Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates - FamilySearch Historical Records

Russia

What is in the Collection?
The records consist of bound volumes with entries on two facing pages for births and baptisms and for burials and deaths. Marriages are on a single page. The images were scanned from microfilm copies of the originals, which are housed in the Russian State Historical Archive, St. Petersburg.

For a list of records by localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

This collection covers the early duplicates, 1833–1885. These records are written in Russian. The later material is located in the Central State Historical Archive, St. Petersburg.

The Lutheran Diocese of St. Petersburg was created in 1833. It covered mostly ethnic German congregations but included Swedes and others of the Lutheran religion. Each year a duplicate record was sent to St. Petersburg and kept in the Consistory Court. The local St. Petersburg parishes were more cosmopolitan so more ethnic groups can be found there. In some regions such as Kiev and Podolia, French and Russian nobility, in particular those with military connections, register with the Lutherans.

The books pertain to the German Lutheran population along the northwestern, western, and southern edges of the Russian Empire, primarily in the historical provinces of Sankt-Peterburg (Ingria), Volhynia, Bessarabia, and Novorossiysk.

Alaska, which was part of Russia until 1867, is also included.

The duplicate served as the civil vital record when there was no civil registration system conducted by the government.

This is the most reliable record for birth, baptism, marriage, death, and burial dates.

Portions of these Lutheran records have been extracted and indexed. As with any extraction project, errors are known to exist so care must be used in using these sites.

Coverage Table
The Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates (FamilySearch Historical Records) Coverage Table shows the places and time periods covered in the indexed records for this collection. Most of the records in the collection are from the time periods listed in the table; however, the collection may have a few records from before or after the time period.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. These images can be viewed online by members of the supporting organization(s), at a family history center near you, or the Family History Library.

For additional information about image restrictions, please see the Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections page.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To search this collection by name: To search the collection by name, fill in your ancestor’s information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

Searching by image: To search the collection images, you will need to use the following series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Province" ⇒Select the appropriate "District" ⇒Select the appropriate "Town" ⇒Select the appropriate "Volume year range: event type (volume number)," which takes you to the images.

Use the duplicates to uniquely identify individuals and to determine parentage. Compile families from the entries for a single couple.

Search each individual image. Again, you will need to compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor.

Be aware that with either search you may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age in the citizen to find an approximate birth year to begin your search in church or civil records.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have moved, been recruited or lived nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify. Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual. This compiled list can help you identify possible relations that can be further verified by researching vital records indexes in the country.
 * When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, either Civil Registration records or Church Records may be more useful.
 * 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.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of local genealogical societies.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

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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