This 1906 Swedish funeral card is ingeniously designed, serving as both an invitation and a keepsake of the funeral services. It was folded in half underneath the flap at the top; the verso was then addressed and delivered to the person invited to the funeral.
Swedish Funeral Card Translation
Here’s my attempt at a translation with corrections courtesy of reader Stefan Lejman. (Tack, Stefan!)
That
our beloved mother
Maria Margareta Larsson,
born Persson,
After a long-lasting suffering, calmly and peacefully died in Björka
the Saturday, May 19, 1906, at 6 p.m. at an age of 80 years.
Deeply mourned by us, relatives and friends,
Have we hereby the painful duty to announce.
Uppenb[arelse] 21: 4* [Her] children
Invited
to with their presence honor the deceased’s
funeral ceremony
in Lindesberg
Saturday the 27th of May 1906 at 2 p.m.
Meeting in the house of the grieving [deceased’s] house at half past 9
*Book of Revelation 21:4: And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Finding the Death Record
Maria Margareta was my great-great-great uncle’s wife. With the information from this funeral card, I found her Björka parish death record in Sweden, Indexed Death Records, 1840-1942 and fill in many more details. Death records can be some of the most elusive genealogical records, so it’s great that this Swedish funeral card provided mome answers about Maria Margaretha. More work on Maria Margareta is planned at ArkivDigital now that I have this information.
About Funeral Cards
Funeral Cards, by Elizabeth Kelley Kersterns, “Funeral cards [in the United States] have a long history-with social customs attached. These cards were distributed to family members, friends, and the surrounding community in a timely manner to alert invitees to the date and time of the funeral. Recipients of a funeral card were expected to attend the funeral or risk offending family members. …”
For more Sassy Jane posts on funeral cards, click here.
For more Sassy Jane posts on Swedish records and research, click here.
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