Latvian Genealogy Blog

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

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

Beyond the Archive For genealogists, invaluable resources can be found not only in archives but also in museums and libraries. This time, I will focus on my experience with the collection at the Cēsis Museum, leaving libraries for another discussion. Created by Dall-E A few years ago, I was preparing lectures for the online course organized by the Cēsis Museum for family history enthusiasts. During one session, museum staff introduced us to materials held in the museum's arch

In genealogy, small details often lead to big discoveries. Genealogists are naturally passionate, and I’ve also found myself, in my enthusiasm, chasing the next lead and overlooking what seemed like minor details. Yet, it is precisely these details that can prove to be crucial in research. Created by DALL-E Why Is Translating Records Important? I’ve found that it’s essential to translate baptism, marriage, or death records as I come across them. Once I’ve written them out, I

Do you think that in the past everyone lived "happily ever after" and never got divorced? Recently, I saw a 1906 marriage record with a...

If you've looked through the church records on the Raduraksti website, you may have noticed the parishioner registers. What can be found...

In this blog, I have looked at both baptism and marriage records. Now, it's time to look at death registers in German. What is indicated...

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

Reading and interpreting the records of Riga's church books can be more complicated than those of rural congregations. This is due to the...

Did my ancestors have an estate? No, of course not. But life in the countryside in the 19th century was closely linked to the estate....

Now and then, in church books, you come across words that you don't find in modern dictionaries. How to understand their meaning? Where...

What are soul revision transfer lists and how to read them? What do the German column headings mean?

This post is a short information what revision lists are and what the numbers and column headings mean. Soul revision lists are the most...

Reading church book records in German and Russian is the first challenge when researching Latvian ancestry. See below for visual help on...