Ukraine, Sumy Civil Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection, which contains records for the years 1918-1922, consists of images of civil registers containing births, marriages, and deaths for the city of Sumy, acquired from the archive in Sumy. The text of the records is in Russian. Civil registers, also called vital records, had just been established in Ukrainian cities at this time, and gaps in registration continued until 1926.

While searching through this collection, it may be helpful to note that some of the letters used in these records were eliminated in the 1918 Russian spelling reform ( Iі, Ѳѳ, Ѣѣ, Ѵѵ).

The Poltava and Harkiv regions were part of the Sumy region before 1923, so as you browse through the images you will be choosing to search from those two locations.

Reading These Records
For help reading these Ukraine records see the following guides:
 * Ukraine Languages
 * Russian Genealogical Word List
 * Russia Handwriting

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Date and place of birth
 * Gender of a child
 * First and last name of a child and of his parents
 * Parent’s occupation
 * Parents residence address
 * Special notes (for example army obligation, position in society etc.)

Marriage
 * First, last and patronymic name (see the “Tips to keep in mind” section for description of a patronymic) of the groom and the bride
 * Groom’s and bride’s occupations
 * Place of residence and address of the groom and the bride
 * Bride’s and groom’s date of birth
 * Bride’s and groom’s marital status (single, widow/widower, divorced)
 * The couple’s last name
 * Special notes (obligations, positions, titles, death circumstances of the ex-husband/wife etc.)

Death
 * Date when the record was made
 * Gender and full name of deceased (first, last and patronymic name)
 * Age (date of birth)
 * Date and place of death (county, city, village)
 * Permanent residence address (exact indication)
 * Deceased’s occupation
 * Marital status and reason of death
 * First and last name of the doctor, that issued death certificate and his exact address
 * Individual which reported of death and his address
 * Special notes

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * If available, check the image for additional information
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try searching by surname only
 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Remember that spelling was generally not standardized until the early part of the 20th century

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Ukraine.
 * Ukraine Record Finder
 * Ukraine Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Ucrânia, Sumy, Registos Civil (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)