Russia, Tver Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Россия, Тверские метрические книги

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. The Russia, Tver Church Books collection is available only to members of the supporting organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Record Description
This collection of church records includes births and baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials performed by priests in the province of Tver. 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. The handwritten texts of the records are 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.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browselink from the collection landing page.

This collection of church records includes the years 1722-1918.

Record Content
Baptismal records usually contain the following information:


 * 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 records usually contain the following information:


 * 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 records usually contain the following information:


 * 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

How to Use the Records
To search the collection, follow this series of links:

⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "Province" category ⇒Select the "District" category ⇒Select the "Place/Parish" category ⇒Select the "Year/Vol/Event" which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Begin your search by finding your ancestors in indexes; this will help access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The county where the birth/baptism, marriage, or death occurred
 * The name of the person at the time of the event
 * The approximate event date
 * The event place

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

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.

For example:


 * 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.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * 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.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Russian. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


 * Russian Genealogical Word List
 * Russia Languages

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * The Russian Orthodox Church
 * Orthodox Christian Information Center

Related Wiki Articles

 * Russia
 * Russia Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Tver Church Books, 1722-1918

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
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Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.