Sources for genealogy research

Metric books are records of civil status acts (marriages, births and baptisms, deaths) and represent not only the main genealogical source, but also the most reliable compared to other genealogical materials….

Metric books are church parish books in which daily records of civil status acts were kept, where marriages, births, and deaths of parish residents were registered in chronological order. The metric book could include records of acts over a period of up to several decades. The data entered into the books applied to the entire population of the parish, regardless of social status. That is why, in order to find the necessary information about a particular family or household, all act records should be reviewed.

Birth records containing baptismal records include the dates of baptism and birth of the child, his or her name, information about the parents and godparents (first and middle name, last name, social origin or profession, place of permanent residence).

Regarding foreigners, it should be borne in mind that quite often their place of permanent residence was not indicated, but only the state of which they were citizens or subjects was mentioned. Another peculiarity is that the birth registers of Orthodox churches did not indicate the mother's maiden name. Instead, it can be found in the official record of the parents' marriage.

The marriage records contain the date of marriage, first name, last name, and patronymic, age, marital and social status, profession, and place of permanent residence of the bride and groom and witnesses. A note was required on which marriage the husband and wife were entering into (first, second, etc.). Information about divorce was also included. The divorce record indicated the date and place of marriage, divorce, first name and patronymic, last name, (maiden name of the ex-wife), age, place of residence, and profession.

It should be noted that in Orthodox churches, a note about divorce was made to the marriage record. Death records in the registry books indicated the first and middle names, last names, age, marital status, date and cause of death, and place of burial.

In Russian-speaking Ukraine, before marriage registration, marriage searches were created - questionnaires where certain data about the bride and groom were entered, namely names and patronymics, age, social and marital status, profession, and place of permanent residence.

Metric books are located in the archives, in the registry offices, and in the funds of individual religious institutions. It should be noted that in some settlements there were several churches, and in some there were none at all. In this case, it is necessary to find out to which parish the village, which did not have a church, belonged. In the process of collecting data on metric books, attention should be paid to the person's religion, that is, to conduct a search in the documents of religious institutions of the corresponding denominations.

In central and eastern Ukraine, since 1921, registration of civil status acts has been carried out by the Civil Registry Office departments, in western Ukraine – since 1939. The above information was recorded in the registration books. Civil Registry Office documents can be found in the funds of government and administrative bodies.

How to read correctly see metric books here.

2. Family and property registration documents

Reviz “fairy tales”

This type of source is typical for the former Russian part of Ukraine. Revision “fairy tales” (family lists) are a type of All-Russian census materials. They record all the necessary data for genealogical research: first and middle name, last name, age, family ties (names of parents, children, wife, sisters, brothers, their ages), social status. The revision indicated the age of each family member at the time of the previous census and the census that was being conducted; if the child was born between two revisions, then “newborn” and age were indicated.

The document noted the place and date of departure from the previous place of residence in the event that individuals or families from other localities were assigned to the settlement. Information is also provided about the eviction of certain individuals or entire families, indicating the date and reasons for resettlement. It should be noted that each new audit “fairy tale” was based on the materials of the previous audit. That is why families were noted under the same numbers as before. The sequence of placement of «fairy tales» practically did not change, except for those cases when a son, having created his own family, changed not only the place of residence, but also the administrative registration.

It should be noted that the age of individuals in the audits could be recorded incorrectly or inaccurately, and this complicates genealogical searches. For example: the audit “fairy tales” of the Oleksandrivsky district of the Ekaterinoslav province of the 6th – 9th audits (1811–1850) are stored in the fund of the Oleksandrivsky district treasury, the 10th (1858) – in the fund of the Oleksandrivsky city hall.

More details Read about Reviz fairy tales in a separate article

Family lists

Family and property lists are a type of family lists. They provide additional information about the family's property status. However, they could only indicate the number of family members instead of a list of names. Family lists were deposited in land departments, funds of local authorities and administrations.

Voter and citizen lists, disenfranchised

Citizens over the age of 18 were recorded in such lists. Information that could be entered: surname, first name and patronymic, age (year of birth), nationality, social status, profession, family ties, residential address, reasons for deprivation of voting rights. These documents are stored in the funds of local authorities and administrations and statistical bureaus.