Germans from Russia Compiled Genealogies

The term genealogy is used in this article and in the FamilySearch Catalog to describe a variety of records containing family information gathered by individuals, other researchers, societies, or archives. These records may include pedigree charts, compiled information on families, correspondence, ancestor lists, research exchange files, record abstracts, and collections of original or copied documents. These can be excellent sources of information that can save you valuable time. Because they are compiled from other sources of information, they must be carefully evaluated for accuracy.

Additional sources of genealogy for noble German families in Russia are listed in the FamilySearch.org under RUSSIA - NOBILITY, under UKRAINE - NOBILITY, and under BELARUS - NOBILITY.


 * FEEFHS conference FEEFHS Eastern European Family History Conference August 13-15, 2015 Plaza Hotel, SLC and Tuesday – Wednesday, August 11-12, 9:00 am – 4:30 daily

Major Collections and Databases
The FamilySearch Library has several sources that contain previous research or can lead you to others who are interested in sharing family information. These sources include:


 * International Genealogical Index.® The index provided names and vital information for thousands of deceased Germans from Russia. This valuable research tool listed birth, christening, or marriage dates as well as Latter-day Saint temple ordinance information. The indexes for Germany and Poland included names extracted from parish registers by volunteers and names submitted by other researchers. Descendants of Germans from Russia have submitted some of the names.

The International Genealogical Index is available on the Internet as part of FamilySearch. For more information on FamilySearch.org


 * Ancestral File. This file, part of FamilySearch contains family history information linked in family groups and pedigrees that has been contributed since 1979. As of 1992, the file contains the names of millions of persons, including hundreds of families of Germans from Russia. Ancestral File can print pedigree charts, family group records, and individual summary sheets for any person in the file.


 * Family Group Records Collection. More than 8 million family group record forms have been microfilmed in the Family Group Records Collection. This includes many Germans from Russia. FamilySearch. orgcontains both Title, Author, and Place searches of these records.

Societies. Societies that support German genealogy in Russia maintain databases of names, families, and vital statistics for thousands of people. The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia has hundreds of genealogies arranged alphabetically by surname and by village. The Germans from Russia Heritage Society maintains numerous collections with thousands of entries in each. The main database of the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe contains over 450,000 entries with thousands more in other databases. Access to this data is usually through membership in the Society or by payment of a fee. A Free site has listing of records in Fragenbogen from Bessarabia 

Family Histories
Many families of Germans from Russia have produced histories or newsletters that may include genealogical information, biographies, photographs, and other excellent information. These usually include several generations of the family

The FamilySearch Library has a limited number of published Germans from Russia family histories and newsletters. Copies at the FamilySearch Library are listed in the FamilySearch.org Germans from Russia family histories are listed in a helpful bibliography including two chapters on family histories. This is: Miller, Michael M. Researching Germans from Russia Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1987. ( pages 61-67, and 192-97. Includes family histories at the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, and Germans from Russia Heritage Society Library in Bismark.

A large collection of family histories for Germans from Russia is: Aberle, George P. Pioneers and Their Sons: One Hundred Sixty Five Family Histories. 2 vols. Bismark, N. Dak.: Tumbleweed Press, 1980. ( Vol. 2 subtitle: One hundred twenty family histories.

Genealogical Collections
The FamilySearch Library has some collections of genealogical material for families of Germans from Russia. These may include published and unpublished collections of family histories and lineages, as well as the research files of recognized genealogists. Some of the major genealogical collections are:Geschlechterbuch der Deutschen am La Plata (German Families in the River Plate Regions of South America).

Alphabetical card file with minutes and files of the Couland Society of Art and Literature by Erich Seberlich.

Village Lineage Books
A special type of local history book called a village lineage book [Ortssippenbuch or Dorfsippenbuch] is available for many towns in Germany and a few towns in Russia or Ukraine. These give extensive genealogical information on almost all inhabitants of the town.

Examples of such books for Germans from Russia are:

Gnadenberg Mennonite Church (Whitewater, Kansas).,. Text in German. Register begun in Michalin and Fransthal in Volhynia (now in the Ukraine) including births, marriages, deaths, and German place of origin.

Fieß, Christian. Chronik und Familienbuch der Gemeinde Mannsburg, Kreis Akkerman, Bassarabien, 1863-1964 (History and List of Families in the German Community of Mannsburg, Bessarabia, 1863-1964). Heimatmuseum der Deutschen aus Bessarabien. Schriftenreihe B; Nr. 5. Mühlacker: Heimatmuseum der Deutschen aus Bessarabien, 1981Text in German.

[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28126943&referer=brief_results Bergthal Gemeinde Buch (Parish Book): ''Consisting of Bergthal Gemeinde Buch, 1843-1876. . ., Chortitzer Gemeinde Buch Indexes for Volumes Started in 1878, 1887 and 1907, Passenger Lists, 1874-1880 of Mennonite Immigrants to Manitoba. . ., the 1881 Federal Census Data on Residents in Manitoba Mennonite Communities'']. Steinbach, Manitoba: Hannover Steinbach Historical Society, 1993. Family-by-family births, baptisms, marriages and deaths. Includes separate indexes to Bergthal and Chorititz, and combined index to Quebec passenger lists and 1881 census.

Genealogical collections and village lineage books are listed in the FamilySearch.org


 * GERMANY - GENEALOGY
 * RUSSIA - GENEALOGY
 * RUSSIA, [COUNTY] - GENEALOGY
 * RUSSIA, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - GENEALOGY
 * UKRAINE - GENEALOGY
 * UKRAINE, [COUNTY] - GENEALOGY
 * UKRAINE, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - GENEALOGY

For further information see the Wiki articles on Germany Genealogy, Canada Genealogy, United States Compiled Genealogies, and the state and provincial "Genealogy" articles where your ancestor settled.

Germans from Russia village home pages (computer Internet sites), village coordinators, and e-mail lists of individual family history researchers are described in the “Germans from Russia Archives and Libraries” Wiki article under American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR).

If you find your surname in any of the sources described in this section, determine whether the entry actually pertains to your family. All persons with the same surname are not necessarily related. Often, you will have to do some original research before you can connect your ancestry to families listed in these sources.