LithuanianCatholic

AncestorSearch.com

Lithuanian Roman Catholic (RC) Ancestor Search Information

Lithuanian RC Ancestor Search Process

1. Collect Birth Data of U.S. Immigrant Lithuanian Ancestor and Any Immigrant Relatives

Find Names of the Parents (of U.S. immigrant Lithuanian ancestor / relatives)

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Outline

• Why Find Parents' Names?
  
• Where to Find Parents' Names
  
• About "Americanized" Names of Parents in Lithuania
  
• Example of Names Found for Parents of My Grandfather
  

Why Find Parents' Names?

The parents' names are not needed to search for your ancestor's birth record in Lithuania, but they are needed to be confident that you have found the correct birth record in Lithuania. There could be other persons in the parish that had the same name as your ancestor (because in those times all of the relatives lived near each other, and because some of those could have the same given name).

Where to Find Parents' Names

The names of the parents of your ancestor might be available via "family recollection" or "family papers".  If not, there are only a few U.S. records where their names might be found.  These are:

• US Social Security Account Number Applications (Form SS-5).
• Church Marriage Records.
  
• Church Death (Funeral) Records. (sometimes)
• US Immigration Ship Passenger Lists (after mid-1906) (asks for nearest relative; never has mother's maiden name)
• Death Certificates (not always reliable).

About "Americanized" Names of Parents in Lithuania

In U.S. records other than those prepared by U.S. Lithuanians and ship passenger lists, it is typical to find the names of the ancestor's parents listed in an Americanized form.

• The Lithuanian given name will usually be entered in the form of the Americanized given name that was typically adopted by U.S. Lithuanian immigrants with that same Lithuanian given name (e.g., John instead of Jonas; Stanley instead of Stanislovas).
• The Lithuanian surname of the father of a male immigrant will typically be found as the same Americanized surname that had been adopted by the male immigrant (e.g., Miknis instead of Miknevičius).
• The Lithuanian surname of the father of a female immigrant will typically be found as the same Americanized surname that had been adopted by the female immigrant (e.g., Chepulis instead of Čepulis).
• The Lithuanian maiden name of the mother of an immigrant will typically be found as an Americanized version (male form of the surname with all diacritical marks omitted) (e.g., Mazeika instead of Mažeikaitė).

Examples of Names Found for Parents of My Grandfather

Names:

• "family recollection" said his father was named John Normantas or Narmontas, and that his mother was named Pauline, with a family name something like "Godovich".
  
• His 1936 Social Security Form SS-5 says that his father's name is John Casimir Normant and his mother's name is Paulina Gudovisz.
  
• His sister's 1937 Social Security Form SS-5 says that her father's name is John A. Normant and her mother's name is Pauline Gudovich.
• His 1912 Latin-language marriage record from Our Lady of Vilna RC parish in Chicago says that his father's name is Joannus (Normantas) and his mother's name is Paulinae Gudavytius.
• His January 1906 ship passenger list has no information (because it wasn't asked for).
• His sister's 1914 ship passenger list says that her nearest relative is her mother Paulina Narmontajte.
• His sister's 1918 Latin-language marriage record from SS. Peter & Paul RC parish in Chicago says that her father's name is Joannis (Normantas) and her mother's name is Paulinae Gudavicaites.
• His 1954 Latin-language second-marriage record from SS. Peter & Paul RC parish in Chicago says that his father's name is John (Normant) and his mother's name is Paulina Gudavicius.
• His 1958 death certificate says that his father's name is John Normant and his mother's name is Pauline Gudavicius.

Discussion of results:

• Father's Given Name:  Any of the above names would be sufficient for you or a researcher to proceed.  All of these are consistent with the American English name "John", which is the equivalent of the Lithuanian name "Jonas".
• Mother's Given Name:  Any of the above names would be sufficient for you or a researcher to proceed.  All of these are consistent with the American English name "Pauline", which is the equivalent of the Lithuanian name "Paulina".
• Father's Surname:  Any of the above names would be sufficient for you or a researcher to proceed.  It appears to be either "Normantas" or "Narmontas", and that is "close enough" at this stage.  The distinction would not be important in searching for the birth record in Lithuania.
• Mother's Surname:  Any of the above names (with one minor exception--"Narmontajte") would be sufficient for you or a researcher to proceed.  All of them are consistent with the family name that would be spelled as "Gudavičius" in modern Lithuanian.  [The minor exception is the name "Narmontajte" on the ship passenger list; this was obviously intended to be the mother's married name (vs. maiden name), but the person preparing the list made the incorrect assumption that the mother's name was the same as her daughter's; it should have been entered as "Narmontiene".]

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