We all need to remember the history, traditions, and origin of our families. When getting to know our ancestors – we get to know ourselves, our character, unique stories and peculiarities that formed us. Besides that, it gets really interesting! No wonder collecting genealogy and family history has become one of the most popular hobbies in the world. That’s why we want to start a series of articles: Ukrainian Genealogy Research: a Beginner’s Guide.
From the outside, it may seem that someone can do it easily, but in fact, this hobby takes a lot of time and requires the development of “detective abilities” to dig out the necessary information. This is especially true for Ukrainian genealogy, when people from abroad, whose ancestors moved to Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and other countries, are trying to deal with it.
The main difficulty is that the Soviet regime limited access to information, including genealogy. Ukraine, unfortunately, was occupied by the USSR for a long 70 years (Galicia and part of Volyn for almost 50 years).
Even though Ukraine has been an independent country for almost 30 years now, political traditions are changing very slowly, and some organizations are still saturated with the Soviet “stinky soul.” You have to be prepared for the fact that this can affect those archives with the documents about your Ukrainian ancestors. Don’t let it scare you – everything is gradually changing for the better.
In addition to difficulties in language, distance, access to information on the territory of Ukraine, we sometimes just don’t know where to start. And when difficulties arise at the very beginning of the path, then there is a desire to give up.
In this article, we will describe step-by-step instructions on how you can start researching your Ukrainian family. We tested all these tips in our family research and more than 20 years of professional genealogical experience, and even after decades, these remain relevant and effective.
By following these steps, you can avoid unnecessary mistakes and stress that comes with failure. Let’s dive right in!
STEP 1: Identify what you already know and write it down
The main rule, which will always help you find traces of your ancestors and from which you should start, is: “We always go from the known to the unknown.”
We have repeatedly witnessed cases when people forgot about this simple rule or neglected it, and thereby created insurmountable obstacles in the search for themselves, and sometimes followed a wrong lead.
If this rule is so important, then you first need to figure out what you already know. Gradually, step by step, carefully and consistently, as if assembling a beautiful puzzle.
FAMILY ARCHIVE
Boxes with old documents, folders or envelopes with “unnecessary” papers, a box in the attic, a dusty bag in the basement… All these places can contain the treasures for a beginning Ukrainian genealogist.
In documents, letters, greeting cards, and faded photographs in old family albums, you can find valuable information. For instance, people would often write down the names of ancestors, places of their birth, marriage or death, or other life events. In photographs, not only the grandfather’s face and the style of his mustache are valuable, but also the inscription on the back, where he can indicate where he was and for what reason. And on the back of the family photo, someone could mark the names and age of each person.
You may be lucky, and among the old family papers, you will find an autobiography or a family story written by the hand of your great-grandmother, the diary of your grandfather, who he kept in the war, or a family Bible listing several generations of ancestors.
WHAT DO YOUR RELATIVES HAVE?
Be sure to contact your relatives. Perhaps different parts of important documents are stored in different houses: at your father’s sister, at your cousin or in the old summer family house, where you had your family reunions.
ORDER AND ANALYTICS
The documents, photographs, and artifacts that you find can be sorted in different ways. You can organize them by family lines, then by generation, and then by the type of information. Or you can sort them by chronology. Store the information as you like, but make sure to organize it, as it will make it so much easier in the long run!
Analyze what you already know and be sure to write down everything you learned. Any information found may be the clue to further success in your research.
BASIC INFORMATION
If you already know the residence of your ancestors before immigration and plan to delve into your Ukrainian genealogy research, you must remember that the following basic information is extremely important:
a. The names
This can include all the names you know, nicknames, spellings of the surname, and name changes during marriage or immigration.
b. Places
The key element of the puzzle. Do not neglect any mention of geographical names in documents, letters, etc.
c. Dates
You will often find conflicting data in documents, but all these timestamps are worth paying attention to. Later you can figure out which one is more accurate.
d. Religion
Because different denominations kept documentation in their own way, stored it in different places, try to clarify this aspect in the early stages of your analysis.
e. Estates of the Realm
This is another important detail in the history of the family, and knowing it, you can significantly narrow your search. If your ancestors were peasants – you would need to look in church metrical records. If they were clergy, you might be interested in clergy records. But, if they were of noble origin, don’t search for their information in the tax documents (as in Ukraine and Russian Empire nobles were freed from any taxes), and so on.
In case you can’t or don’t want to do your own research, remember that any professional genealogist will ask you for the same basic information listed above. Without it, moving on might be difficult or even impossible.
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