In my experience, the best way to get started is to join a local family history society. Even if they don't have records that you need locally, they are likely to be able to put some structure to your research. Get some family history software. Don't think you can use just Excel or some roll your own database. There are free ones out there, and commercial ones. Write (or track on a PC) where you get any piece of data. Some family tree software has the ability to annotate any fact with the source of that piece of information. Use it! Two very good sites to start with are -: http://www.cyndislist.com/ http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp As for the specifics for your family, sorry. My wife's family came from Prussia to Australia in the late 1800s, but as far as we can tell most of the historical records were destroyed in WW2. One thing is to be very forgiving in the spelling in official records where there has been a translation. We have seen big changes between Danish & German into English. If they were Danish at one point, then you may be able to use the emmigration records kept by the Danes of people leaving. http://www.emiarch.dk/search.php3?l=en Look for shipping records too. David LostRoots@gmail.com wrote: > I am looking for information on my ancestors and lost relatives. > Unfortunately, I do not have a lot to go on since records and > information were lost in fear of persecution following the Russian > revolution. > > I know that my great-great-great grandparents came to Odessa, Russia > from Berlin via Copenhagen possibly sometime in the 1840-60s. My > great-great-great grandfather (Julius Neumann) was an engineer and came > to Odessa to oversee railroad construction (perhaps this is a unique > attribute that could be used to track him down). > > They had a daughter Alvina Neumann and a son names Julius Neumann > (Jr.), I am not sure where either of them was born or when. > > Julius Neumann we believe was married to a French woman and escaped to > France during the revolution (they might have had a daughter named > Katie). > > Alvina married Konstantin Speridonavich Borodin and they had at least > three children, one of which was Elena Konstantinovna Borodina born on > the 2nd(?) of May, 1888 who was my great-grandmother and the other was > Vladimir Konstantinovich Borodin who I believe fled to France during > the revolution. He was born after 1988 in Odessa. He was a lawyer in > Odessa, and was about 25 around the time of the revolution. He most > likely left Russia in the early 20s. > > In 1910, Elena Konstantinovna Borodina married married Stepan Ivanovich > Iluhin (born in 1889) who was a banker in Odessa, they had three > children one of which was my maternal grandmother. > > Like I said, I have little to go on and am not sure where to start, so > any help or advice from you is really appreciated. > > If you have any advice, please let me know. All help is greatly > appreciated. > > M