That's it.

Until and unless other resources become available, whether electronic or from interested individuals, my research will be ending. There are some people who have professed an interest in this topic, but they have not maintained and shared their research and/or communication. I do want to be clear that some of their information was very helpful! I've chased every lead that appeared and was financially reasonable to pursue. If I had unlimited funds, I'd hire people to do a whole lot more research and translate documents for me. I'd cajole people with my last name in Latvia and Germany to take a DNA test to see if they are related.

I have had some success. I've found, confirmed and established some relationships with people as a result of my research. I've accessed archives and found out some interesting and some very sad things about relatives. Most of my (male) ancestors in Latvia were skilled artisans (tradesmen) such as millers, smiths, or merchants. I have at least one mayor of a medium sized city as well as another who was a city council member. I had one relative who was a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union and actually survived long enough to be released, while I had another who was sent to a Nazi concentration camp and perished. I have another relative who was forced into military service for the Nazis and did not survive, but there is no record that I've found and survives about him, his service or his death. I have a ancestor who was a medical doctor and died in Russia. I (very likely) have a relative who was Stalin's maid/housekeeper, but sadly, "disappeared", according to Stalin's daughter, during one of his purges. I've learned that there is no evidence that even hints at the distant Swedish heritage that my grandmother suggested nor of any royal line or linkage to a "Polish Baron" that my grandfather had suggested. Again, while the men in my paternal ancestral line were skilled as far back as my research goes (until the early 1800s), there was never any indication of royalty. While I have been quite pleased with the knowledge I've gained from the research, I'm also filled with envy of people who are fortunate enough to be able to research their family heritage in a bunch of easily accessible records that go back centuries!

I've learned that most people don't really give a shit about genealogy. Oh, and I'm a distant relative of a local weatherman. :-)

Some of my unresolved questions:

1. Why was Kurschinsky changed to Truschinsky and why was it not merely by one person, but also for adult (close) relatives?
2. In what role did my grandfather serve while under Nazi occupation in Latvia?
3. Where was Alma Gunther born and to whom? Do adoption records still exist?
4. What is the maiden name of Heinrich Wigert's wife, Anna?
5. Which "Trusinskis" who are in Latvia are related to me?
   
6. Where is the link between the Odessa Deifels and my Deifels from Wurtemburg?
7. Is there any relationship between "von Truschinsky" and "Truschinsky"?
8. From where did August Till come when he moved to northern Latvia in the early 1800s?
9. Are there any Trusinskys in Russia?
10. Is the "Truschinski" found in a google book search related in some way?
11. To what extent do internal passports and emigration records exist/survive in Latvia?
    

If anyone wants to share information, feel free to contact me here or on facebook. If you're researching your family history, good luck and have fun!

Found Nancy Trusinski

I had been under the impression that nobody in my father's family had spoken with Nancy Trusinski, but I was wrong. Apparently, my father spoke with her at her mother's funeral some years back. He also spoke with her brother who still lives in the Twin Cities. So, after looking a bit more, I found out her married name, her husband and phone number.

I feel kind of silly "trying to find her" when she wasn't "lost" from the perspective of my father. I certainly wouldn't call her, but am considering -though still unlikely- writing her and asking her about my uncle. Who knows if she would respond. While they were divorced when I was quite young, I do recall her being really nice.

Krusinski Trusinski nugget of information

In my ongoing research, I was looking for information about Kurschinski (and its spelling variations) and Latvia. I came upon and google book source (I highly recommend searching google books for information) and have cut and pasted the information here. Click on the image to enlarge it.

The information is in German on the left and Polish on the right. It sure seems to be an AMAZING coincidence that there is someone with the last name "Krusinski" with the specific alias of "Trusinski". The specific person mentioned in the image is not anywhere on my family tree. This is amazing as there is an ongoing issue with people in the mid-1800s changing their name from Kruschinsky/Kursinsky to Truschinsky/Trusinski. Read earlier entries if you were not aware of this background.

Another Trusinsky!

Here is Aleksander Mikko, our new son. He was born on September 13, 2010. I just thought I should add him here as he is certainly a very important addition to my family tree!

He isn't playing hockey... yet. :-)

Family crest?

Here is an image from a gentleman with the last name of "Treschinsky" whom I had emailed. He commented on the fact that he did know of some relatives in Riga, as well as Kiev. I wonder if I will find any basis for my heritage being related to this image...

DNA Results are in

They arrived late last night. There are 12 exact matches to people in the FamilyTreeDNA.com system. I ordered the most basic, "12 marker" test. To further refine the results, I will have to order the 37 marker test. Of course, the more matches the greater the likelihood of a close biological relationship.

It is unlikely this will yield much new information for my genealogical research, unless I get others who share a similar surname to take the test, as well. I can think of a number individuals I would like to take the test but given they don't even reply to emails, it is unlikely they will take a DNA test for this purpose.

Oh, one more thing: overall, the most matches were with people in Norway (as a percentage of those in the FamilyTreeDNA.com system). I did find that to be interesting!

Truschinsky DNA test

The test has arrived and I will give a sample tonight. It requires three different swabs of the inner cheek. I will send it away tomorrow. I believe the company says that it takes about 3 weeks to get the results.

I want to encourage others to take said test if they feel that may be related (though it only works for the paternal heritage and only on males). The cost is $99 if you make your order as a part of a group/surname project (such as Trusinsky). Here is a link for more information. Also, here is a link to the Trusinsky project. I will post results on the second link.

You can also join a geographic project, as well or in lieu of, to get the discount. The test costs $149 if you do not get it through a project. So, if your heritage is Latvian -or German- you could join one of those groups.

I've found some more trusinskys

I received a response to my email/letter to the DBGG. It was a nice letter that didn't provide to many insights into what I was asking but there was one bit of information which directly let to me finding at least a DOZEN more Truschinskys! (not including children born of a marriage to a female Trusinsky who -hence- have a different surname) My earliest confirmed Truschinsky is a witness to a baptism and I am suspecting that he is a brother of the father. It also gave me a number of birth locations that should be useful -particularly since I ordered records from that area earlier last week. I've started a separate family tree file for the new Trusinskys and will only link them to my existing Trusinsky tree when I've proven a link between them. I am very confident that I will be able to do so!

Also, I sent out an email to a "suspected" "Trusinsky" in the US who I had found online. He responded and shared a bit of information which indicates that there may be a link. He has a relative that does some genealogy and forwarded my email and website to her. That reminds me -I should reply to the gentleman!

Going to examine records tomorrow

I am going to the Oakdale LDS to examine some records that had arrived. They involve the Truschinskys and possible Tills -the two families of greatest interest to me on my father's side. One record is for deaths from 1918-1920 and may have my great granduncle's death record. The particular reason I say "may" is because the notes I have from my father say that he may have died from "Sibia on train" -whatever that means. The "big" insight or information that I seek from this record -besides the date and cause of death for Alexander Friedrich Eduard Truschinsky- is his birth location. I need more information to better track down that line of the family tree.

The other records, I believe, are all for marriages from Jakobs Kirche from 1912-1938. I expect some surprises in those records.

I am done with school for the summer after this Friday. I will get a chance next week to peruse the records at my leisure. Also, I will have to order some more records before I leave for Europe. Something I will order soon will be records from the German Embassy in Riga (pre-WWII). They have passport applications and if so many individuals fled Latvia for Germany in the years prior to WWII, they may have been required to demonstrate German heritage and also to get a passport. That elusive link may be very important for finding a living "Till" in German to whom we are related. There is no information indicating a migration or any Truschinskys from Latvia other than my grandfather one of his sisters, Leontine, who went to Australia. The challenge for that family will be in establishing a link backwards to the time in which they migrated TO Latvia from Prussia or Germany.

Trusinskis

I know I had promised more information, but I have been working on fixing a computer for many hours over the recent days. (I still haven't been told those records I am waiting for from the LDS have arrived yet...)

Anyway, I do have some good news from today. Someone did a google search for "Trusinskis" and found this site! I am hoping that they know and/or are related to a Trusinskis in Latvia. The search did originate in Latvia, so maybe I will be lucky.

If you are that person, post a message on how to contact you!

Ahrens

I went to the LDS family history center in Oakdale today for about 2.5 hours. Things didn't go very smoothly. I arrived about 10 minutes after 6 pm and all of the good machines were taken. As a result, I had to use the old machines. I should take a picture of them. They are far less user-friendly! Then, to make things worse, my camera wasn't working (not that the pictures would be very good with the machine I was using.) I went through two reels of film for St. Martin's church in Riga. I found quite a number of birth records and at least one death record for the Ahrens line of the family tree. I will have to return in two Saturdays to take some good photos of the documents. The reel of film with the deaths for St. Jakobs church in Riga hasn't arrived yet. In that reel I hope find some death records for a Trusinski or two and then in that record a birth location. I have a feeling they are Russian. I am still at a loss as to why they didn't leave Latvia with the rest of the Germans if they so closely identified themselves as "German"...

Looking for people with these surnames...

After you read this, if you want to contact me, post a comment and I will contact you. The comment won't actually be posted, because I have to "approve" the comments before that can occur, so don't worry about your email being published!!!

The surnames below are from my family tree and had a presence in Latvia upto and, some, after World War II. I know some of them left Latvia and lived in Diplaced Persons Camps in Germany after World War II. The names with the "s" on the end are the Latvian spellings. Some chose to return to Latvia, some stayed in Germany, while others moved to Australia and (my closest relations) to the US. Most of these families would identify themselves as German families who lived in Latvia prior to WWII. If you are aware of anyone -of course, including yourself- who has a similar family story and one of the last names listed below, please post a comment on this page and I will promptly get back to you. Any information you share will NOT be published here without your permission! Indeed, even if you gave your permission, I might only add first names or maiden names or additional surnames about which I am as of yet unaware. If you live in any of the regions cited, and you know of a good online database of births and deaths, send me note so that I can find some of these people! Finally, spellings are approximations, so if you know one that is very close, but not listed here, please let me know! Thanks for your help!!!

Trusinskis
Truschinski -lots in Germany
Trusinski
von Trusinsky
Porins -two specifically in Austrailia that I know have since passed away, Leontina and Vilis
Porin
Gangnuss- Helmut, Helmuts; in Australia. Is about 65 years old. Helmut! Email me!
Till -Johan (died in 1968 in Heidelberg), Ella (died in 1977 in Berlin), Eugene (died sometime in East Germany, but was born in 1884); Johan had two children named Valentine and Waltraut; Eugene had two children (found so far) and married Carolina Gunter, who died in 1936 in Latvia. They had children named Leontina and Oda Till. Amandus Till (Tils), who died in Latvia in 1950, had three children, Johan, Anna and Marie.
Tils -same as above
Til -same as above
Balodes -may be a very common name in Latvia
Balode
Murman- Otto, born in late 1800s, married Ella Till
Ahrens- Anna, married to Ernst Till, died in 1929, but had two siblings, Eward and Alexander.

Weigart -Mary, died in Germany around 1970; had siblings named Michael, Lizette, and Edward. She had other siblings, though they died in Latvia and were named Julia and Andres
Weigarts -same as above
Wihgert

UPDATE: I have more information than listed above. Contact me if interested!

Of course, the vast majority of these people have long since passed away, but maybe some of their descendents may find this and help make some connections!