So I’ve decided to do a little mini-course this August all about surnames! It will be a light and fun exploration of the intricacies of surnames in Latvia – their acquisition, their meanings, their geographic reach and so on. This
New Genealogy Courses Starting in May!
As you may recall, in February I started my first beginners’ course in Latvian genealogy. It is still running, and it has been an intense experience for all involved! But everyone (including me!) is learning a lot, so I think
Beginners’ Course in Latvian Genealogy!
Big announcement today – Starting on February 9th, I will be running an online 12-week beginners’ course on Latvian genealogy, where we will start with the basics of Latvian research using online sources. I know getting into the records can
52 Ancestors #33: JÄnis Graumanis
Time for Week 33 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge! As noted in my first post of this challenge, I am starting with my most ancient known ancestors. This week’s ancestor is JÄnis Graumanis, born c. 1789 and
The Dreaded Corner House of RÄ«ga
During the Soviet era, there were few buildings so feared and dreaded in Latvia as the “Corner House” – an otherwise nondescript building on the corner of BrÄ«vÄ«bas and Stabu streets (though of course BrÄ«vÄ«bas street – meaning Freedom Street
Bringing Out the Great-Grandfathers, Part 1 (updated)
I was looking through old blog posts recently, and realized that I started a series of posts on my great-grandfathers (almost four years ago now), but that I never finished the series. I only talked about one of my great-grandfathers!
Book Review: The Case for Latvia
I don’t review books on here often – okay, this is the first review – but I think it might be something I start. This book in particular I think is very valuable for understanding the tricky nuances of Latvian
T is for Tartu
So again, the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge has the name of a city that is not in Latvia. But this time it is closer to home – Tartu is a city in Estonia, which, at the time of