Slovakia Finding Town of Origin: Difference between revisions

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==Geographical Considerations==

*Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest.

*Until 1918 it belonged to '''Hungary''', with a small part in '''Ruthenia.'''

*After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,  Slovakia and the regions of Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia and Carpathian Ruthenia formed Czechoslovakia (1918-1939.)

*Slovakia became an '''independent state on 1 January 1993''' after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Source, made up of the old regions of '''Hungarian Slovakia and Russian Ruthenia.''' Source: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia Wikipedia: Slovakia]

[[File:Dark thin font green pin Version 4.png]]'''Your immigrant ancestors may report in United States records that they were from Hungary, Russia, Ukrainia, Ruthenia, Slovakia, or Czechoslovikia.'''

 

In order to research your family in Slovakia, it is essential that you have identified the place where they came from. You must know the city, town, or parish that they came from. Many records are indexed, but some records will require going directly to photocopied local records, which are only available by town name. Therefore, you will need to search in United States (or other country of arrival)  sources first.

*Do you know the name of his parents?  

*Do you know his birth, marriage, or death date or can you calculate an approximate range of years to search for his birth, marriage, or death?  

*Do you know the name of his wife? Did they marry before or after coming to the United States?<br>  

*Do you know the names of any of his siblings?

#.  When _____________ came from Slovakia, did he travel with other family members?

#  Were they Catholic?

== Emigration Records ==

The process of emigrating from one country to another generated various records. Records of departure in the country of origin are called emigration records.  

*Hamburg - The Hamburg Passenger Lists contain the names of millions of Europeans who departed Europe from Hamburg, Germany between 1850 and 1934 (except 1915–1919). Nearly 90 percent of the people who emigrated from eastern Europe during this time are included on these lists. The lists are made up of two sections: The Direct and The Indirect Passenger Lists. Each section has its own separate handwritten index. Combined index 1850-1871 also exists. These passenger lists and indexes are most fully described in [[Hamburg Passenger Lists]]. Note: the old Hamburg Passenger Lists Resource Guide has been incorporated into the article. Also see the microfiche instructions in [https://www.familysearch.org/search/search/index/catalog-search#searchType=catalog&filtered=true&fed=false&collectionId=&catSearchType=title&searchCriteria=Hamburg+Passenger+Lists.&placeName=&author_givenName=&author_surname=.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=102523&disp=The+Hamburg+passenger+lists%20%20&columns=*,0,0 Hamburg Passenger Lists]. Hamburg Police Registers of city residents and passports issued also exist.  

*Bremen - Bremen began keeping passenger lists in 1832, but most lists have been destroyed. Currently, 2953 passenger lists dating from 1920 to 1939 are available on the Internet. For further information check the web site [http://www.die-maus-bremen.de/ '''Die Maus.''']

*Antwerp, Belgium

*Le Havre, France

*Other Ports - primarily located along the Eastern sea board and included Stettin, Gdank, Libau, Memel,and Riga. No passenger lists are known to have survived.

==Records to Search in the Country of Arrival==

'''Example: This 1900 census shows the birthdates and birthplaces of the family members and their parents. It tells the years the parents immigrated and how many years they have lived in the U.S. "Pa" indicates that they have filed papers to become citizens.

Websites such as [https://www.findagrave.com/ '''FindAGrave'''] and [https://billiongraves.com/ '''Billion Graves'''] are making it easier to get information from headstones, which frequently give birth dates, and occasionally give birth places. Each state has additional collections of cemetery records. See [[Online Genealogy Records by Location#U.S. Online Genealogy Records by State|'''U.S. Online Genealogy Records by State''']] for links to other online cemetery records. Every state also has a Cemetery topic page you can search, for example,  [[California Cemeteries]], [[Washington Cemeteries]]. etc.

'''Example:  This FindAGrave entry gives the birthdate, birthplace in Slovakia, the parents' names, and even the location of the baptism record.'''

 

'''Example: This obituary gives the birthdate, birthplace in Slovakia, and patents' names of the subject.'''

 

*[https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1002 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942], ($), index and images

*[https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2498 U.S., Alien Draft Registrations, Selected States, 1940-1946],($),  index and images.

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# Check the [[United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records#Partner Sites Indexing Multiple Databases|'''partner website indexes,''']] as these cover many, many databases at once. The FamilySearch Historical Records databases is free to search with a free registered account. The other websites are subscription-based but can be searched for free at a [[Family History Center|''' Family History Center''']] near you.  Try to search each partner site because their search engines can often bring up slightly different results.

'''Example: This first page of passenger list gives several clues that can lead to records in Slovakia.

*[https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1174 U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925], ($), index and images

'''Example:  This passport application gives the birthdate and birthplace of the applicant in Slovakia and his father's name and birthplace,'''