Polish Genealogy Academy 1 Genealogy research in the Russian partition of Poland (Congress Poland) – history & characteristics of vital records Polish Genealogy Academy 2 Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Mapa zaborów Source: Wikimedia Commons Polish Genealogy Academy 3 Territorial changes on Polish territory in the first half of the 19th century The Duchy of Warsaw in 1810 The Kingdom of Poland (Congress Poland) in 1821 Source: Wikimedia Commons Polish Genealogy Academy 4 Russian Partitions and Congress Poland in 1821 Source: Wikimedia Commons Polish Genealogy Academy 5 Congress Poland (1815-1918) and Second Polish Republic (1918-1939) compared with contemporary borders of Poland Source: Jewishgen.org Polish Genealogy Academy 6 The history of vital records in the Russian partition of Poland The Duchy of Warsaw introduced civil registration in 1808 (the first system of civil registration on Polish soil) - based on the French Civil Code Congress Poland inherited it, although invalidated the system in 1825, reinstating religious registration but keeping the original format of the records. Priests were made civil registrars, first only Catholic clergy kept the books, after 1826 other religions were allowed their own French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte registration Source: Wikimedia Commons Napoleonic Code Source: Wikimedia Commons Polish Genealogy Academy 7 Characteristics of vital records in the Russian partition of Poland Until 1868 written in Polish, after 1868 in Russian Records were written in narrative form according to the same pattern In records written in Russian, names of the key people mentioned in the document were often written in two languages – Russian and Polish Birth, marriage, and death records listed in a single book of a specific year Cover of the book of vital records from the year of 1826, parish in Chamsk Source: PolishOrigins resources Polish Genealogy Academy 8 Birth record from Roman-Catholic parish in Szreńsk from May 10, 1868 (written in Polish) Source: PolishOrigins resources Polish Genealogy Academy 9 Birth record from Roman-Catholic parish in Szreńsk from May 15, 1868 (written in Russian) Source: PolishOrigins resources Polish Genealogy Academy 10 Thank you for watching! If you would be interested in our genealogy services, please contact us at [email protected] or read more at https://polishorigins.com/genealogy/. Aleksander Zawilski PolishOrigins Team.