Uzdanovich Family History

[uzdanovich]

Greetings,

I am a 3rd generation USA resident looking for information on my family history. Both set of my Grandparents have passed on and my parents know very little of their origins.

The last name is "Uzdanovich". I was told by my grandfather when I was little that it was either Russian, Ukrainian, or Lithuanian.

I was hoping someone would see this post, recognize the name and give me a step in the right direction.

Thank you in advance.

Chris

[Hannia]

Chris,

I "suspect" the surname might be Byelarusan.

Social Security Records might help in ascertaining place of birth and name of GGrandparents, including GGrandmother's maiden name.

Do a Rootsweb Metasearch for surname, using no given name for widest search.

Under Social Security, if you find name of Grandparents, notice SS-5 on far right. Click on and request a copy. Hopefully that information will get you started.

http://resources.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/metasearch

Also take a close look at Father's BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE. His parents' place of birth might be listed. I can help you with translation of document. Working backwards is also the best way to get started!

Make phone calls to everyone in family, especially elders that are related. Ask if there are any old documents in anyone's attic. Try putting together some oral history. Sometimes the most trivial info becomes an important clue.

PS>
This is just a guess, but it is likely that your Grandparents might have emigrated using LANDAU as port of exit. At the turn of the century, the area from which your Grandparents emigrated was most likely under the domain of the Old Russian Empire. Keep in mind that being a citizen of a country is not the same as being ethnically that nationality.

[Edited by Hannia on 12th May 2002 at 00:14]

[Hannia]

Uzdanovich = could have also been originally transliterated Usdanowicz/Usdanowits???

STARTS WITH produces a Wildcard Search on this link for Ellis Island.
Try both UZDAN & USDAN.
Searching Ellis Island Database in One Step
http://home.pacbell.net/spmorse/ellis/ellis.html

If you find nothing @ Ellis Island, try St. Alban's Crossing Records. Frequently immigrants came via Halifax, Canada then crossed at the border into USA. At the time it was a cheaper fare. Using Soundex Code is the least complicated way for locating Immigrant Ancestors in Border Crossing Records. Notice that the code for both Uzdanovich & Usdanowicz is the same - U235.

St. Albans Lists
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....lan/albans.htm

[willuzd]

Hello,

Greetings from the "Hoosier State" . . . I am also a third generation family member with the same exact surname. My grandfather arrived here in America via Lithuania. He lived for awhile in Chicago and finally settled here in Northwest Indiana.

The Uzdanovich name is a very uncommon name. I have never come across another Uzdanovich name except for our own family here in the Chicago area.

I came across your name doing a search on the internet. A few days ago I typed in "Uzdanovich" in the Google search engine. If you type it in you should come across me as well, on the second page--I am located at HammondIndiana.com.

William J. Uzdanovich