Ukrainian Genealogy: A Beginner's Guide

Book Synopsis: John D. Pihach's Ukrainian Genealogy is a guide to tracing one's Ukrainian ancestry in Europe. Consideration is also given to North American records that are specifically Ukrainian or relate to the immigrant experience. Because the overwhelming majority of people of Ukrainian origin in Canada and the United States have roots in western Ukraine or southeastern Poland, the guide concentrates on the resources of those regions. This handbook is intended primarily for those whose ethnic roots are Ukrainian, although some of the material in it may be useful to other groups with roots in Ukraine. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss general topics that are preliminary to research. Personal names are examined in chapter 3. Chapters 4 and 5 outline the early religious experiences of Ukrainians in North America and the church records that are available. Chapter 6 addresses the crucial question of determining the name of the European ancestral community. Chapter 7 explains how to locate places on a map, describes the various administrative divisions that existed in the past, and looks at the many types of maps that pinpoint the location of the ancestral village and even the actual home. The resources for learning the history of a specific region are covered in chapter 8. Chapters 9 and 10 are devoted to church-based birth, marriage, and death records, the principal overseas genealogical resource. Chapters 11 and 12 survey other overseas materials. Several appendixes describe Ukrainian transliteration schemes and present a key to the scripts of the languages that were used in record keeping; provide a starting point for research by other ethnic groups with roots in Ukraine; and list useful Web sites.