Germans from Russia Land and Property

Land records are primarily used to learn where an individual lived and when he or she lived there. They often reveal other family information, such as the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or neighbors. You may learn where a person lived previously, his occupation, and other clues for further research. In Germany only a very small percentage of the population were included in land records because few people owned land. In the United States and Canada land records can be very helpful for learning about Germans from Russia.

The Family History Library has few land records from Germany or Russia. The library has many good land records from Canada and the United States, including some federal homestead records. See the Canada Research Outline (34545), the United States Research Outline (30972), and the provincial and state research outlines for the place where your ancestor settled to learn about the land records available.