Zakris Jakobsson Bouppteckning translation

[John Koning]

Hello,

Zakris Jakobsson, my 5g-grandfather, died on 2 May 1784, probably in or near Marbäck Förs., Jönköpings Län. His death does not appear to have been recorded in the church registers, so I am transcribing and translating into English the introduction to his estate inventory (Norra Vedbo häradsrätts arkiv, Bouppteckningar, SE/VALA/01568/F II/14, nr 93), which shows his death date. My results follow.

*****

Original transcription of Introduction:

Åhr 1784, d. 12te Maii blef af underteknade på vederbör=
andes begäran laga bouptektekning förrättad hos änk=
an ingeborg gustaf doter j bäria på quarlåten skapen
efter des afledne man rusthålaren Sackris jakobs son,
som blef död d. 2dre sistledne Maii ock efter sigh läm=
nat 6 omyndigt barn 2re söner ock 4 dotrar af huilkan
den älsta, Stina på 15de åhrit; sonen Johanes är
nu 7 vekor gamal ock de andre 4 ther emälan, nä=
mligen, sonen gustaf; doteren, lisken; Maria, ock ana=
greta; vid upptekningen var tilstädes änkan
Ingeborg gustafs doter som upgaf ägendomen;
ock å barnsens vängnar rusthålaren Johan
lars son i bäria; upptekningen företogs ock befans
som fölier   nämligen

With corrections, less archaic spelling, and improved punctuation:

År 1784, den 12te Maj blev av undertecknad på vederbörandes begäran laga bouppteckning förrättad hos änkan Ingeborg Gustafsdotter i Berga på kvarlåtenskapen efter dess avlidne man rusthållaren Zackris Jakobsson, som blev död den 2dre sistliden Maj och efter sig lämnat 6 omyndig barn 2 söner och 4 döttrar av vilken den äldsta, Stina på 15de året, sonen Johannes är nu 7 veckor gammal, och de andre 4 däremellan, nämligen, sonen Gustaf, döttrarna Lisken, Maria, och Anna Greta; vid uppteckningen var tillstädes änkan Ingeborg Gustafsdotter som uppgav egendomen; och på barnsens vägnar rusthållaren Johan Larsson i Berga; uppteckningen foretogs och befanns som följer.   nämligen

Translation into English:

The 12th of May 1784 was by the undersigned, at the concerned person's request, conducted a legal estate inventory with the widow Ingeborg Gustafsdotter in Berga for the estate of the deceased husband rusthållaren* Zackris Jakobsson, who died the 2nd last May and left behind 6 minor children, 2 sons and 4 daughters, of which the oldest, Stina in the 15th year, the son Johannes is now 7 weeks old, and the other 4 in between, namely, the son Gustaf, the daughters Lisken, Maria, and Anna Greta. At the recording was present the widow Ingeborg Gustafsdotter who delivered the property, and on behalf of the children rusthållaren* Johan Larsson in Berga. The record was made and found to be as follows.   namely

*rusthållaren = the land-owning farmer who equipped and financially supported a cavalryman in exchange for tax breaks and possibly other considerations.

*****

I have several questions:

First, is my translation reasonable? If not, what should be changed to improve it? I realize there is a certain amount of latitude here, so I'm mostly concerned with identifying significant problems with the translation.

Second, the word "vederbörande" translates to "the party concerned" according to an online 1788 Swedish to English dictionary. Who is the concerned party? the estate court? the heirs? or someone else?

Third, the word "upgaf" = "uppgav" translates to "to give up" or "to surrender". Was the estate property actually surrendered and then distributed to the heirs (or the representative of younger heirs), or was the property just made available for the inventory and then retained by the widow? How did this process work for a family with only minor children?

Thanks for looking at this, John

[Anders Olsson]

Hi John,

I found a few minor transcription mistakes:

nat 6 omyndige barn 2ne söner ock 4 dotrar af huilkan

mligen, sonen gustaf; doteren, lisken; Maria, ock mar=
greta; vid upptekningen var tilstädes änkian

Also, several of the "v":s should be "w":s.

Anders

[John Koning]

Anders,

Thanks for checking me on this. I agree on all of the corrections except perhaps ana= greta changing to mar= greta. Her name actually was Anna Greta. I've attached a modified copy of the image for your consideration.

I also thought v's and w's were pretty much interchangeable during this time period. Which ones would you substitute w for v. I'd be interested in learning about the difference between the two letters.

John

[John Koning]

The image

[Kalle Birgersson]

I have several questions:

First, is my translation reasonable? If not, what should be changed to improve it? I realize there is a certain amount of latitude here, so I'm mostly concerned with identifying significant problems with the translation.

Second, the word "vederbörande" translates to "the party concerned" according to an online 1788 Swedish to English dictionary. Who is the concerned party? the estate court? the heirs? or someone else?

Third, the word "upgaf" = "uppgav" translates to "to give up" or "to surrender". Was the estate property actually surrendered and then distributed to the heirs (or the representative of younger heirs), or was the property just made available for the inventory and then retained by the widow? How did this process work for a family with only minor children?

Thanks for looking at this, John

Translation is good, only insignificant errors as stated above.
 
Vederbörande is in this case the widow, who was required to have an estate inventory done.
 
Uppgaf/uppge can have a rather wide meaning. Normally it only means that you tell something, but I guess it originaly meant that you surrendered it. You tell something because you are supposed to, or even required, not necessarily just because you wanted to.
 
The children was inheriting part of what their dead parent left, the widow did not get it all. If they were underage they needed someone to speak on ther behalf, normally a relative to the deceased.

[Anders Olsson]

First, is my translation reasonable? If not, what should be changed to improve it? I realize there is a certain amount of latitude here, so I'm mostly concerned with identifying significant problems with the translation.
- The translation makes sense to me

Second, the word "vederbörande" translates to "the party concerned" according to an online 1788 Swedish to English dictionary. Who is the concerned party? the estate court? the heirs? or someone else?
- I believe "vederbörande" is referring to the widow

Third, the word "upgaf" = "uppgav" translates to "to give up" or "to surrender". Was the estate property actually surrendered and then distributed to the heirs (or the representative of younger heirs), or was the property just made available for the inventory and then retained by the widow?
- "Uppge" as used here has the meaning of "to give" or "to declare", i.e. the widow provided a listing of the estate/property

How did this process work for a family with only minor children?
- A minor was assigned a "målsman", sometimes a relative, a family friend, or some well regarded person, to ensure the child's best

Anders

[Anders Olsson]

Anders,

Thanks for checking me on this. I agree on all of the corrections except perhaps ana= greta changing to mar= greta. Her name actually was Anna Greta. I've attached a modified copy of the image for your consideration.

I also thought v's and w's were pretty much interchangeable during this time period. Which ones would you substitute w for v. I'd be interested in learning about the difference between the two letters.

John

I agree, after looking closer at the name, I too think is says "ana-greta".

Anders

[John Koning]

Thank you Kalle and Anders.

I think I understand most of this now. So, if the children continued to live with their mother, the property would remain in the household even though some of it now legally belonged to the minor children. The målsman would be responsible for seeing that the property rights for those children were protected.

[Anders Olsson]

Regarding the v:s or w:s, I would've transcribed all of them as w:s had I done the transcription. I can't find any v:s in this text.

You are correct in that v:s and w:s were more or less interchangeable during this time period.

Anders