Last week on Mappy Monday, we made the journey north to Estonia, to learn different names of Estonian places that could come up in your research. This week, we will be doing the same with Lithuania! Historically speaking, Latvia has
Mappy Monday – Crossing the Northern Border
On this week’s edition of Mappy Monday, we are taking a trip across Latvia’s northern border into Estonia! I know I’ve talked a lot about Estonia on this blog recently, and there’s a reason for that – the histories are
Debunking Latvian Genealogy Myths: The Same Surname Means We’re Related!
This is the third post in a series on debunking myths about Latvian genealogy. See the first post about records availability here and the second post about name spelling here. Today’s myth: I found someone with the same surname. That
Mappy Monday – Soviet Era and Modern Names in Latvia
Following on the heels of the Second World War era, we now come to the Soviet and modern eras when it comes to name changes in Latvian territory. The Soviet era brought a huge amount of reorganization to Latvian territory,
Mappy Monday – Second World War Name Changes
So we last left off on Mappy Monday with Interwar Territorial Changes in Latvia. Today, we move on to the tricky business of naming during wartime. During the Second World War, Latvia was occupied three times, and the third occupation
Debunking Latvian Genealogy Myths: My Family Name is Only Spelled One Way!
This is the second in a series about myths relating to Latvian genealogy. Go check out the first one about record availability here! Today’s myth: “My ancestors only spelled their surname one way.” Wrong. Very wrong. Very incredibly wrong. If
Mappy Monday – Territorial Changes in Interwar Latvian Territory
As mentioned in the last Mappy Monday post, now we’ll be talking about interwar territorial changes and names. After the First World War and the subsequent wars of independence, the world gained the three independent Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia
Mappy Monday – Russian Empire Era Names for Latvian Territory
Back to Mappy Monday – sorry we missed last week, but I was down with a bad cold and headache, so I couldn’t get this out last Monday! But continuing on from where we left off, at medieval to early
Mappy Monday – Medieval to Early Modern Names for Latvian Territory
Picking up where we left off last week, talking about ancient names for Latvian territory – and now we’re moving into the Middle Ages, and then medieval and early modern eras! After the German crusaders invaded and gradually conquered the
Mappy Monday – Ancient Names for Latvian Territory
Latvia wasn’t always called Latvia – and for most of history, you won’t have found a place called “Latvia” on a map. Only in the 20th century did Latvia become an independent country. This also means that if you are