Latvian Genealogy Blog

When Old Print Gets in the Way You are no doubt familiar with the problem—you come across an interesting article in a historical newspaper, but it’s not only printed in old type and orthography, it’s also written in historical language with archaic expressions. It’s not easy but AI can help. I use AI tools in my own research every day to get help with various tasks. This post was inspired by a question in a Facebook group, where my suggestion to use AI for this problem was me

When the Record Says Almost Nothing Created by ChatGPT In many congregations, only short-form marriage registers are available. These usually list only the names and surnames of the bride and groom—occasionally also the manor or farm where they were living and working at the time. So how can you identify the couple in such cases? The short answer is: it can be quite difficult. Full marriage entries typically contain much more information, such as the names of the couple’s par

When Church Registers Switched Languages In an older blog post, I already wrote about the transition from German to Russian in church books. In this post, I will explain how to recognize names and surnames in church books in Russian. In 1891, an order was issued in the Russian Empire that church registers should henceforth be kept in Russian . Until then, Lutherans in Latvia and Estonia had kept their books in German. Of course, German pastors now had to rack their brains not

When Russian Became the Church-Book Language On June 3, 1891, an order was issued in the Russian Empire that from now on Lutheran church books should also be kept in Russian. The order came into effect on January 1, 1892. German pastors now had to urgently learn Russian. The guides published at that time on Russian language terms in church books are also useful for genealogy researchers. The Kurzeme Consistory's Circular The Evangelical Lutheran Consistory of Kurzeme came to

Which Parish Was It, Really? In this week's post, I want to share a small piece of advice that I also gave to my course participants. For a family researcher, it is very important to know the place where ancestors lived and were born. If you don't know this, it won't be clear which church parish to search for birth records in, and in which civil parish's census data to look for ancestors. How to understand which civil parish your ancestors' farms were in? Searching on Maps If

When the Paper Trail Contradicts Itself Created by Dall-E This week I encountered a case that reminded me once again - documents cannot be blindly trusted! They need to be verified, and we must ask what lies behind the discrepancies. Jeannot W. or Jannis V.? A Father's Name in Question I was researching the origins of a certain Jeannot W. and found his marriage record. Fortunately, the full record was available, which clearly indicated – born on September 24, 1866, parents Er

My grandfather's drawings captured impressions from the long journey home in 1945-1946. The title syas: Light! Reading through my family history, I discovered a sad coincidence - in two generations, my ancestors married during wartime, and instead of a honeymoon, they were forced to become refugees for months and even years. World War I Refugee Journey (1914-1921) My great-grandparents, originally from Kurzeme, married on August 23, 1914 - just after World War I had begun. Th

Two Brothers, Two Different Fates This week I thought about an interesting fact that led me to read the conscription rules of the Latvian Legion. Specifically, of two twin brothers, only one was drafted into the Legion, while the other was later conscripted into the Red Army. How could this happen when both were the same age and, according to the rules, young men were conscripted as soon as they turned 18? The mentioned twin brothers were born in 1926 and turned 18 in August

Regular readers of my blog may have noticed that I often mention writing a book. Yes, step by step, I am documenting the results of a long-term genealogical research project in a family history book. This week, I decided to experiment with AI tools and see if they could assist in the writing process. The Advantages of AI Tools AI tools are developing rapidly, and changes are happening continuously. I can't keep track of everything, but I have recognized that AI is an excellen

This week I researched a family that emigrated to Canada in 1899. Having left when Latvia was still part of the Russian Empire, family members visited Latvia during its period of independence in the 1920s. What information can be found in immigration files? Creadted by DALL-E Why Emigration Records Are Hard to Find in Latvia Finding information about emigration in Latvian archives can be challenging. Our archives don't hold ship passenger lists. While some emigration document

What Was a Parish Board? Was one of your ancestors a parish elder? What was a parish board, and what did the parish elder do? This blog post will explore these questions. The granary of Sēļu Manor. The 1866 Parish Self-Government Law The history of parishes in Latvia is much older, but here we will focus on a relatively short period from 1866 to 1918. In the 17th–18th centuries, self-governance was primarily organized by manors. While parish boards (Latv. pagasta valde) exis

More Than Family History If you are interested in exploring not just family genealogy but also the broader history of your family and the local area, it is worth examining parish court records. Created by DALL-E Where to Find Parish Court Records? These documents are primarily stored in the Latvian State Historical Archives in dedicated parish court collections, though some may also be kept in regional museums. While parish courts existed earlier, the period most relevant for