Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture

Seeking information about your Lithuanian ancestry?  Let us help you with your search.  Genealogy consultations and services are available to Genealogy-Level Museum Members.

  • BALZEKAS MUSEUM OF LITHUANIAN CULTURE

  • 6500 S. PULASKI ROAD
    CHICAGO, IL 60629
  • TEL.: 773.582.6500
  • FAX:773.582.5133
  • info@balzekasmuseum.org
  • Open 10 AM - 4 PM daily
  • Except Christmas, Easter &
    New Year's Day
  • Directions

Genealogy Department

Lithuanian Immigrant Family
The mission of the Genealogy Department is to collect, catalogue and preserve vital records and documents pertaining to the immigration history of Lithuanian Americans. The origins of this department, one of the Museum's most dynamic, can be traced to the vision of exceptionally talented volunteers and the energy of dedicated staff members working together to organize voluminous materials. Over the years, this core of devoted individuals took dispersed and remote information from a variety of sources and labored to make it all accessible. Scholars can now utilize these materials to research a number of fields: sociology, demography, and immigration. Most frequently, however, the resources gathered within the department are used by people researching their family histories. the resources include archives, death notice files, cross-indexed searches, ancestral town information, translations, and a host of other genealogical references. They are literally the tools of the genealogical trade. By combining these resources with the guidance of a capable and knowledgeable staff, hundreds of people have discovered the rewards of genealogy - exploring, connecting, appreciating, and identifying with a very personal past.

Museum staff provide consultations for Genealogy Members

Many people of Lithuanian ancestry request assistance from the Museum when they begin to research their own Lithuanian family names or ancestral places of origin. Sometimes the expertise the Museum's Genealogy Department provides is linguistic in nature. The Museum staff can assist in deciphering historical immigration documents, particularly handwritten records, such as passports and immigration papers. These written materials are not always legible because handwriting styles and the spelling of Lithuanian words have changed significantly over time. Prior to World War I, Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire and documents were issued in Cyrillic script. In such instances, the staff can assist with the translation of these records. If names have been shortened and "Americanized" over time or in circumstances where spelling was altered through transliteration, the Museum staff can help ascertain what the original Lithuanian surnames or place names might have been. "While we cannot always guarantee that we will find the information you are seeking, we can at least give you enough information to help you focus your genealogical research and avoid some common pitfalls" says Karilė Vaitkutė, who heads the Genealogy Department at the Museum.

Genealogy Membership Levels:


If you would like assistance from the Balzekas Museum staff to research your ancestral name or town in Lithuania, please select a membership level from the following PayPal menu. To review the benefits of each level, please read the descriptions below.


Basic Genealogy Membership - $75 annually

Entitles a member to all the privileges of the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture FAMILY MEMBERSHIP, including free admission to the Museum, invitations to all programs, gift and program discounts, 10% discount on translation service, subscription to the Lithuanian Museum Review. It also entitles a member to:

  • One Basic Surname Search (A search of the indicated name in the following sources: Obituary Collection, Master File, Minor File; indication of spelling variants of the indicated name; etymology of the indicated name)
  • One Basic Ancestral Town Search (Includes location indication on the map and Xerox copies of the location description from the following sources:
    • Encyclopedia Lituanica (in English)
    • Lietuvių Enciklopedija (in Lithuanian)
    • Lietuviškoji Tarybinė Enciklopedija (in Lithuanian)
    • Mažoji Lietuviškoji Tarybinė Enciklopedija (in Lithuanian)
    • Gimbutas Collection Archives (in Lithuanian)
  • A packet of helpful "starter" information on the Genealogy Department Collection and the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, including:
    • Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture Millennium Report
    • Latest Issue of the Lithuanian Museum Review
    • Lithuanian Language Basics for Genealogy Research
    • A list of resources for Lithuanian genealogy research available at the Balzekas Museum Library
    • A list of recommended books for purchase at the Museum's Gift Shop
    • Basic information on Lithuania: country, history and culture,
    • A "tip sheet" on deciphering handwriting from old census records
    • A list of National Archives regional centers
    • The Accepted Standards of Conduct for Family History Researchers, issued by the Federation of Genealogy Societies
    • A form to order back issues of Genealogija the former newsletter of the Genealogy Department
    • A map with directions to the Balzekas Museum and the National Archives Regional Depository

Patron Genealogy Membership - $250 annually

Includes a BASIC GENEALOGY membership, plus a total of two Basic Surname Searches and two Basic Ancestral Towns Searches. Staff members will research these additional resources:

  • A List of Hamburg Passengers from the Kingdom of Poland and the Russian Empire: Indirect Passage to New York: 1855 - June, 1873
  • Who is Who in Lithuania 2002, 2003
  • A current telephone book of Vilnius

Patron Genealogy Membership also includes:

  • A set of three maps of Lithuania:
    1. Lithuania today
    2. An ethnographic map of Lithuania showing areas where Lithuanians lived historically (not part of Lithuania today)
    3. A "Gubernia" map of 19th century Lithuania under Russian control; "gubernia" is the Russian word for "province"
  • A map of your town or area

Benefactor Genealogy Membership - $1,000
(A one-time payment)

Includes all benefits of BASIC and PATRON Genealogy Membership plus these additional sources used for research:

  • Library Publications and Articles (Authors)
  • Nobility File
  • Heraldic & Coat of Arms Research
  • Artist File
  • Photo Archives
  • Jurgis Gimbutas Collection (Photos of towns and cities in Lithuania)
  • Individuals decorated with Medals by the Lithuanian Government
  • List of exiles to Siberia
  • List of Lithuanian military men

Members of the Society can use the Genealogy Collection of the Museum Library for personal surname research on the first Saturday of every month from 12 noon to 3:00 pm. Only Genealogy Members have access to the Museum collections; all use is supervised. Members are asked to bring their membership packet with them to the Museum and to be familiar with its contents.

 

 

 

First Wave of Immigration - Exhibit

The Museum's extensive archival materials about Lithuanian immigration to America are used to provide materials for genealogical  and historical research and for exhibitions, such as the "First Wave" exhibition at the Balzekas Museum in 2008. The exhibition documented the lives of Lithuanian immigrants to America.

 

 

 

 

Karilė Vaitkutė - Geneology Department Chair

Karilė Vaitkutė
Director, Genealogy Department
Editor, Lithuanian Museum Review

 

The film opens with a view of the steam ferryboat "William Myers," laden with passengers, approaching a dock at the Ellis Island Immigration Station. The vessel is docked, the gangway is placed, and the immigrant passengers are seen coming up the gangway and onto the dock, where they cross in front of the camera.
From a contemporary Edison film company catalog: EMIGRANTS LANDING AT ELLIS ISLAND. Shows a large open barge loaded with people of every nationality, who have just arrived from Europe, disembarking at Ellis Island, N.Y." Duration: 2:20 at 15 fps.