I will be traveling to Latvia this July! This will be an opportunity for me to do some more research and gain more familiarity with the different resources available. I will be going back to school in the fall, so I won’t be able to make another trip like this for at least two years.
What does this mean for you, my readers? I can offer various lookup services for different records, maybe even take pictures of ancestral homes. We can also discuss research services, but that will be on a case-by-case basis. Research services would start at $20/hour, specific record lookups would be a flat rate, depending on the type of record.
If you’re looking to plan your own research trip to Latvia at some point, but want to know ahead of time what specific records are available for your parish (for example, population registers, different types of estate documents, etc.), I can also offer a survey of sources. I will examine the specific fonds pertaining to your parish to compile a specific listing of the documents available, as well as more general fonds to find items of interest for your parish. This service is available for $25 for rural parishes or small towns. Larger towns and cities will be on a case-by-case basis.
Interested? Email me: 
and we can discuss details (you will need to type the address into your email program, I have it here as a gif to prevent spam). If there is something you’re interested in that I haven’t mentioned, let me know and we can see if we can work something out. Any details you provide to me about yourself, your family and your research will be kept completely confidential. If you want to know more about me, I have provided some more information on the “About” page, and you can always email me to ask any questions you may have. All prices are in Canadian dollars and taxes may apply.
More posts on history and migration to come soon! While in Latvia I also plan to go to the National Library, where there could also be a variety of useful sources for family history researchers. I’ll keep you posted on what I find there as well.
I just went to Latvia last June to also search my ancestors. Both of my grandparents were born in Latvia and immigrated to the US. I did not find as much as I had hoped and did countless hours of search throughout the country. I don’t know if you are interested about some of the things I would do different on the next trip. If so please email me and we will exchange info.
Also just a FYI I am one of the original providers of some of the information to ROOT=SAKNES.
There is a story in there about my Grandmother, sir name Rubenis. I also had a personal meeting with Bruno in Latvia last June 2009, as he as been a big help to me since 1997. I have a very strong interest in this work and would love to be of any help and receive any help.