My most difficult ancestor is my great-grandmother Anna Liepa. The reason for this is because she was born in RÄ«ga, and RÄ«ga is a big place. This means that any record search inevitably takes forever, since there are many records
Birth Record of KarolÄ«ne Matilde Baburs – December 31, 1867 (O.S.)
Caroline Mathilde, daughter of worker Martin Babbur and his wife Edde born Jansohn. Baptized by Pastor Getter(?) in the church [Church of Jesus, an evangelican Lutheran church south of the Old City of RÄ«ga]. Godparents maiden Caroline Wendt, worker Martin
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
Support This Site, Support My Trip!
As I mentioned yesterday, I’ll be heading to Latvia in January for four months, doing an internship at the Latvians Abroad Museum and Research Centre. I’m going to have a lot of interesting and exciting things to do while I’m
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 – 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.
Surname Saturday – Government Approved, Part 4
It’s been six months since I posted one of these lists… well, better late than never! The summer was very busy, and I moved, and only now have I recovered where I put these papers. Onto the names! As before,
Marriage of Zenta LÅ«kina and Juris Celmiņš – October 9, 1943
My grandparents Zenta Lūkina and Juris Celmiņš 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,
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 ŠĪRS, 61 1/2 years old, born in Aloja, divorced. Died on October 4, 1923, at 10 o’clock in the evening in RÄ«nuži. 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