Discovering My Roots

Case Study on Finding Records

1 December 2008 - More on 2009 Tour

The author of the request below indicates in his e-mail heading that his maternal ancestors were born in Dzviniachka or Dzwiniaczka. He writes:

I have been dabbling in genealogical research for several years, as time and resources permit. One of my major frustrations has been trying to trace my maternal ancestors, who both were apparently born in the above village, before emigrating to Canada early in the 20^th century.

Does anyone here have any advice on how I can make some progress?

Unfortunately, I do not read/write/speak/understand Ukrainian, Polish, Latin or Russian, which I understand are the languages in which records there have typically been kept.

My grandparents, in case it tweaks any connections, were:

Sam Michalenko/Michaylenko, born May 15, 1893

Anna Muha/Muma/Mucha, born July 1, 1890

They married after emigration to Canada, but I cannot find any record of their marriage. They both died many years ago, and almost no family history was passed down, so I have very little information to go on.

thanks in anticipation,

Bill Churchman
churchmanw@yahoo.

In the first paragraph, Bill writes:

“I have been dabbling in genealogical research for several years, as time and resources permit. One of my major frustrations has been trying to trace my maternal ancestors, who both were apparently born in the above village [Dzviniachka or Dzwiniaczka], before emigrating to Canada early in the 20^th century.”

Since we know the birth locale, the first place to start, is to look for the village name in a gazetteer, such as the “Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia” by Brian J. Lenius. This gazetteer will not only give you the correct spelling for the village but also where the church parish was located. The gazetteer gives the Polish spelling as Dzwiniaczka and that it was in the Administrative District of Borszczow and the Judicial/Tax District of Mielnica. Both the Roman Catholic and the Greek Catholic parishes are listed as being in Dzwiniaczka and not in some other nearby town. There are footnotes, which indicate that the Roman Catholic Parish was formed during the Austrian Period, from an older parish. It was erected in 1906 and the mother parish was in nearby Mielnica. The name of this parish was changed from this 1906 name sometime after World War II.

A check of a recent road map shows that Dzviniachka (Ukrainian spelling) is about 6 kilometers south- east of Mel’nytsia (Ukrainian spelling) for Mielnica. Since the footnotes indicate that the mother parish was in Mielnica, it would be wise to see what records were available on microfilm for both Dzviniachka and Mielnica.

The next step is the see if these parishes have been filmed by the Latter Day Saints and available through the Family History Centers. Fortunately both parishes have been filmed. Here are excerpts from the Family History Center Catalogue for Dzviniachka and Mielnica.

Roman Catholic parish registers and transcripts of births, marriages and deaths for Dzwiniaczka, Galicia, Austria; later Dzwiniaczka (Borszczow), Tarnopol, Poland; now Komunanivka, Ternopil, Ukraine. Includes: Latkowce, Dzwinogrod, Okopy, Michałowka, Paniowce, Boryszkowce, Babince.

na 3 rolkach mikrofilmu ; 35 mm.
Film Notes
Note - Location [Film]
Indeks urodzen (Birth Index) 1784-1944 – Akta urodzen (Birth records) (Dzwiniaczka) 1886-1945 — Akta urodzen (Birth records) (Boryszkowce) 1890-1923 — Akta urodzen (Birth records) (Latkowce) 1885-1924 — Akta urodzen (Birth records) (Dzwinogrod) 1896-1944 — Akta urodzen (Birth records) (Okopy) 1860-1924 — Akta urodzen (Birth records) (Babince) 1880-1924 — Akta urodzen (Birth records) (Michałowka) 1891-1905- FHL Film #2005234 Items 4 — 5.

I know from this description that I can look at the Birth Index covering 1784-1944 for Dzwiniaczka as well as look at the Birth/Baptismal records covering 1886-1945. They are found as items 4-5 on the LDS microfilm #2005234.

***************************************************************************

Mikrofilm zobriony z rękopisow w Archiwum i Biblioteka Kurii Arcybiskupiej Lubaczowiw i w State Archives of the Ternopil Oblast in Ternopil, Ukraine (record group 485) i w Archiwum Diecezjalne w Opolu.
Zespół 487, seria 1, akta sprawy 15.
Tekst po latinsku i polsku.
Roman Catholic parish registers and transcripts (births, marriages, deaths) for Mielnica (Borszczów), Galizien, Austria; later Mielnica (Borszczow), Tarnopol, Poland; later Mel’nytsya-Podil’s’ka (Borshchiv), Ternopil, Ukraine. Text in Latin and Polish.
na 5 rolkach mikrofilmu ; 35 mm.

Film Notes
Note - Location [Film]
Indeks urodzen, malzenstw, zgonow (Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes) 1890-1945 — Akta urodzen, malzenstw, zgonow (Birth, Marriage and Death Records) 1917- FHL Film #2037097 Item 2.
Akta urodzen (Birth/Baptism Records) 1785-1859 — Akta malzenstw (Marriage Records) 1784-1895 — Akta zgonow (Death Records) 1784-1869 - FHL Film
# 2329223 Item 1.
485-1/15 Akta urodzen (Birth Records) 1854-1859- FHL Film # 2125359 Item 10.
485-1/15 (cont.) Akta urodzen (Birth Records) 1859-1876- FHL Film #2125360 Item 1.
Ksiega Zapowiedzi (Marriage BANNS) 1896-1945- VAULT Film #2416015 Item 4.

I know from this description that I can look at the Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes covering 1890-1945 for Mielnica as well as look at the Birth, Marriage and Death Records covering 1917. They are found as item 2 on the LDS microfilm #2037097. Microfilm # 2329223 Item 1 gives me Birth/Baptism Records for 1785-1859 — Marriage Records for 1784-1895 — Akta zgonow (Death Records) for 1784-1869. Microfilm #2125359 Item 10 gives me Birth Records covering 1854-1859. Microfilm # 2125360 Item 1 gives me Birth Records covering 1859-1876. Finally, microfilm #2416015 Item 4 gives me the Marriage BANNS for 1896-1945.

You will have to go to the nearest Family History Center and order the films. They will notify you when they get them, usually in two-three weeks. You can then view them on their microfilm readers. The films are rented for 30 days and are renewable. The volunteer staff is very helpful and will show you how to work the readers.

Keep in mind that Roman Catholic and Greek Catholics often intermarried. In 1927, over 16% of the marriages in Eastern Galicia were of such mixed marriages. In certain parts of the region, the average was much higher. Thus, it is a very good idea to check both these churches’ books when researching your relatives.

To locate the nearest Family History Center go to:

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp

In the second paragraph, Bill writes:

“Does anyone here have any advice on how I can make some progress?

Unfortunately, I do not read/write/speak/understand Ukrainian, Polish, Latin or Russian, which I understand are the languages in which records there have typically been kept.”

There are very few people who read/write/speak/understand Ukrainian, Polish, Latin or Russian. Yet that doesn’t stop us from conducting successful searches. Fortunately, most of the records listed here were not written in the Cyrillic script. It is in Latin script, which uses the alphabet most of us are familiar with. Looking through the records, one can easily pick out the names Michaylenko and Mucha. Also, most of us have some familiarity with Latin words, since there are many Latin roots found in English words. Every time you see the names you are searching for, make a photocopy or take a picture of that entry and you can later translate it at your leisure or have someone do it for you. I find that translating from Latin script is relatively easy if you have a Latin Guide sheet handy.

This article at http://www.torugg.org/Newsletter/current_issue.html#latin gives an overview of the common Latin terms found on Birth, Marriage and Death records. There are also Polish and Latin Genealogy Word Guides found at:

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Search/rg/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&Gid=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide=WLLatin.ASP for Latin genealogy-related terms and

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Search/rg/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&Gid=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide=WLPolish.ASP for Polish genalogy-related terms..

In the third paragraph, Bill writes:

“My grandparents, in case it tweaks any connections, were:

Sam Michalenko/Michaylenko, born May 15, 1893
Anna Muha/Muma/Mucha, born July 1, 1890”

Now our search will take us is many other directions. We can search for their Passenger List Records, Naturalization Papers, the 1940 National Registration Papers, Marriage Records, Death Records, Cemetery Records, Funeral Home Records, Church Records, Census Records, City Directories (if they lived in any cities), Homestead Records (if they were settlers). There are plenty of places to search to help fill out their story.

• Passenger List Records

Ancestry.ca lists all the passengers who came to Canada from 1865-1935 at:

http://landing.ancestry.ca/intl/canada/passenger/lists.aspx?o_iid=23560&o_lid=23560

Here you might find who sponsored them, who they left behind, how much money they carried, who they were headed to see and how long the voyage took.

• Naturalization Papers

The Canadian Naturalization Database, found at:

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-505-e.html reveals that Sam & Annie Michaylenko were naturalized on May 2, 1928. He was listed as a section foreman and his place of residence was Penny, B.C. The call number and series is 55416 A. To obtain a copy of the application papers and others related to their naturalization costs a mere $5.00 and may contain valuable information, such as when they arrived in Canada, the port of arrival, where they first settled and worked and where they were born. The process of obtaining these documents is outlined in the above link.

• 1940 National Registration Papers

Since Sam died in1940 in Prince Gearge and Anna died in 1931 in Penny they would not have any papers under this Act.

• Marriage Records

If you are not certain where Sam and Anna were married, you may have to search province-by-province for their marriage records.Here is a link which lists the provincial civil record links.

http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/genealogy/022-906.006-e.html

• Death Records

A quick check of the British Columbia Vital Statistics section reveals that Annie Michaylenko died in 1931 and she was 41, indicating that she was born in 1890. Sam Michaylenko died in 1940 and was 45 years old, meaning that, if the reporter was correct, that he was born in 1895 and not 1893, as indicated in Bill Churchman’s memo. The LDS microfilm #2005234 will reveal the true birthdate.

Name: Annie Michaylenko

Gender: Female

Age: 41

Death Date: 9 Jul 1931

Place of Death: Penny

Registration #: 1931-09-465539

BCA #: B13143 GSU #: 1952654

Name: Sam Michaylenko

Gender: Male

Age: 45

Death Date: 18 May 1940

Place of Death: Prince George

Registration #: 1940-09-573110

BCA #: B13168 GSU #: 1953628

Getting the Death Records is important because it may list a reporter, who helped fill out the form. This person, if still living might be able to provide additional information on Sam and Anna. Anna is most likely buried in a cemetery in Penny and it is also likely that Sam will also have been buried there, even though he died in Prince George.

• Cemetery Records

The Cemetery records might list a cause of death, home address and the funeral home.

• Funeral Home Records

The funeral home records might indicate the church they may have attended and any newspaper obituary references. Then you can obtain the obit notice, which may reveal additional information.

• Church Records

If they were involved in the church, there may be entries, such as marriage records, birth/baptism records of their children.

• Census Records

The 1916 Census of the Western Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) is now available at Library and Archives Canada. See:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-911-e.html The census lists each person by name, with the following details:age, sex, country or province of birth, religion, racial or ethnic origin, occupation, and marital status.

• City Directories
  

City directories can help us locate families and trace their movements from year to year, giving us a much clearer picture of where to look for other records. They fill gaps where census indexes don’t exist or fail to turn up desired results. When directories are available in database form, they present even more opportunities for exploration.