Genealogy in Poland - Research Your Polish Family History
In 2008, I began working as a Reference Librarian in the India Office Records, at the British Library in London. That is when my adventure with genealogy started and to this day professionally it is my true love. I began with inquiries relating to British India and the territories under the rule of the East India Company, but it did not stop there. I researched my husband’s family history in England and made headways with my Polish ancestors in Silesia and Eastern Poland. Academic knowledge, practical skills in the archives, and the pure joy I feel for genealogical research make it my favorite type of work. Now, I help others on the journey to find roots in Poland.
Polish ancestors – where to start?
There is a growing number of websites, portals, and forums relating to family history. More and more archival materials are digitized and put online. On FamilySearch.org you can find birth, marriage, and death registers, passengers’ lists, censuses, and more. Paid websites like Ancestry.com or Find My Past can also be useful, but the records from Central and Eastern Europe are not as good as these from other parts of the world. They are the easiest to use as they allow you to just type in the name and place, and often you get lucky and find your ancestors.
There are other places on the Internet worth looking at – there are genealogy databases like Geneteka, Poznan Project, or Projekt Podlasie. The Polish National Archives (Archiwa Państwowe) also publish millions of records online on Szukaj w Archiwach, but you need to know how to navigate through it. Normally, to search the online state archives resources, you need to know the town or parish, and if the volumes have been digitized, you need to click page by page and scan through. Not all registers of vital records had indexes, so it may be a quite time-consuming task. Many registers are still not available online.
The growing number of online resources make searching for your ancestors much easier, but there is much more to discover.
Polish genealogy – why must I know four languages to get basic information?
Polish history is quite complex and before the Polish Republic became an independent country again in 1918, Polish people lived under three different administrations – Russia, Prussia, and Austria – called the partition of Poland. Depending on the political situation at the time, civil and parish records were written in Polish, German, Russian, and Latin. In some cases, entries in Czech and Hungarian can also be found.
To make things even more difficult, the Polish borders were changed in 1945 and the territories in today’s Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine were lost, and millions of people were moved westwards replacing the German population in East Prussia, Pomerania, and Lower Silesia.
What are the basic records for Polish genealogy research?
Birth, marriage, and death records
There are ecclesiastical (church) and civil registrations, but the coverage and availability depend on the place where your ancestors lived. They are scattered across many institutions – the state archives (there are a few dozen branches of the National Archives in Poland!), the diocese archives, parish churches, and the Civil Registry Offices. Many records were lost during the Second World War, and they are incomplete.
Census records
It is one of the best sources in family history, if your ancestors lived in the United States or Great Britain. For other parts of the world, the censuses were not regular, sometimes they only contain statistical data, and in some cases, they do not exist at all. However, for some towns and villages, you can find so-called lists of souls or residents, but it is far and in between.
Army records
,As with births, marriages, and deaths, the quality of the records depends on which part of Poland your forefathers came from. The Central Military Archive in Warsaw (Centralne Archiwum Wojskowe) has a collection worth exploring, especially the digitized records, but the service in the Prussian, Russian, or Austrian armies is trickier to discover especially, if you are looking for the lower ranks.
Municipalities, court, and school records
This is an idea for more advanced researchers as it is necessary to visit the archives in person and turn page by page through the volumes. Normally, there is a short description in the online catalog but you must go through the files to find out what they contain. If you have time and patience, the results are stunning with lists of voters or schoolchildren, detailed files of court cases, and other unique records that can be found. The collections vary though and it is possible to spend two days going through hundreds of pages and without any results.
Directories, address books, and newspapers
As the availability of the 19th and 20th-century publications increases online, it can prove to be a useful source. They contain lists of residents, albeit rarely all are mentioned. If you are interested in ancestors from Silesia, the University of Wrocław Library is a perfect place. In the Silesian Reading Room, the directories from the mid-19th century are available on open shelves. Having said that, if you look for people in Silesia before 1945, they are likely to be German.
Where to find support?
Genealogical societies are a great place to find information and share experiences. The Polish Genealogical Society of America or Polish regional genealogical associations (towarzystwo genealogiczne) in Poland will help you to navigate through the records from Polish institutions including vital records, Polish surnames, and other sources where you can discover your Polish roots.
Research in Poland
You may wish to plan a trip to Poland and not only visit the place of birth of your forefathers but also do research at the Polish state archives or other institutions. If you do not feel you have enough time or just prefer to eat pierogi while looking at the impressive surroundings of Cracow’s Main Square, you may consider hiring a professional genealogist. I offer bespoke services tailored to your needs and with a team of partners, I can help you fill in the gaps in your family’s history and discover information about your family.
As a certified translator sworn by the Polish Minister of Justice, I am authorized to issue an official translation if you ever consider applying for Polish citizenship. Growing up in the Polish mountains, I also speak and read the highland dialect, and I translated old letters written by immigrants from Podhale providing a rare glimpse into the lives of the common folk.
Would you like to work with a top Polish genealogy expert?
If you are interested in the top-quality genealogy service, contact me at dorotawalker@gmail.com or arrange a meeting.
Article for information purposes only.