Russia, Simbirsk, Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Россия, Книги Симбирской церкви

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. The Russia, Samara Church Records collection is available only to  members of the supporting organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Record Description
This collection contains records from the years 1768-1939.

This collection contains images of births, baptisms, marriages, divorces, deaths, and burials in the province of Simbirsk (modern day Ulyanovsk). These records were acquired from the Ulyanovsk regional archive. The text of the records is in Russian.

For a list of records by localities, document type and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browselink from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Baptismal records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Name of child (usually an infant)
 * Age or date of birth of child
 * Names of parents and their residence
 * Names of godparents
 * Sometimes names of grandparents
 * Witnesses

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Names of parents
 * Residence of all involved
 * Witnesses

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of burial
 * Name of the deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Age of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Residence
 * Sometimes, parents' names may be given

How to Use the Record
This section contains information on how to best find and use information from these records.

Search the Collection
To search the collection, follow this series of links:

⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "Province" ⇒Select the "District" ⇒Select the "Place/Parish" ⇒Select the "Year/Vol/Event" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image, comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

As you are searching, it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Begin your search by finding your ancestors in indexes; this will help access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned. When searching the index, it is helpful to know the following:


 * The county where the birth/baptism, marriage, or death occurred.
 * The name of the person at the time of the event.
 * The approximate event date.
 * The event place.

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:


 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but it depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search for the marriage record of the marriage partner if known.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Russian. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


 * Russian Genealogical Word List
 * Russia Languages

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * The Russian Orthodox Church
 * Orthodox Christian Information Center

Related Wiki Articles

 * Russia Genealogy
 * Russia Church Records
 * Russia Beginning Research

Citations for This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Image Citation: