It is too easy, especially when reading records that require interpretation of handwriting in an unfamiliar language, to pick out the main details – date of birth and parents – but ignore the details that are “not strictly necessary” – godparents, occupations, and so on. It is also easy to just scan for the surnames you’re looking for and ignore the other records.

But eventually you may get stuck in your research. Someone seems to have spontaneously appeared in a parish with no previous connections to it – no birth record, not even a marriage record, but suddenly they are there and having babies with a legal spouse. How can you find where they came from?

Pay attention to the “not strictly necessary” details!

I had a situation like this come up with a pair of my great-great-grandparents, Roberts Francis and Dorotea Matilde PlÅ«me. They were living on the Nabe estate, where they had many children, including my great-grandfather ArvÄ«ds. Dorotea had a historical connection to the estate – I could find her birth record – but I could find no sign of her marriage to Roberts or of his birth record. Thus it seemed likely that he was from somewhere further afield.

The key to solving this mystery lay in the birth record of my great-grandfather’s sister Alise. In her birth record, one of the godparents is a woman by the name of Natalie Francis, who was listed as living in Vilceni, an estate approximately 35km northeast of Nabe. The surname Francis is not common in Latvia, therefore it is possible that Natalie was Roberts’ sister or sister-in-law. It gave me a new idea of where to try searching – the closest church to Vilceni was the MatÄ«Å¡i parish church, so that was my first stop.

And I hit gold! In a short period of time I had found Roberts’ and Dorotea’s marriage record, proving that my hunch was correct. Happily, this parish also maintained the detailed marriage records, so it gave me everything I needed to know to work further back, as well as confirmation that I had the right couple. Roberts Francis of Lielmārens farm on the MilÄ«te estate (born March 1859, parents JÄ“kabs and JÅ«lija) married Dorotea Matilde PlÅ«me of Kroņi farm on the Nabe estate (born August 1865, parents Mārtiņš and Dārta) in August of 1884. From here, I was also able to also find Roberts’ birth record.

It also pays off to know the surnames of other people living on the same farm, or nearby farms, since your ancestors may have appeared as godparents to their children. These references can also help narrow down dates of marriage or death. For example, my great-great-grandmother LÄ«ze EglÄ«tis (b. Graumane) appeared as the godmother of many children who also lived on her family’s farm – which helped narrow down when her father died, as well as when she got married. In 1873, she was referred to as the “landlord’s daughter” LÄ«ze Graumane, but in early 1875 was referred to as “landlady” LÄ«ze EglÄ«te. This shows that between mid-1873 and early 1875 two significant events happened in LÄ«ze’s life – her father probably died, and she got married. Sure enough, LÄ«ze’s father Marcis died in December of 1873. The marriage records for this time period in Limbaži are missing, so I can’t be certain as to the precise marriage date of LÄ«ze and her husband Ansis EglÄ«tis, but I’ve got a much smaller window now – all thanks to paying attention to the listings of godparents in the records of other families.

Have you gotten lucky following a hunch based on the “not strictly necessary” details? Have you found useful data about your family in the records of other families? Share your stories below!