We took an unconventional route to the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, instead of writing about our ancestors; Slavic Genealogy will be giving tips on Slavic research. January’s theme is Foundations and week ones theme is the same. Many people find research in Eastern Europe impossible but its not always the case. There are so many resources that can be used as a foundation to your research and we’ll cover just the basic tools.
General – The first place we recommend you start researching is in the major databases, because they have the most information and will likely proved. Its also the best way to get basic information that can lead to further research.
Ancestry – One of the biggest genealogy companies in the world and one of the first places Americans start, they have many index’s for records found on FamilySearch as well as records in America and Western Europe. Ancestry also has the largest database of DNA matches.
FamilySearch and Wiki – The best place to start research in Eastern Europe, the best place to start is in the card catalog and with a place name as most records on FamilySearch that pertain to Slavs aren’t indexed.
Polish Genealogy – Giving a list of resources that should be used in Polish genealogy is hard, since there was a partition of the Polish land into three sections, thus there are major differences in what records were made and what is available.
Culture.pl – We linked to a article that gives a basic overview of Poland and its history. We recommend Culture.pl as they have many articles on various things to do with Polish history, language and of course culture.
Poznan Project – One of the most comprehensive databases for Polish Genealogy in the world. The Poznan Project is an index of marriages in Wielkopolskie (Greater Poland), this is one of the best resources for American Genealogist who haven’t done Polish Genealogy before.
Geneteka – This database is just like the Poznan project but they have index’s from all across Poland and have index for baptisms, marriages and death records.
Czech and Slovak Genealogy – Since both ethic groups were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire the records are often similar in content and creation.
Cisarik– This website is an index of many villages in Slovakia and most villages have an overview of what records are available for the village.
Slavic Genealogy 