For Kurzeme and Vidzeme family researchers, German language skills are a must. In this post, I will help decipher what is written in the...

Many of us have ancestors from the border regions – and our origins may be sought on the Estonian, Belarusian, or Lithuanian side....

If you have been researching your family history for a while, looking through various parish records, you've likely encountered...

It is possible that one of your ancestors or relatives was an officer in the Latvian army during the interwar period. If so, you have the...

This week, I reviewed a number of land register files. I will explain what information I was looking for in them in this post. First, I...

I previously wrote about the 1935 and 1941 censuses, but there is an older census as well. It took place in 1897 in the Russian Empire, and since Latvia was part of the empire at that time, it also took place in Latvia. Unfortunately, only part of this census has been preserved in the Latvian State Historical Archives. Primarily, pages for Latgale Region, the Riga and Valmiera districts, and the cities of Courland (Latv. Kurzeme) are available. I haven't heard if more documen

Passports are among the most coveted documents for family historians because they contain photographs. Where and how to search for...

These are the books I most frequently use when doing a genealogical research. Some are available online, but most can be found in...

Did your family members leave Latvia during World War II? Then the first place to look for information is the Arolsen Archives in...

Yesterday, in the family researchers club, we talked about creating family history books. How to create them? What to include and what...

In my previous post, I briefly mentioned criminal cases. This time I want to write more about them. What are criminal cases and where to...

Were your parents or grandparents students? If they studied during the interwar period, then search for their alumni records. It is rare...