Heading into German words now for the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge! Though I’m cheating – there are two words here instead of one, because they are inseparable when it comes to Latvian (and Estonian) genealogical resources. Since Estonian territory had the same sort of administrative structure as Latvian territory in this time period, this advice applies to Estonian ancestors as well.

Were your Latvian or Estonian ancestors landless farmhands, who had to move around from estate to estate to find new work on a regular basis? Or maybe you’ve been tracing your family back, and you’ve lost your ancestors somewhere along the way? If so, then these words are very important to you!

“Hinzugekommen” and “Abgegangen” are the German words for two concepts for the revision list supplements – “Hinzugekommen” means “incoming” and “Abgegangen” means “outgoing”. The revision list supplements list all of the people who entered or left an estate in any given year. They provide a variety of other information as well, but most importantly, they mention where the family came from or went to, and when. They will also mention ages, sometimes birthdates, and other people who may have been traveling with the family. Keep an eye out for these people, because they might prove useful later – could be an in-law, or a sibling, or a niece or nephew.

Their greatest advantage, however, is that they cover the time periods that aren’t otherwise covered by revision lists. Revision lists end in 1858 (though keep an eye out, on some estates this might have been 1857 or 1859 instead), meanwhile the incoming/outgoing supplements can sometimes take you right up to the beginning of the First World War. Not all of them do, some don’t go past the 1870s, but you might be lucky and get the whole time period.

Now, these records are not foolproof. Just like with any record, sometimes people were missed. For example, neither the incoming/outgoing registers for MilÄ«te estate or Nabe estate mention my great-great-grandfather Roberts Francis leaving MilÄ«te or arriving in Nabe sometime in the early 1880s. Sometimes you’ll only get them on one side of the incoming/outgoing equation. But they are an indispensable resource nonetheless due to everything that they do contain.

Have incoming/outgoing registers played a big part in your family research? Do you know other countries that have had similar lists or registers? Share your stories!