Surname Saturday – Å Ä«rs

Welcome to the return of Surname Saturday at Discovering Latvian Roots! Today’s surname is Å Ä«rs – this is the maiden name of my great-grandmother Lilija, who married Augusts LÅ«kins in 1921. Lilija’s parents were JÄ“kabs Å Ä«rs and KristÄ«ne Kukure. This

I’m Back!

Sorry for my long absence, this last semester of classes has just been extremely time-consuming. But everything has been submitted, and there is only one component left to my program prior to graduation in the spring – completing my internship!

Wordless Wednesday – Last Looks, c. 1945-1955

The last photo I have of my great-grandparents Brencis and JÅ«le (b. Å telmÄhere) LÄ«cÄ«tis. I believe it was sent to their daughters in Canada sometime in the late 1940s, since Brencis died somewhere around that time, and JÅ«le died in

Wordless Wednesday – Two Martas, 1911

My great-grandmother JÅ«le LÄ«cÄ«te (b. Å telmahere) with her daughter Marta LÄ«cÄ«te (the baby) and her half-niece Marta Å mits (the older girl) , c. 1911. Marta LÄ«cÄ«te is my great-aunt, who passed away one year and one week ago. See my

Wordless Wednesday – School Play, 1925

Photograph of what is probably a school play or skit of some kind at the primary school in Krustpils, c. 1925. My grandmother is the girl in the middle of the first row.

Marriage of Zenta LÅ«kina and Juris CelmiÅ†Å¡ – October 9, 1943

My grandparents Zenta LÅ«kina and Juris CelmiÅ†Å¡ got married on this day in 1943. I do not have their marriage certificate yet, but I do have several other documents that attest to this date as their marriage. I do, however,

Wordless Wednesday – Fishwife Statue, Copenhagen

My grandfather Aleksandrs Francis with the Fishwife Statue in Copenhagen, Denmark, c. 1945-1948. Fishwife Statue. Taken by me, November 2009.

Death Record of JÄ“kabs Å Ä«rs – October 4, 1923

Click for full image. Image courtesy of a cousin from my LÅ«kins family line. Fishing manager JÄ’KABS Å ÄªRS, 61 1/2 years old, born in Aloja, divorced. Died on October 4, 1923, at 10 o’clock in the evening in RÄ«nuÅ¾i. Buried

Birthday Gift for Aleksandrs Francis – September 24, 1945

My grandfather Aleksandrs Francis was born on September 24th, 1920. The first twenty years of his life were, by all accounts, relatively normal for a middle-class Latvian youth growing up in the 20s and 30s. He attended an agricultural high

Birth Record of Anna Liepa – September 22, 1895

This post is the first in a series that I’ll be making about events in my ancestors’ lives, on the days that the events took place. My reasons for this series are twofold – first of all, it helps me