Czech Geneaology Research...how do I go about it?
 

I will be in Prague in March and a dear friend has requested that I do him a favor and see if he can help him do a little research on his family geneaology, that he's traced back to Czechoslovakia.

Not that I want to spend my entire vacation doing favors for people, but he's a sweetie and I don't mind going out of my way for an hour or two to help. Question is....will I be able to find info there that he can't find on the internet?!

Has anyone ever tried to do geneaology research in a foreign country? Where should I be looking? So far, I have only the name of his forebear and miscellaneous info that he got from ellisisland.org.
Any help would be greatly appreciated..

Issue #1: Do you speak Czech?
Issue #2: Where in Czechoslovakia? The Czech Republic? The Slovak Republic? The old Austria-Hungarian empire?

Renee, I've never attempted to do genealogical research in the Czech Republic, but I'd be very surprised if an hour or two of genealogical research in any country would accomplish anything.

Tomboy has raised some questions that may give you an inkling of the complexity of what you're considering getting into. A couple of other anecdotes will give you an idea of this.

I did many, many days of research, trying to identify one of my husband's English ancestors, in one of the local Mormon Libraries when we lived in Melbourne, Australia. By consulting the microfiche copies of British census records, I was able to make a lot of progress. My brother-in-law and a cousin subsequently went to the UK on two separate trips, and they both spent days consulting military records to corroborate the information I'd found from the census records.

Just around the time I'd wrapped up my search for that particular ancestor of my husband, the Mormon Library put its records online:

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/default.asp

I think the Mormon records are a good place to start.

On a totally different genealogical project, my mom researched one of my father's ancestors. Starting in South Africa, where she lives, she consulted ships' passenger lists, and discovered the date on which the ancestor had set sail from Germany, the port from which he had departed, and the name of the village from which he had come. She subsequently had an opportunity to visit that village. She saw gravestones with our family name on them, and she visited with a man who had taken it upon himself to be the village historian. She stayed at a B&B in the village, and spent 2 or 3 days pursuing all of the leads. Oh yes, and by the way, my mom is fluent in German, which was another big help to her.

Anyway, my main point is that genealogy is a time consuming pursuit, and I'd be surprised if an hour or two of your time in the Czech Republic (or any other country) would achieve anything. Sorry.

Hi Judy,
Yes, I understand that I wouldn't have much time to devote to doing research while I am there, which is why we are trying to get a jump start on learning the fundamentals now.

Thanks for the link to the mormon library. I will pass it along to him.

I appreciate it!

Hello Renee,

Although I think the Mormon online library is the best place to start, a couple of quick Google searches brought up some other seemingly good links.

One Google search that seemed to be useful was BIRTH RECORDS + PRAGUE. Even if the links did not point to birth records in Prague, they did indicate where birth records were located, other countries' names under which they were classified (Bohemia, Moravia, etc.), and on and on.

Another Google search that brought up promising results was GENEALOGY + CZECH REPUBLIC.

Hope that helps.

I do genealogy ...and he has not done enough prelimiary work! first he must do some more research....he needs to go to Cyndy's (genealoogy) list and go to that county subcatagory and he will be able to contact others who speak Enlish can advise him. First however he must have full names, birthdates and marriages. from these he will get specific CITIES and areas. then when you have enough to go on you can contact or visit the historical societies in that area and do some digging...It is not as much of a problem these days with the internet...It will take days for you especially if you are not experienced and sometimes these records will cost you...Is he has a specific thing he needs( a document in a certain town or locating a certain gravestone in a cemetary etc) then you can help him..if you will be in the specific town during the week tell him you would be glad to take pictures or pick up any infor they may be available but you will not have time sitting in the libray "chasing down wild Czech geese"

This is wonderful preliminary info...thanks so much guys...this will get him off to a good start. I can really appreciate what an undertaking this will be. Many thanks!

Many years ago I contacted the Czech consulate in the US and they sent me a detailed form about "How to Do Genealogocial Research in Czechoslovakia." Perhaps he can begin with directions from the consulate?

Note this was when it still WAS Czechoslovakia. At that time it was illegal to export this information--technically you couldn't even contact a relative and ask them to tell your grandmother's birthdate. To get information, you had to send in government forms with lots of information regarding towns, names, and dates, and give a set amount of money (and therefore time) you were willing to spend to get the information. You could also travel there and deal with incredible bureaucracy. I'm sure this is much simpler now.

Another important factor: in Czech there are about 7 different ways you can spell a person's name (slightly different endings), depending upon the part of speech. So if you are searching old records on your own, you have to understand Czech usage ij order to know you are reading about the same person.

Your friend should do mcuh more research before he sends you on that wild goose chase someone else mentioned.

Hi Ellen!

Well, I don't actually consider it a wild goose chase. I will be there anyway....and if I can get some info while I'm there...great! If not, still great. Nothing's written in stone yet....if it's not feasible, I won't do it. Thanks for your input, more great info to consider!