I'll be honest: when it comes to researching my husband's Slovak ancestry, I have to admit that I'm short on resources.
So when I thought up the topic for this month's Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, it was for mostly selfish reasons. I'm really hoping to pick up some tips from you experts out there!
You see, my husband's maternal gradmother was the first generation born in the United States, which means that researching generations beyond her means having to find resources in Czechoslovakia. And none of the remaining family speaks Slovak.
Also, my husband remembers hearing very few, if any, stories about his family's history while he was growing up. Apparently they were like my mother's family, and just didn't talk about things.
But here's what I am thankful for:
Our main source for researching this family has been my mother-in-law. She has a remarkably good memory for family stories and details, and when she doesn't remember something, she knows just who to call to find out. We're thankful for her good memory and hope to get as many of her stories recorded as possible!
I'm also thankful for the few tidbits we've found on Ancestry.com. We were able to pick up some hints in the U.S. census, and were able to find out a bit about my husband's grandparents and great-grandparents once they came to America. But beyond that... zilch.
I do plan to investigate some new (to me) resources next year. For one, I hope to sign my husband up for the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International (CGSI). Their web site looks promising, and it appears that they have volunteers who can help with your research.
I also plan/hope to make better use of other online resources, as well as records at the LDS Family History Centers.
Finally, it would be wonderful to interview my husband's remaining maternal family members. It would be such a shame to let their stories go with them to the grave, so I do hope we have a chance to talk with these family members and record their stories. Hopefully some valuable information will be revealed to assist in our research!
____________________
Written for the 13th Edition, Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy: Research Resources I'm Thankful For.
Copyright © 2008 by Elizabeth O'Neal
Print this post
0 comments:
Post a Comment