FamilySearch Courses

FamilySearch announced today that the number of genealogy courses that are available for learning is now over 140 courses. The courses include Beginning and Advance courses covering areas such as Australia, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, and the United States. There are lessons on Basic Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Scandinavian, and Spanish Handwriting. Courses are also available for learning research tricks, how to use the Genealogy library, and Genealogy Boot-camp. I would urge you all to check out the classes that are available to help you with your research. If you don't find a class that is of interest to you this month, check back frequently as new classes are being added every month. To learn more click FamilySearch Research Courses

Translation Help for Russian Roots

How many of you have been researching your family lines only to be stopped dead in your tracks because of the language barrier? I have found a new website that is available for those researching their Russian heritage which provides assistance with translation services of older documents.

The Russian Translation and Interpreter Language Services Website provides a wonderful service for those of us researching our Russian ancestry. I have been conversing with the owner of this company Antonina who is a native Russian speaker. Antonina provides many translation services including letters, medical records, court interpretation, and genealogical records. The fees for this service are reasonable and can be found at the website.

The turn around time for the translation services depends upon the complexity of the document being translated but generally it is completed within a 24 hour period. A letter translation turn around is guaranteed to be completed within 3 hours. You can email a scanned image of the document for the translation services directly to Antonina or she will also do a phone consultation as well. I feel that it would be best to send a scanned image of the document for the translation.

The website design is user friendly providing links for the typical rates charged, interpretive services, translation services. The site states that they accept several different forms of payment including PayPal and most major credit cards. However when I clicked on the payment option, I was taken to a PayPal option only. The option for credit card payment is not clear as I have not been able to locate this payment option. Antonina, if you read this post, would you please post a comment regarding the credit card option. I would suggest contacting the Russian Translation and Interpreter Services for a free estimate of the translation services you need whether it be a vital record document, will or letter. Antonina is kind and helpful and would be happy to answer your inquiries.

If you have a need for Russian to English Translation, you can click on
Russian Translation and Interpreter Services. To view the cost for the services, you need only to click on the rates tab on the left side of the website and there you will find the rates for various documents. If you have questions regarding your specific document, you can contact them directly by telephone or by email and they will respond quickly. Have Fun!!

Who are the Doukhobors?

If you are like me, you probably have not heard of the Doukhobors. I was doing some research today and found out that the Doukhobors or Dukhobortsi (translated to mean "Spirit Wrestlers", are a religious sect of Russians that broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church back in 1785. Being exiled, several members of this group settled in Finland, Southern Russian and the Ukraine. In January 1899, over 10,000 members of the Doukhobors sect began to immigrate to Canada being assisted by Leo Tolstoy and the Society of Friends (Quakers) settling in Saskatchewan setting up 61 settlements on the prairies. This group also settled in areas of Alberta and British Columbia.

If you have Canadian Russian Ancestors, you might want to check out Doukhobor Genealogy website. This site is full of information including the "how-to" sections regarding Doukhobor Genealogy, Maps of the Immigration, Research Sources including Immigration records, Village Indexes, and much more. This site is skillfully organized and easily navigated. Doukhobor Genealogy is a website worth checking out. Have fun!