Kovna Gubernia Religious Records

Jewish Records
The history of Jews in Lithuania spans the period from the fourteenth century to the present day. There is still a small Jewish community in the country, as well as an extensive Lithuanian Jewish diaspora in Israel, the United States and other countries. Before World War II, Lithuania had a very strong Jewish population - about 150,000 people, which was more than 5% of the total population. Throughout WWII and the Holocaust, 91-95% of Lithuania's Jewish population were killed.

The vital events, or birth, marriage, death, and divorce of Lithuanian Jews (also known as Litvaks), typically began to be recorded in 1835. You may find Jewish records prior to this point; however, beginning in 1835, the keeping of Jewish records was mandated by the Russian Empire. Copies, or transcripts of the records were filed with the local town council (gorodskaia duma). To locate vital records (or revision list records) for your Litvak ancestor, find the uyezd they lived in below. See also Lithuania Jewish Records for more information.

General Resources
The following "general" resources will apply to research in all uyezds within the former Kovno gubernia. For uyezd specific resources, find your respective uyezd's heading from the list below this section.

Litvak SIG
Litvak SIG, or the Lithuanian-Jewish Special Interest Group is an organization committed to preserving Jewish genealogy and history in Lithuania. . The organization is divided into district and gubernia research groups that focus on gathering and indexing available Jewish records for that area. Many of those records are accessible via the free All Lithuania Database (ALD). For instructions on how to search the ALD, click here. The ALD is free; however, for access to recently required records and other search features, membership/a monetary donation is required. See their Membership and Contributions page for more information.

JewishGen
JewishGen is the global home for Jewish genealogy and provides access to millions of records, research and learning tools, and much more. The following databases and pages may be useful to you in your Lithuanian/Vilna Gubernia Jewish research:
 * JewishGen Family Finder - a database of surnames and ancestral hometowns researched by Jewish genealogists throughout the world. You may be able to connect with others who are researching the same surnames and/or locations.
 * JewishGen Communities Database - is a great place to find information about your town including jurisdictions throughout time, alternate names and spellings in various languages, links to helpful resources for that town and more. Searching for information about the town is an important first step in genealogical research.
 * JewishGen Lithuania Collection - this collection contains more than 2.3 million records including vital records, revision lists, city directories, cemetery records and much, much more. The following sub-databases are included within the larger JewishGen Lithuania collection and may be of especial interest to those searching Jewish Kovno Gubernia roots.
 * 1897 Census for Lithuania - this collection, nested in the larger JewishGen Lithuania Collection contains Jewish entries in the 1897 Census.
 * Jewish Religious Personnel in the Russian Empire - this database contains 400 Jewish religious personnel in Vilna and Kovno guberni. The collection can be searched using the JewishGen Lithuania Collection.
 * Kelme Database - this database includes indexes to archival and published records about the shtetl Kelme. It can be searched via the  JewishGen Lithuania Collection.
 * JewishGen Kehila Links - are websites commemorating Jewish shtetls. Kehila link pages can include helpful information such as history of the town, photographs, links to other sites containing information and records, indexes to records, images and/or transcriptions for headstones at Jewish cemeteries, and much more. To see all available Kehila Links for locations in the former Vilna Gubernia, check the Lithuania Kehila Link page. Kehila Link pages are also commonly linked to a town's entry in the JewishGen Communities Database.
 * JewishGen Yizkor Books - Yizkor books are books created to memorialize a Jewish shtetl. They may include information such as town histories, lists of people who lived there, historical photographs, etc. Many Yizkor books have been translated (or partially translated) and are available through the JewishGen Yizkor Book project.
 * JewishGen Yizkor Books - Yizkor books are books created to memorialize a Jewish shtetl. They may include information such as town histories, lists of people who lived there, historical photographs, etc. Many Yizkor books have been translated (or partially translated) and are available through the JewishGen Yizkor Book project.

Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation
Throughout her 30+ years of experience in Eastern European archives, Miriam Weiner collected vast amounts of information and material, much of which is now available online through the Routes to Roots Foundation website. The site includes many resources to help you research your Jewish roots including a town-by-town index/inventory of surviving Jewish records in archives, maps, surname and Holocaust list databases, informative articles and much more! For more information about how to use Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots Foundation, see the FamilySearch Wiki articles, Finding Lithuania Jewish Ancestors or Finding Belarus Jewish Ancestors.

Genealogy Indexer
Genealogy Indexer is a free database that provides access to thousands of records including city directories from the Russian Empire, Yizkor books, WWI casualty lists and other military records, as well as school records. Links to the original records are included.

Jewish Roots
The Еврейские Корни (Jewish Roots) site is an excellent resource to help you locate archival documents. The website is in Russian, but if you are using the Google Chrome browser, simply right click anywhere on the page and select Translate to English. Search using the name of the town (find the Cyrillic spelling of the town on JewishGen Town Finder) to see what archival records might be available for your location. In addition to the database, use the Forum to connect with other researchers and find other potential resources for your location.

Uyezd Specific Resources
The following resources, grouped by uyezd, apply specifically to the uyezd it is listed under.

Kovno/Kaunas Uyezd
Litvak SIG


 * The Kaunas District Research Group within Litvak SIG has been actively seeking out records for Kaunas city and uyezd. There are over 220,000 individual records indexed. Records are accessible via the Litvak SIG All Lithuania Database. See this page for instructions on how to search the ALD.


 * Additional Kaunas records or information may be available to members of the Kaunas District Research Group. To learn more about the group, click here.

FamilySearch

The following towns, or shtetl of Kovno/Kaunas uyezd have Jewish records available through FamilySearch. Click on the hyperlink to view the Catalog entry page. There may be gaps in record coverage and record types. Keep in mind that some records may not be accessible online, they may be accessible at your local Family History Center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.


 * Chekishki/Čekiškė (1857-1914)
 * Datnovo/Dotnuva (1836-1914)
 * Eiragola/Ariogala (1858 - births)
 * Grinkishki/Grinkiškis (1844-1915)
 * Jonava (1851-1914)
 * Iyasvoini/Josvainiai (1836-1914)
 * Kovno/Kaunas (1842-1914)
 * Keĭdany/Kėdainiai (1822-1914)
 * Kroki/Krakės (1844-1914)
 * Rumshishki/Rumšiškės (1854-1915)
 * Sredniki/Seredžius (1844-1913)
 * Veliona/Veliouna (1844-1914)
 * Vendziagola/Vandžiogala (1856-1914)
 * Viliianpolskaiya/Vilijampoleė (1854-1914)
 * Vilki/Vilkija (1838-1914)


 * Immigration/Emigration, 1850-1914: Returning Emigrant Jews, emigrants from Kovno/Kaunas, and Jewish orphans from Russia

Novo-Aleksandrovsk/Zarasai Uyezd
Litvak SIG


 * The Zarasai District Research Group within Litvak SIG has been actively seeking out records for Kaunas city and uyezd. There are over 27,000 individual records indexed. Records are accessible via the Litvak SIG All Lithuania Database. See this page for instructions on how to search the ALD.


 * Additional Zarasai/Novo-Aleksandrovsk records or information may be available to members of the Kaunas District Research Group. To learn more about the group, click here.

FamilySearch

Ponevezh/Panevėžys Uyezd
Litvak SIG

FamilySearch

Rossieny/Rasseiniai Uyezd
Litvak SIG

FamilySearch

Shavli/Šiauliai Uyezd
Litvak SIG

FamilySearch

Telshi/Telšiai Uyezd
Litvak SIG

FamilySearch

Vilkomir/Ukmergė Uyezd
Litvak SIG

FamilySearch