Monica Fogelqvist, Swedish professional genealogist, and owner of Our Swedish Roots
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 more or less for more than 45 years, depending on my family situation at the time.
Like most genealogists, I started sorting out my own family, but this has changed over the years and I now make a living by assisting Scandinavian descendants from all over the world to find their Swedish roots.
In addition to finding Swedish ancestry and tearing down brick walls for people, searching for heirs, and doing assignments for large worldwide genealogy companies, I occasionally do research for the programs "Who do you think you are?" and "Finding your roots".
I have had the pleasure of researching the ancestry of, among others, Kate Winslet and Judi Dench, as well as Amy Carlson and Julia Roberts, who all have Scandinavian roots.
I have studied ancient history, Italian, and law at the University of Uppsala, and I am a member of APG (Association of Professional Genealogists).
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 centuries, with the hope of creating a life 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.
Another project I have is a survey of families who lived 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.
