What does inhyses mean?

Definition

Inhyses (lodger) means that a person lived in someone else's house. The noun is inhysehjon. An inhysehjon was a lodger at a farm and was usually not closely related to the family there¹. They had a place to live and food on the farm in return for helping with the work².

In the records

The word stands before the name in the household examination record, where the occupation goes³.

What it meant

Inhysehjon belonged to the farm workers who owned no land, and ranked lower than the backstugusittare¹. Högman writes that about 20 percent of the agricultural population was inhysehjon in 1855¹. The word was also used for the poor, the sick and the frail elderly who needed help¹. Maids and farmhands who grew old on a farm could stay on there as inhysehjon¹.

Do not confuse with

A backstugusittare had a cabin of their own on someone else's land¹. A dräng or piga was a hired servant with a yearly contract¹. An inhysehjon was not one of the farm's employees¹.

Related

• backstugusittare – A poor cottager who lived in a small cabin on someone else's land, with no land to farm.
• dräng – A farmhand – a male servant on a farm, usually unmarried and hired for one year at a time.
• piga – A maid – a female servant on a farm, usually hired for one year at a time.
• Guide: How to Read Swedish Household Examination Records

Sources

Sources in English

1. Hans Högman, The Old Agricultural Society – hhogman.se

Sources in Swedish

These pages are in Swedish.

2. Länsstyrelsen Skåne, De obesuttna (in Swedish) – lansstyrelsen.se
3. Umeå University (CEDAR), Kyrkböcker. 1800-talets kyrkoregister, Ulla Nilsdotter Jeub, 2019 (in Swedish) – umu.se