Vilna 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 Vilna 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 2.4 million records including vital records, revision lists, Vilnius household registers, army conscript photographs (1900-1914), 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 Vilna Gubernia roots.
 * Vilnius Household Registers - this collection, nested in the larger JewishGen Lithuania Collection contains Jewish records in household registers from the city of Vilnius (Wilno) from 1919-1940.
 * Vilna Gubernia Conscripts Photographs - this database contains 1,222 names of Jewish conscripts from the former Vilna gubernia. In some cases, the backsides of the photos contain information aout the person, in Russian. The collection can be searched using the JewishGen Lithuania Collection.
 * Vilna Ghetto List - this database includes the names of 15,507 prisoners in the Vilnius Ghetto. The information came from a census in May of 1942. It can be searched via the JewishGen Lithuania Collection.
 * 1915 Vsia Vilna Directory - contains over 17,400 entries from the 1915 city directory of Vilnius, Lithuania. It can be searched through 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 both the Lithuania and Belarus Kehila Link pages. 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.

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 article, Finding Lithuania Jewish Ancestors.

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

Disna Uyezd
Litvak SIG


 * The Disna District Research Group within Litvak SIG has been actively seeking out records for Disna Uyezd. There are over 28,000 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 Disna records or information may be available to members of the Disna District Research Group. To learn more about the group, click here.


 * The 1784 Disna uyezd revision list has been transcribed by Litvak SIG.

FamilySearch


 * The 1858 revision list for Disna Uyezd is available on FHL 1224574, Item 1/DGS 7952297. For help reading revision lists, see the Reading Revision Lists "How to" Guide.

Lida Uyezd
For a history of Jews in Lida, see the article Lida: The Untold Stories.

Litvak SIG


 * The Lida District Research Group of Litvak SIG has obtained and translated all known available vital records for the twelve shtetls in the district of Vilna - more than 100,000 individuals records! Lida uyezd records can be searched using the Litvak SIG All-Lithuania Database, or the the JewishGen Lithuania Collection. See this page for instructions on how to search the ALD.


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

FamilySearch
 * There are also surname lists available for the Lida uyezd. These surnames lists were compiled along with translations of vital records done by the Lida group. You can use these surnames lists to see if your surname appears in a particular shtetl, and find possible spelling variations for your surname. Access the surname lists here.
 * The 1784 Lida uyezd revision list has been transcribed by Litvak SIG.


 * The 1858 revision list for Disna Uyezd is available on FHL 1224574, Item 1/DGS 7952297. For help reading revision lists, see the Reading Revision Lists "How to" Guide.
 * The following towns, or shtetl of Lida uyezd have Jewish records available through FamilySearch. Click on the hyperlink to view the Catalog entry page. 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.
 * Belitsa (1897-1900)
 * Zaskevichi (1855-1872)

Lida Holocaust Memorial Foundation


 * The Lida Holocaust Memorial Foundation works to preserve the memory of those who perished in Lida during the holocaust. They share stories, perform cemetery maintenance, and work on Holocaust awareness/education events, and memorial services. Check the Our Stories and Media Gallery tabs of their site to read or contribute stories and see pictures of pre-war Lida.

Additional Resources


 * The Lida Ghetto (history)

Oshmiany Uyezd
Litvak SIG


 * The Oshmiany District Research Group within Litvak SIG has been actively seeking out records for Oshmiany Uyezd. There are over 18,000 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 Oshmiany records or information may be available to members of the Oshmiany District Research Group. To learn more about the group, click here.
 * The 1784 Oshmiany uyezd revision list has been transcribed by Litvak SIG.

JRI-Poland


 * Parts of the former Oshmiany uyezd belonged to Poland in the inter-war period. As such, the indexing site, JRI-Poland, has several projects in place to obtain Oshmiany District records from Polish archives.