Poland Gazetteers

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Introduction
Gazetteers are dictionaries of place-names. They describe towns, villages, counties, provinces, and population sizes; parishes; and rivers, mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only places that existed at the time of publication.

The place-names are generally listed in alphabetical order.

Gazetteers may also provide the following information about towns:


 * Local religious denominations and parishes
 * Postal facilities and other communication facilities (telephone, telegraph, and so on)
 * Local commerce, agriculture, manufacturing works, canals, docks, and railroad stations
 * Schools, colleges, and universities

You can use gazetteers to locate places where your family lived and determine the civil and church jurisdictions over those places. For example, Sarnów in Gliwice County is a small village that belongs to the Catholic parish of Toszek.

Because many places in Poland have the same or similar names, you will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town your ancestor lived in, the civil district it was in, and the jurisdictions where records about your ancestor were kept.

Gazetteers can also help you determine the county jurisdictions used in the Family History Library Catalog.

Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
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Index of locallities of the Polish Republic printed in 1930s. This gazetteer is arranged alphabetically in Polish. Jurisdictional information is given in columns. The parishes are listed in the last column. Most interesting columns are:

1 - name of place 2 - branch 3 - county 4 - woivodeship last column - parishes

Important abbreviations: e - Evangelical g - Greek Catholic p - Orthodox r - Roman Catholic loco - in the locality

Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich
Geographical dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic lands 15 vols. Warsaw: Sulimierski i Walewski, 1880–1902. FHL book 943.8 E5c; film 920957–72

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Vol. 1 Aa-Dereneczna Vol. 2 Derenek-Gzack Vol. 3 Haag-Kepy Vol. 4 Kes-Kutno Vol. 5 Kutowa-Malczyce Vol. 6 Malczyce-Netreba Vol. 7 Netrebka-Perepiat Vol. 8 Perepiatycha-Pozajscie Vol. 9 Pozajscie-Ruksze Vol. 10 Rukszenice-Sochaczew Vol. 11 Sochaczew-Szlurbowska Vol. 12 Szlurpkiszki-Warlynka Vol. 13 Warmbrunn-Worowo Vol. 14 Worowo-Zyzyn Vol. 15 Ababi-Janus addendum Vol. 15 II Januszpol-Wola addendum

Wielkopolska / Great Poland
Księga adresowa wszystkich miejscowości w Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskiem

Family History Library Catalog
The Family History Library Catalog lists place-names under county (województwo) jurisdictions used in the 1960s and 70s. Names are also listed under the German-Prussian province (Provinz) as of 1871–1914 or the Austrian province (Provinz) as of 1850–1915. To find the province that a town is filed under in the Family History Library Catalog, use the “see” references on the catalog’s first locality microfiche of each state. If you have the catalog on compact disc, use the “Locality Browse” search. Each town is listed in the catalog with its district (powiat or Kreis) jurisdiction to distinquish it from other places of the same name. Because of the many changes in place-names, the Family History Library uses one gazetteer as the standard guide for listing places in the Family History Library Catalog. Regardless of the names a place may have had at various times, all Polish places are listed in the catalog by the name they are listed under in:

Uning maps online to locate a place
Maps are great tools, that can be used for locating places.

Mapa.szukacz.pl - online map with search tool. Provide name of place in field "Miejscowości" and then click "Pokaż" button. There is no need to use Polish diactric letters. In result you will get a map of Poland with all searched places marked with pink circles.

MIlitary maps from ca. 1910 - if you dont know exact spelling of Polish place, but you know only area where your ancestors lived, you can use this map to find correct name.