I am going to be taking my Grandma to Czech and Slovakian Area. My great grandfather was from there but the cities have changed name..Greatly does anyone know how I find information on doing so? I would like to find my Cousins and family members who were left behind. I know 2 World Wars a lot of things were destroyed....any ideas...this is a surprise for my grandmother to take her to our ancestry. We have spoken about this since I was child. Thank you for any of your help.

I would recommend you mention here the names of towns as they knew them.

Best wishes,

Rex

Did you try a Google search on the last names, if you know any? Like your grandma's maiden name?

Or maybe I misunderstood, you're looking for people, not for towns and villages, right?

You might do some preliminary genealogical research, beginning at---
http://www.cyndislist.com/czech.htm

What part were they from?
The further east you go, the less changed it will seem.

I think you should ask your Grandma if she wants you to find these relatives first. Some people would be thrilled to meet overseas family but for some it might ruin an otherwise good trip. There were, after all, reasons why people left Europe.

Then there is the added dimension that the relatives might put a squeeze on what they think are rich Americans for money. You could end up with phony family trying to take advantage of you.

The absolute worst time to do this would be at the last minute. You need to have lots of correspondence ahead of time and it may take tons of research to find what you want.

Faina, it sounds as though she's asking how to find the current names of towns or villages that used to be named something else. Then, after she knows the current names of those places, she will begin searching for the people themselves.

At least, that's the way I read it.

Hi ldy,

There are many genealogical search sites.

I suggest you start at www.google.com and enter the names of the villages as you remember them.

There is a web site which lists all the different names of villages in that area. I used to have it in my favorites but ... after doing the research and going to my ancestral village last summer, guess I must have got rid of it. Will look again for you.

Lauren,

thank you for bringing a negative tone to this post...it was greatly needed.

NOT!!!

Lauren isn't being negative; she is being realistic, esp. about the time needed to do research before a trip is undertaken. This took me about 4 YEARS! and then I had to plan the trip. Not so simple in that my village was in a remote region of Slovakia. But, what fun the whole venture was ! My daughter and I even got to go into the house my gandfather left in 1883 !!

Lauren and Bedar, You are giving her good, solid advice. It took years of research and lots of correspondence in Italian to achieve that same goal. Lauren has a valid point...people left their country for many reasons, some good, some bad. I had many remarks from the generation before me about "stiring things up." In the end, it was an absolutely, magical experience, and one of the highlights of my life. LdyEternity, your name is so optimistic, I'm sure you chose it for a reason. Good luck to you.

Go for it LdyEternity. Do google searches for the town names you have and call the Czech consulate for help. You might also locate the database for ship sailings from Hamburg. Most of the emigrants from central Europe embarked from there and detailed records were kept. Some of the pre-commie city names have been reinstated so the name of a city could easily be the same as it was 100 years ago.

I went to the Tyrol with the return address from a 40 year old letter and found that the apartment was still occupied by my distant relatives. I've had several memorable visits since then.

Many immigrants from Eastern Europe did leave from Hamburg, but many also left from Antwerp. As with any genealogical research (and I do speak from much experience), you often have to have the answers before you can get documentation.

Good luck!

Thank you all for your advice. I am looking forward to finding lost family. My grandma has been talking about finding her family and the village since I was in my late teens...so I know she would like to find them. We don't have in riches in us so they can try to ummm get nothing. I have been saving for awhile. I will question my Great uncles and aunts for town names. Yet, I know something positive will come out of this even if something negative comes around. My view is know where you came from good or bad it is your history. I am glad to see some that some of the towns have gone back to old names. I will start with Google. I don't speak Czech or Slov so...writing will be hard. I remember my travels there.. when my mother was a tour guide but that was during the early 90's and I was just hitting my late teens.

LdyEternity:

As the territories of today's Czech and Slovak republics used to be a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, your grandmother probably recalls the German names.

You will find a list of place names in German with their present-day translations at this website (I'm afraid it is rather incomplete and in German, but maybe you will be lucky):

http://www.schlaufuchs.at/list/l_histon.htm

Hope this helps

Phil.

As you are right Phil. My great grandfather was born in Hylo A-Hungry in 1899 and arrived in America Via Baltimore in 1905. So I will start there. I am very much hoping to find what I need.

Does anyone know what the status of Czech and Sloviak is? Some of my family say that Grandma might not want to go because of the threat of Americans? I have not heard anything except in the Mid east.

Thank you all for helping me this is GREAT.