Learn More About Polish Jewish Genealogy

Accuracy of information	What types of documents have the most accurate information?
Ages	Inconsistent ages in Polish records
Alegata marriage records	Marriage supplements
BMD records: available years	BMD records begin in 1808 for most towns; for some towns, many records are missing
BMD images online at Polish State Archives	How to find a particular BMD image online at the Polish State Archives
Commonly confused letters	How to improve your searching
Language of BMD records	Language to expect in birth, marriage, and death records
Late registration of births	Consider the possibility that a birth was registered late
Maiden names	The meaning of a maiden name that includes a suffix
Map	Map showing CRARG’s core towns
Notary records	Marriage records that indicate “a contract was made”
Patronymic names	What is a patronymic name?
Polish citizenship	How to obtain Polish citizenship
Pronunciation	How to pronounce names and towns
Raptularz records	BMD records in “table” format, created before the actual, official akt (record in paragraph form) was created
Scanned images	Scanned images of birth, marriage, and death records for towns in CRARG’s core area
Search advice	How-to advice for CRARG search engines
Surnames	When were surnames first required in Poland?
Surname with an appended suffix	What do surname suffixes mean?
Two dates	Why many records list two dates
Unavailable birth record	Wording used in books of residents and alegata marriage records when a birth record is not available
*vel*	What does “vel” mean between two given names or surnames?

Also…
• Częstochowa: 1930s & 1940s maps
• Geographical terms in Poland
• Very small towns in the “Częstochowa religious community.” 1932
• Why two copies of a birth, marriage, or death record?

Thinking of joining CRARG? Feel free to write to me (danielkazez@crarg.org) to ask if we have records for your family! —Daniel Kazez, CRARG President (a volunteer/unpaid position)

If you are ready to join CRARG, visit our Pre-Holocaust Database page.