Daily Ancestortorpare
A torpare was a crofter: a man who rented a small holding called a torp, usually paying the rent with days of work for the landowner.
A torp was a small farm on land belonging to a larger farm or estate. The torpare often paid his rent in dagsverken, days of labor at the main farm, especially at busy times like haymaking. The word was also used for owners of very small farms below a quarter mantal.
Sweden had about 100,000 torpare around 1850, and their number fell to about half by 1910 with industry, emigration and the buying out of crofts. In a household roll the torp is listed under the farm or estate it belonged to.
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Daily Ancestor. "torpare." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/swedish/torpare. Last checked 2026-10-28.