Thread: russian roots

mand82

i'm having trouble searching my dads dad's side of the family, all the info i have is this

my dads dad was called allan smith and was born in the uk and his dad was george smith born in russia but came to the uk during 1917 because of the russian revolution as if they had stayed they would of got killed, i know he changed his surname i cant spell the birth surname but it pronounced GILDENBUNT, from what my dad has told me george was a baron in russia and owned loads of land and supposed to be as big as wales, but thats what my dad said, my dads brother had some russian paperwork that was george's about the land they owned in russia but it was in red russian and currently my uncle has fled the uk due to fraud so cant ask him or see the paperwork as i have no idea where my uncle is anymore i know when george fled russia he lost the right as baron and lost the right to the land he owned, but thats all i know my dad doesnt know anymore either,

anyone know how i could trace the russian side of the family? i have no dates of birth/death for george or allan, my dad didnt know his real father and his father died just as my dad found out about his dad and was too late to meet him, i know from my mum from what she had heard in the papers back in the 50's was that allan was rich and my dads mum was his house-keeper and slept with him but never married him and allan was in the newspapers for a reputation or sleeping with his house-keepers etc.. and getting them pregnant

any help would be grateful, i so want to find out about my real grandfather on my dads side,

gillian

Hi mand - I think you need to take it a step at a time and first try to find Allan's death record - from what you say your father will have some idea of when and perhaps where he died?
If you post this someone will try to help
Gillian

mand82

my dad doesnt know what year he died or where he died all i know it was late 80's early 90's, plus i dont talk to my dad anymore due to family problems

gillian

Well in that case perhaps you should buy your father's birth certificate to see what it says. There is more than one way of spelling Allan - can you confirm that is definitely the right spelling of your grandfather's name?
You may eventually be able to find something in newspaper reports and possibly there may be a naturalisation record for George at the National Archives
Gillian

mand82

i've searched for alan and allan but none comign up, my dads birth cert has his step dads name on it as he was born due to a long fling like his mum had him and another brother with allan smith,

i may just give up on my dads side of the family have seen some sites that says it costs over £100 to search russian records and most of the people in that country dont speak english and would need to find someone who lives in russia as its cheaper for a russian to search then someone outside of russia oh well,

gillian

Well it's up to you. You have a long way to go before needing to think about researching in Russia though!
You could check the birth certificate of your father's brother.
Good luck anyway with whichever branch of your family you decide to research
Gillian

mand82

i dont have any info on any of my dads side, exp just the names,
my dad side is hard as his real dad's dad was russian and his mum was swiss-german,