Databases
Quick Jumps |
Lutheran Church Record Databases
1. Volhynia, Kiev, and Podolia Parish Record Index (VKP Databases)
The three VKP databases, Births & Confirmations, Marriages, and Deaths, are indexes of records from Lutheran churches that existed in Volhynia, Kiev, and Podolia from the early 1800s until WW II. The data has been extracted from church records held in St. Petersburg Archive in Russia and from church records held in Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych in Warsaw, Poland. For complete information on available Lutheran church records for Volhynia and related areas see our parishes page.
St. Petersburg Archive
The records in St. Petersburg Archive are the duplicate copies of parish register books sent each year to the Lutheran Consistory office in St. Petersburg. The data was extracted in the 1990s by the Odessa Group from LDS microfilm copies of the duplicate register books. The microfilms cover only to 1885 and some years are missing. The Volhynian portion of the St. Petersburg Archives records index is now hosted in the original form on the Odessa3 website.
Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych (AGAD)
AGAD holds Lutheran church register books of Rozyszcze, Wladimir-Wolynsk, and Lutzk parishes (all in the western or Polish part of Volhynia) and also books of some kantorates in the above parishes and as far east as Rowno and Tutschin. The books begin with the founding of Rozyszcze parish in 1862 and extend to 1939 with some years missing. Digital scans of these records were made available online about 2015 at AGAD Volhynia Inventory. SGGEE volunteers extracted data from these records for inclusion in the VKP databases. For the convenience of researchers, the link to the online scan is included in the VKP databases for every entry that has an online scan.
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.
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 explain how to explore online resources available for these records.
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. For Germans that were resettled from these regions of the Soviet Union (prior to World War II) an instructional article from a 2008 issue of the SGGEE journal describes how one can use the search results from Odessa 3 to assemble families as listed on each Stammblatt.
3. FamilySearch has posted over 300,000 EWZ Stammblätter for resettled Germans from eastern Poland, Polish Volhynia, Galicia, Austria, and Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia). Using the Invenio resource in Germany, names of many people resettled through the action of EWZ can be searched with their Stammblatt number indicated. For detailed instructions on using Invenio and finding the corresponding Stammblätter see the instructions provided.
4. 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".
5. Supplementary NARA EWZ Information (PDF)
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. An interesting related article from the US National Archives https://twelvekey.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/ngsmagazine2007-07.pdf or a FamilySearch article on understanding Immigration and Canadian Border Crossings https://familysearch.brightspotcdn.com/9c/86/0b7eefb7ec33942c32b55e7af946/immigration-and.pdf.
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. Germany Online Genealogy Records.
7. There is a substantial selection of listservs on the CompGen.de website in their Rechieren section under Mailingliste (in German) OR use the FamilySearch wiki.
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. CANADA - see Library and Archives Canada below.
5. 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.
6. Castle Garden, the New York port that handled most incoming passengers prior to Ellis Island. Extractions are in progress.
7. Canada's Pier21 Museum has a searchable list
8. GG Archivesships passenger lists
9. Searchable database Bremer Passagierlisten - (includes English link)ships passenger lists
12. Family Search England Emigration and Immigration
13. Migrations of ethnic Germans (German)
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. - 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 has moved to U. of Calgary (register for free to view and order material).
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. US wiki at FamilySearch has a clickable map which leads to all resources.
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. Benton Harbor Genealogy (in Berrien County, MI) There are 39 cemeteries in Berrien County. Many Germans from Volhynia are buried in the Crystal Springs Cemetery.
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.