Do you have Ukrainian ancestors? Our professional genealogists and onsite agents can help with Ukrainian genealogy research!
Ukrainian Genealogy Research
As with many countries in Eastern Europe, Ukrainian genealogy research can be extremely difficult. Strict privacy laws have made it so that most research needs to be done onsite, and strict rules at archives make it very difficult to accomplish that onsite research. Many archives have limits on how many records can be viewed in one day, and also many archives do not allow photographs of documents to be taken. Because of these things, anyone interested in tracing their Ukrainian heritage needs to know right from the start that progress will likely be very slow, so a lot of patience is required!
Language & Ukrainian Family History Research
Because most of Ukraine’s population speak Ukrainian and Russian, there are two different ways of spelling all place names, names of ancestors, and many other things. It is important to be aware of this so that you can search appropriately. Also, if your ancestors have emigrated from Ukraine to another place, the English spelling of their place of origin is also likely very different, and there may be several potential places that the English could be referring to. Gazetteers are very helpful for dealing with this, and should be consulted frequently while conducting Ukrainian genealogy research.
Best Records for Ukrainian Genealogy Research
Generally, the quickest way to identify families in Ukraine is using revision lists. These were kept between 1719 and 1858 to support a national poll tax. Though some revision lists are much more complete and/or detailed than others, these records can be very helpful for tracing Ukrainian family lines. It’s also very helpful to know what religion your Ukrainian ancestors belonged to so that you can search for the correct church records. Additionally, in June 2017 a new database for Ukrainian genealogy research became available online. This resource is meant to help make Ukrainian genealogy research much easier than it has previously been.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
If you have Ukrainian ancestry and aren’t sure where to begin, or have hit a brick wall, our experts and onsite agents have the experience necessary to help with Ukrainian genealogy research. Though the progress may be difficult and slow, we’ll be sure to leave no stone unturned and find as much as we can about your Ukrainian ancestors and family history.