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Many parishes continued to record births, marriages and deaths during the Russian Civil War (1917-1923). A lot of people were displaced during the war, so the records are much harder to find since they might not appear in the previously attended church. Records are in disarray, some events were not recorded right away, but on the other hand, many things from previous years were recorded and rerecorded. It is not uncommon to find in 1920’s register books records about 1917-1919 and even pre-revolutionary events, going back as far as late 1800’s.

Смотрите также: “about birth records / о родившихся” и “Jewish birth records in Russian Orthodox church records”.

If the surname you are working with randomly interchanges -io- and -e- (e.g. Basenok/Basionok, Shlemov/Shliomov), it is likely that the original was -yo- (Cyrillic “ё”). -io- is an old way of writing “yo” sound, before letter “ё” became the norm. -e-, of course, just a common way of writing “ё”, not bothering with the trema.

Basenok/Basionok – Басенок, Басионок = Басёнок
Shlemov/Shliomov – Шлемов, Шлиомов = Шлёмов

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_(Cyrillic)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaeresis_(diacritic)#Vowels

Смотрите также: “Днепропетровский архив: метрические книги сел Верхнеднепровского уезда за 1917-1923 гг” и “Фамилии жителей с. Ольгинское за 1889 год”.

When looking through marriage records and birth records, one should pay attention to witnesses (from bride’s and groom’s side) and to godparents. Most of the time they are relatives, by blood or marriage.

For example, in birth records, sometimes it is possible to determine wife’s maiden name, as her unmarried sister is often a godmother. This can be determined by the same patronymic middle name. However, this should always be double checked with other records as unrelated matches are possible.

Nonetheless, one should approach with caution as godparents and witnesses could be siblings, siblings’ spouses, parents or even unrelated people who were held at high esteem by the parents or the married couple.

Смотрите также: “searching for marriage record” и “Черниговский архив: метрические книги евреев н. п. Черниговской губернии за 1894-1916 гг”.

Once in a while, there will be a Jewish birth record in Russian Orthodox church records. There could be several reasons for that – traveling when birth occurred, for example – however, often in such cases it would be either a young girl or a widow. Unfortunately for researchers, birth is usually recorded in some obscure village, far away from place of residence. But hopefully people will take note and share this information.

An example: birth of Rakhil (Rachel) Bortsev’s daughter in 1894 is recorded in Orthodox church of Olginskoe village.

Рахиль Борцева, мещанка города Мариуполя.

Смотрите также: “Original name, random -io- / -e- substitution”.

When looking for marriage records one usually assumes that marriage took place about 9 months prior to birth of oldest known child. Often, however, it is not the first born. That’s why it is important to check death records for that period and see whether any other children were born and died earlier.

Смотрите также: “Черниговский архив: метрические книги сел Нежинского уезда за 1875-1909 гг” и “witnesses and godparents”.