I have been asked by a newly found cousin of mine whose family came >from the
town of Rovnoye near Elisovetograd (now Kirovograd) for some help. The
connection is that her paternal grandfather was my great uncle. She knows
virtually nothing about her father's family, as he died during WW2, when she
was a baby, and as they were displaced during the war, no memorabilia
remains. My family lost contact with them during the war because of this,
and no one remains who would remember any details. She is overjoyed that we
have found each other, and has many questions. She has asked me if I know
anything about her father having a sister; in other words, did my great
uncle have any other children?

What we know of our Great Uncle can be written on a postage stamp. We only
know his son existed >from something my grandmother said years ago. Finding
his family was like a holy grail for me. We now know his son was born in
1913 in Rovnoye, and, as my great uncle was my grandmother's brother, we
know his parents names. But we had not even thought of him having more than
one child. What is interesting is that we had enough family stories about
this guy, and his family in the Ukraine apparently had others! I really
would like to find this out for her, and I enjoy a challenge, but I need
some help.

I believe Rovnoye is part of the Kirovograd Oblast, so would vital records
for 1913 be in Kirovograd, or still held locally? Wherever they are, how
amenable (and expensive) would the authorities be to looking a few years
either side for a sibling's records?

Sheila Toffell

Glen Rock NJ