Poland Societies

Introduction
Many societies and organizations have information that would help you in your genealogical research. The following links are for societies in Poland as well as numerous societies dedicated to Polish genealogy in the countries Poles immigrated to, especially the United States. You may find it helpful to join one of these societies and support its efforts.

Most of these societies have websites on the Internet. Most are also members of the Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS). Individuals may also join FEEFHS and receive its journal. This organization has a web site, with links to its member societies.

Genealogical Societies
Several genealogical societies emphasize Polish research. Most of these societies publish helpful periodicals, transcripts, and compiled genealogies and may have special indexes, collections, and projects. Many publish queries about Polish ancestors or maintain a list of members’ research interests. Some specialize in the immigrants to a specific area.

The following societies may be of interest:

Polish Genealogical Society of America 984 North Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60622 Internet: http://www.pgsa.org/

Polish Genealogical Society of California P.O. Box 307 Buena Park, CA 90621-0307 Internet: http://pgsca.org

Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast, Inc. 8 Lyle Road New Britain, CT 06053-2104 Internet: http://www.pgsctne.org

Polish Genealogical Society of Greater Cleveland c/o St. Mary's PNC Church 1901 Wexford Ave. Parma, Ohio 44134 Internet: http://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohpgsgc/

Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts P.O. Box 381 Northampton, MA 01061-0381 Internet: http://www.pgsma.org/

Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan Burton Historical Collection Detroit Public Library 5201 Woodward Ave. Detroit, MI 48202 Internet: http://www.pgsm.org/

Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota P.O.Box 16069 St. Paul, MN 55116-0069 Internet:http://pgsmn.org/

Polish Genealogical Society of New York State P.O. Box 984 Cheektowaga, NY 14225 Internet:http://pgsnys.org/

Polish Genealogical Society of Texas Route 1, Box 475-S Navasota, TX 77068 Internet: http://www.pgst.org/

Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (focus is on Germans from Russian Poland and Volhynia) Box 905 Stn. “M” Calgary, AB T2P 2J6 Canada Internet: http://sggee.org

For a link with a good list of Polish genealogical societies: click here

Historical Societies
Historical societies can be valuable sources of information on Poland. Similar societies exist in countries where Polish emigrants settled. These societies often collect information about Polish immigrants. Some may have information about specific Polish individuals. Many societies have special collections of books and manuscript material for Poland that may be difficult to find in libraries and archives. You may be interested in the services, activities, and collections of the following historical societies:

Immigration History Research Center University of Minnesota 826 Berry Street St. Paul, MN 55114-1076 Internet: http://www.ihrc.umn.edu/

Polish American Archives Alumni Memorial Library St. Mary’s College The Orchard Lake School Orchard Lake, MI 48033 Internet: http://www.stanford.edu/~rondest/PolAm96.html

Fraternal Societies
Your ancestor or relative may have belonged to an association, lodge, or fraternal society whose membership is based on common interests, religion, or ethnicity. These societies were involved in political, social, and financial activities, including life and burial insurance.

Several sources, such as local histories, biographies, obituaries, tombstones, family records, and artifacts, may give you clues that an ancestor belonged to a fraternal society. Examples of these societies include:

Alliance of Poles of America (1895) 6966 Broadway Ave. Cleveland, OH 44105 Telephone: 216-883-3131 Internet: http://www.ihrc.umn.edu/research/vitrage/all/aa/ihrc135.html

Association of Polish Women of the United States 7526 Broadway Ave. Cleveland, OH 44105 Telephone: 216-441-1544

Association of Sons of Poland 333 Hackensack Carlstadt, NJ 07072 Telephone: 201-935-2807 Internet: http://www.sonsofpoland.org/

Polish National Alliance of the United States of North America 6100 North Cicero Ave. Chicago, IL 60646-4385 Internet: http://www.pna-znp.org/content/historyofpna/historybrief.htm

Polish Roman Catholic Union 984 North Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, IL 60622-4101 Telephone: 800-772-8632 Internet: http://www.prcua.org/

For more information about fraternal societies in North America, see:


 * Chorzempa, Rosemary A. Polish Roots. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. (FHL book 943.8 D27c.)

You may be able to get genealogical information from fraternal organizations by writing to them.

Societies in Poland
Some of the Polish websites have an English interface. Look for the British or American flag. Otherwise, use the Google Translation Toolbar to get the gist of the website. (download at: http://toolbar.google.com/T4/index_pack_xp.html)

Polskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne (Polish Genealogical Association) has regional societies in all major cities.

http://www.genealodzy.pl/

Regional BTH-G Bydgoskie Towarzystwo Heraldyczno-Genealogiczne GTG Galicyjskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne KPTG Kujawsko-Pomorskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne LTG Lubelskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne LTG Lubuskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne MTG Małopolskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne OTG Opolskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne OTG Ostrowskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne PTG Pomorskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne STG Suwalskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne ŚTG Śląskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne TGCP Towarzystwo Genealogiczne Centralnej Polski TGZC Towarzystwo Genealogiczne Ziemi Częstochowskiej TG-HwP Towarzystwo Genealogiczno-Heraldyczne w Poznaniu WTG Warszawskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne WTGG Wielkopolskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne "Gniazdo" ŚTG Świętokrzyskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne "Świętogen" Other PTH Polskie Towarzystwo Heraldyczne SPSW Stowarzyszenie Potomków Sejmu Wielkiego TBP Towarzystwo Bambrów Poznańskich TGW Towarzystwo Genealogiczne Worsten ZSP Związek Szlachty Polskiej

Locating Records at the Family History Library
Records of these societies are usually described in the Author/Title section of the FamilySearch Catalog under the name of the society. They are also listed in the Place Search of the catalog under:

POLAND - SOCIETIES

POLAND, (COUNTY) - SOCIETIES

POLAND - GENEALOGY

POLAND, (COUNTY) - GENEALOGY

Some records gathered by societies are listed in the locality section of the FamilySearch Catalog under the type of record. For example, cemetery transcripts gathered by a genealogical society are listed in the catalog under:

POLAND, (COUNTY) - CEMETERIES

Lists and guides that describe the collections of societies are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

POLAND - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS

POLAND, (COUNTY) - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS

POLAND, (COUNTY), (TOWN) - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS

Websites

 * http://sites.rootsweb.com/~polwgw/societies.html
 * FEEFHS Foundation For East European Family History Studies http://feefhs.org/
 * http://www.pgsa.org/
 * http://www.sggee.org (Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe)