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Written by the authors of Avotaynu's
Following the Paper Trail, the book includes:
* over 88 Russian-language
documents and extracts from American and European sources, analyzed and
translated -- they include extracts from birth, death, and marriage
records of various formats; gazetteer entries; revision lists;
obituaries; population registers; military service records; passports;
etc.
* sections on Russian grammar,
phonetics, and spelling
* information on how to locate
records in America and Europe
* a chapter on gazetteers and
how to use them, with 10 maps showing Russia's changing borders and
divisions, and Letter-Writing Guides for Russian, Lithuanian, and
Ukrainian
* a 77-page vocabulary with
over 4,000 entries, featuring archaic terms and spellings most likely
to be found in records but rarely included in modern dictionaries
* a 26-page list of over 700
Christian and Jewish given names with equivalents in English, Latin,
Lithuanian, and Polish
8½" x 11½" 496 pp. softcover $35.00
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click here for PDF Version)
Introduction viii
I. Phonetics and Spelling 1
A. The Cyrillic Alphabet 1
1. The Archaic Characters 2
2. Other Characters Needing Special Attention 3
3. Consonants 4
4. Vowels 5
5. Phonetic Miscellanea 6
6. Devoicing and Assimilation 7
B. Orthography 8
C. Handwriting: Cyrillic Script 9
D. Russian Forms of Proper Names 10
1. Transliteration vs. Translation 10
2. Transliterating Russian Names into the Roman Alphabet 12
3. Transliterating German Names from the Cyrillic Alphabet 14
4. Transliterating Jewish Names from the Cyrillic Alphabet 16
Phonetic Values of the Yiddish and Cyrillic Alphabets, with Observations on Names 18
5. Transliterating Lithuanian Names from the Cyrillic Alphabet 21
6. Transliterating Polish Names from the Cyrillic Alphabet 23
7. Conclusion: Sleepless in Shidlovo 27
E. Russian Alphabetical Order 30
F. Linguistic Interference from Other Languages 32
II. Structure of Russian 33
A. Grammar 33
Nouns and Adjectives 33
Sample Paradigms 35
Other Forms of These Endings 37
The “Chopping Block” 38
Pronouns 42
Verbs 43
Past Tense 44
Present Tense 44
Participles 44
B. Date and Time Expressions 45
Numbers 45
Months 47
Dates 47
Dates Using the Old Church Slavonic Alphabet 48
Days of the Week 49
Time 49
Hour 49
Time of Day 50
Age 50
C. Familial Relationships 51
D. Sample List of Occupations 52
III. Locating Records in America That Lead Back to Europe 73
A. Church Records 73
B. Civil Vital Records 73
C. Naturalization Records 74
D. Passenger Lists 75
E. Social Security 77
F. Probate Records 77
G. Polish Fraternal Organizations 77
H. Parish & Organizational Histories 78
I. Obituaries and Cemetery Inscriptions 78
J. Passports and Consular Records 78
K. Insurance and Fraternal Organization Death Claim Records 78
IV. Russian-Language Records Originating in America 80
A. Church Records 80
Document IV-1: A Church Registry Extract 80
Main Administrative Subdivisions of the Russian Empire 83
B. Obituaries 85
Document IV-2 85
Document IV-3 86
Document IV-4 87
Document IV-5 87
Document IV-6 88
Document IV-7 88
C. Cemetery Inscriptions 88
D. Terms Often Found in Obituaries and Gravestone Inscriptions 90
E. Russian Consular Records 94
1. Document IV-8: Notarized Attestation for Obtaining Traveling Papers 94
2. Document IV-9: A Questionnaire (Passport Application) 97
3. Document IV-10: A Handwritten Passport Application 103
4. Document IV-11: A Seaman’s Certificate 106
5. Document IV-12: A Request for Exemption from Military Service 108
6. Document IV-13: A Certificate for Travel (in Place of a Passport) 111
7. Document IV-14: A Statement Regarding Previous Employment 114
V. Finding Your Ancestral Home and Its Records 115
A. “I’ve Found It … But Where Is It?” 115
B. Basic Geography, and the Problems of Place Names 116
European Russia 116
Asiatic Russia 117
Russian Names of Provincial Capitals, Selected County Seats, and Other Localities 118
1. Kingdom of Poland 118
Map V-1: The Russian Partition in the mid-19th century 119
2. Finland 121
3. Baltic Provinces of the Russian Empire (not including Lithuania) 122
4. Lithuania 123
Map V-2: Counties of Vil'na Province 123
Modern Kaliningrad Oblast', Russia 124
5. Belarus 125
Map V-3: Counties of Grodna Province 125
6. Ukraine 127
Territory Formerly in the Austrian Partition (Eastern Galicia), Later in the Soviet Union 127
Map V-4: Galicia as of the mid-19th century 129
Ukrainian Territories in “Little Russia,” “South Russia,” and Western Russia 130
Map V-5: The Pale of Settlement as of the late 19th century 131
7. Great Russia 135
8. South Russia, or “New” Russia 135
9. The Region of Kazan' 135
10. The Region of Astrakhan' 135
Map V-6: The Western Russian Empire as of the End of the 19th Century 136
11. Asiatic Russia 137
The Gubernias and Districts of the Caucasus 137
The Gubernias and Regions of Siberia 137
The Districts of Central Asia 137
Map V-7: Western Russia as of 2001 138
Map V-8: Eastern Russia as of 2001 139
12. Other Russian Geographical Names You May Encounter 139
C. Gazetteers for the Russian Empire 140
Document V-1: Sample from a Russian Provincial Gazetteer 141
Document V-2: Sample page from Geografichesko-statisticheskiy slovar’ Rossiyskoi imperii 142
German-Language Works 143
English-Language Works 143
Belarus' 144
Document V-3: Sample from Kratkiy toponomicheskiy slovar’ Belorusii 144
Document V-4: Sample from Slounik nazvau ... voblaststi 146
Document V-5: Sample from Spisok naselennykh mest B.S.S.R. 148
Lithuania 149
Document V-6: sample from Indeks alfabetyczny miejscowosci dawnego Wielkiego
Ksiestwa Litewskiego 180
Ukraine 152
D. Gazetteers for the Regions of Poland Once Ruled by Russia 153
Document V-7: The 1934 Skorowidz miejscowosci 153
Document V-8: Sample from the 1967 Spis miejscowosci PRL 154
Document V-9: Wykaz urzedowcyh nazw miejscowosci w Polsce 155
The Slownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego 155
A Sampling of Abbreviations and Vocabulary in the Slownik Geograficzny 156
Document V-10: Sample Slownik Geograficzny Entry 160
Other Polish-Language Sources 161
Document V-11: The 1921 Polish Census 161
Document V-12: Bigo’s Gazetteer of Galicia 162
Document V-13: Alphabetisches Orts- und Gemeindelexikon … Warschau 163
Document V-14: Nazwy Miejscowe Polski–Historia–Pochodzenie 163
Document V-15: Guidebook for Jedwabne 164
Document V-16: Sample Church Directory 165
Gazetteers for Former Austrian Territory 165
Document V-17: Sample from Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia 166
What Does All This Have to Do with RUSSIA? 166
Map V-9: “Poland” (The Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania) in 1634 and 1815 167
Map V-10: Poland, 1921-1939 168
E. Dealing with Repositories of Records in the Former Russian Empire 169
1. Russia 169
Guide to Writing Letters in Russian 170
2. Lithuania 174
Guide to Writing Letters in Lithuanian 175
3. Belarus 179
4. Ukraine 180
Guide to Writing Letters in Ukrainian 183
5. Poland 187
VI. Russian-Language Records Originating in Europe 193
A. Indexes to Vital Records Registers 193
Document VI-1: Index to 1870 Births in Barglow Koscielny, Poland 193
Document VI-2: Index to 1882 Marriage Register in Sadlno Parish, near Konin, Poland 194
Document VI-3: Index of 1882 Deaths from Sadlno Parish, near Konin, Poland 195
Document VI-4: Register Title from Bialystok, Poland 196
B. Records of Birth, Baptism, or Circumcision 197
1. Components of a Paragraph-Form Birth/Baptismal Record 197
2. Document VI-5: A Paragraph-Form Catholic Birth Record from the Kingdom of Poland 198
3. Document VI-6: Example of a Marginal Notation in a Birth Record 205
4. Document VI-7: Another Example of a Marginal Notation in a Birth Record 207
5. Document VI-8: A Jewish Birth Record from Russian Poland 209
6. Document VI-9: A Written Transcript of a Catholic Birth Record from Lithuania 212
7. Document VI-10: A Written Transcript of a Jewish Birth Record from Russian Poland 217
8. Document VI-11: A Written Attestation of Determination of Age 221
9. Document VI-12: A Russian Orthodox Columnar Baptismal Record 225
10. Document VI-13: A Catholic Columnar Baptismal Record from Russian Poland 228
Document VI-14: A Catholic Columnar Baptismal Record from Lithuania 230
11. Document VI-15: A Jewish Columnar Birth Record 233
Document VI-16, Another Jewish Birth Record, from Bialystok, Poland, 1880 238
12. Document VI-17, A Short-Form Birth Certificate 240
C. Records of Marriage 242
1. Documents VI-18 and VI-19: Premarital Examination 242
2. Document VI-20: A Paragraph-Form Marriage Record from Russian Poland 247
3. Document VI-21: A Paragraph-Form Jewish Marriage Record from Russian Poland 254
4. Document VI-22: A Russian Orthodox Columnar Marriage Register 260
5. Document VI-23: A Roman Catholic Columnar Marriage Register from Poland 263
Document VI-24: A Roman Catholic Marriage Register from Lithuania 267
6. Document VI-25: A Jewish Columnar Marriage Register from Russian Poland 270
7. Document VI-26: A Short-Form Certificate from Russian Poland 272
D. Death Records 274
1. Document VI-27: A Paragraph-Form Death Record from Russian Poland 274
2. Document VI-28: A Jewish Paragraph-Form Death Record from Russian Poland 278
3. Document VI-29: A Russian Orthodox Columnar Death Record 281
4. Document VI-30: A Catholic Columnar Death Record from Russian Poland 283
5. Document VI-31: A Jewish Columnar Death Record from Russian Poland 284
6. Terms Often Seen as Causes of Death or in Death Records 286
E. Miscellaneous Records 290
1. Document VI-32: A Jewish Divorce Record from Bialystok 290
2. Military Records: Document VI-33: Conscription Lists 292
Document VI-34: A List of Draftable Males from a Population Register 299
Document VI-35: Certificate of Completing Training 303
Document VI-36: Certificate of Having Reported for Conscription 305
Document VI-37: Military Discharge Booklet 306
Document VI-38: Details from Another Discharge Booklet 311
Document VI-39: A “Militia Ticket” 313
3. Document VI-40: Revizskie Skazki (Revision Lists) 317
4. Returns from the 1897 Russian National Census 320
Document VI-41: Census Form A 322
Document VI-42: Census Return for Form A 324
Document VI-43: Military Census Form 326
Document VI-44: Questionnaire for Military Census Form 328
5. Document VI-45: A Legitimatsionnaia Knizhka (Identification Booklet) 330
6. Notarial Documents – Document VI-46: A Notarized Deed of Sale 332
Document VI-47: A Bilingual Notarized Document 334
7. Document VI-48: A Catholic Church’s Register of Easter Communicants 336
8. Document VI-49: A Population Register 338
9. Passports – Document VI-50: Long-Form Passport Booklet 342
Document VI-51: Sample of the “Short-Form” Booklet Passport 346
Document VI-52: A Single-Sheet Russian Passport 348
Document VI-53: Another Example of a Single-Sheet Russian Passport 350
Document VI-54: A 28-Day Identification Document 351
10. Document VI-55: A Guild Membership Certificate 352
11. Document VI-56: A Certificate of Nobility 354
12. Document VI-57: A Personal Letter 356
13. Other Documents 357
VII. Vocabulary 358
Symbols and Abbreviations 359
A List of Terms Frequently Encountered in Records 360
VIII. An Index of First Names 437
Feminine Forms 437
Linguistic and Ethnic Origins 437
Name Equivalents 438
Name Days 438
Name Variants, Diminutives, Alternate Forms, etc. 439
Alphabetical Order 440
Summary 440
Abbreviations and Symbols 440
Alphabetical List of Selected First Names 441
IX. Acknowledgements and Bibliography 467
X. Index 470
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