Pedersöre

Parish History

There is no record of exactly how old Pedersöre is, but it is one of three original parishes in the Gulf of Bothnia. It was first mentioned in writing in 1348 when Swedish King Magnus Eriksson issued a statute concerning trade in the parishes of Korsholm, Närpes and Pedersöre.^{4, 10}

Over the years as rural areas became more populated, they often became parish chapels under the original or ‘mother’ parish.  Parishioners could then request their chapel rites be expanded to become an independent parish. In doing so, part of the original parish land became the new parish.

In about 1490, Karleby became its own parish by splitting from Pedersöre.  The same is true for:

• Larsmo in 1864
• Esse in 1865 ⁴
• Purmo in 1865 ⁴
• Jakobstad in 1907

The city of Jakobstad is located within the boundaries of Pedersöre.  Like other larger cities, the city dwellers with their dense population formed their own city parish, and those in the surrounding rural areas made up another parish or parishes.

Parish Records

Because parish Communion records are listed by farm name and because farm names often were used as a part of a person’s name, it is interesting to note the following farms.

Villages and farms of Pedersöre were recorded in T.W. Karsten’s work,   Svesk Bygd I Osterbotten: Nu Och Fordom. ⁵  Pedersöre Parish Communion records were not used to confirm these findings.

To open a printable list of villages and farms (pdf), click here.