Bessarabia Church Records

Quick links: Original church records, St. Pete records, Family books, Allen Konrad's Korner records, main Bessarabia research page

Original church records (birth/marriage/death)

Many Bessarabian village church records were brought out of Bessarabia in 1940 although there are gaps for some villages and some years. The list of microfilms shows the records available by village and lists FHL film number, type of record (birth, marriage, death, etc.) and years covered.

• List of microfilms

• A few of the church records have been partially indexed:
  Alt Elft (marriages & some births)
  Beresina (1834 family book)
  Chabag (births, deaths, marriages; various years)
  Hoffnungstal (births)
  Klöstitz (some marriages)
  Neu Arcis (births, marriages, deaths; abt. 1830-1940)
  Neu Sarata (some births & marriages)
  Paris (births, marriages, deaths, family books)
  Sarata (some births)

St. Petersburg church record copies 1833-1885 (birth/marriage/death)

Each Lutheran church was required to send copies of their records to the Lutheran consistory in St. Petersburg. These records are available online and on microfilm. The indexes show births/marriages/deaths by the individual's name plus microfilm number and page. The online images show the actual records.

• Microfilm indexes

• Online images

• FAQ on St. Pete records (written from a Beresan District perspective, but generally true for all St. Pete records)

Church family books

Church family books show the entire family together, and include birth/marriage/death/confirmation dates over a period of time (usually 20 years). The index shows the head-of-household and FHL film number.

• Intro & Head-of-Household indexes by village (html)
• Download full copies of H-o-H index (zip)
• Allen Konrad's Korner records - Some church records are also available at Allen Konrad's Korner