Databases
Quick Jumps |
Lutheran Church Record Databases
1. Volhynia, Kiev, and Podolia Parish Record Index (VKP Databases)
(as of March 2015, approximately 278,000 names in the births search, 41,500 names in marriages, 63,500 names in deaths)
The core of the VKP database is the Volhynian portion of the St. Petersburg Archives records index extracted over 10 years ago by many volunteers (including many SGGEE members) and now hosted in the original form on the Odessa3 website. This portion of the original data on the Odessa3 index contains BMD data for Zhitomir, Rozyszcze, and Heimtal parishes for the years 1833 to 1885, with some years missing, approximately 72,000 line items. For more information, see our Volhynia Parishes page.
Starting with the core Odessa3 index for Volhynia, SGGEE has done the following:
- Recast the core index data somewhat for more flexible searching.
- Corrected some errors and added some missing data (comprehensive checking was not done).
- Added data for Kiev parish and Poldolia parish for 1833 to 1885 from St. Petersburg Archives microfilms.
And from microfilm copies (LDS films 2380017 to 2380038) of Volhynia register books held in the AGAD archive in Warsaw, SGGEE has done the following:
- Added BMD data for the missing years for Rozyszcze parish only.
- Added BMD data for Rozyszcze parish for 1886 to 1895 (M&D), to 1899 (B).
- Added Confirmations for Rozyszcze parish for 1862 to 1886.
- Added BMD data for Wladimir-Wolynsk parish for 1891 to 1896 (B), to 1899 (M), to 1894 (D).
- Added BMD data for Tutschin (Tuczyn) kantorate for 1849 to 1903 (B, D), to 1888 (M) with some years and parts of years missing.
- (Most recently – Nov 2016) Added marriages for Rozyszcze parish only extracted from online scans of register books held in AGAD in Warsaw. The years included are 1862 to 1909, except 1907.
Note: For Rozyszcze and Wladimir-Wolynsk parishes only, there is some duplication in data from the FHL (Family History Library) microfilms of the St. Petersburg Archive records, and the FHL microfilms of the AGAD records or the AGAD online scans.. The BMD records held by AGAD, especially marriage records, may contain information not included in the St. Petersburg copy.
Note: Data for this index was extracted by volunteers from microfilm copies of hand-written church register books. Errors are inevitable and it is recommended that the researcher check important results by viewing original records on the indicated microfilms. Also, the microfilm record may contain information not given in the index entry.Note: The St. Petersburg Archive records and AGAD records have been digitally scanned and are available online – see the corresponding Lutheran Church Records in the Volhynia & Related Regions page for details.
To search the VKP records, please use the links on our public database page. Members of SGGEE can select St. Petersburg Consistory to search the same database using more complex search strings that allow for some variation in spelling. They can also search full pages of sequential listings to assist them in finding the correct location for villages with common names.
2. Bill Remus offers data on the Kiev region, old Volhynia, Romansdorf, and central Volhynia. His site includes a brief history, some maps and pictures, and some surname data.
3. Extraction of confirmation records from the Ilow Parish in Russian Poland, 1806-1814. The pastor from Ilow in this time frame served a very large area prior to the establishment of Lutheran Churches elsewhere. These records can hold vital clues about where families were living at the time AND where the confirmand was born.
4. List of colonists in the Netze District, 1776-1798 as provided by Uwe Kerntopf.
5. Extracts of Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths for the Lutheran Church at Labischin, Schubin, Posen, also by Uwe Kerntopf.
EWZ Microfilms
The EWZ (Einwandererzentralstelle) records are those prepared by the Immigration Center of the German Reich for the years 1939-1945. They are especially relevant for families who voluntarily, or by force, returned to German territory from Eastern regions of Russia including Volhynia and Russian Poland. These records contain so much genealogical material that they can be relevant for family research even if your direct line left the regions many years before. The following links will take you to more detailed info and some extractions.
1. Volhynia.com is a great starting place for details about this material and how to access it for research. Provided by Dave Obee who has presented this topic at numerous conventions. Follow the links near the lower center of the right hand column.
2. Odessa3 presents an extraction program focusing on Germans from Russia. The link takes you to their search page. Use the first search box and set it to search "War Records". You can also browse through the extractions using their War Documents page.
3. The Galizien German Descendants site focuses their extractions on the Galicia region but they should not be overlooked as there is significant overlap with our regions of interest. Their EWZ extraction covers all parts of eastern Europe, not just Galicia. On their home page, click on "Researching our Galizien Descendants", then on "1939 Resettlement Records".
Surname and Emigration Lists
1. Hopf list of German migrants from the Kingdom of Poland (Russian Poland) to Russia in the years 1813-1866. See also the expanded version which provides more detail about the individuals.
You may know that your ancestors did not migrate to Volhynia or other areas in Russia until after that date but you might find cousins who did so. Even without knowing who that cousin is, a check on where a person with your surname migrated from in Poland may lead to discovery of the village where your ancestors lived. At the very least, the lists will define where in Poland certain surnames existed.
2. Numerous resources for Germans in Galicia are available (German language only).
3. Small list of Ger-Rus people who crossed the Canada/USA border between 1895 and 1954.
4. List of Germans who moved to Brazil in the 1930s along with a brief history.
5. Karlswalde, Volhynia name lists Numerous links to a variety of resources in Volhynia but focusing on those around the village of Karlswalde.
6. Internet Sources of German Genealogy. This site has links to quite a few databases, and also has information on how to do German genealogy, archive information, emigration, other mailing lists, etc. (rather old material, last updated in 1998).
7. Surnames listed on the Posen-L web site, including the name and contact information for the person researching that surname.
8. Lists of people who migrated from German regions to South Prussia 1802-1806 as prepared by Tom Stangl. Much of eastern South Prussia became part of Russian Poland in 1815.
Ship Names
1. GRHS listing of ships carrying Germans from Russia as previously published in Germans from Russia Heritage Society materials of all kinds.
2. Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild - Here is a site that requires you to know the name of the ship, but if you do, you can see pictures and a history of that ship. Go to the bottom of the opening web page and type in the name of the ship to do a search for that ship.
3. The Ships List - Information on ships that transported immigrants from Europe to the Americas and other places. The site also has statistical information and fares that were paid for various categories of service.
Ships Passenger Lists
1. A variety of Germans from Russia lists can be found on the Odessa3 site. Note in particular, links to extractions by Georg Dorsher of Germans from Russia travelling by way of Canadian ports of Quebec, Halifax and St. John from 1900-1914. The Dorscher lists can be difficult to research because the names are not listed alphabetically. SGGEE now has a finding aid available to assist with searching these records.
2. Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild - Passenger lists of ships arriving at various ports in the United States
3. Ellis Island, New York lists of passengers arriving. For a more sophisticated search engine, try the one provided by Stephen Morse.
4. Information about various ports used by German emigrants.
5. CANADA - see Library and Archives Canada below.
6. The Ships List - Information on passengers that migrated to the Americas from Europe, and also to and from other ports around the world. Most listings predate the arrival of Germans from Russia in North Amerciac but there are a few.
7. Castle Garden, the New York port that handled most incoming passengers prior to Ellis Island. Extractions are in progress.
8. Indirect Passage from Europe - A description of the shipping systems used by our immigrants to make their way to North America.
CANADA Vital Statistics and Archives
1. Library and Archives of Canada
- Genealogy and Family History page
Provides immigration, census, naturalisation, military, ships list etc. - Passenger Lists 1865-1922
- Canada Census
This site has images of the censuses, but no indices. An index of the files for the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan can be found on the Alberta Genealogical Society site. - Canada Census Indexing Projects
Indexing of the 1901 census is complete. The 1911 census is in progress. 1906 and other census type projects are also underway. - 1915-1932 Canadian Naturalization. The Canadian Naturalization databases contain references to about 200,000 people who applied for and received status as naturalized Canadians from 1915 to 1932
4a. Red River Valley Echo - Available only to the Manitoba Genealogical Society. Birth, marriage, and death announcements 1941 to 2004 in this newspaper serving southern Manitoba but focusing on the Rhineland Municipality.
7. Alberta Glenbow Museum and Archives
7a. Provincial Archives of Alberta
U.S. Vital Statistics and Archives
1. National Archives and records Administration
The US Census for most years is available at regional data centers shown at several locations in the United States, where they can be viewed for free. General information about all cesuses from 1790-1930 is available from the National Archives website.
You can also view a complete index of all USA censuses (1930 and earlier), and also actual images of the USA census records at Ancestry.com. Some of their information is free, but you will need to be a member at that site to see the actual records.
NOTE that many public libraries offer free access to all of the Ancestry.com databases while actually in the library. Many USA libraries also offer web access, in your home (to library card holders) for Heritage Quest, which has all actual USA Census records available for viewing (1930 and earlier).
Local USA and Canada "Family History Centers" that have Internet access also have free access to Ancestry.com.
2. All States - Looking4kin Site - Links to resources for each state. You can also browse around for other country resources as well.
5. South Dakota Birth Records
Contains information such as file number, name on the record, date of birth, county of birth, mother's name, father's name, file date. Individuals can search the site by any of the items individually or can complete many of the items to look for a specific record. Also back up on the site to get info about other types of records.
6. Berrien County, Michigan Census Index - Part One
Same but Part Two
Extracted by Eugene Jenkins, this list attempts to pull out all those people who claim German from Russia origin. Many Volhynian Germans lived in this county.
Poland Vital Statistics
Please refer to special links on our Archives Records page for information about the Polish Archives.
North American Parish and/or Cemetery Records
On our parishes / cemeteries page, you will find links to a variety of North American parish and cemetery records of a general nature as well as some specific to locations where Russian Poland and Volhynian Germans are known to have settled.
German War Dead
German Military Grave Registration Service - This service maintains 2 million war graves in over 640 cemeteries. It assists in grave identification and restoration. It also provides assistance in determining the fate of German war dead. The form of the input on the opening screen is:
Nachname (Surname)
Vorname (Given name)
Geburtsdatum (Birth date)
Todes-/Vermisstendatum (Death or missing date)
Geburtsort (Birth place)The note at the bottom suggests that if you want to find all persons in the death and missing database that were born at a certain location, do a search with only the birth place entered.
The button at the bottom of the opening screen is: Suche beginnen (Begin search)
NOTES:
1. You only need a surname to do a search, but you may want to add more data if the name you search is a common German name.
2. The first time you visit this site, you may or will be asked to fill out a questionnaire in order to gain the "cookie" that your computer will need for the next visit to avoid this questionaire.The required fields in the questionnaire are those with an asterisk following the line. Those lines are:
Vorname (Given name)
Nachname (Surname)
Strasse/ Nr. (Street and number)
Land/ PLZ/ Ort (Country/ Postal Code/ City)The check boxes after the above entry fields are your reasons for coming to this site. You can check none or all of them (go to our Translation Aids web page if you want to know what they are). When the form is complete, press the button at the bottom of the screen to process the form. You will next be taken to one last page that thanks you for supporting the National union German military grave registration service. Press the button, and you will finally be in the database, where you will be able to make searches wtihout any further distractions.
People receiving Danish Citizenship 1776 to 1960
Immigrants to Denmark - This is an online database covering those people who received Danish citizenship between 1776 and 1960. This includes significant numbers of Germans originally from Volhynia and especially Russian Poland.
The search fields are as follows:
Efternavn = Surname
Fornavn = Given name
Bopæl = Place of residence (in Denmark)
Erhverv = Occupation
Fødelokalitet = Place (or region) of birth
Fødeland = Native land
Only one of these fields is needed for the search, but it would probably not make much sense to search by other than "Efternavn", "Fødelokalitet", and "Fødeland". When searching by "Fødeland", one has to use the Danish country names:
Germany = Tyskland
Poland = Polen
Russia = Rusland
The search results are shown as follows:
Efternavn (see above)
Fornavn (see above)
Erhverv (see above)
Fødelokalitet (see above)
Fødeland (see above)
Fødselsår = Year of birth
I DK fra = (Residing) in Denmark from (year)
Bopæl, lokalitet = Place of residence, locality (in Denmark)
Amt, region = County, region
Lov af = Date of statute or act (by which the person received
citizenship)
Tillæg = Appendix or addendum
Løbenr. = Serial number
Bemærkninger = Remarks
The "remarks" section gives information about different matters, such as how and/or why the person came to Denmark - name of spouse, if any - how many children, if any - etc.