Russia, Tver Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of church records includes births and baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials performed by priests in the province of Tver (and surrounding provinces) from 1722-1918. These records were originally created at a local level, but were acquired from the state archive in Tver. An index of baptisms will be included.

The Church acted as both a religious and civil agent in recording vital events and church sacraments such as baptism and burial. Peter the Great mandated the keeping of Russian Orthodox books in 1722. The format was standardized in 1724. Printed forms were introduced in 1806. In 1838, a format was introduced that prevailed until the 1930s. The priests made a transcript for the ecclesiastical court (dukhovnaia konsistoriia) having jurisdiction over the parish. This is usually the version that has been preserved. The register covers 70% of the population for early periods, 90% after 1800. These records are written in Russian.

Church registers were created and kept by priests to record the baptisms, marriages, and burials performed for their parishioner

These were considered an official record and are normally very reliable. Earlier registers may not be equally reliable. In 1825 the Holy Synod, governmental body over the Orthodox Church, ordered bishops to eradicate bribery of priests to falsify the books, suggesting that this problem existed.

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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 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.

Reading These Records
These records are in Russian. For help reading these records see the following guides:
 * Russia Language and Languages
 * Russian Genealogical Word List
 * Russia Handwriting
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Reading Russian Handwritten Records

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

Baptism
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Name of principal (usually an infant)
 * Age or date of birth of principal
 * Names of parents and their residence
 * Names of godparents
 * Sometimes names of grandparents
 * Witnesses

Marriage
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Name, age and patronymic surname of groom
 * Religion of groom
 * Name, age and patronymic surname of bride
 * Religion of bride
 * Names and signature of witnesses
 * Name of person who performed ceremony

Death/burial
 * Name, age and gender of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Date and place of burial
 * Name of person who performed burial
 * Name of person who administered confession and communion

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select Province
 * 2) Select District
 * 3) Select Place/Parish
 * 4) Select Year/Vol/Event 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?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.


 * 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 partner 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 family in census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or 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
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct

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

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames
 * Search for the marriage record of the marriage partner if known
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties
 * 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
 * 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

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Russia.
 * 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.