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The Elusive Village in the Old Country: How can I discover it?
Probably the biggest frustration is finding out what village your people came FROM in Lithuania...assuming you know their real surname, of course. How do you go about figuring it out if there's no one left to ask? What strategies, resources, etc. do you use? Share a nightmare, or a success story!
Most important to remember are the occupations...the Germans, Russians. From 1795 to 1918, Lithuania didn't exist. Whatever town you're looking for probably had a name in: Russian, German, Lithuanian and Polish. You must keep an open mind and do the research to find your village....remember, if you even HAVE a village name, you are well ahead of most of us and subject to our envy! Looking at the old maps with the border changes, name changes, etc., might be helpful. Take a few minutes to get the gist of the Partitions from the 1700s-1900s.
One site to try is Falling Rain.
Better than that, I think, is the Excel database in the Files section of the Yahoo group for Lithuanian Genealogy: You'll have to get a yahoo ID and join, but honestly, if you haven't...what's wrong with you? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LithuanianGenealogy/files/
SGKP-Lithuania is a site dedicated to translating entries from the Polish XIXc gazetteer describing localities in modern-day Lithuania.
Working Backwards
Let's assume you know what name you're looking for. The next obstacle is the timeframe during which your ancestor immigrated. The later they came, the better your chances. Here are just a few things that I do:
1. Go to the Lithuanian Internet Phone directory Zebra (see link on main page). Type in the first few letters of the name to see how many hits you get. Is it a common name? relatively rare?
2. I group the results from #1 by location. Are there 'hotspots' in certain regions of Lithuania for the name?
3. I search the heck out of Ancestry.com and just plain ole Google searches. Think outside the box. There might not be info for your direct ancestor, but his or her cousin who came over later might have a passport application, naturalization papers, etc. that might give clues to the old home village. Later immigration records to the USA often give home villages instead of just "Russia" or "Kowno (Kaunas)" or the ever popular "Suwalki" (which could be most of southern Lithuania and parts of Poland). The locations will be horrifically mis-spelled. I use an Excel database that I downloaded from the LithGen yahoo group which has a ton of spellings for a zillion towns and villages in Lithuania. Remember that at various times, a village might have had a Lithuanian spelling, a German spelling, a Polish spelling or a Russian spelling...or all of the above. And they might not look anything alike to each other.
4. Using the results from the Zebra internet phone directory, I write letters...in English, explaining who I am and the family I'm looking for. Give basic info, name, birth, when they immigrated, who they married...but don't overdo it. ALWAYS include your email address. Your letter might get passed off to a younger relative who understands some English and who has email access. I ask them how much they know about their family history. And do they remember a so-and-so going to America, England, etc. I know many people have found this incredibly successful.
5. If you're willing to accept the headaches of social networking sites, #4 can also be attempted on Facebook, Frype, Orkut and a smattering of other sites. You may be using Google Translator constantly to figure out what the websites say if you don't speak the languages, but it may be worth it.
Most important to remember are the occupations...the Germans, Russians. From 1795 to 1918, Lithuania didn't exist. Whatever town you're looking for probably had a name in: Russian, German, Lithuanian and Polish. You must keep an open mind and do the research to find your village....remember, if you even HAVE a village name, you are well ahead of most of us and subject to our envy! Looking at the old maps with the border changes, name changes, etc., might be helpful. Take a few minutes to get the gist of the Partitions from the 1700s-1900s.
One site to try is Falling Rain.
Better than that, I think, is the Excel database in the Files section of the Yahoo group for Lithuanian Genealogy: You'll have to get a yahoo ID and join, but honestly, if you haven't...what's wrong with you? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LithuanianGenealogy/files/
SGKP-Lithuania is a site dedicated to translating entries from the Polish XIXc gazetteer describing localities in modern-day Lithuania.
Working Backwards
Let's assume you know what name you're looking for. The next obstacle is the timeframe during which your ancestor immigrated. The later they came, the better your chances. Here are just a few things that I do:
1. Go to the Lithuanian Internet Phone directory Zebra (see link on main page). Type in the first few letters of the name to see how many hits you get. Is it a common name? relatively rare?
2. I group the results from #1 by location. Are there 'hotspots' in certain regions of Lithuania for the name?
3. I search the heck out of Ancestry.com and just plain ole Google searches. Think outside the box. There might not be info for your direct ancestor, but his or her cousin who came over later might have a passport application, naturalization papers, etc. that might give clues to the old home village. Later immigration records to the USA often give home villages instead of just "Russia" or "Kowno (Kaunas)" or the ever popular "Suwalki" (which could be most of southern Lithuania and parts of Poland). The locations will be horrifically mis-spelled. I use an Excel database that I downloaded from the LithGen yahoo group which has a ton of spellings for a zillion towns and villages in Lithuania. Remember that at various times, a village might have had a Lithuanian spelling, a German spelling, a Polish spelling or a Russian spelling...or all of the above. And they might not look anything alike to each other.
4. Using the results from the Zebra internet phone directory, I write letters...in English, explaining who I am and the family I'm looking for. Give basic info, name, birth, when they immigrated, who they married...but don't overdo it. ALWAYS include your email address. Your letter might get passed off to a younger relative who understands some English and who has email access. I ask them how much they know about their family history. And do they remember a so-and-so going to America, England, etc. I know many people have found this incredibly successful.
5. If you're willing to accept the headaches of social networking sites, #4 can also be attempted on Facebook, Frype, Orkut and a smattering of other sites. You may be using Google Translator constantly to figure out what the websites say if you don't speak the languages, but it may be worth it.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Linda Johnson on
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I am researching my husband's Lithuanian family. There is no one left to ask. I am unsure about the surname but I have a lead on the name of the villiage they were born in through my husband's grandmother's SS application. The SS application is a must! I also intend to get the SS applications of the sisters in the family.
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Permalink Reply by Antoinette Marie Rossi on
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It was Suwalki! That is what it said, but where is that? Thanks for an informative article. I will try again every so often to find more people online than ever before! Please let us know which surname you are researching, I am often better at finding other families than my own!
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Permalink Reply by Richie C. on
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Antoinette,
Suwalki was/is both a region and a town. As to where and how big it 'was' depended on the time period in history. I could be wrong, but I think I read once that at one time it contained everything below the Nemunas River in Lithuania into Poland and Belarus. The present city of Suwalki is in Poland.
Here's a Wikipedia article on Suwalki (Suvalkija in Lithuanian):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suwa%C5%82ki_Region -
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I still have not gotten much farther. I did find a third cousin in Pittsburgh, PA who did not know that we are also Lithuanian.
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For those researching Jewish ancestors (and those not) here is a site for shtetls in Lithuania. History, photos, alternative spellings and links for many Lithuanian towns and cities.
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Lithuania.html -
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Richie,
The social security application says "Zvingus, Lithuania". I believe this would be Zvingiai. The family went by the name of Yurgell when they came to the USA. I fould the ship manifest for the mother and daughters. The surname given is Jurgelewiczene. It says they are going to her husband, Vicentas Jurgelewicz in Indiana Harbor, Indiana. The last place of residence on the ship manifest is Alexandrowo. I have been unable to find the manifest for Vicentas. Thanks.
Linda -
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The Lithuanian spelling of the surname would be Jurgelevičius, with the spelling for the mother being Jurgelevičienė. There are hundreds listed in the Lithuanian Internet phone directory with this name. I'm no expert, but I agree the place would probably be Žvingiai, Šilalė, Lithuania. I believe Alexandrowo is Aleksandriškė in the Plunges, Telsiai, Lithuania area, which is about 97 kilometers north of Žvingiai.
I didn't find any of this family listed in the Telsiai or Šilalė regions.
It's possible that Vincentas' immigration might be:
Name: Vincentz Jurgels
Arrival Date: 3 Jun 1904
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1877
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: Hamburg
Ethnicity/Race-
/Nationality: Polish
Ship Name: Graf Waldersee
The NY version says he was headed to his father, of the same name, in Chicago.
There is both the English (NY) and German (Hamburg) records. The Hamburg lists gives his residence as 'Skirasimov'....I checked a database and it looks like this is Skiržemės, in the Taurages, Taurage, Lithuania area. It's about 10 miles as the crow flies from Žvingiai, above. -
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Richie,
Thank you for this information. Actually, someone on the LithGen board pointed out Vincentz Jurgels to me. He is on the same ship as the oldest daughter, Eva. He is going to the same place as Eva, but he is not Vincentas. Vincentas was born about 1863. I do know that this man was not the son of Vincentas but maybe he was a relative. Were there any Jurgelevičius families listed in the phone book from the Taurages, Taurage, Lithuanian area? Thank you very much!
Linda -
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Only 3 listed for Taurages:
Aldona Jurgelevičienė
Dariaus ir Girėno g. 34-80, Tauragės miesto sen. , Tauragės m.
844653921
Lina Jurgelevičienė
Jūros g. 51a-1, Tauragės miesto sen. , Tauragės m.
844661247
Alfonsas Jurgelevičius
Tauragnų k. , Tauragnų sen. , Utenos raj.
838932453 -
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Thank you so much. I will write to them in English. I am confused about addressing the envelope. Regarding the first name on your list would it be:
Dariaus ir Gireno
g. 34-80
Taurages miesto sen
Taurages m
844653921
Thank you, I appreciate your help.
Linda -
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The last number group is the phone number, so no, not that. The first one would be:
Dariaus ir Girėno g. 34-80
Tauragės miesto sen.
Tauragės m.
Lietuvos respublika
LITHUANIA
'g' is gatave or 'street'
sen. I can't remember, it's like a 'region' or something
raj. is rajonas or 'district'
m. is miesto, or 'city'
I've never bothered with looking up postal codes, but there is a site for that somewhere. -
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