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=== Finding Place of Origin in Russia === | === Finding Place of Origin in Russia === | ||
The first step in researching your Russian-German genealogy is to determine specifically where in Russia your ancestors lived. You may be able to find out the town your ancestor came from by talking with older family members. The family may have documents concerning the place of origin, such as old passports, birth or marriage certificates, journals, photographs, letters, or a family Bible. Even if something is written in German or Russian, it may contain valuable information. Get help in reading it. Other sources are found in local libraries and courthouses and at the | The first step in researching your Russian-German genealogy is to determine specifically where in Russia your ancestors lived. You may be able to find out the town your ancestor came from by talking with older family members. The family may have documents concerning the place of origin, such as old passports, birth or marriage certificates, journals, photographs, letters, or a family Bible. Even if something is written in German or Russian, it may contain valuable information. Get help in reading it. Other sources are found in local libraries and courthouses and at the FamilySearch Library, including naturalization applications and petitions, obituaries, county histories, marriage and death certificates, and American passenger lists of arrivals and European lists of departures. | ||
You will want to verify the spelling and location of places where your family lived. A good listing of German colonies in Russia is: | You will want to verify the spelling and location of places where your family lived. A good listing of German colonies in Russia is: | ||
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Despite difficulties in accessing records in Russia, it is often possible to trace your lineage to Germany and back to the early 1600s. In some cases where vital records are unavailable or have significant gaps, it is extremely difficult to establish a line of ancestors through the 1800s in Russia. Nevertheless, even in these cases there may be family sources or printed sources that enable you to do so; older family members may remember several generations back or such information may be recorded in a family Bible or other family documents. | Despite difficulties in accessing records in Russia, it is often possible to trace your lineage to Germany and back to the early 1600s. In some cases where vital records are unavailable or have significant gaps, it is extremely difficult to establish a line of ancestors through the 1800s in Russia. Nevertheless, even in these cases there may be family sources or printed sources that enable you to do so; older family members may remember several generations back or such information may be recorded in a family Bible or other family documents. | ||
The German colonists who settled in Russia came mostly from southern Germany, principally Württemberg. If you can determine the specific place where the family originated you can trace the family back using German records. In many cases, however, the colonists spent a generation in Poland before moving on to Russia. If you can determine the place in Poland where the family lived, clues necessary to trace the family back to Germany may be found in the Polish records. Many of these records are available at the | The German colonists who settled in Russia came mostly from southern Germany, principally Württemberg. If you can determine the specific place where the family originated you can trace the family back using German records. In many cases, however, the colonists spent a generation in Poland before moving on to Russia. If you can determine the place in Poland where the family lived, clues necessary to trace the family back to Germany may be found in the Polish records. Many of these records are available at the FamilySearch Library. | ||
The following work is of great value to those researching Germans in Russia. It lists most of the original German colonists who came to Russia and usually indicates their place of origin in Germany. | The following work is of great value to those researching Germans in Russia. It lists most of the original German colonists who came to Russia and usually indicates their place of origin in Germany. | ||
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