Subcarpathian (Podkarpackie) Voivodeship, Poland Genealogy

Guide to Subcarpathian (Podkarpackie) Voivodeship ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.


 * It is highly recommended that you watch this class: Course: Research in Prussian Poland.

Historical Geography

 * Subcarpathian Voivodeship (also known as Podkarpackie Voivodeship is a voivodeship or province in extreme-southeastern Poland.
 * In the 18th century, territories that later became part of the modern Polish regions of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship and Silesian Voivodeship were added to Galicia, which became part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire until 1918.
 * In 1967, the province was called Rzeszów Voivodeship.
 * The voivodeship was created on January 1, 1999 in Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Krosno, and (partially) Tarnów and Tarnobrzeg.Source: Wikipedia, Podkarpaskie Voivodeship

Name Changes and Locating Records

 * In 1967, the province was called Rzeszów, and records in the FamilySearch Catalog will appear under Rzeszów. Because it was once part of Galicia, they are also catalogued under "Austria, Galizien".
 * See also: Austrian Poland (Galicia), Austro-Hungarian Empire Genealogy.

Civil Registration and Church Records
'''Almost all of the research you do will be in civil registration (government birth, marriage, and death records) and church records (baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial records). To understand these records better study the articles: Poland Church Records and Poland Civil Registration.
 * 1. You will find birth, marriage, and death records:
 * in online databases
 * in microfilmed records of the FamilySearch collections
 * by writing to request searches
 * from State archives where records have been deposited
 * from church archives where records have been deposited
 * from local civil registration offices
 * from local parish churches
 * 2. To find information on town of origin for U.S. immigrants from Poland, use the Wiki article Poland Locating Town of Origin.
 * 3. You will need to determine the both the Polish and German name of the town your Polish ancestors lived in.
 * If the town was in the area of Poland once controlled by Russia or Austria, look it up in Skorowidz Gazetteer Online to find the parishes of various religions. Here are the [[Media:1-Skorowidz Online-Instruction.pdf|instructions.]] Use the second option, "Viewing anywhere via the Digital Library of Wielkopolska".
 * To see a map of the town, use mapa.szukacz. Enter the town name in the "place" field in the right sidebar and click "Show". Province, area, commune, and postal code will appear at the bottom of the right sidebar.

Finding Aids
Poland finding aids have been created by a variety of state, church, society, and private organizations. Their goal is to inform what records exist and the repositories that hold them. Each finding aid has a different focus--a particular religion or geographical area or archive or collection. Be sure to search all that apply to your ancestors. Remember that churches often produced civil registration records. The church records might have been destroyed, but copies had been sent to the government and still exist. So we search for both church records and civil registration records.
 * The PRADZIAD Database A database that comprises information on parish and civil registration registers preserved in all branches of the Polish State Archives and some Roman Catholic diocesan and archdiocesan archives. Gives location of specific records and address of archives.
 * Szukaj w Archiwach Search page for church records and civil registration at the National Archives. Links directly to scans.
 * FamilySearch Catalog for Poland Microfilms (all will eventually be digitized, many are now) of the FamilySearch records.
 * Parafie.genealodzy.pl, Parish inventory, address list of current parishes.
 * Archiwum Państwowe w Przemyślu, for the Przemyśl region of Subcarpathia, searchable by name and localities, with links to scans.
 * AGAD (Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie), parish inventory for Warsaw, Lublin and Subcarpathian.
 * Geneteka

1. Online Databases

 * Geneteka
 * Archiwum Państwowe w Przemyślu for the Przemyśl region of Subcarpathia, searchable by name and localities, with links to scans.
 * Search Rzeszów Vital Records
 * The All Galicia Database
 * Szukaj w Archiwach; [[Media:1-Polish State Archives-Instruction.pdf|Tutorial]] - The Polish Archives
 * 1700-2005 images, no index.
 * 1226-1950 images, no index.
 * Metryki Genealodzy Roman Catholic Records
 * Metryki GenBaza
 * Archiwum Państwowe w Przemyślu, for the Przemyśl region of Subcarpathia, searchable by name and localities, with links to scans.
 * AGAD (Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie), parish inventory for Warsaw, Lublin and Subcarpathian.
 * See, also: JewishGen Poland Database
 * Jewish Records Indexing-Poland
 * Central State Historical Archives of Lviv - Roman Catholic Church Records for areas that were formerly Galicia. Use in conjunction with the Roman Catholic Metrical Book inventory to locate the item number. You'll need to know how the town is spelled in Ukrainian in order to use this source.
 * Indexed Greek Catholic Records - Besko, Sanok, Rzeszow, Poland (FS Library film #753058)

Ancestry.com

 * Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books Index, 1742-1964, Lublin and Kielce, index, ($)

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * 1784-1964 images and index.
 * 1587-1966 images and index.
 * 1612-1900 images and index.

Jewish Records
Some areas of Poland were predominantly Jewish settlements. Because churches were frequently expected to act as civil registrars, Jewish births, marriages, and deaths can appear in Catholic records.
 * A comprehensive list of finding aids for Jewish records is found in the Wiki article Poland Jewish Records.
 * An excellent two-part online course is available: Poland and Galicia Jewish Research. This demonstrates important finding aids and databases.
 * See, also: JewishGen Poland Database

2. Microfilms and Digitized Records: The FamilySearch Catalog
Many church records have been microfilmed and can be viewed at the main FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Eventually, microfilmed records will all be digitized and available online. The records you need might have been digitized now. Check back from time to time to see if they have become available. The FamilySearch Catalog is organized by the voivodeships as they existed in 1967. There are maps on the Poland Genealogy main page comparing those jurisdictions with the modern jurisdictions. '''In 1967, Subcarpatian voivodeship was known as Rzeszów voivodeship. Most areas are also catalogued with Austria, Galizien (Galicia).''' To search the catalog:
 * a. Click on the records of Poland, Rzeszów or records of Austria Galizien.
 * b. Click on Places within Poland,  Rzeszów or Places with Austria, Galizien and a list of towns will appear.
 * c. Click on your town.
 * d. Click on the "Civil registration" or "church records" topic, if available. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * c. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor.
 * For records in German: "Geburten" are births. Heiraten are marriages.  "Verstorbene" or Toten are deaths.
 * For records in Polish:  Akta urodzeń are births.  Akta chrzest are christenings/baptisms.  Akta małżeństw are marriages.  Akta zgonów are deaths.
 * f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

Poland Letter Writing Guide
This letter writing guide will enable you to write in the Polish language to parish churches and church and government archives: Poland Letter Writing Guide. Generally, the people you wrie to will appreciate your effort to use Polish and cooperate more readily.

Civil Registration Office Address
Write to the local civil registration office for records after 1900. Records prior to 1900 will probably be in the state archives. Records in the last 100 years will have some privacy restrictions where you will have to prove your relationship and/or the death of the person the certificate reports.

State Archives Addresses

 * PRADZIAD This website can be searched by location (town or parish).  It will then tell you which archives hold what records for the location. On the entry for the records you want, click on "More" at the far right, and it will give you the contact information for the archive.

Church: Parish Addresses

 * The Catholic Directory, Poland
 * Luteranie.pl: Polish Evangelical website with all diocese addresses and individual parishes and email addresses.

Church Diocese Archives Addresses
See the Catholic Diocese map on the Poland Church Records page. Use The Catholic Directory, Poland to find the diocese for your town. Click on "View Full Listing" for your parish.

Przemyś Archdiocese
Przemyś Archdiocese Archives Plac Katedralny 4a 37-700 PRZEMYŚL Poland tel. 16 678 66 94 w. 38 e-mail: archiwum@przemyska.pl

Kielce Diocese
Diocesan Archives in Kielce (ADK) ul. Jana Pawła II 3 25-013 Kielce Poland tel. 41-341-59-71; 41-344-54-25 in. 219 email: adk@archiwum.diecezja.kielce.pl
 * Website

Tarnów Diocese
Diocesan Archive of Tarnów ul. Katedralna 3 33-100 Tarnów Poland tel. 14-622-34-23 e-mai:larch-diec@diecezja.tarnow.pl
 * Website
 * [[Media:Parish Registers at Tarnow Diocese Archives.pdf|Parish Registers at Tarnow Diocese Archives.pdf]]

Rzeszów Diocese

 * [[Media:Parish Registers of Rzeszow Diocese at Tarnow Diocese Archives .pdf|Parish Registers of Rzeszow Diocese at Tarnow Diocese Archives]]

Sandomierz Diocese
Diecezal Archive Sandomierz ul. Katedralna 1 27-600 Sandomierz Poland tel. (+48) 15 6445353
 * [[Media:Sandomierz Diocese Parish Registers at Tarnow Diocese Archives.pdf|Sandomierz Diocese Parish Registers at Tarnow Diocese Archives]]

Diocese of Zamość-Lubaczów
Zamość-Lubaczów Diocesan Archives ul. Zamoyskiego 1 22-400 Zamość Poland tel.: 84 627 9521, v. 40 e-mail: archiwum@zamojskolubaczowska.pl
 * Website

Word Lists
The language of the records depends on the controlling government. Most of Subcarpathia was part of Austria until 1918, and church records are in Latin. After 1918, they are in Polish.
 * Polish Genealogical Word List


 * Latin Genealogical Word List

Word-by-Word Reading Aids

 * Reading Polish Birth Records - [[Media:1-Poland Birth Records in Paragraph Format-Instruction.pdf|Instruction]], [[Media:2-Poland Birth Records in Paragraph Format-Assignment.pdf|Activity]], [[Media:3-Poland Birth Records in Paragraph Format-Answer Key.pdf|Answer Key]]
 * Reading Polish Marriage Records - [[Media:1-Poland Marriage Records in Paragraph Format-Instruction.pdf|Instruction]], [[Media:2-Poland Marriage Records in Paragraph Format-Activity.pdf|Activity]], [[Media:3-Marriage Records in Paragraph Format-Answer Key.pdf|Answer Key]]
 * Reading Polish Death Records - [[Media:1-Poland-Death Records in Paragraph Format-Instruction.pdf|Instruction]], [[Media:2-Poland-Death Records in Paragraph Format-Activity.pdf|Activity]], [[Media:3-Poland-Death Records in Paragraph Format-Answer Key.pdf|Answer Key]]
 * Polish Civil Registration Reading Aid
 * [[Media:Catholic Vital Records of Galicia-Halychyna by Matthew R. Bielawa.pdf|Catholic Vital Records of Galicia/Halychyna]]
 * For detailed description and translation of a Galician Latin birth record, see Genealogy of Halychyna/Eastern Galicia, Baptismal/Birth Record.
 * For detailed description and translation of a Galician Latin marriage record, see Genealogy of Halychyna/Eastern Galicia, Marriage Record.
 * For detailed description and translation of a Galician Latin death record, see Genealogy of Halychyna/Eastern Galicia, Death Record.

How-to Guides
For areas of Poland that were once part of Russia:


 * Reading Polish Birth Records - [[Media:1-Poland Birth Records in Paragraph Format-Instruction.pdf|Instruction]], [[Media:2-Poland Birth Records in Paragraph Format-Assignment.pdf|Activity]], [[Media:3-Poland Birth Records in Paragraph Format-Answer Key.pdf|Answer Key]]
 * Reading Polish Marriage Records - [[Media:1-Poland Marriage Records in Paragraph Format-Instruction.pdf|Instruction]], [[Media:2-Poland Marriage Records in Paragraph Format-Activity.pdf|Activity]], [[Media:3-Marriage Records in Paragraph Format-Answer Key.pdf|Answer Key]]
 * Reading Polish Death Records - [[Media:1-Poland-Death Records in Paragraph Format-Instruction.pdf|Instruction]], [[Media:2-Poland-Death Records in Paragraph Format-Activity.pdf|Activity]], [[Media:3-Poland-Death Records in Paragraph Format-Answer Key.pdf|Answer Key]]

Lessons
Handwriting Lessons on FamilySearch Learning Center:
 * German Paleography Seminar - 10 classes
 * German Paleography Seminar - Lessons on German Handwriting
 * Old German Script
 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Part 3 (German Church and Civil Records)
 * Reading Russian Handwriting
 * Reading Russian Documents: The Russian Alphabet
 * Russian Alphabet, Language and Handwriting, part 1
 * Russian Alphabet, Language and Handwriting, part 2
 * Additional Russian Paleography Classes
 * Russian for Everyone: The Russian Alphabet
 * SGGEE Cyrillic Handout.pdf for months and numbers in Russian cursive.
 * Latin in German Church Records
 * Latin for Genealogists

Search Strategy
'''For most of this region, the part controlled by Austria, you will do research before 1918 in just church records. From 1918 to the present, civil registration is available. In a few small sections in the north, which were controlled by Russia, civil registration is available starting in 1808.'''
 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.