Belarus Getting Started: Difference between revisions

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===<font color="#a176a3">Gather and Choose</font>===

 

===<font color="#3bcaf4">Find the Place</font>===

If you do not know where records would be kept for the specific town the ancestor lived in, use the following tools to find out more about the location (be sure to try spelling variations for the town name if you don’t find what you need at first!): <br>

:'''1) Spiski Gazetteer''' [[File:FS purple question mark.jpg|20px|link=https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/f/fc/1-Spiski_Gazetteer-Instruction.pdf]]

The ''Spiski Naselennykh Mest Rossiiskoi Imperii'' (''Списки населенных мест Российской Имперіи''), or Spiski Gazetteer, is place name dictionary is organized by province, so you must know which province the town was part of to find it in the gazetteer. The following volumes apply to areas now in Belarus:

Towns listed nearby within its pages were geographically close to the town, so finding an ancestor's hometown on the same page as a town with a church in it might suggest that the ancestor attended that church. Many volumes include alphabetical indexes in the back of the books.<Br>

:'''2) RGN Gazetteer''' [[File:FS purple question mark.jpg|20px|link=https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/f/f2/1.2-RGN_Gazetteer-Instruction.pdf]]

The ''Russisches Geographische Namenbuch'', or RGN Gazetteer, can be accessed at the FamilySearch Library (FS Library INTL Book 947 E5r). If you are unable to visit Salt Lake City, try checking [https://search.worldcat.org/ WorldCat] for availability in a library near you.

Unlike the Spiski Gazetteer, the RGN Gazetteer is organized alphabetically. It was created during the Soviet period and provides locality information based on Russian Empire organization. If you find your town in the RGN, proceed to look it up in the corresponding province’s volume of the Spiski. <br>

:'''3) [https://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/12786?id=12786&from=publication Skorowidz 1930s Gazetteer]''' [[File:FS purple question mark.jpg|20px|link=https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/c/c6/1-Skorowidz_Online-Instruction-updated.pdf]]

The ''Skorowidz Miejsowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej'' lists locations in Poland as they existed between the world wars, when the borders of Poland were further east than they are today. It provides information about where local churches were for various Christian religions. <br>

:'''4) [https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/Search.asp JewishGen Communities Database]''' [[File:FS purple question mark.jpg|20px|link=https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/e/e7/1_-_Instruction_-_JewishGen_Communities_JMR.pdf]]

This is a searchable database of towns throughout the world, especially in Europe, where Jewish communities have existed historically.<Br>

If you can identify the town, proceed to '''<font color="#f17367">Find the Records</font>'''. If you cannot identify the town, consider conducting more general online searches or reviewing other family records for additional details.

 

<br>Other than World War II records, most of the Belarusian records available online are for 1918 and earlier. The following record types will be most helpful in your research:  

:

:'''1) Religious Records'''  

:Available through the [https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog FamilySearch Catalog] and on [https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/ Geneteka.] [[File:FS purple question mark.jpg|20px|link=https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/b/b9/1-_Geneteka_-_Indexed_Records_-_Instruction.pdf]] 

:Metrical books were kept by each religious group separately to record the births, marriages, deaths, and divorces (for non-Christians) during the Russian Empire period. You may also find confession lists, which provide a record of families belonging to a certain congregation. <br>  

:<br>'''2) Revision Lists'''<br>Available through the [https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog FamilySearch Catalog.]

:Revision lists are a type of tax record that lists complete households, along with relationships between household members. The revisions were taken somewhat sporadically, with the final revision being taken in 1857-1858. Important: revision lists appear under the name of the local district (uyezd) on FamilySearch. Navigating revision lists can take a significant amount of time. <Br><br><Br>'''3) 1897 Census'''<br>Sometimes available through the [https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog FamilySearch Catalog.]

:The 1897 census was the only full census that the Russian Empire conducted. The records were intended to be used for statistical purposes only, so only a few returns still exist. <br><Br><Br>'''4) World War II Records'''  

:Available through the website [https://pamyat-naroda.ru/ Pamyat Naroda.] [[File:FS purple question mark.jpg|20px|link=https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/6/6b/1-_Instruction-_Pamyat_Naroda_JMR.pdf]]   

:Pamyat Naroda is a World War II military records database. It documents soldiers who served under the Soviet Union during the war. Sometimes their records may provide birthdates, hometowns, parents’ names, or other important details. <br>  

If you find a record, proceed to '''<font color="#fbba5e">Evaluate</font>'''. If no applicable records are found, visit metrics.tilda.ws to learn more about archives you could contact to request more information.

 

===<font color="#fbba5e">Evaluate</font>===

<br>Once the record of an ancestor is located, decide on your next steps. Here are some ideas for future research goals:

 

 

===<font color="#92c053">Share</font>===

 

===Additional Steps to Consider===

FamilySearch has some historical records collections for Belarus. They include religious records from the provinces of Grodno and Minsk:

 

* '''[https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/4166194 1649-1915 Belarus, Grodno Church Books, 1649-1915]''' at FamilySearch - [[Belarus, Grodno, Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images

* '''[https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/4158550 1700-1965 Belarus, Minsk Church Books, 1700-1965]''' at FamilySearch - [[Belarus, Minsk Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images

 

While these collections can be searched by name, the record indexes do not provide specific locations. This may lead you to mistakenly identify someone from another area as an ancestor from your family’s hometown. Use these collections carefully to avoid drawing incomplete conclusions.{{Dropdown end}}<Br><br>