Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian Orthodox Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of Images and of baptisms, births, marriages, and deaths that occurred in the Serbian Orthodox Church in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These images are of original parish records created by local priests of each parish. This collection covers the years 1700-1945.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian. For help reading these records see the following guides:
 * Croatia Language and Languages
 * Serbo-Croatian Genealogical Word List
 * Bosnia and Herzegovina Genealogy

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Birth Registers may include the following information:
 * Full Name of child
 * Date and place of birth
 * Occupation of father
 * Names of parents
 * Gender of child

Marriage Registers may include the following information:
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Maiden name of bride
 * Names of parents
 * Names of witnesses

Death Registers may include the following information:
 * Full name of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Sex
 * Legitimacy
 * Parents’ names
 * Godparents’ names

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know: Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes to baptisms, marriages, and death or burials make it possible to 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.
 * Name and surname of the person
 * Approximate the date and place of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 


 * 1) Select Place
 * 2) Select Event types, year range to view the images.

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?

 * 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 spouse 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 parents' birth records
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful 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

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

 * Check for variants of given names and surnames. It was not uncommon for an individual to be listed under a nickname, middle name, or abbreviation of their given name
 * Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, one or the other collection may be more helpful
 * While searching, it is helpful to know such information as the 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 an ancestor and that the ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
 * Keep in mind that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images. Pay special attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try variations on the pronunciation

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 * Record Finder
 * 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.

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