Germans from Russia Maps

Maps are an important source to locate the places where your ancestors lived. They help you see the neighboring towns and geographic features of the area your ancestor came from. Maps help locate churches, geographical features, and transportation routes. Historical maps are especially useful for understanding boundary changes.

Maps are published individually, or as an atlas. An atlas is a bound collection of maps. Maps may also be included in gazetteers, guidebooks, local histories, and history texts.

There are different types of maps that will help you in different ways. Historical atlases describe the growth and development of countries. They show boundaries, migration routes, settlement patterns, military campaigns, and other historical information.

Using Maps
Use maps carefully for the following reasons:

• There are often several places with the same name. For example, eight hundred thirty-nine towns are called Aleksandrovka [Алехсандровка???] in the western Russian Empire.

• The spelling and even names of some towns may have changed since your ancestors lived there. Some localities have different names in different languages. For example, the town presently known as Proletars’ke, Ukraine [Пролетарськэ???] was at the time of the Russian-German exodus called Ksenzovka, Russia [Ксензовка???].

• Place-names are changed when transliterated or Germanized. For example, the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr [Житомир] is Germanized to Shitomir, and translitered into English as Zhytomir.

• Political boundaries are not clearly indicated on all maps.

Finding the Specific Town on the Map
To do successful research in Russia, you must identify the town where your ancestor lived. Because many towns have the same name, you may need some additional information before you can locate the correct town on a map. Before using a map, use gazetteers to identify the geo-political area your ancestor’s town was in. This will help distinguish it from other towns with the same name and help you locate it on the map. (See the “Gazetteers” section of this outline.) Before using a map, search gazetteers, histories, family records, and other sources to learn all you can about the following:

• The state or province your ancestor came from.

• The municipality your ancestor’s town was in.

• The name of the parish where your ancestors was baptized or married.

• Towns where related ancestors lived.

• The size of the town.

• The occupation of your ancestor or his relatives (which may indicate the industries found in or near the town).

• Nearby localities, such as large cities.

• Nearby geographical features, such as rivers and mountains.

• Industries of the area.

• Dates when the town was renamed.

• Dates the town existed.

• Other names the town was known by.

Finding Maps and Atlases
Collections of maps and atlases are available at numerous historical societies, local bookstores and at public and university libraries.

The Family History Library has a good collection of East European maps the cover the areas of German immigration to Russia. These are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under:

RUSSIA - MAPS RUSSIA, [PROVINCE] - MAPS UKRAINE - MAPS UKRAINE [PROVINCE] - MAPS

Some helpful maps at the Family History Library include the following:

Днепропетровская область (Dnepropetrovskaíà oblast). Scale 1:200,000. Kiev: MO Ukrainy, 1992. (FHL map 947.716 E7d 1992; computer number 748165). Text in Russian.

United States. Army Map Service. Eastern Europe. Scale 1:250,000. Washington: Army Map Service, 1956-1959. 219 maps. (FHL map 947 E7e; film 1183629; computer number 284535). Indexed in: United States. Army Map Service. Index to Names on AMS 1:250,00 Maps of Eastern Europe (Series N501). (FHL book 947 E7e index; film 1294374; fiche 6001727-6001728; computer number 59787).

Generalkarte von Mitteleuropa (Maps of Central Europe). Scale 1:200,000. Wien: Bundestamt fuer Eich- und Vernessungsweses, 1889-1967. 249 maps. (FHL film 1181580; computer number 41480). Text in German.

Херсонская область (Khersonskaíà oblast). Scale 1:200,000. Kiev: MO Ukrainy, 1992. (FHL map 947.717 E7ke 1993; computer number 753518). Text in Russian

Николаевская область (Nikolaevskaíà oblast). Scale 1:200,000. Kiev: MO Ukrainy, 1993. (FHL map 947.717 E7n 1993; computer number 748166). Text in Russian

Одесская область (Odesskaíà oblast). Scale 1:200,000. Kiev: MO Ukrainy, 1992. (FHL map 947.717 E7o 1992; computer number 748132). Text in Russian.

Республика Крыь (Respublika Krym). Scale 1:200,000. Kiev: MO Ukrainy, 1993. (FHL map 947.717 E7k 1993; computer number 753522). Text in Russian.

Stumpp, Karl. Karte der deutschen Siedlungen in Bessarabien (Map of German Settlements in Bessarabia). Scale 1:566,000. Stuttgart: Hilfskommittee der ev. luth. Kirche aus Bessarabien, 1940. (FHL map 947 E7sc; computer number 00051). Text in German.

Stumpp, Karl. Übersichtskarte der heutigen Wohngebiete der Deutschen in der Sowjetunion (Overview Map of Modern Settlements of the Germans in the Soviet Union). Stuttgart: Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland, 1959. (FHL film 1045485 item 8; computer number 64543). Text in German.

Stumpp, Karl. Herkunftsländer Wanderwege und Ansiedlungsgebiete (1763-1861) der Wolga- und Schwarzmeerdeutschen in den Mütterkolonien (Origins and Migration Routes (1763-1861) of the Volga and Black Sea Germans in the Mother Colonies). Tübingen: K. Stumpp, 1972 (FHL map 947 E7sk no. 1; computer number 161249). Text in German.

Запорожская область (Zaporozhskaíà oblast). Scale 1:200,000. Kiev: MO Ukrainy, 1992. (FHL map 947.717 E7zap 1992; computer number 748233). Text in Russian.

Житомирская область (Zhitomirskaíà oblast). Scale 1:200,000. Kiev: MO Ukrainy, 1992. (FHL map 947.714 E7zh 1992; computer number 748227). Text in Russian.

Computerized maps of Russia and eastern Europe showing German settlements are available at several of the computer Internet sites described in the “Archives and Libraries” section of this outline.