Looking for an Andrejs Berzins, born in Cesis, Latvia in 1925, lost post World War II.

Question

Berzins, Andrejs. Born 1925, April in Cesis, Latvia.

Stayed behind in Latvia when rest of Berzins family fled. Looking for relatives.

Comments

Marina, welcome to WikiTree.

Do you have a profile up for Andrejs up yet? Was he married?

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Berzins-21. He was not married in the 1940s as far as I know, when my grandfather and his family fled Latvia for Germany.

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You may have to start looking first in Germany and then, through family records in Germany, trace back to Latvia.

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Here is his naturalization index card which will lead you to his FULL records which will start his birthdate, birthplace and more, You really need this record as it will give you everything to start your Latvian search. You are very lucky to have these papers.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8H3-YPY

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After the war Latvia was controlled by Soviet Russia. If the rumors were true about Andrejs working for the communists, there might be records in Russia, though these might be more difficult to access.

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Thank you so much. This is a real family mystery. My grandparents always said that he was lost forever, but he lived in the same county as all of my family from 1963 until his death. Somebody didn't want the family to know. More to investigate....too bad my grandparents have passed and cannot be asked.

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Looks as though he immigrated to the US and that this story may have been concocted by my grandparents to cover up a family rift.

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Wow! You’ve got some excellent leads from Maggie. Go for it, and let us know if you find anything more.

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Thanks. I am curious about those sources. Unfortunately, I cannot read or write Cyrillic.

Answer 1

With Baltic States, like Latvia, you have to access their own archives.

Check out links here at FEEFHS, the FOUNDATION for EAST EUROPEAN FAMILY HISTORY STUDIES

Some helpful guides here at Latvia Genealogy

Here are some resources: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Latvia_Online_Genealogy_Records

If you have old letters from this relative, you could look through city directories for Cesis at your nearest University library or interlibrary loan. If it's someone lost during a war, have you tried contacting the Red Cross for missing persons?

Comments

Thanks!

Answer 2

Also here he is on 1951 passenger list:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24Y2-LFN

You have a lot to work with starting with these links to dig deeper (-: 

Comments

Thanks. It is hard to know if this is the same Andrejs, because Berzins is one of the most popular names in Latvia, akin to Smith or Jones in the US. So it is like looking for a lost "Andrew Jones" when all I have is a birthdate and location to go on.

It looks as though this boat departed from DP camps in Bremenhaver Germany in 1951. So if this is the right Andrij, then it is not the same as the one who first immigrated to England and then settled in Ohio later--who does have the right birth year to match my great uncle. This is probably a different man.

Answer 3

It looks like he was born in Latvia but became a British Subject in England before he moved to Ohio. You will have excellant records between Ohio & England,

Comments

Thanks! This is a promising lead!

Answer 4

I got my Great-Grandfather's Naturalization records from the county courthouse because that's where he lived. It looks like Andrej Berzins naturalized in 1962 in Cuyuga county. You need to check the resources to find his papers which will tell you everything you need to know! They may not be online but contact Cuyuga County Courthouse. They are very nice there. 

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ohio_Naturalization_and_Citizenship

Comments

Excellent work, Maggie!! What finds!!

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So helpful! Thanks! I am hoping this is the right one--right birth year, incorrect birth month and day, but he may have had reasons to not want his original birth date recorded. My great uncle was apparently mixed up in Soviet politics and so if this is the same person, it would make sense not to want it to be known. Or could be a different Andrejs, but strange coincidence to have immigrated to the same Ohio county as my grandparents.