Ukrainian Genealogy Research: STEP 5: Define the goal

When you organized all your notes in one place and can easily find any information you need – it’s time to evaluate it and determine the best direction for further work. In the research, as in almost any activity, it is better to focus on one thing in order not to waste time and effort on ineffective jumping from line to line.

Since we build on what is already known, choose the line that you have the most information about. It can be a family or even one person.

If you have a document that accurately indicates the information you need about the ancestor (name, place of birth or residence, date of events, religion), by finding his family, you can gradually expand the range of searches.

Focusing on one goal will help you direct your strength in one direction. By directing your attention to it, you can effectively move forward, finding new information, or (which also happens) find that the original information was incomplete and inaccurate. Family history research is good because even failure can turn into a new step to success.

If you find that the information you know is inaccurate or incomplete and does not match the information in the documents you found, take note of that. Then return to another known fact and verify it. Thus, step by step, you can find a clue and move forward in the search.

By solving one small task after another, you will feel satisfied. On the other hand, the difficult and impossible task is likely to bring disappointment and undermine your faith in yourself. Therefore, remember that your goal should be simple. The simpler the better.

During the search, you will find tips for further discoveries. Perhaps the documents that you had indicated the birthplace of Galicia, Poland, or the Russian Empire. These are very large geographical regions, and they included the territory of modern Ukraine in one time or another. To find detailed information about the life of ancestors, you should narrow the search area as much as possible.

Digging further, you can stumble upon a document, diary entry, or address on an envelope that will give more accurate information: the city or village where the ancestor lived. Therefore, do not neglect the verification of all possible documents, even if they are called the same or describe the same event.

For example, you had an ancestor’s short birth record, and you found a birth certificate. Does it seem to make no sense to look at the same thing? However, be sure to compare every detail of these two papers. Amazing discoveries often come to attentive researchers!

Different types of documents may open up new information. Compare them, analyze, and this may tell you a more correct direction of searches.

Having chosen the line, start the study from the relatives closest to you, without skipping generations. Find event after event without deviating from the person you have chosen. If it seems to you that the information is exhaustive, go to the next member of the family, whose family relationship has already been confirmed. At the same time, do not forget to record all the data and organize it so that everything is clear even if you look at it after a year. By setting a specific goal and choosing a line for research, you can start searching in the sources outside of your home and family.

By following the steps in our Beginner’s Guide for Ukrainian genealogy research, you can be certain that you wouldn’t leave any important information behind. Overall, your research will go smoother, and you will feel more pleasure and confidence as you go forward to the harder steps of your research. We hope that you will see the joy that is coming from learning about your family history. When you learn about your Ukrainian roots, you are getting to know your ancestors. But, most importantly, you are getting to know yourself.

Ukrainian genealogy research is a time and energy-consuming task, so if you need professional help – reach out to our genealogical team for assistance. We have over 20 years of experience in Ukrainian genealogy, and we are determined to help you discover your past!