Ukraine Beginning Research

Finding the Town of Origin
In order to research your family in Ukraine, it is essential that you have identified the place where they came from. You must know the city, or town that they came from. In addition, the church where they worshipped, which might be in another nearby town, must be determined.

Important Tips
You must also know enough about the ancestor to positively identify him in the records. Dates (even if they are approximate), places, and familial connections are key to helping you decide if a person you find, who has the same name as your ancestor, really is your ancestor.


 * Do you know the name of his/her parents?
 * Do you know his/her birth, marriage, or death date or can you calculate an approximate range of years to search for his/her birth, marriage, or death?
 * Do you know the name of the spouse? Did they marry before or after coming to the United States?
 * Do you know the names of any of his/her siblings?
 * Do you know the names of any children born in before the family emigrated?

Search Home Sources
Thoroughly go over all home sources available to you, including family history papers, copies of records, pictures, old letters (i.e. with an old address), family bibles, journals/diaries, copies of vital record certificates and church records, memorabilia etc. Interview extended family and close relatives as well as former neighbors--all of which may prove very helpful in gathering as much knowledge about an ancestor as possible.
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part One: Home and Relative Sources
 * Gather Family Information

Emigration Questions to Ask Relatives
Find the oldest living relatives that you can and ask them:


 * 1) What do you know about our first ancestor to come from Ukraine? (open-ended)
 * 2)  Have you ever heard mention of towns in Ukraine where the family lived?
 * 3)  Do you have contact with any relatives in Ukraine?
 * 4)  Do you have contact with other branches of the family in other countries?
 * 5)  When _____________ came from Ukraine, did he travel with other family members?
 * 6)  Do you know when _________________ arrived and which port city?
 * 7)  Did _______________ever become a citizen?
 * 8)  Did_________________fight in World War I or II?
 * 9)  When they first came, were there already family members here who they joined?
 * 10)  Did_______________ever mention their parents in Ukraine?
 * 11)  Were they Catholic or some other religion?
 * 12)  Do you have any old letters or postcards from Ukraine family?
 * 13)  Do you have any pictures of family members in Ukraine?

Search Genealogies Compiled by Others

 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Two: Online Family Tree Collections
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Three: Digitized Books
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Four: FamilySearch Wiki Tools

Using Gazetteers and Maps
Once you find out the town or village where your ancestors lived, you will use gazetteers and maps to locate it. You will need to know the province and diocese where the town was located. There may be more than one town by that name. Your ancestors may have attended a Catholic church nearby but not in the exact town. Or the Greek Orthodox Church they attended is in yet a different nearby town. All of these situations can be resolved by studying gazetteers and maps. For help with this step, see the Wiki article, Ukraine Gazetteers and the tutorial, Using Maps and Gazetteers to Locate the Hometown (Ukraine Maps and Gazetteers, Ukrainian Research Series)

Before 1920: Church Records
Once you verify at least the region, and hopefully the exact town and parish, where your ancestors lived, you are ready to search church records, known as parish registers or metrical books (metriki). For instructions and links to records, you will now use the Wiki article Ukraine Church Records. The baptism, marriage, and burial records kept by churches are the major source of family information before 1920 when civil registration started.

Since 1920: Civil Registration
The government began keeping birth, marriage, and death records in 1920. For instructions and the application process, see Ukraine Civil Registration.