Ukrainian Archives Future?

 

Dave Obee's "Back Page" column in the June-July 2022 issue of Internet Genealogy hit a real bell with all genealogists. Dave's mother was born in Ukraine, he has visited several times and of course he is passionate about preserving and accessing Ukrainian family history in the form of archival records. 

According to Dave, "FamilySearch has several crews at work in Ukraine. After the invasion started, most of those crews stayed on the job, despite the dangers, gathering everything they could." Isn't that totally awesome?

Our state is helping. The above image is from the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, campus of U.of W., Seattle. Somehow these good folks are helping to save the contents of over 700 archives in Ukraine...... and to be fair, they are not alone. 

On a website, The Conversation, a journalistic forum, dated 10 April 2022, this was the headline:  "Libraries around the world are helping safeguard Ukrainian books and culture."

Dave Obee ended his column with these words:  "Ukraine will live on in the hearts of everyone with roots there. And family history will live on as well, a family history that has been given much more meaning by the Russian invasion."

Remember Genealogical Publishing Company?

 

Now known as Genealogical.com, this genealogy-book-publishing company has been around for 65 years. I'll just bet you've ordered books more than once from GPC.

If you click to www.Genealogical.com, you'll be like the proverbial kid in a candy shop. So many books! TIP:  If you request their 35-page catalog (2022-2023), then you can browse, red pencil in hand, and start your own Wish List. 

Another TIP:  I find the catalog is handy especially when I begin to research in a new place for I can quickly find what are the major reference books for that place. TIP #2: take the catalog with you to Salt Lake or your favorite library. 

To show how "on the ball" this company is, one of their newest book offerings is Ukrainian Genealogy Research, by Vera Ivanova Miller. Published in 2021, cost is $10.95.  The description begins: "Because the borders of Ukraine shifted many times over the years, researching your Ukrainian ancestors can be challenging........ "

GPC offers How-To Books and Manuals, General Reference and Finding Aids, Heraldry and a long list of resource books for each state and many countries.  

Quoting an old TV commercial, I urge you "to try it, you'll like it!"  Whether Genealogical Publishing Company or Genealogical.com, genealogy BOOKS are their business. 

Ukrainian Research Anybody?

 

With so much news about Ukraine, I realized I knew hardly anything about this country. With "Grandma Google's" help, I did some reading. And I checked out a library book on the history of Eastern Europe and Ukraine........ what a complicated, tangled and murderous history this little country has behind it. If anybody has ancestry in that area, I say, yes, fly the blue and yellow flag proudly!

(Did you know that the colors of Ukraine's flag are for blue skis and growing wheat...for Ukraine is the breadbasket of the region.)

If you do have ancestry in that area (meaning Eastern Europe), don't despair. Yes, the learning curve is much steeper than say for New England, but if it's YOUR ancestors you're after, then it's worth it, right?   

Lisa Alzo has put together a new resource to help you with your Eastern European research. This guide, published in 2020, offers these chapters plus more: 

·        10 Best Databases for Eastern European Research

·        Strategies for Researching Here…… and Over There!

·        Poland, Ukraine and Galicia  Research

·        10 Eastern European Societies You Should Know About

·        New Collections at FamilySearch

·        And a dozen more!!

Click to www.internet-genealogy.com/shop to order your copy.