Tips & Tricks to Track Your German Russian Ancestors - Tip # 3 Sources, Sources,Sources

There are so many sources for tracking our ancestors that we will split this topic into a number of  posts, so we can adequately cover sources both  in the Americas and in Russia.

Depending on when your ancestors came to the Americas  you may find that they spent more time here than in Russia. The research in the Americas is critical to filling out your ancestor's
milestones so you can work through each generation, and ultimately determine the Russian villa which they came.

How do you locate the relevant resources in America?  Here are some important sites to visit and track in your research log. Click on the link to go directly to the sites.

• The synopsis of How to Find Genealogy Records at Familysearch.org
• Links to all kinds of Genealogy Resources at Cyndi's List.
• Research databases available through Local Libraries (Check under research and learning at library sites) include
• Ancestry.com
• Gale Genealogy Connect
• Heritage Quest Online

Use your research log as you work through these sites.  Among the information you will discover include:

• Newspaper, City Directories
• US Federal Censuses, Land Records
• Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates
• Church Records
• Military Records
• Wills
• Find A Grave
• Naturalization Records which include port of arrival and birthplace
• Draft Registration
• Ancestry.com
• Familysearch.org - which includes Obituaries of Germans from Russia collected by the American Historical Society of German from Russia

An example of what you might find from a newspaper is pictured above. It's an article about Phillip Reimer, my great grandfather, 85th Birthday celebration in 1939.  It details the name, age and residence of everyone who attended. One of my favorite lines is, "A chicken dinner was served to members of the family at the home of Mrs. Fred Herzog." 

More Sources will follow soon!

©2019 Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski