Basic Facts and Tips for Beginners in Eastern European genealogy

Eastern European genealogy can be very confusing. In this part of the world borders “moved” so many times, that chances are your Eastern European ancestors lived in more than one country, even if they never moved in their life. Names were translated and spelled in many different ways, often to the point of of being unrecognisable, localities have changed their names and jurisdictions over time. Here are my introductory tips to help you get started with digging into your ancestry and know what to expect in the process.

1. Do some historical geography. However you look at it, genealogy is primarily about documents, such as vital records (birth, marriage, divorce and death), censuses, military etc. In order to find records about your ancestor's life, you will have to do some investigation. First, you need to know the historical name(s) and jurisdictions of the place at the time your ancestor lived there. This will help you identify the congregation and administrative center in which the records were recorded. Then, you will need to find out the current name and jurisdiction of this place. By learning about the archival system of the respective country, you can find where these records are located now.
   
   Tip: Use geographical dictionaries called gazeteers for the respective country and time frame. Good examples of gazeteers - Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego for Poland and Magyarország helységnévtára for Hungary.
    
2. Have a regional perspective. The general rule is that most records are held in the current county and country which a given place now belongs to. But, as I said, it is a bit messy, so it is not always the case. Records documenting your ancestor's life are likely to be held in several archives, counties and states. So, when researching an Eastern European family, do not limit your efforts to one place. Often, some documents or their copies stayed in the former jurisdiction centers.
   
   Tip: Valuable genealogical sources can be found at the former capitals, like at Austrian State Archives in Vienna for Austro-Hungary or State Archive of the Russian Federation in Moscow for Russian empire and Soviet Union. 
    
3. Records can be missing. Let's say, you have found the repository where the records should be. Well, it does not mean you always find them there. It is not uncommon when some years or entire books are missing. During revolutions, wars, and other political turmoils, many valuable genealogical resources have been lost. Some by direct destruction, some by the locals using them to make fire or roll cigarettes (true story!), some just by negligence. There is a common myth that church books were destroyed by the anti-religious Soviet authorities. This actually is not true. Quite on the contrary, such records of its citizens were valuable to the regime and whatever was left after the war mostly preserved. Nowadays, however, some books are in very bad condition, due to their age and heavy use (and lack of digitization, as discussed below). 
    
   
                        A church book at State Archives of Zakarpattya Region, Ukraine
   
   
   Tip: If records are missing at one archives, always check other historically relevant cities and countries. You should also search for alternative records. For example, if vital records are missing, try to find a census listing the family etc. 
    
4. Most documents are not online. As a rule, accessing records online, in the comfort of your home, is way easier than doing on-site research at a repository. Unfortunately, Eastern Europe is not among the leaders in digitizing archival records, although, this varies from country to country. The situation is much better in Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, while in countries like Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Romania there are hardly any local digitizing activities going on. The good news, however, is that in the past years more and more online databases and other resources on Eastern European genealogy began to appear, significantly simplifying research.
   
   Tip: Always check what is online first. A good starting point http://www.familysearch.org/, which is by far the biggest collection of digitized resources on Eastern Europe, available online or at the nearest Family History Center (which is usually more convenient than travelling to the original repository). 
    
5. Archival research is tricky, but rewarding. On-site research at archives, registry office or other repository is still the primary method of genealogy research in our part of the world. There are three main ways to do it: send a request to the repository, hire a genealogist or do research by yourself. When sending requests to the archive, keep in mind that you can count on a positive result only if you know exactly what you are looking for (names, dates and places of an event). The archivists will not do a thorough research, unless there is an option of paid research service. Hiring a genealogist involves expenses, but it saves you time and also uses their professional experience and expertise. Doing the research in person is rather time-consuming and confusing for a beginner. Most of the time, documents are not indexed and searchable by names or keywords, you would need to leaf through the dusty books and decipher illegible handwriting. On the other hand, it gives you the joy of discovery and makes you feel like a detective. 
    
   Tip: Make sure you contact the archives before visiting for hours, rules and procedures. Archives usually have limits on the allowed amount of items per day. In the former Soviet countries they can be closed for so called “sanitary days” (not a joke!)  or holidays (of which there are many). As they say, the difficult the path is more rewarding!