Continuing with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge, we’ve come upon our second Latvian letter…. ÄŒ! This was a tough letter! There are not many Latvian words that start with “Ä” (pronounced “ch”), and even fewer that could relate
Importance of Farm Names
Before I went to the Latvian State Historical Archives for the first time, I didn’t pay much attention to farm names. Sure, I knew the name of the farm where one of my grandfathers grew up, but I didn’t attach
“Fearless Females” – March 2
Today’s prompt:Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo? I’m cheating, and posting two. While looking through my photos, I realized that I have
Surname Saturday – Kukurs
This edition of Surname Saturday is about the surname Kukurs. I have chosen this surname for two reasons – a person with this surname in my family tree is currently giving me trouble, and I happened across the definition of
Navigating Raduraksti
I make many references to LVVA’s Raduraksti. It is the best resource for people researching their Latvian family history if they’re not able to go to the LVVA itself. The collection of documents available there is growing – recently they
Families Unknown
When doing your research, have you ever come across a family – not your own – that appears to have a story to tell, and you want to find out what that story is? This has happened to me while
Limbaži
My maternal grandfather was from Limbaži, in northern Latvia. All I know about his family comes from my mother and my grandfather’s sister. I have not yet been able to find any official record of the family. However, since I