Poland Compiled Genealogies
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Online Resources[edit | edit source]
- Polish Roots
- Polish Genealogical Society of New York State
- The Society German Genealogy in Eastern Europe Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe
Poland Compiled Genealogies[edit | edit source]
These records may include pedigree charts, compiled information on families, correspondence, ancestor lists, research exchange files, record abstracts, and collections of original or copied documents. These can be excellent sources of information that can save you valuable time. Because they are compiled from other sources of information, they must be carefully evaluated for accuracy.
Additional genealogical sources for Polish nobility are described in Poland Nobility.
Major Collections and Databases[edit | edit source]
The FamilySearch Library has several sources that contain previous research or can lead you to other people who are interested in sharing family information. These sources include:
International Genealogical Index (IGI). The index has names and vital information for thousands of people (deceased) who lived in Poland. It lists birth, christening, or marriage dates as well as Latter-day Saint temple ordinance information. The index for Poland has names extracted from parish registers by volunteers (mostly from places formerly under Germany) and names submitted by other researchers.
IGI is available on microfiche, on compact disc as part of FamilySearch at https://www.familysearch.org, and on the Internet. If you are using microfiche, you need to know which county to search. If you are using the compact disc edition, the computer will search the entire country for any name.
Ancestral File. Part of FamilySearch, this file contains family history information, linked in family groups and pedigrees, that has been contributed since 1979. You can print pedigree charts, family group records, and individual summary sheets for any person in Ancestral File.
Family Group Records Collection. More than 8 million family group record forms have been microfilmed in the Family Group Records Collection, including many Polish families. There are two major sections: the Archive Section and the Patrons Section. The film numbers for both sections are listed in the Author/Title search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:
FAMILY GROUP RECORDS COLLECTION
Family Histories[edit | edit source]
A few Polish families have produced histories or newsletters that may include genealogical information, biographies, photographs, and other information. These usually include several generations of the family.
The FamilySearch Library has only a limited number of published Polish family histories and newsletters. Copies are listed in the surname section of the catalog, but not every name found in a family history will be listed. Only the major surnames discussed in the family history are included in the catalog.
Unpublished family histories, usually of Polish nobility and their descendants, are sometimes in the possession of private individuals in Poland. These individuals may have collected a variety of unpublished records pertaining to their own families.
Such materials are generally inaccessible for research unless you can establish contact with the appropriate individuals.
Genealogical Collections[edit | edit source]
Genealogical Collections and Family Histories [Kolekcje Genealogiczne]
The FamilySearch Library has some collections of genealogical material for Polish families. These may include published and unpublished collections of family histories and lineages. Some of the major genealogical collections are:
Borchert, Reinhard, Die Kartei Quassowski (The Quassowski index). Hamburg: Verein für Familienforschung in Ost- und Westpreußen e.v., 1992. (FS Library book 943.8 D22k.) This work is arranged alphabetically by the main surname of the family. Incidental names are indexed in a separate index.
Schlesische Ahnenlisten (Silesia ancestor lists). Breslau: Der Schlesische Familienforscher, 1938–. (FS Library book 943.82 B2sf.) This lists ancestors from the former Prussian territory of Silesia, now in Poland.
Genealogical collections are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under:
POLAND - GENEALOGY
POLAND, (COUNTY) - GENEALOGY
POLAND, (COUNTY), (TOWN) - GENEALOGY
If you find your surname in any of the sources described in this section, determine whether the entry actually pertains to your family. People with the same surname are not necessarily related. You might have to do some original research before you can connect your ancestry to families listed in these sources.
The catalog also lists books about how to do genealogical research in Poland. Examples are:
Gnacinski, Jan and Len,Polish and Proud, Tracing Your Polish Ancestry.Revised Ed. Indianapolis, Indiana: Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe, 1995. (FS Library book 943.8 D27g.)
Chorzempa, Rosemary.Korzenie polskie: Polish Roots.Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. (FS Library book 943.8 D27gr.)
Genealogical instructional books are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under:
POLAND - GENEALOGY - HANDBOOKS, MANUALS, ETC.
POLAND, (COUNTY) - GENEALOGY HANDBOOKS, MANUALS, ETC.
Ortssippenbuch or Ortsfamilienbuch[edit | edit source]
For Prussian Poland, Ortssippenbucher may exist.
In German genealogy records, an Ortssippenbuch (town lineage book) or Ortsfamilienbuch (town family book) includes birth, marriage, and death data for all persons found in the local records during a specified time period, compiled into families. Sources may include the local parish registers, civil registration records, court and land records, and sometimes published material. In the printed book, this information is then arranged in a standardized format, usually alphabetically by surname and chronologically by marriage date. Family entries are identified by sequential numbers. Town genealogies are known by various names, including “town lineage book,” “local heritage book,” “one-place-studies,” “Ortssippenbuch (OSB),” and “Ortsfamilienbuch (OFB).”
In some cases, these books were written before the records were lost or damaged during the war.
A fairly large number of online OFB's are available on Genealogy.net (CompGen). Scroll down the page. The OFB's for modern Germany appear first, but after that OFB's for towns formerly in Germany, but now in Poland, are listed.
Handbooks and Resources[edit | edit source]
Polish Roots, Rosemary Chorzempa. 1993. Basic guide to Polish Research sources. (FS Library book 943.8 D27c.) Polish and Proud, Gnacinski, Longley. 1979. Guide to Tracing your Polish ancestry. (FS Library book 943.8 D27g.)
Polish family research. Konrad. 1992 (FS ibrary book 943.8 D27k.)
Major genealogical record sources in Poland. Series C #31. 1978. (FS Library book 943.8 D27gs.)
Essentials in Polish genealogical research. Daniel Schlyter. 1993. (FS Library book 943.8 D27sd.)
Poland Research Outline. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Item 36386.
Poland Genealogical Word List. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Item 34098.
Dictionary of Surnames. Kazimierz Rymut. Sold by the Polish Genealogy Society of America (PGSA).
Informator Teleadresowy. Addresses of all current Polish Civil Registraiton Offices on CD and two printed volumes. Available through "Technika," 44-100 Gliwice, ul. Floriańska 51a, Pland. Now available through the same firm, a CD that includes all the parish addresses.
Po mieczu i po kądzieli. Translates to On the Spear (male) side and the distaff side (female). This is a CD produced by Naczelna Dyrekcja, Archiwów Państwowych, 2001, ul. Dluga 6, skr.poczt. 1005, 00-950 Warszawa. The CD consists of five databases: The Registers of population in Archival Material, the inventory of parish and civil records in the archives, German civil registraiton in Poland, nobility informatin and The Lutherans of Warsaw. Some of this information can be found on their website.
In Their Words: a genealogist's translation guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents. Jonathan D. Shea and William F. Hoffmann. 2 Volumes. (FS Library book 940 D27sj.)
A translation guide to 19th century Polish-language civil registration documents. Judith R. Frazin. (FS Library book 943.8 V27f.)
Posen Place Name Indexes: Identifying place names using alphabetical and reverse alphabetical indexes. Roger P. Minert. (FS Library book 943.84 E5m.)
First Names of the Polish Commonwealth: Origins and Meanings. William F. Hoffman and George W. Helon
Finding Your Polish Ancestors. Kathleen Ann LaBudie-Szkall and Jan Steven Zaleski
Following the Paper Trail:A Multilingual Translation Guide. Jonathan D. Shea and William F. Hoffman
Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings. William F. Hoffman
Sto Lat: A Modern Approach to Polish Genealogy. Ceil Wendt Jensen