sentences:  By royal decree, detailed church records began to be kept by the latter 17th century in the form of births, deaths, baptisms and annual household censuses.For the entire Hulterstad district, these archives were prepared and maintained at the Hulterstad Church ("Hulterstads kyrka").These records form a basis of estimating the population and lifespans of Alby residents at the end of the 17th century, since the records of Alby were kept distinct from other villages within the Hulterstad district.