Tag Archives: Eastern European Genealogy

By far, the most easily accessable and useful records for Eastern European genealogy are the records of Birth/Baptism, Marriage, and Death. After the Council of Trent, Roman Catholic parishes were expected to maintain records of the sacraments, and it is these records that are the earliest extant records for most Eastern Europeans. Continue reading →

When researching Polish genealogy, researchers will find a study of Polish history helpful in understanding the changes in the borders and administrative structure of the country over time, the changes in the languages in which genealogically relevant records are written, and the formats of the records themselves. Continue reading →

Genealogical research in Eastern European countries is frequently approached with uncertainty, if not outright dread. The prospects of trying to find and understand records written in a foreign language coupled with the relative inaccessibility of many of the records in Eastern Europe is certainly reason to give many people misapprehensions of starting to research ancestors from Eastern Europe. Continue reading →