Ukraine, Sumy Civil Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection, which contains records for the years 1918-1922, consists of images of civil registers containing births, marriages, and deaths for the city of Sumy, acquired from the archive in Sumy. The text of the records is in Russian. Civil registers, also called vital records, had just been established in Ukrainian cities at this time, and gaps in registration continued until 1926.

While searching through this collection, it may be helpful to note that some of the letters used in these records were eliminated in the 1918 Russian spelling reform ( Iі, Ѳѳ, Ѣѣ, Ѵѵ).

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. Ukraine, Sumy Civil Registers collection is available to the Family History Library, FamilySearch Centers, and to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The images can be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you. (All rights reserved. Neither this image nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, electronic or otherwise, without written permission of the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine.)

Reading These Records
For help reading these Ukraine records see the following guides:
 * Ukraine Languages
 * Russian Genealogical Word List
 * Russia Handwriting

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

Birth
 * Date and place of birth
 * Gender of a child
 * First and last name of a child and of his parents
 * Parent’s occupation
 * Parents residence address
 * Special notes (for example army obligation, position in society etc.)

Marriage
 * First, last and patronymic name (see the “Tips to keep in mind” section for description of a patronymic) of the groom and the bride
 * Groom’s and bride’s occupations
 * Place of residence and address of the groom and the bride
 * Bride’s and groom’s date of birth
 * Bride’s and groom’s marital status (single, widow/widower, divorced)
 * The couple’s last name
 * Special notes (obligations, positions, titles, death circumstances of the ex-husband/wife etc.)

Death
 * Date when the record was made
 * Gender and full name of deceased (first, last and patronymic name)
 * Age (date of birth)
 * Date and place of death (county, city, village)
 * Permanent residence address (exact indication)
 * Deceased’s occupation
 * Marital status and reason of death
 * First and last name of the doctor, that issued death certificate and his exact address
 * Individual which reported of death and his address
 * Special notes

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select State
 * 2) Select Region/City
 * 3) Select Village/Town
 * 4) Select Date/Event/Volume 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.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * A patronymic name is a middle name based on the given name of one's father. Patronymics are in use in many countries, including Ukraine and Russia
 * The Poltava and Harkiv regions were part of the Sumy region before 1923, so as you browse through the images you will be choosing to search from those two, main locations
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit
 * You may need to search for both the Russian and Ukrainian spelling of your ancestor's name
 * Be aware that there could be errors in writings and names spelling, so check for variant spellings of the names

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