An email from the year 2000 for historical interest.
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 15:47:03 -0800 From: [email protected] Subject: Suggestions for Researching Galicia To: …….
SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCHING GALICIA - Betty Wray, Editor, Galizien German Descendants newsletter.
A HISTORY OF GALICIA
All of us have ancestors who came from Galicia but many of us don't know much about the country. The following is a history that you might find interesting.
Galicia is a historic region of Eastern Europe, located north of the Carpathian mountains and extending from the area around Krakow in Poland to as far east as Ternopol in Ukraine, which constituted an Austrian Kronland (Crownland) between 1772 and 1918.
Galicia had an area of 30,299 sq. miles, about the size of S. Carolina. In 1910 two separate sources listed population at 7,316,000 and 7,980,477; about 59% speaking Polish, 31% Ukrainian and 10% Yiddish. No mention was made of the percentage of German-speaking persons in the encyclopedia from which I obtained this info. The linguistic frontier between these two races ran roughly north and south of Przemysl, east of which, 72% of the population was Ruthenian. The name Ruthenian was tradition-ally applied to the Ukrainian inhabitants of Poland and Hungary. The majority of the urban population, especially in the east, was Jewish.
The official Austrian name for the region - Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria - derived from the medieval principality of Galich (in Polish, Halicz), which was united with Volhynia in 1199. The region came under Mongol rule before becoming part of Poland in 1340. The Hungarians had earlier laid claim to the region, and the Austrian Habsburgs, who inherited the Hungarian crown, used this claim as a legal pretext for taking these lands in 1772, forming the northeastern part of the Austrian Empire.
The early history of west Galicia is that of Poland. In the east, an independent Ruthenian principality of Halicz appears in the 11th century. It grew in importance with the decay of Kiev, whence many refugees emigrated to Galicia. In the 12th century Galicia, under its prince Osmomysl, was one of the chief principalities of Russia. Many towns were founded, and much trade passed through Lemberg (Lvov/Lwow), from Asia and the Black Sea to Europe. Galicia failed, however, to achieve stability, largely owing to the character of its own nobles, who are des-cribed as rebellious to
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their king and tyrannical to their serfs. It was alternately allied and at war with the neighbouring principality of Lodomeria. Poland, Hungary and Novgorod intrigued for possession of both districts. Hungary became master for short periods in 1190 and 1215; but the powerful native dynasty founded by Roman of Lodomeria (d.1205) retained its independence. Roman's son, Daniel (1205-64) was one of the strongest princes of eastern Europe, and was even crowned by a Papal Legate, temporarily deserting the Orthodox Church. In 1223, however, he lost his eastern provinces to the Mongols, who overran and ruined all Galicia in 1241. In 1324 the Romanov line died out, and Casimir of Poland occupied Galicia in 1340, Lodomeria in 1366. On his death, both provinces again came under Hungary, but reverted to Poland in 1372. Under the Jagellion kings prosperity revived, only to sink again when the world trade routes changed. The Ruthenian nobles adopted the Catholic faith and the Polish tongue. The Ruthenian nationality survived only among the serfs, who were as wild and backward as any in Europe, and lived in almost unrelieved misery, despite the natural wealth of the soil. Galicia was repeatedly harassed by Cossacks, Tatars, and Turks, and disorganized by the anarchy of the Polish State.
At the partitions of Poland, Galicia (including Lodomeria) was assigned to Austria, for the first time in 1772, definitely, with a slightly altered frontier in 1814. Cracow become an independent republic. Austrian rule brought many improvements, but progress was slow. The Polish revolution of 1830 affected Galicia little, but Austria allowed legions to be formed here, and sheltered refugees from Russian Poland. In 1846, however, widespread and almost unconcealed preparations for revolution began by the Polish nobles to break out in mid-February. The danger for Austria was averted by a rising of the Polish (not Ruthenian) peasants, for whom disastrous floods had reduced to great misery. The peasants massacred a number of nobles in the Tarnow district. The revolt soon broke down, but as it had been largely directed from Cracow, Metternich took this pretext of incorporating the city in Galicia, as >from Nov. 1856.
In 1848 the Austrian Government countered the revolutionary movement among the Polish nobles by winning the peasants through land reforms, and the Governor of Galicia, Count Stadion, also for the first time encouraged the Ruthenians and won their support against the Poles. A period of centralized bureaucratic rule followed, during which Galicia was divided, on roughly ethnographical lines, into first three, and later two administrative districts; but the Polish nobles supported the Hungarians in their demand for decentralization, and after the Hungarian "Ausgleich" of 1867, Galicia, thanks to the efforts of Count Goluchowski, obtained more liberty than any other Austrian province.
Austria-Hungary was the name of the Habsburg empire, from when it was reorganization into the Dual Monarchy in 1867 to its breakup in 1918.
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Its predecessor was known as the Austrian Empire, founded in 1804 during the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in order to create a single centralized state from the dynasty's diverse provinces. After 1815 the major parts of Austria-Hungary were: the Austrian crown lands were of a people who were predominantly German; the kingdom of Bohemia which was inhabited by Czechs and Germans; Galicia, with a mixture of Poles and Ruthenians; the Italian provinces of Lombardy and Venetia; and the kingdom of Hungary, which had a ruling class of Magyars and its own minorities - mainly Slovaks, Croats, Serbs and Romanians.
Under a special minister for Galicia, the Poles enjoyed de facto home rule and a free hand against the Ruthenians, Galicia being reunited into a single province with Polish as the official language. There were evidently many German-speaking people in Galicia during the 19th century, but not much is mentioned about them. The Poles formed the chief support of the successive Austrian Governments, and took a large part in directing Austrian policy. The strategic importance of the region to Austria was great, and was probably the main reason why the Austrian Government never yielded to the wish of the German nationalists to give Galicia an independent status within the monarchy.
By 1918 Galicia was virtually independent of Austria. The Poles renounced allegiance to Austria in October 1918, claiming all Galicia for the new Polish state. The Ruthenians claimed the right of determination and in November formed a government under Dr. Petrushievicz in Lemberg, which they occupied. The Ruthenians marched against the Poles and claimed East Galicia for the Ukrainian Republic. On May 8, 1919 the supreme council as-signed West Galicia to Poland and on June 24 allowed East Galicia the right of self-determination, while authorizing the continued Polish occupation. In December they granted autonomy under a Polish protectorate for 25 years after which the League of Nations was to decide its future. In 1923 East Galicia ceased to exist and became part of Poland who then gave the Ruthenian population a limited degree of self-government and their agitation against Polish rule diminished.
GERMANS IN GALICIA
The German colonization of Galicia occurred basically in two distinct waves. After the Tatar invasion and devastation of large parts of eastern Europe in 1241, the Polish Kingdom was anxious to have its southeastern borders strengthened with new settlers. This led to the first influx of German settlers (priests, soldiers, artisans, traders), who eventually followed Poland's expansion and incorporation of the Galician-Volhynian principality in the 14th century. The German colonists were welcomed for their more advanced trading, artisan, and agricultural skills, and, like the Armenians, they were granted special privileges, especially within the cities under Magdeburg Law. During
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the early period, most German colonists settled in western rather than Eastern Galicia, and those that did live in the latter area became largely assimilated to Polish culture by the 16th century.
The second wave of German colonists arrived after Galicia became part of the Habsburg Empire in 1772. Anxious to improve the economic status of Galicia and to secure Austrian control of the new province, Emperor Joseph II brought (between 1781 and 1785) more than 15,000 colonists and (between 1802 and 1805) Franz II brought about 4,000 more from the Palatinate and other southwest German states. During the first half of the 19th century, another 2,000 Germans arrived from Sudetenland. In contrast to the medieval wave of colonists, these Germans settled in small villages in eastern Galicia, most especially in a belt stretching >from Kaminka Strumylova and Zhovkva in the north, then past L'viv to Drohobych, Boryslav, and Stryi in the south. Also, in contrast to their medieval predecessors, the new colonists were able to avoid assimilation. This was due in part to their relatively more isolated rural settlement pattern as well as to numerous cultural societies, agricultural cooperatives, schools (some supported by the Protestant church), and publications, all of which contributed to maintenance of a German identity. In the late 1880s and 1890s there began a steady emigration by many of the Germans searching for a better life for their children, desiring to avoid the compulsory draft, taxation and other undesirable conditions. By 1910, they numbered about 65,000, but extensive emigration to Germany and to the New World reduced their numbers to less than 50,000 in the 1930s. Finally, with the outbreak of World War II and Poland's destruction at the hands of Germany and the Soviet Union, the Soviet government (which held eastern Galicia) agreed to the return of Germans to their "true homeland". Thus, between 1939 and 1940, Hitler's government resettled en masse the Germans from eastern Galicia into the "purer" German soil of the so-called Warthegau in West Prussia.
Galicia as a country no longer exists. It was a part of the Austrian - Hungarian Empire but was divided after World War I between eastern Poland and western Ukraine. The eastern border was approximately to Auchwitz (a little further east than Krakau) and the western border to the River Zbruz. The southern border is basically present day Czechoslovakia. Formerly other small countries that bordered Galicia were Bukovina to the southeast, which is now in present day Romania. The small country that bordered Galicia on the north was Volhynia & Lublin.
(Article extracted from pp 249-259, Galicia - A Historical Survey found at UC Berkeley Doe Library DK511.G14.M33 1983.
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Beginning Research Methodology
Many of you may be very accomplished researchers and find this redundant, but I felt that for some it should be laid out step by step. In this way, those who have arrived at a research block, they may be able to make progress on their own.
Contact all known family who can assist in giving you as much info as possible before searching public records. Check for bibles, passports, marriage, death and baptism records, naturalization papers, photographs, military records, etc. Once you have gleaned everything possible from family members, visit one of the (Mormon) Latter Day Saint Family History Centers (see telephone book for one nearest you or failing to find it listed, call the nearest LDS church and inquire where one is located). If there is no listing in your local phone book for US and Canada you can call 1-800-346-6044. From your zip code they will tell you the nearest library. If you have any questions about how to proceed in the library, ask one of the volunteers. They are very helpful. Search the FHLC (Family History Library Catalog) fiche. The FHLC is a listing of all the records (microfilm, microfiche and books) contained in the LDS genealogy library in Salt Lake City. Decide which country you want to start researching first. Do not get confused in your search for GALICIA. There were two - one in Spain and the other was a part of Austria. Use the fiche entitled AUSTRIA for Galicia. The first fiche under each country is a Locality Index listing towns/villages, then county, township or state equivalent. Use a Gazetteer to find the present-day name of the city since the original names have often changed. A good Gazetteer is Brian Lenius Gazetteer of Galicia, available If you cannot locate your village, use a map of the country to see what other towns or districts near your village are available. I have found that on church records, they were often filmed using Parish names, not the town's name. There may not be any civil records for your village. The church records often became the civil records. It is important to know what religion your ancestors were - Roman or Greek Catholic, Mennonite or Evangelical (Lutheran). Most times each village was either one religion or the other, so if you are searching in an Evangelical village, and you know your ancestors were Catholic, it is possible you have an incorrect village, or look through the fiche again for the correct religion's parish records. There have been occasional recordings of Lutheran/Evangelical baptisms, etc. found in Catholic records, but hardly the reverse is true.
When I first began to learn about Galicia, knowing it was partly in Poland and part in the Ukraine, and that portion of Galicia that my ancestors came from, was in present day Ukraine, I assumed that since the Ukraine was part of Russia, then it followed that the history I'd heard about Catherine the Great - 1729-96 (who was a German princess
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that married into the Russian royalty - her husband was Peter) that she had invited many of her German countrymen to come to Russia and settle there. I assumed that my ancestors were of that group of Germans that came because of her invitation. She gave the new colonists money, loans, assisted in their transport to Russia, farm implements, promised they and their children would not have to serve in the compulsory military draft, would not have to pay taxes and a host of other "goodies". It was only after joining and being active in the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) that I found out that Galicia was not a part of this special deal. The areas that were settled under Catherine the Great and her son were primarily the Black Sea area and the area along the Volga River.
After gathering all the information you can from your family resources, you should visit your local Family History Library. Look in your local telephone book for one nearest you. If you are unable to locate one, telephone 1-800-346-6044 and from our zip code they can tell you where the nearest one is to your location.
Census Records
The latest Canadian census available is 1901. The biggest problem with using the Canadian census is the Canadian government does not allow distribution of the Index of what towns are included in which census film. They have an index but have specified it to be only available at the FHL in Salt Lake, but not the branch libraries. There have been books that have been published which indicate which village is coded according to the "T" numbers the Canadian government has designated. You will need to locate one of these books that include an index of all the towns and what film covers these.
US Census records are available from 1790 thru and including 1920. The 1910 census is not very good quality for reading. You can order them through the FHL in Salt Lake. If you live near a National Archive, they also have all the census records available. The census records prior to 1850 for the US only indicate head of household and itemize family members only by gender and by age grouping. For example the column headings read: 0 - 5 yr old; over 5 to age 10, etc. This will only give you a general idea of the ages and gender of the children, wife, husband, and any other relatives, boarders living with them. After 1850 the census records itemized individuals by name and age. They also ask such questions if they are naturalized or foreigners, how long have they been in the USA, etc. This is useful if you need to order and search passenger ship records, or locate naturalization papers. When at the FHL, ask the volunteers to assist you in how to use their records to locate which census record you may desire. They can also help you use the Soundex code to assist you in using census
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records. The Census records were accomplished by going up and down streets, within a town. You need to look through sometimes an entire county to locate the names you search. The Soundex code is a system whereby the surnames are coded and then alphabetized. Once you determine your surname's code, you need only order that film for that code. Since it is alphabetized it is much quicker and easier to use the Soundex to locate your relatives on the census.
When patrons use the Family History Library their family history/stories/documents may list that their ancestor came from Austria. This does not always mean the present-day country of Austria as we know it. There were a number of countries that were part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. Their citizens often listed on their passports, census records and naturalization papers, etc. that they were >from Austria, when in fact, they meant that the country they were from was PART OF THE AUSTRIAN EMPIRE. It was as if one said you were part of the BRITISH EMPIRE, this does not mean you were born in Britain. You could have been born in Canada or India and would have still been a part of the British Empire). Sometimes, they said they were Germans, and you'll find notations in the Census records of their being "Germans", when in reality they were ethnic Germans born in Galicia, not in the country of Germany, but born in Galicia at the time Galicia was a part of the Austrian Empire.
Some of the difficulties in researching in Eastern Europe:
1. The former villages/towns have all had name changes, border changes necessitating possibly country changes as well. 2. If you think you know the village of your ancestor, you may search in the FHLC and not find it. Some reasons why you can't find it: a. name change - spelling differences - family information handed down was incorrect, not listed because village was extremely small, etc. b. The FHLC may list a church Parish name but NOT the name of the village. Not many people would know the name of the Roman Catholic or Greek Catholic parish and are thus unable to locate their village and think the FHL HAS NOT microfilmed the record. While the FHLC will often list the Parish name they have not "reviewed or listed" what villages are included within that parish microfilm listed on the FHLC. You often won't know what villages are contained in the parish record until you actually order the film and read through it.
The easiest way to locate what they are searching for is to
First: Look at the Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia by Brian J. Lenius. This book can be purchased for about $40 from Brian, or contact Betty Wray to help you with lookups. Brians address is: Box 18, Grp 4 RR#1, Anola, Manitoba Canada ROEOAO This gazetteer will give you
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the names of many of the villages in Galicia , their administrative and judicial districts, the name of the Roman Catholic or Greek Catholic parish. If this Gazetteer is not available, check in the FHLC for others, there are some you can order by microfilm from the SLC FHL to review. If you can still not find their village as one that the FHL has microfilmed records from, then search for the nearest larger village within a circle around your ancestral village. Often the records were not always kept in the "smaller" parishes. You may have to search through several surrounding villages to locate their specific town. This gazetteer lists 6241 communities (Polish names) and includes administrative and judicial districts, current country, Greek, Roman Catholic and Lutheran parishes and dioceses and Jewish vital stats. district for each village, town, and city. It includes maps, plus lots more. There are also gazetteers you can order from the FHL on microfiche or film to review at your local library. If all else fails, contact me and we can work on it together! I have a copy of the Gazetteer of Galicia in my possession that I can look up towns for you.
I have a map of Galicia showing many German villages and another map of Galicia showing the Administrative districts (a copy of the administrative districts can also be found in the Brian Lenius Gazetteer of Galicia mentioned above).
Second: Search the FHLC using THE MICROFICHE NOT THE COMPUTER. This is very important because if you get one letter spelled differently than listed in the computer, it will not locate what you are searching. Therefore the microfiche is the only way to search (considering whether it would be spelled the Polish way or the Ukrainian way, etc. also presents problems).
Third: Start your search with the fiche under AUSTRIA, Galicia etc. etc. (Austria for Austrian Empire). It can probably be also found under Poland and/or under Ukraine, but it is ALL LISTED UNDER AUSTRIA because Galicia was part of the Austrian Empire).
The IGI and the Ancestral Files have very little on eastern European genealogy. I suggest you join a genealogy society connected with the area you are searching. Look on the Internet under FEEFHS - Federation of East European Family History Societies Index for the group that best fits your area. URL: (http://feefhs.org). The publication lists over 100 family history societies that deal with all the little dukedoms, etc. that made up eastern Europe. It includes addresses and phone numbers. There are many "nuances" and bits of knowledge that staff at your local Family History library cannot begin to know about all these specific areas and societies, so I feel it is very important that you contact the one that will best suit your needs and join it. You will receive help from other members and get much
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further in your research. Many of these groups are on the Internet and have surnames and villages listed on their home pages that can be accessed. It would be wonderful if they would share this data with the FHL but they most often don't, so it is wise to access the genealogy group for the area you are searching.
There are two very important books are on microfilm 1256477 that are very helpful in researching Galicia. After you've completed your search of the above sources, we suggest LDS microfilm 1256477 - Ludwig Schneider's book, "Das Kolonisa-tionswerk Josefs II. in Galizien", a compilation of 165 German villages listing heads of households and number of persons in their family in two surveys 1787/8 and 1820. Sometimes their town of origin in Germany is included.
LDS Microfilm 897413, pages 160 to 215 - Dr. Franz Wilhelm and Dr. Josef Kalbrunner's book "Quellen zur deutschen Siedlungs geschichte in Sudosteuropa", is a compilation of families emigrating from villages in Germany between approximately 1766-1790 to Galicia. The Wilhelm/Kalbruner book is also found on film 1256477, so order this film and get both books on the one film. The 'Quellen book' also often includes the date they left Germany and MOST IMPORTANTLY it often lists the village this family originated from within Germany. Therefore, if you find your family name in both of these works you can trace your family and know where to look!
Ernest Hexel wrote "Abschriften der im Galiziendeutschen Heimatarachiv befinden Einwohnen - Listen deutscher - Siedlungen in Galizien in 1974. "Abstracts of the residences found in the "Homeland Archives' of Galician Germans - Lists of German Settlements in Galicia". The villages in which Mr. Hexel includes in his work give more detailed info than in Schneider's above work. He lists full name of husband, wife, children and sometimes includes birth dates as well as what village that came from. If your village is listed below, it is worthwhile ordering microfilm 1270061: Bandrow Berdikau Brigidau Wittkow Lischitz Neu Burcz Dolina (Engelsberg, Kniziealowka) Dornfeld Neu Chrusno Neu Kupnowice Rehberg Falkenstein Felsendorf Gassendorf Reichenbach Roseberg Rottenhan Hartfeld Ausweim Josefsberg Schumlau Smolin Ugartsberg Josefsberg Josefow Radziechow Ugartsthal Unterbergen Unterwalden Kleindorf Konigsau Kuttenberg Waldorf Weinbergen Czernowitz Landestrau Lindenau Lindenfeld Kaliczanka Moldia Zuczka Makowa
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Moosberg Nadworna Sadagura Mahaln Katzmann
The Polish Genealogical Society of America, ( c/o Polish Museum, 984 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60622-4199) has published a book listing Roman Catholic parish registers which are held in the Zabuzanski collection in Warsaw titled "Register of Vital Records of Roman Catholic Parishes from the Region Beyond the Bug River" by the late Edward A. Peckwas. The book is specifically for the former areas of Galicia and Volhynia. Betty Wray has a copy of this book if you want me to do "look ups". The Salt Lake Library may also have an index listing of the Zabuzanski collection.
Information from the Brian Lenius' gazetteer mentioned above is available from Betty Wray. Call me at (925-944-9875) or send a message to me at [email protected] and I'll check for you. Once you locate the village, the microfiche will tell you under which "locality" it is filed, then search on that fiche. Once you find your village locality, view all categories of resources available: census, church records (and which years are available for Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, etc.] baptismal, marriage and deaths, military records, civil records, historical or biographical resources, cemetery records, immigration/emigration records, etc. These records are also on computers in the LDS library as well as fiche. I strongly suggest you use the fiche rather than the computer, since you may spell a name differently, or enter your request in such a way the computer does not "recognize" it. You can miss a lot by searching in the computer when you are using the FHLC. USE THE FICHE.
Once you've located something promising, copy the microfilm or fiche number and order it for about 3 weeks usage at minimal cost; to order for six months it is an additional minimal cost. In about ten days your film will arrive at the Library. You will be notified when your film arrives by phone or mail. The LDS libraries have computers and film readers available as well as volunteers to assist you. Don't hesitate to ask for help, they are most accommodating. The church records can be in Latin, German, Polish or Russian. Some church records occasionally will even indicate where the ancestor originated in Germany (if you're lucky!) There are word lists/guides for Latin,
The CD ROM computer data base available at the LDS library called FAMILY SEARCH includes the IGI (International Genealogical Index), Ancestral File (AF), Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Family History Library Catalog (FHLC), and some Military Death Indexes. The IGI is a listing of all ancestral names that church members have submitted. They are individual name entries which might include either their parents or a spouse's name on the entry. It is NOT in pedigree format and will NOT link families together. The Ancestral File IS listed in
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pedigree and family group sheet format and has been submitted by anyone interested in doing so. The AF and IGI often will include a submitter's names and addresses. For Sources under the Ancestral File and International Genealogical Index, press (F9) for listings.
If you can't locate your ancestors using the above references, return to the FHLC and look under AUSTRIA - Emigration and Immigration (and you will find a number of films listing settlers from Germany, Bohemia, Moravia to Galicia Hungary, the Banat, and Bukovina during the 18th & 19th century). Sample: AUSTRIA, GALIZIEN, Immigration/Emigration on the fiche.
OTHER RESEARCH SOURCES
Emigration/Immigration
Filby's Passenger and Immigration Lists - this series of books can often be found in some of the larger public libraries and some family history libraries. This is a list of many passengers arriving into the US from England/Europe, it lists the first andlast name of immigrant, arrival year and a source from where this info was obtained by Filby. To use these reference sources, refer to the inside covers of the book wherein these numbers are listed with their complete titles.
Morton Allen Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals - book written by Morton Allen found in most public libraries. Can also be ordered as microfiche from the LDS FHL in Salt Lake City as fiche #6046854. Cost is minimal and can then be viewed at your local FHL.
In the FHLC found in the (LDS FHL) are also films/fiche on Emigration/Immigration. These can be accessed by looking in the fiche under: AUSTRIA, Galizien, Emigration/Immigration. Then browse through the various titles, choices as to what may best suit your situation and order the appropriate film.
Vital Records in Poland - found on the Internet under Jewish Genealogy by Warren Blatt - URL: http://www.jewishgen.org
Poland has always had an excellent system of civil registration of vital records (birth, marriage and death records), better than most U.S. States. In what became the Kingdom of Poland (Congress Poland = Russian Poland), civil registration began in 1808, and most of the records survive to this day. These documents are extremely informative -- for example, a birth registration usually contains the names and ages of both parents, the date, time and place of birth, the father's occupation, and often both grandparents given names.
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These records are kept in many different archives and town halls across Poland, and many have also been micro-filmed, and are thus available for viewing around the world. Vital records less than 100 years old are most often still in each village's town hall, and records more than 100 years old are at one of the Polish State Archives regional branches. Most existing records before 1880 have been microfilmed by the LDS.
Records after 1898: Vital records in Poland are recorded in each town's Civil Registration Office (in Polish, "Urzad Stanu Cywilnego", or USC), and those records less than 100 years old are kept there. Over 100 years, the records are supposed to be transferred to one of the branches of the Polish State Archives. Therefore, birth marriage and death records after 1897 would be at: Urzad Stanu Cywilnego [YourTown], POLAND
The town's Civil Registration Office may or may not write back to you -- it depends upon the whim of clerk. My experience has been about 50/50. The USC clerk will provide only typewritten abstracts of the vital records in their possession; they will not provide photocopies. The response will usually come back through the Polish Embassy, and they are now asking for $30 or $35 per record, but this is not consistent. You can also visit the town hall in person.
Records before 1897: Records older than 100 years are held at the various branches of the Polish State Archives, but all correspondence must go through the main archive in Warsaw, which will forward your request to the respective regional archive where the records for each particular town are held. Write to the Polish State Archives at:
Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwow Panstwowych ul. Dluga 6 Skr. Pocztowa Nr 1005 00-950 Warszawa, POLAND
The archives require a $30 deposit, and charge an hourly fee of $15, with photocopies being $10 each. Responses usually take about six months. Be sure to include dates and places in your request -- without knowing a specific locality, no research can be done, because all vital records are kept on a local, municipal basis. There are no nation-wide indexes. Tips on Writing to Poland. see the internet URLs for translation letter writing aids: http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/translate There are several WWW sites that can do translations, but this one will fill your needs.
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Mormon microfilming at the Polish State Archives stopped in 1992. There have been contract negotiations to resume microfilming, but the Polish State Archives are not cooperative. The Mormons are currently continuing to microfilm at church diocese archives in Poland.
Since most records before 1860/1880 are on microfilm and thus accessible to you locally, you need to write to the Polish State Archives only for those records not yet filmed, usually 1870s thru circa 1898.
History of Vital Records in Poland:
Civil vital registration in what became Russian Poland (the Kingdom of Poland, also known as Congress Poland) began in 1808 in the Duchy of Warsaw, and the records were kept in "Napoleonic format", a paragraph-essay style. For 1808-1825, Jewish registrations (and those of other religious denominations) were recorded in the Roman Catholic civil transcripts. Beginning in 1826, separate registers were kept for each religious community (Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, etc.) Records were recorded in the Polish language from 1808 until 1868, and were kept thereafter in the Russian language, until 1918, when Poland regained its independence. Many of the parish records are in Latin.
I can make copies of the Latin, Polish and German word lists if your film is using any one of these languages that I can mail to you to assist you in reading the microfilms of the parish records. I also have sample letter writing guides for various pre-chosen sentences that you can choose from if you need to write a letter to Poland asking for documents, etc.
A Translation Guide to 19th-Century Polish-Language Civil-Registration Documents, written by Judith A. Frazin. 2nd ed. (Chicago: JGS of Illinois, 1989). 311 pp. ISBN 0-9613512-1-7. {Helps translate Napoleonic format vital records microfilmed by the LDS for 1808-1868}. This is available from JGS of Illinois, c/o 1025 Antique Lane, Northbrook, IL 60062. $25.
Russian-Language Documents from Russian Poland: A Translation Manual for Genealogists, by Jonathan Shea. (Orem, UT: Genealogy Unlimited, 1989). 73 pp. ISBN 0-921811-05-6. {Helps translate documents such as vital records from Russian Poland for 1868-1918}. Available from Genealogy Unlimited, P.O. Box 537, Orem, UT 84059. $12. [Now out of print].
The LDS church microfilmed many records, but obviously not
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everything. Presently they are filming again within our area, but it will take several years until they are completed, copied, indexed and ready for dissemination. In the meantime, if you are planning a personal trip to your ancestral area, you might be interested in reading an article written by Dr. John Paul Himka, (a Professor of History at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada) entitled, "A Neglected Source for Family History in Western Ukraine: The Josephinian and Franciscan Land Cadastres". (B. Wray also has a copy of this and can make a photocopy if you need this). He explains there are economic records, such as the old Habsburg (Austrian) empire including Galicia and Bukovina. Two empire-wide surveys were conducted at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries: The Josephinian (1785-88) and Franciscan (1819-20) Land Cadastre, named after the Emperors Joseph II and Francis I. (In Ukrainian they are called Iosyfins 'ka i Frantsyskans 'ka metryky). These were ambitious surveys of the agricultural land undertaken by the Habsburg government in order to institute a new system of taxation and reform agrarian relations. The surviving documentation is relatively easy to use and fairly well preserved. I do not believe it is possible to order copies of these Cadastral records from the specific archives, but will only be accessible to you if you "hire" someone to do the research for you in that archive, or visit the archive and do the research yourself. You most often need to obtain "PERMISSION" before the Archives will give you any record books to search. Write prior to planning your visit to insure the records are at the Archive you plan to search and make sure they will give you permission to use their records, otherwise your trip may be in vain.
The documentation for the predominantly Ukrainian-inhabited area of Galicia, including the Lemko region, is preserved in the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv (the old Lemberg or Lwow) (Tsentral'nyi derzhavnyi istorychnyi arkhiv Ukrainy u m. L'vovi) in fond 19 (Josephinian and fond 20 (Franciscan). Presumably the documentation for northern, predominantly Ukrainian-inhabited Bukovina is preserved in the State Archive of Chernivtsi Oblast (Derzhavnyi arkhiv Chernivetskoi oblasti). A copy of the detailed maps that were prepared in connection with these land surveys is available in the map collection of the Kriegsarchiv in Vienna (die Joseph-inische Landesaufnahme, die Franzi-szeische Landesaufnahme).
A guide to the Lviv archive's collection of the survey documentation has been published: Iosyfins'ka (1785-1788) i Frant-syskans 'ka metryky. Pershi pozemel'ni kadastry Halychyny. Pokazhchyk nase-lenykh punktiv. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1965.
This guide contains a brief introduction discussing the surveys and their documentary legacy, but most of the volume is taken up with a detailed index of localities, listed in Ukrainian alphabetical order.
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Himka's article continues in great detail in how to use these land records with an explanation of the Ukrainian words and their English meanings. Article can be ordered from East European Genealogical Society, Inc., Box 2536, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3C 4A7. Betty Wray also has the article that I can photocopy for you.
You might also be interested in the articles in the East European Genealogist Vol. 4 #4, for Summer 1996 can be ordered from: P.O.Box 2536, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3C 4A7. It is entitled "Accessing Galician Genealogical Records (Part 2) Locating Vital Records. Or Vol. 4 # 3, Spring 1996 entitled "Accessing Galician Genealogical Records (Part 1) - Methods of Obtaining Vital Records. The article also includes numerous Ukrainian Archive addresses. Galizien German Descendants organization also has copies of these articles, contact Betty Wray.
DETERMINE PLACES OF ORIGIN USING MAPS AND GAZETTEERS
Frequently an immigrant would provide information about the area they were from without naming the exact place. They may describe a mountain, river, lake or valley, etc. near their home. If you have the name of a topographical feature the gazetteer prepared by the U. S. Board on Geographic Names can help you find where these features are located. This set of gazetteers was prepared in the 1950's and 1960's after Germany was divided between the countries and areas of Russia, Poland, East Germany and West Germany. In each volume, after each locality and topographical feature name, the gazetteer gives the current latitude and longitude. General and detailed maps can then be used to find these coordinates and the closest localities to them. The following are the LDS film numbers for each set of gazetteers:
Poland Vol. 1 A-M film 1184075 Vol. 2 N-Z film 1184076, items 1-2 Russia Vol. 1-7 A-Z fiche 6053504
Ordering records from the Polish State Archives: ul. Dluga 6, P.O. Box 1005, 00-950 Warsaw, Poland. It is best to write your letter in Polish rather than English. The LDS Family History Library has letter writing guides in Polish that can be ordered to use as samples if you cannot find someone to write a letter for you in Polish. B. Wray also has copies of letter writing guides in Polish that I can photocopy for you. There are also guides for writing letters to be found on the Internet. Please exhaust all information available to you from your local Family History Library and the folks at JRI-Poland
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>from 1898 until now. Some of the offices even have records dated earlier, although they were supposed to turn these early records over to the State Archives. I obtained this info from Len Markowitz [email protected]
Maps of your Village/Area
The LDS FHL has a set of microfiche of the Austrian Hungarian Empire from 1879-1928 that are old army maps that have been put on microfiche. Since the set is the entire Austrian Hungarian Empire there are a lot of fiche to wade your way through since each fiche has several maps thereon. Ive attached a map of present day Poland/Ukraine which has been marked into grids and numbers. The entire set of fiche are numbered 6000198 through 6000339, and you can see that the numbers in the grid are only 3 digit numbers which refer to the last three digits of the 6000___. Find your village and note the grid number then order the fiche accordingly. They may require that you purchase the entire set, but the fiche are not that expensive, so it shouldnt be a stumbling block. The FHL has machines that can enlarge what you see on the fiche and also make copies for you. The maps generally show a lot of geographic detail, forest, hills, etc. that would have been useful to the army. Sometimes the detail is such, that they actually have squares indicating houses, wells, etc. GGD has a general map of Galicia but it basically shows the German villages, which you may be satisfied with, but you can obtain more details with the A-H Empire maps.
The U.S. Selective Service System starts with FHL LDS microfilm #1530658 +. This is NOT a listing of those who served during WWI, but a listing of all the men who were required by law to register for the Selective Service System otherwise known as the "draft." This is a collection of 4,382 microfilms that in addition to the LDS FHL are also available in the National Archives under film publication #M1509. For more info on using these films, see GGD newsletter #15, July 1998 page 17-18. This is for WWI only not WW 2.
National Archives and INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service) Information: Pre-1906 naturalization documentation has relatively little info, but post 1906 has a lot more info. NARA only has post 1906 data. Pre-1906 must be obtained from the local courts where your ancestor lived, and may have gotten his citizenship and Declaration of Intent documents there. See NARA website: http://www.nara.gov
Deaths of Soldiers of the Great War (WWI) Starts with LDS microfiche 6051244 (18 fiche)/volumes. This is a set of 18 microfiche that can be ordered from the LDS FHL in Salt Lake City. Lists info on soldiers that died in WWI.
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AHNENSTAMMKARTEI - THE LEIPZIG FILMS
The LDS church has microfilmed 900+ rolls of microfilm on German ancestors. The Ahnenstammkartei (commonly knownas "The Leipzig Films" at the LDS Family History Library European Reference Desk in Salt Lake City, UT adds 181 pages to the FHL catalog just to list one massive A-to-Z Surname Index found on 621 microfilm rolls. This is a major collection!
Part I is a massive A-to-Z index - 621 microfilm rolls of surnames.
Part II is 250+ film rolls containing an index of Ahnentafein manuscript numbers by film number. These pedigrees cover the former German Empire, NOT JUST LEIPZIG. You can get started on your research at ANY LDS Family History Library. If your particular film is not available at your local library, you can place an order for a nominal fee. Film 1797918 will call up Part I an A-to-Z Surname index. Film 1809152 will call up Part 2 of the Ahnentafeln manuscript AL numbers that will get you started. There is a paper published by Laraine K. Ferguson and Larry O. Jensen entitled "Die Ahnenstammkartei des Deutschen Volkes (Pedigree Collection from Leipzig, Germany) which was published in the German Genealogical Digest Vol. 9 #4, pages 110-122, Winter 1993 issue. The article is 12 pages in length and gives background as to how the collection was begun and explains in detail how to use and understand the index and Ahnenstammkartei which uses a "type of soundex system". Betty Wray has a copy of the German Genealogical Digest Article if you cannot locate a copy of it. I recommend using it. This info can also be found on the internet: http://feefhs.org when you get into this site, locate their search area, type in the words Leipzig films and the info will be available to you.
From GGD newsletter #4 pages 12 onwards are copies of Jan Zaleski's articles. Also see Newsletter #4 (page 14 of Brian Lenius article originally published in the East European Genealogist). These articles are copyrighted by the authors and permission was granted only for publication within our newsletter. If you want a copy of this, you will have to order the newsletter, or I can get into difficulties with the author(s). Brian Lenius, Box 18, Group 4, R.R.1, Anola, Manitoba, Canada ROE OAO, phone 204-866-3428 or email: [email protected] Jan Zaleski is editor of the Polish Eaglet, (Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan), c/o Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan 48202.
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SHIPS MANIFEST TECHNIQUES
(Your editor has found information on the Internet on Ships Manifest Techniques which I have put together into an article as I felt iI felt it was worthwhile sharing the info.)
Researching your Ancestors on Ship's Passenger Lists through Branch Libraries of the Mormon Family History Library.
Step 1 - Ordering Passenger Index Films
To complete this step, you must know the port of entry and the general time frame for when the passenger arrived in the U.S. Look in the Subject Index under: U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Passenger Index. There are groupings by years of entry and port of entry. Most immigrants from 1890-1920 entered the USA through the port of New York (Ellis Island). Find the Soundex Code listing and film numbers for the surname you are researching.
Example: the soundex code for surname Quitter is Q360; the Film Number is #1380053. More than one film will be listed for some soundex codes, e.g. there are two films for R100 (Repp): #1380054 contains R100 surnames with first names A-Gi, and #1380055 contains first names Gi-Z. If you need help with soundex codes, ask the librarian for a chart showing how to determine them.
Step 2 - Taking Notes from Passenger Index Films
The microfilm that you receive will contain photographs of cards which were made out by the Immigration Service for each passenger. The card will contain the name and age of the passenger, the "List number and the "Group" number, along with other information. The "group" number refers to the page number of the ship's passenger list on which the name appears and the "list" number refers to the person's position on the page. Other information may include a "Volume" number (important for finding order numbers for actual ship's passenger list microfilms), and/or country of origin, name of the ship, name of the shipping line, and the date of entry at the port. A copy of the book, Morton Allan Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals, is very valuable for verifying correct spelling of ship's names and dates of entry. This book was published in Baltimore, Maryland in 1987, by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc. A copy can often be found in most public libraries and maybe your local Family History Library. It is available >from the LDS FHL as microfiche #6046854, which you can purchase very inexpensively through your local FHL.
Take complete notes for each card that you think might be a relative.
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You may find many persons with the same name you are looking for, but by process of elimination based on age or other information, you can determine the most likely persons to research. Note that first names may be spelled in German or Hungarian, e.g. Franz or Ferencz, Johann or Janos, Nikolaus or Miklos, etc. The spellings may vary. People generations ago were not as tuned into "spelling rules" as we are today so take this into consideration.
To order the microfilm containing the actual ship's passenger lists, you will need the "Volume" number or the exact date on which the ship entered the port. Go back to the subject index and look again under U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Passenger Lists. They are listed by date of entry. If you have only the volume number, look under volume number index and you will find the date of entry. Find the microfilm order number for the date of entry.
For some dates, there may be more than one microfilm because so many ships entered the port that day. There is no way to know which ships are on which film, so you will have to order all that appear, or just take a guess and hope that you are correct. Also, sometimes you will receive a film and fail to find the ship you are looking for. This occurs because mistakes were made in the indexing process. You can try to find the correct ship by ordering the film for a day to a week earlier or a day to a week later. Sometimes the year might have been incorrectly copied in your ancestor's records, but the day and month was correct, so check the same date, but different year to see if there were other sailing dates that fit that time frame. It has often been found that when your ancestor obtained his Naturalization (Citizenship) in the USA, he was asked when and what ship etc. he arrived into the US. Since his naturalization was usually years after his actual entry into the US, he may have forgotten and guessed or estimated the dates.
Step 3 - Taking Notes from Ships Passenger Lists.
The passenger list microfilm will contain lists for all ships which arrived on a given day. Look through the film until you find the name of the ship you are looking for. Consult your notes from the passenger index cards to find the page number and person you are looking for. Many typographical errors were made on the index cards, so page number 17 might be 16 or 27. If you don't find a person exactly where expected, look at other pages. It is advisable to look through the entire passenger list, as you may find useful information about other persons who were on the same ship. For example, the passenger list on which my grandmother was listed also contained the names of 29 other immigrants >from the same town, including other family relatives. I have also had
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instances where a page under surnames beginning with "M" became full, the clerk just chose another arbitrary "empty" page and finished entering his names. I you don't locate what you are desire, look at other pages. Handwriting is difficult to decipher. It is easy to mistake a W for an M and other letters can also be deceiving. The ship's passenger lists contain a bounty of information: name, age, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, town of origin, how much money the immigrant brought into the country, the immigrant's destination in the U.S., and the name of a friend or relative at that destination.
You should also consider searching in the LDS Library's FHLC microfiche under GALICIA - EMIGRATION/IMMIGRATION. Browse through the FHLC and see which film best fits what you are searching. Check the alphabetical index and order the film(s) for your family. This is how I have located my ancestors and a friend, Evelyn Wolfer has found hers, so it does work. The FHL film numbers can be found in the Locality section of the Family History Library Catalog under the State and City in which the port is located and for the subject "Emigration and Immigration." For example, the New York port is listed as New York, New York, Emigration and Immigration. Use the microfiche collection rather than the computer for locating these records. For New York there are over 8000 films and it takes the computer a long time to load the information and a very long time to search through it, page by page, to find the pertinent record. A microfiche search is much faster, if your FHL is very small or new, they may not yet have the information on passenger lists printed out. Have them call the US Reference Desk at the Library in Salt Lake and ask for a copy of the "Family History Library Catalog computer numbers list for passenger lists and immigration/naturalization records." This isn't something that's made available to the local FHL's unless they ask. When you have this list at hand, searching through large collections -- such as NARA (National Archives) film -- is exceptionally easy.
Social Security Death Records
These can be found at the LDS FHL and on-line at several sites. The on-line sites however all seem to have one big disadvantage. You must fill in the name and info on the person for whom you are seeking. Then it comes back with the answer. If you spell the name differently or give another date than is recorded in the SS records you will be given a negative response. While in reality it most often is on the Index, but you are not putting the info in the way the SS records have it recorded. To get an actual alphabetical listing (which includes different dates and places where person actual commenced his records) you need to visit the LDS FHL where you can access this info on their computers.
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Military Records
The LDS Family History Library has military records on their FAMILY SEARCH computer for Korean and Vietnam war veterans. If you are interested in Civil War and other military records look on their FHL catalog fiche or computer records. For Austrian Military Records, look on the FHL catalog fiche under AUSTRIA, GALIZIEN, MILITARY RECORDS. GGD also published several articles on military records - see newsletter #16 - Oct 98 page 18, and newsletter #14 - April 98, page 16 for more detailed info.
While this may seem a comprehensive article on researching in Galicia, we recommend joining the Society since there are always important new findings published on how and where to look in our search for our ancestors. You can see our homepage under the http://feefhs.org Look under Ethnic/Religion category, then scroll down to find Galizien German Descendants, then Table of Contents which lists all the articles published thus far. We also have Sharing Our Heritage which is a listing of all the Ancestors surnames and villages for which our members are searching on the internet.
You probably wont need to research within all the above categories, you can probably get all you need from the LDS microfilm of your parish/village records and ordering the film 1256477 with the two books thereon, and youll be back in Germany doing research before you know it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact editor of our organization's newsletter, Betty Wray, 2035 Dorsch Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598-1126 925-944-9875 or email: [email protected] You may also contact President, Steve Stroud, President of GGD, 653 Douglas Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 email: [email protected]
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