LithuanianCatholic

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Lithuanian Roman Catholic (RC) Ancestor Search Information

1.  In Their Words; A Genealo​gist's Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents; Volume I: Polish, by Jonathan D. Shea & William F. Hoffman, Language & Lineage Press, 2007.

[I have used this document (and Reference 2 below) extensively throughout the years of my Lithuanian Genealogy "hobby", including for the translations of records shown on this website. It has been extremely helpful.]

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2.  In Their Words; A Genealo​gist's Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents; Volume II: Russian, by Jonathan D. Shea & William F. Hoffman, Language & Lineage Press, 2002.

​​[I have used this document (and Reference 1 above) extensively throughout the years of my Lithuanian Genealogy "hobby", including for the translations of records shown on this website. It has been extremely helpful.  There is now a revised (2014) edition.]

​3.  In Their Words; A Genealo​gist's Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents; Volume III: Latin, by Jonathan D. Shea & William F. Hoffman, Language & Lineage Press, 2013.

​[This was only recently released, and I only recently purchased it, so I haven't yet used it in my research, but I'm sure it would be helpful for reading the earlier registers of RC parishes in Lithuania and the pre-1916 registers of RC parishes in Chicago.]

4.  Website www.epaveldas.lt Search Page

Version 1 (older): www.epaveldas.lt/vbspi/  [IF THE WORDS AREN'T IN ENGLISH: right-click on the "English" box in the upper right-hand corner.]

Version 2 (newer): www.epaveldas.lt/en/home

[This is THE place to go to view the online birth, marriage, and death registers of ancestors' RCC parishes in Lithuania.  (Note: The registers of many parishes are NOT online.)] 

5.  Website of LGGS Discussion Group on Lithuanian Genealogy,

(http://groups.io/g/LithuanianGenealogy)

[This is THE place to go for help from others who are also searching for their Lithuanian ancestors.  I have been a member for many years.]

6.  Lietuvos Topografiniai Žemėlapiai; 128 Lietuvos (1920-1923) Žemėlapiai (Topographic Maps of Lithuania; 128 (1920-1923) Maps of Lithuania); Antroji Leida (Second Printing), 1998; Leidėjas Akademikų Skautų Sąjūdžio; Vydūno Fondas; Lemont, Illinois.

[I bought this set of maps from a Lithuanian-American organization in the Chicago area that had reprinted the maps. I think that it was being sold via Lithuanian Heritage magazine at the time (circa 1999).  My guess is that it has been out of print for several years. The maps show all of circa-1920 Lithuania, with some map pages being in Lithuanian and others in Polish, with a level of detail that shows all of the villages.  It was especially helpful in finding the locations of a few villages that are not shown on present-day maps. ]

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7.  Lietuvos Kelių Atlasas (Lithuania Road Atlas), published by Briedis in Vilnius in 2004.

[This is my "Bible" with respect to locations and names of villages in present-day Lithuania. It is a spiral-bound book of ~8" x ~11.6" map pages that shows all of present-day Lithuania.  The scale (1:120,000) shows a lot of detail, and the back has an index with the name of every village in Lithuania.  I remember that I somehow bought this through a U.S. website, but I don't remember any details.  I later bought the 2014 version on a 2016 visit to Lithuania, but still prefer to use the 2004 version. ]

8.  Tverečiaus Kraštas, Diemedžio Leidykla, Vilnius, 2001.

[I received this book from the Catholic priest who was pastor at the Roman Catholic church in the town of Tverečius.  It has over 500 pages, and was put together for the 500-year jubilee of the Catholic parish in Tverečius, so it has a lot of history in it.  (This book is a “gold mine” for somebody doing genealogical research about people who lived in this area.  The hard part for me is that it’s written in Lithuanian.)  It even has a section about Lithuanians who left the Tverečius area to emigrate to the United States, including a list of names. (The name of my grandmother Stanislava Čepulytė was omitted from the list of names, although her cousin Elena Čepulytė with whom she came to America was on the list).  It turns out that this chapter was written by somebody from the U.S. who researched the subject in the U.S. He must have been from Chicago, because almost all of the people on the list had settled in Chicago.  My guess is that this was a limited printing for the 500-year anniversary, and that there are no more copies, but I really don't know.]

9.  Visų Šventųjų Parapija; Roselande; 1906-1956 (All Saints Parish; Roseland; 1906-1956), 1956.

[This is the 50-year jubilee book of All Saints Parish, which was founded by Lithuanian immigrants in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago. My grandfather was active in this parish since its beginning.  I received this book from my parents, who received their copy from the parish in 1956.] 

10.  Introduction to Modern Lithuanian, by Leonardas Dambriūnas, Antanas Klimas, and William R. Schmalstieg; published by Darbininkas, Franciscan Fathers, NY; 4th edition, 1990.