Estonia Population Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Eesti rahvastikuregister

Record Description
This collection of a variety of records covers the period between 1918 and 1944.

These records made after the Russian Revolution through the end of World War II includes records of taxpayers, citizens, Jews, Germans, and prisoners of war. They include records such as inhabitant records and tax censuses. The text of the records could be written in German, Estonian, or Russian.

The National Archive of Estonia is the center of archival administration in Estonia and a government agency in the domain of the State Chancellery, which includes Estonian Historical Archives, Estonian State Archives, Estonian Film Archives, and 6 regional Archives from: Harju, Lääne, Lääne-Viru, Saare, Tartu and Valga. Records were created at the local level and later archived in the National Archive.

Each of these records was created for a good reason, most of them to keep a record of the people in that period of time.

Most of these types of records are used as a secondary source when records for ancestors cannot be found in civil or church records.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Population registers usually contain the following information:


 * Number in consecutive order
 * Registration date: month/day
 * Family name
 * Date of birth
 * Citizenship
 * Marital status
 * Occupation
 * Document that confirms where person lives
 * Reports on the performance of military duties
 * Origination place and date (year/month/day/where from)
 * Residence (village, farm, mansion, town and house)
 * Destination date and place
 * Comments

Tax censuses usually contain the following information:


 * Number in consecutive order
 * Tax payer (family first and last name)
 * Birth year
 * Residence place
 * Male
 * Female
 * Payment
 * Receipt #
 * Paid: Debt / Tax / Percent deferral / Total
 * Remaining debt
 * Retired
 * Comments

How to Use the Record
To search the collection, follow this series of links:

⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select "Place" ⇒ Select "record type" ⇒ Select "Vol.number/letter, vol. begin-end year" which takes you to the images

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in German, Russian or Estonian. For help with reading the records, see the following resources:


 * German Language and Languages
 * German Word List
 * Russian Genealogical Word List

Related Websites

 * The National Archives of Estonia
 * Estonian Historical Archive

Related Wiki Articles

 * Estonia
 * Estonia Websites

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Estonia, Population Registers, 1918-1944

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.