Poland Letter Writing Guide: Difference between revisions

*'''Determine exactly where your ancestor was born, was married, lived, or died. <br>'''Because most genealogical sources were recorded locally, you will need to know the specific locality where your ancestor was born, married, lived or died.  

*'''Determine your ancestor's religion.<br>'''Because most early records were kept by churches or synagogues rather than civil registraiton offices, you may need to write to the church your ancestor attended in his or her hometown. If you are not sure what your ancestor's religion was in Poland, determine what religion he or she practiced after immigrating. People usually did not change religions when they moved frm Europe to their new home. Remember that main religion in Poland was and still is Roman Catholic. There were also following minority religions: Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Protestant (Lutheran) and Jewish.  

*'''Determine where records from your ancestor's home parish are stored today.''' <br>When you have a locality name, use a gazetteer to determine which parish or civil jurisdiction served your ancestor's locality.  

*'''Check if records are available online.''' A comprehensive list of finding aids to help you search for online records or the definite location of records in various repositories can be found at [[Poland Finding Aids|'''Poland Finding Aids''']].