to my heart is my research on the Finnish immigrants who came mainly from the eastern parts of Finland, around the turn of the 16th and 17th century, with the hope to create a life in Bergslagen in Sweden. I have worked for many years to rediscover their family names, which when the Finns arrived in their new homeland were almost completely excluded by the Swedish clerks.
I have reported my findings in Finnsam's family name database (http://www.mmbr.no/sndb/).
A project I have had on the side for some years is a survey of families who lived and worked in Jämtland, mainly in the jurisdictions around Storsjön. This involves a lot of reading of court records, all of the various tax records that exist, and the incredible treasure of medieval diplomas that are preserved from Jämtland.
It’s amazing what you can find in the court books, and often it is a way to get further back in time or to find unknown fathers.
I am also a member of the APG (Association of Professional Genealogists)
