Belarus, Minsk Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains church records of baptism, marriage, and burial records taken from metrical books in the Minsk region of Belarus. During the period when most of these records were created, this area was part of the Russian Empire’s Minsk Governate.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Russian. For help reading them see:
 * Belarus Languages
 * Russian Genealogical Word List
 * Russia Handwriting

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

Baptism
 * Child's name
 * Parent's names
 * Residence
 * Date of baptism
 * Date of birth

Marriage
 * Names of the bridal couple
 * Ages
 * Residence
 * Date of marriage

Burial
 * Deceased's name
 * Age
 * Residence
 * Date of death
 * Date of burial
 * Name of spouse or parent

Inventory
For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see Belarus, Minsk Church Books - Inventory.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

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

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

 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Try searching by surname only
 * 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 Belarus.
 * Belarus Research Tips and Strategies
 * Belarus Record Finder

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.