Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates - FamilySearch Historical Records

Russia

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

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.

Reading These Records
These records are in German or Russian. For help reading them see: FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * Germany Handwriting
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Russia Language and Languages
 * Russian Genealogical Word List
 * Russia Handwriting
 * German Paleography Seminar - 10 classes
 * Reading Russian Documents: The Russian Alphabet
 * Russian Alphabet, Language and Handwriting, part 1
 * Russian Alphabet, Language and Handwriting, part 2

Collection Content
The following information may be found in these records:

Baptism
 * Name of the child
 * Child's date and hour of birth and birthplace
 * Child's date and place of baptism and by whom baptized
 * Parents’ names and residence
 * Father’s occupation
 * Child's legitimacy

Marriage
 * Date and place of the marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Page number in the Family Register is noted
 * Reference to Main Register is noted with entry number and page number

Death
 * Name, age and gender of deceased
 * Date and place of death with time noted
 * Cause of death
 * Date and place of birth
 * Marital status of deceased
 * Sometimes, the maiden name of a woman is given if she is the deceased
 * Date and place of burial

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.

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
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required

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 research your family in Russia.
 * Russia Record Finder
 * Russia 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.

Россия, лютеранская церковь Книга Дубликаты (FamilySearch Исторические записки) Rússia, Duplicatas de Livro da Igreja Luterana (Registros Registros Histórico do FamilySearch)