Russian Records

Family Search has a collection of Revision Lists (Census Records) that were microfilmed at the Samara Archive in 2003. These records are generally for settlements on the Wiesenseite (east or meadow side) of the Volga River.  This collection includes Volga German Village revision lists for years from 1850 - 1862.  Initially, the images were only available on microfilm. Eventually the images were digitized and made freely available to anyone who can access the Family Search web site (a free account is required to view the documents).

I recently noticed a page on the Family Search web site about Russian Revision List images for Volga German Villages. I thought that would make a good topic for a blog post, but realized that to put those records in context, I needed to provide more general information about Russian Revision Lists. 

The 1767 Census, often called the "First Settlers List", is the primary source document for determining the origin locations of Volga German settlers.  

The information reported varies somewhat depending on the village you are looking at, but generally these lists include the following details about each family:
•    Names and ages of each family member
•    Religion
•    Profession of the head of the household
•    The town or region that they came from

I will refer to the Kulberg Lists in many future blog posts, so I think it would be a good idea to explain what those Lists are and why they are important for Volga German genealogy research.