Genealogical research in Lithuania is often difficult because so many of the old records from Czarist times (1794 to 1917) were lost or destroyed. Here is a practical guide that will tell you what types of records there were, which have survived for each of the three provinces that Lithuania was divided into, how to access them, and what information you can expect to find.
Archives often take a long time to reply to researchers because of the large number of enquiries they receive. The guide describes the large amount of information that can be directly accessed in on-line databases, or in databases which are made available by e-mail to subscribers, and provides an up-to-date list of all these resources, and should help you make quicker progress with your researches.
For beginners, the Guide explains how to identify your ancestral shtetl (the small town in which Jews were obliged to live), how to start off your research, and eventually find information on your ancestors. Included are also suggestions as to where you can look for clues to your ancestors in UK, USA, Israeli and South African records. The latter section should be useful also to those researching their roots in Eastern European countries other than Lithuania.
By Sam Aaron, for the Jewish Genealogy Society of Great Britain
Published 2011 (revised)