Czechia Census: Difference between revisions

The first portion of the Jewish Census of 1783, covering 6 of 16 administrative regions of Bohemia (Beroun, Boleslav, Bydzov, Caslav, Kourim, Litomerice), was published recently.

 

Unlike the previous Jewish census of 1724, this enumeration was not conducted to help limit the Jewish population, but rather to produce data for taxation purposes. Data sheets include name of the domicile, district name of town/village, name of householder, householder's profession, number of children and status (whether single or married)

Emperor Joseph II's decree mandating that Jews adopt hereditary surnames was not promulgated until 1787, three years after this census. As a result, (unlike the 1793 census) most individuals in this enumeration use patronyms rather than family name. In the larger towns, however, such as Kolin, Mlada Boleslav, Morina, Teplice, and Votice, surnames already were being used in 1783 to distinguish between individuals (and taxpayers). Obviously, having surnames would also help the central authority to register individual families according to the Familiant Law (issued in

1726). As elsewhere, the surnames reflected professions (Fleischer, Glaser, and Mautner), previous dwelling places (toponyms such as Brandeis, Raudnitz, and Wotitzky), and

roles in the community (Cantor and Katz). In small villages and towns, the typical settlement pattern of Jewish families in Bohemia, (but not in Moravia), the householders

used patronyms (Jakob Abraham, Joseph Herschl, and so forth).

 

The brief editorial portion of this volume is written in Czech, but all the census text is kept in German as it was compiled in 1783. Because of the structured format, the

content is easy to understand. Useful indexes of names and local places for each of the regions supplement the book.