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Galizien is the German/Austrian name for Galicia. Galizien was a Crown land (Kronlander) of Austria prior to WW I. Events after WW I: A West Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR) was declared on November 1, 1918. In January 1919, the WUPR gained unity with the Ukrainian National Republic which had been restored in Kyiv/Kiev after the fall of the Hetmanate government in December 1918. Then conflicting local and international interests and invasions by Poles, Bolsheviks, White Russians, even the French in Odessa region, various peasant revolts, etc. -- general civil war -- destabilized the entire region. The Poles which had the support from the Western Powers gained the upper hand. This information attributed to Laurence Krupnak in the Galicia Topica of October 9, 2001 Galicia (Polish name) is the land which is located in Poland and Ukraine now. At the west end it is south of the Vistula river and north of Carpathian Mountains; from Krakow at the west to L'viv and Ivano Frankivsk at the east. A Map of Austria's Galicia Halychyna is the Ukrainian name and Halychyna is the Polish name for The name of Galicja is most commonly associated with the Austro-Hungarian partition of Poland in 1772, the province was made up of Wolyn and Podole. During 1st Partition in 1772. Both towns, Zurawno and Rozniatow are closely associated with town Stryj but as Austria had subdivided Galicia into circles and districts, towns have been relocated to the different administration and judicial districts. Galicia is a region lying along the north side of the Carpathian Mountains, consisting of the pre-1939 Polish provinces of Krakow, L'viv, Ternopol and Stanislawow, which between the years 1772 and 1918, formed a crown land of the Austrian Empire. The southern border of Galicia was set in 1772 and didn't change until after WWI. Austria's first incursion into Galician territory occurred in 1769 when it occupied the Polish-held lands near Nowy Sacz. In 1772, as a result of the "First Partition of Poland," Austria was given 81,900 sq. km of land, land that comprised the Polish palatinate of Rus' and parts of the palatinates of Sandomierz and Krakow. Austria called it's new territorial acquisition the Kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria (Galizien und Lodomerien), after medieval Kievan Rus principalities of Halychyna and Volyn, which became one Rus' principality at the beginning of the 13th century. In 1795, Austria acquired more land during the "Third Partition of Poland," land that reached from Krakow to near Warsaw, which Austria called "West Galicia." From a posting by Laurence Krupnak. More information can be found at Austrian Galicia vs. interwar Poland administrations divisions 1875 Austrian division of Galicia into Judicial, Administrative districts and sub districts and the additional Jewish Rabbinical administration) and Christian (RC) Districts represents documents of great historical value, according to a posting by Alexander Sharon. He further states that "Unfortunately the Austrian Administration system became archaic as far as modern genealogical research is concerned. Austria lost to Russia nearly all lands acquired in 1795: It should be noted again, that there were territorial readjustment made during 1815 Vienna Congress when Austria has lost to the victorious Russia Zamosc region, parts of Wolyn and Podolia and nearly all lands acquired in 1795 with exception of the City of Krakow. "My book notes that the Jewish administrative boundaries changed a number of times after they were created in 1875 by the Austrian legislature. It should be noted, however, that prior to 1875, there were no Jewish districts. Vital records were maintained by the Catholic Church, to the extent that they were maintained by any official authority. Jewish districts were slightly different from those used by Catholics and other Christian denominations. The original administrative boundaries coincided with those of the Kehila structure, also created by the Austro-Hungarian government. When the Kehila structure changed, so did the administrative boundaries." From a posting by Suzan Wynne on 6/24/01 During the 1930s, keep in mind in your research, that all of western Ukraine was either located in Poland and/or Czechoslovakia. Before WW I, Galicia was part of Austria and several partitions occurred in the 1700s and 1800s. After WW II, western Galicia became a part of Poland and Eastern Galicia became a part of Ukraine. The southern boundary follows the Carpathians; on the west is the Polish province of Katowice: on the east by Ukraine and on the southeast by Romania. On the north, it is bounded by both Kielce and Lublin provinces. The western border of the historic Galicia lays along the towns of Chelm (Kholm), Jaroslaw (Yaroslav) and Przemysl (Peremyshl) in southeast Poland. The western part of the Austrian Kingdom of Galicia and the city of Krakow (Cracow) were artificially incorporated into Galicia by the Austrians in 1772. Today, Galicia is divided between southern Poland and western Ukraine today. At the west end, it is south of the Vistula river and it is north of the Carpathian mountains; from Krakow at the west to L'viv and Ivano Frankivsk at the east. Some of the larger cities and towns in this region include: Krakow (Cracow), Poland; Przemysl (Pshemishl), Poland; Tarnow, Poland; Brody (Brod, Prode), Ukraine; Drogobych (Drohobycz), Ukraine; Kolomyya (Kolomea), Ukraine; Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislawow), Ukraine; L'viv (Lwów, Lemberg, Leopol), Ukraine; Ternipol (Tarnopol), Modern Poland has divided Galicia into four major Provinces known as Wojewodstwo and named after their capital cities: Krakow, Lwów, Tarnopol and Stanislawow. This led to the establishment of the new territorial sub divisions called powiats, named after "miasto powiatowe" (district towns) and rural districts "gminy" (parishes or communities). Some old Austrian division have retained some centralized status in new administration division, but this is not always the case. All records were physically transferred to newly assigned towns and shtetls where government Registry offices have been established. All records that have been transferred to Poland have been archived in AGAD - Archiwum Glowne Akt Dawnych, for documents 100 years and older, and all documents less than 100 years old were archived in USC Warszawa Srodmiescie, also known as Archiwum Zabuzanskie. On the annual basis, as documents are reaching the age of 100 years, they are transferred from the Arvchiwum Zabuzanskie depository to the AGAD archive. Both Polish archives have their archived stored under the names of those towns where Registry offices were located during Poland inter-war period. From a posting by Alexander Sharon
After the first division of Poland in 1772, Empress Maria Theresa named her new province the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodmeria. The Galician area became a part of the Austro-Hungarian crown lands until the end of World War I. The province was made up of Wolyn and Podole. The Carpathian Mountains are a natural boundary at the Hungarian border. Look for information also in the Hungarian Index, Banat, Croatia and Siebenburgen. Vienna was the capitol of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Galicia was the largest, province of that Empire. According to a translation by William 'Fred' Hoffman of the Slownik Geograficzny: Galicia (also at Galicia was bordered by Silesia to the west, by Russia, the Kingdom of Poland, Volhynia and Podolia to the north/northeast and by Bukowina and Hungary to the south/southeast. Mostly Poles inhabited West Galicia while Ruthenians inhabited East Galicia, the San river being the dividing line between east and west. You can find this and tons of other information to help you in your research at When WW I was over, Galicia really split into two parts. The western part became a part of southeastern Poland, sometimes called Malopolska (Little Poland) which Kleinpolen translates to the same thing i.e. Little Poland. The eastern part of Galicia became what is in today's world, Ukraine. There are a great deal of interesting links available at the PolishRoots™ web site including Austrian Military Recruitment in Galicia; Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów; Galician Federal Representatives; Galician Provincial Representatives; Galician Vital Records; The Martyrs of Zloczow which includes a list of people detained during the tumultuous times at the end of WW I The Galician Index Program incorporates 74 Administrative Towns from the eastern part of Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia-- 71 are now in Ukraine and 3 are in Poland. Of these 74 towns, 50 are listed with an Indexing Priority Number. Of these 50 towns, 34 have had their records indexed and 2 are partially indexed. From a posting on 4-3-02. Check the status of your town at Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia Galicia Jewish Museum - located in Krakow. Web site is in English JGFF - a compilation of the town names and family surnames with over 45,000 members. There is over 300 members at the GG (Gesher Galicia) discussion group
Prior to WW 1, the churches (Roman Catholic and Evangelical) and the head Rabbi of the Jewish Community, were given the responsibility for maintaining vital statistics for Austria. That part of the Ukraine that was in the Russian Empire, the churches also maintained vital statistics for the country as did the Chief Rabbi. Galician emigrants usually departed from Galicia via England and would have most likely have taken a train to one of the two large German ports, Bremen or Hamburg. Here they would have gone to England, most likely from the ports of Liverpool or Southampton, and boarded a British steamship for passage to North America. The most likely routes, from 1900 to 1910 would have been Hamburg direct to a US port; Hamburg indirectly through Grimsby/Hull, England and/or rail to Liverpool or an ocean liner from Liverpool to a US Port. The 'indirect' route was both cheaper and faster, and popular. Other ports of emigration may have been Bremen, Antwerp or Amsterdam. "Many went to England because the cost of passage to North America on a British ship was less expensive than on a German ship (North German Lloyd or Hamburg American lines)." "The emigrants would have either purchased all of their tickets from ticketing agents in Galicia (such as in L'viv or tickets would have been purchased in North America by their relatives or friends who were already there". Jewish Wedding Dances in the Carpathian area (Stanislav, Yasen, Mitvina, Delyatin and Pereginsky); Kaperush (a dance where everyone has to imitate exactly what the leader does.) Other dances emanating from this area also include Mitsve-Tants, Broyges-Tants, slow volokh, sirba, kolomeyka "Kabinya Marisya", Yiddishe Troika and Hutsulka. Wedding songs include "Shrayt shoyn 'Mazel Tov', "Ot Azoy Makht Men Khasene Kinder" and "Chipkelakh mit Fasolyes". Major events in the Galician history can be found itemized at this wonderful site Halych - old capital of Galicia
There are Yizkor Books available for Galician Jewish Celebrities by Regions at Further information, along with a detailed description about 'Yizkor Books' can be found at my Book page. See also my link to amazon.com by "Accessible Vital Records For Jews, Germans, Ukrainians and Poles in Galicia, Volhynia, Lithuania and Latvia- A Second Zabuzanski Collection" available at the downtown branch of the Vancouver Public Library. Other Libraries may also have a copy. Brian Lenius is Chairperson and Editor of East European Genealogist. "Austrian-Jewish Life Stories From the Time of the Hapsburg Monarchy" (Als haetten wir dazugehoert: Oesterreichisch-Juedische Lebensgeschichten aus der Habsburgemonarchie) authored by Professor Albert Lichtblau and published by Boehlau-Verlag in Vienna in German. "Eastern European Genealogist" is published by the East European Genealogical Society, PO Box 2536, Winnipeg, MB Canada R3C 4A7 "Encyclopedia of Galician Sages " authored by Rabbi Meir Wunder "Encyclopedia of Hahamei Galitzia" authored by Rabbi Meir Wunder. "Encyclopedia Me'orei Galicia" - authored by R" Meir Wunder "Finding Your Jewish Roots In Galicia" - authored by Suzan F. Wynne and published by Avotaynu. Possibly available in genealogically oriented libraries or through inter-library loan and from Avotaynu. Galician town listings start at page 132, including the district and sub district in which they are located.
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Topics Covered Many of the names are Polish in origin, but some are German. "Galician" a quarterly Galician genealogical magazine at My notes indicates that in the April 2, 1996 issue, there appeared an article on a census conducted on 12/31/1900 in Gorlice, Poland. Since there are no known Jewish Vital Records for this time period currently available for Gorlice, this information may prove to be of value to those searching the Gorlice area. Galicia, Editorial Offices, PO Box 312, PL-50-950 Wroclaw 2, Poland. FEEFHS Representative: Edward Tadeusz Wojtakowski at the above address. Phone and Fax: + 48 (71) 61 32 16 "Gazetteer of the Former Galicia and Bukowina", compiled by Felix Gundacher and published in Vienna, Austria in 1998 by the Institut fur Histroische Familienforschung (Institute for Historical Family Research) in both German and English. Listings of towns and districts of both Galicia and Bukowina, and also notes of those towns having a formally recognized "Jewish Community" under the Austrians, as well as those with Christian parishes of the primary denominations i.e. Roman Catholic, Orthodox and several others. The names of town included are the ones used by Austria in the 1870s. It can be purchased directly from this web site "Geographic Dictionary of The Polish Kingdom and Other Slavic Countries" (Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajow Slowianskich" - edited by Bronislaw Chlebowski in Warszawa in 1892. "Gorodenka Memorial Book" web site is "In Economic Origins of Anti-Semitism" - authored by Hillel Levine by Yale University Press. "Sefer Stryj" (Book of Stryj), edited by N. Kudish of Tel Aviv who was a former resident of Stryj, and published in Israel in 1962. "Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego" - an excellent classical Polish gazetteer available at the New York Public Research Library (42nd St. and 5th Ave. New York - hard copy) and on several rolls of microfilms at the Family History Center (FHC) in New York City. Other FHCs should either have the microfilm or order it for you. "Treasures of Jewish Galicia" from the Museum of Ethnography and Crafts in L'viv, Ukraine". A catalog of the exhibit at Beth Ha'tefutsorth in 1994-5 - edited by Sarah Harel Hoshen. Published in soft cover in 1996.
Remember that Galicia, at one time, was under the control of either Austria Polish or Ukraine, so further information might be on either the Austrian, Hungarian, Poland or Ukraine pages. For cross-reference of German and Polish names, this is a handy website to use. Atlas of Germany and neighboring areas circa 1880, at a scale of 1:850000, based on the official topographical maps, including a complete gazetteer of all ... An excellent site to find information about most European countries is at Global Gazetteer is a great web site. It is a directory of 2,880,532 of the world's cities and towns, sorted by country and linked to a map for each town. A tab separated list is available for each country. World-Wide Gazetteer Towns of Galicia - what a great site by Roman Zakharii! There are tons of information and photos linked to this site www.personal.ceu.hu/students/97/Roman_Zakharii/galicia.htm Many of the microfilm records photographed by the LDS, are supposed to be deposited in the Polish Archives of Warsaw and Katowice, as in the Ukrainian Archives in L'viv (Lwów or Lemberg in the Austro-Hungarian Empire). There are no complete listing of Galician villages on-line, however, there are several excellent gazetteers in hard copy and some are available at FHL (Family History library) or those that were filed by the LDS. To determine what LDS has for Galicia, you need to examine the FHL Catalog at One of the best resources for information that I know of, is the JewishGen Archives If the town you are researching doesn't show having records available, consider determining which was the Administrative District and Sub-district town nearest. The Jewish Community in each town was required by law to collect the vital records for all the towns that were part of the Sub-district. Some Galician towns are now either located in Poland or in Ukraine, so when you search the AGAD record indices, you may want to change the Province from Poland to Ukraine. The indices to not have all the genealogical relevant data. You can order the actual record from the AGAD Archives using the Order Form Galician Administrative Map 1881 Great Britain CD Lookup - if you suspect that one of your ancestors went to England to live, email Jane@Henio.Muc.De and she has offered to do a lookup. 1890-1891 Index of New York Immigrants from Austria, Poland and Galicia. 1891 Galician Business Directory Database - compiled by Phyllis Kramer, offers over 20,000 surnames and over 1,000 shtetls. This database was transcribed from a photocopy of the directory, found at the British Library, call number [PP 2440.BB C295] 1929 Business Directory of Ustrzyki Dolne. David Thaler has created this database. Ancient History of Galicia - Archives AGAD Archives - (The Archiwum Glowne Akt Dawnych - The Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw) this site will provide you with the ability to order records from their archives. JRI-Poland database has added more indices from these records - over 20,000 - which include Tarnopol birth and marriage indices and Trembowla birth indices. Also included are Kozowa births from 1877 to 1892; Tarnopol births from 1866 to 1897, Marriages from 1878 to 1897 and Trembowla births from 1877 to 1891. The Archives is the repository of 2,010 Jewish metrical books for the area of the former Lwów, Stanisiawow and Tarnopol Voyevodship (now known as L'viv, Ivano Frankivsk and Ternopol Oblasts in Ukraine). These registers are mainly for the period from 1877-1899 when these areas were a part of the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. Other Jewish metrical books for this area will be found in the L'viv branch of the Ukraine state Archives. The overall total of records is estimated to be close to two million and are generally written in Polish. There are separate books for births, marriages and deaths. Information about the JRI-Poland AGAD Archives Project can be viewed at Altogether, the JRI-Poland reports that they have indexed more than 1.5 million records. The goal is to create a searchable on-line database of the indices of all 19th century Jewish records from current and former territories of Poland. Further information about the project can be found at Note that to write to the Archives, you can write in English. To a registry office, local official, etc., write in Polish. Writing in the language of the person that you are writing to is always best ... it exhibits respect and courtesy. Make it as easy as possible if you want the quickest response. Six to eight months for a reply, is not uncommon. There is an Excel spreadsheet that includes a good deal of information about the records of these 90 district and sub-district towns and a status report for each town is constantly being updated. Each year, the Warsaw Srodmiescie USC Archives transfers vital records registers to AGAD. These are registers that only include vital records that have now become more than 100 years old. This transfer occurs in compliance with Polish privacy laws that permit public access to vital records only after 100 years. Recently, AGAD had received many registers that contain records mainly for 1898 and 1899. These registers will be available for indexing about September 2001. Should you contact the Polish State Archives, the following information should be of value. Len Markowitz priluki@voicenet.com offered the following in a posting at Gesher Galicia SIG: 'I guess that it is time to repeat the method that I have used successfully to send money to Poland. Admittedly, it has been about five years since I have last done this, but it was done on at least 4 occasions. To pay for information from the Polish State Archives, purchase a Postal Money Order at your local post office for about $1 - not an International Postal Money Order, which costs about $8.50 (five years ago). Address the Postal Money Order to the bank, including the bank account number, suggested previously by the Polish State Archives. Also make a copy of the Postal Money Order and send it with your next letter to the Polish State Archives' Another method of handling payment to the Polish archives is to check out a personal PayPal account Note: one of the problems is the frequent name changes, not just of families, but of towns in which they lived. Check out this site that Miriam Margolyes wrote about which contains a list showing most of the hundreds of town name changes from German to Polish in 19th Century Posen Province Check this site out at Archive Addresses - Polish Archives addresses Central State Historical Archives L'viv - address is Tsentralny Derzhavnyi Istorychnyi Arkhiv (TsDIA-L) Director is Orest Laroslavoych Matsiuk; Deputy Director (Directress) is Diana Peltc who, it has been noted, forwards personal researcher requests to a "freelancer" who then increases the price, but the cost is still relatively reasonable archives@cl.lv.ukrtel.net Hours are Monday through Friday 9 to 3 pm. Director of the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine - 110 Solomianska Street, 24, 252601 Kiev, Ukraine It is recommended that both addresses be also written in Ukrainian. A sample of how to address the Archive can be found at Arenda - a leasing system in Galicia. "Economic Origins of anti-Semitism: Poland and Its Jews in the Early Modern Period" - authored by Hillel Levine and "History of the Jews in Russian and Poland" - both address the subject, though just in passing. You might also review "Studies in Polish Jewry: Focusing on Galician Jews, Poles and Ukrainians" - edited by Israel Bartel and Antony Polansky and "Dimensions of a Triangle: Polish-Ukrainian=Jewish Relations in Galicia" might also be of interest. The latter shows that Poles constituted the gentry in Galicia, owning most of the landed estates and sharing very little with Jews around the turn of the 19th century, who by the beginning of the 20th century had begun to buy the estates. Polish peasants identified Jews with the manor owners and resented them at least as much as they did the nobility, according to Hinka's study. Further information can be found in Naomi Fatouros; review on Gesher Galicia SIG memo of October 15, 2001 Austrian Census Returns 1859-1910 With Emphasis on Galicia - authored by Johnathan Shea, A.G. Austrian Census for Galicia - authored by Gayle Schlissel Riley and edited by the FEEFHS Webmaster is located at Austrian Galicia Administrative Map - plus a Resource Center, other maps, History, Ships, and more at Austro-Hungarian Empire -Galicia Map at Should you require old maps of the Austro-Hungarian military topographic maps (scale 1:75k), the U.S. Library of Congress has quite a collection.
Birth Records Information - contact the Registry Office (Urzad Stanu Cywilnego, USC) in Poland directly, rather than a Consulate. The USC will perform the search for records and will send it to the Polish Consulate nearest to your residence. You will be billed for their efforts, Upon payment by money order or certified check, the Consulate will then send any material that the Registry Office has. Request from the manager of the USC a complete extract of the entry, rather than a brief certificate. Eastern Galicia - there is an on-going project by the JRI-Poland, to index all the vital records held by the AGAD Archives in Warsaw. You can search this database at There were 90 East Galician Administrative district and sub district towns in the AGAD project - East European Genealogical Society Eastern Slovakia - Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn Genealogical Research Galicia (region) - Chapters on districts of Kolomyia and Stryy from the dissertation Emergence of genocide in Galicia and resettlement transports to Belzec extermination camp - Galician Jewish Celebrities Galicia (Gallich, Galitsiya, Halicz, Galizien) - resources, map and links http://www.pgsa.org/pubindex.htm Galicia - Popiel Family site contains great background information about Galicia and this particular Polish family background Galicia - a quarterly non-Jewish Galician genealogical magazine. Edward Tadeusz Wojtakowski, Responsible Editor - Telephone and Fax: + 48 (71) 61 32 16 - Editorial Offices, Galicia, P. O. Box 312, PL-50-950 Wroclaw 2 Poland Galicia Discussion Group - to access the mailing list's archives Galicia Research List - this site is a wonderful source for the Jewish genealogist researching their ancestry and it includes a link to translate documents; links to general information, Associations and Societies, Historical Records, Gazetteers and Maps, Archives and Libraries and more at I noted in a posting on JewishGen by Steve Gold that Gayle Riley has a contact to do research in Krakow and she may be able to put you in touch with that researcher e-mail: Gayle at key2pst@PACBELL.NET Galicia Surname Index - a consolidated index of Galicia surnames, with links to web pages having databases of surnames is in the planning states by the Gesher Galicia. Galicia related databases already on-line as searchable databases on JewishGen will be part of the All-Galicia Database. Galician Town Locator - identify where Jewish vital records were registered, using the Austrian era name, you insert your town's name and click on 'search'. The resultant table will show where Jewish records were kept. Gazetteer of the former Galicia and Bukowina (about 16,000 towns listed) was produced by Felix Gundacher of the Institute of Historical Family Research in Vienna. This has a CD Rom of maps from the 1880s. The 3rd Edition of the "Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia" includes more than a simple list of village locations ... it includes data from various church shamanisms (Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Evangelical) and Jewish synagogue locations. Cost is around $40.00 (US) Contact: Brian J. Lenius, Box 18, Group 4, R.R. #1, Anola, Manitoba R0E OA0, Canada Genealogical Research in some lands of the former Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy General Haller's Army - this 'army' formed in 1917 as the Polish Army in France, was also known as the 'Blue Army' because of the color of their uniforms. Many of the fighters were Americans of non-Jewish Polish descent. They fought on the Western Front. After the end of WW I, Haller's Army were involved in the liberation of parts of Poland and western Ukraine from the Red Army and Ukrainians. There is evidence that many Galicians, including Jews who had been held in various Allied prisoner-of-war camps volunteered to serve under General Haller. An article containing much information is being planned to be published in a future issue of The Galitzianer. Gesher Galicia Discussion Group - this 700 active member group offers The Spring Issue, 1994 (Volume 1, No. 3) has a list of Galician Rabbis in Rabbi In the Winter, 1996, Volume 3, No. 2 issue, there is a 1922 listing of some doctors, lawyers and dentists in various Galician Towns. GGD 1939 Resettlement Records Page (Galizien German Descendants) - there are 55,694 individuals and 18,689 families representing 5,451 surnames in this database Historical Archives of Ukraine has Austrian period cadastral records for Galicia JewishGen ShtetlSeeker - locate your town (shtetl) - Jewish Records Indexing - Poland AGAD project includes 87 Administrative District towns and the Indexing of the 19th century Jewish vital records of 90 towns and villages in the former Galician Province in Eastern part of the former Austrian province of Galicia. Lemko - a name of the people of the Carpathian Mountains, commonly known as Lemkos. If you are looking in this area of Galicia, which is now mostly located in Ukraine, I would suggest looking at this informative site. Historical, background and genealogical research information is offered Meorei Galicia - Indexes to Meorei Galicia (Encyclopedia of Galician Sages) with two indexes is on-line and includes 1,362 surnames and 324 cities, towns and shtetls found in Indexes to Meorei Galicia. Meorei Galicia: Encyclopedia Lekhakhmei Galicia (Encyclopedia of Galician Sages) is a five volume bio-bibliographical work containing extensively detailed genealogies of Galician rabbinical families. This impressive and scholarly work is one of the most extensive and reliable sources of rabbinical genealogy written in the twentieth century. The author, Rabbi Meir Wunder, is chairman of the Institute for the Commemoration of Galician Jewry. The Institute's main achievement is the published five volume Meorei Galicia. Military records can be a useful source of genealogical information. In the context of Galician Poland (1772-1918) many of our male ancestors undertook military service freely, while others were obliged to go on active duty for 2 or 3 years, followed by perhaps 8-10 years in reserve units. The army kept detailed records on its personnel at all levels and useful information can be gleaned from these. Records for the period up until 1869 were retained in Vienna at the Vienna Kriegsarchiv and has also been extensively filmed by the Mormon Church and can be traced through the Family History catalogue. It is also possible to write for copies of personal records from years up to 1869 to the Archive in Vienna. Kriegsarchiv Nottendorfergasse 2, A-1030 Wien Austria. Further information can be found at For post 1867 military records, write to the Archives in Ukraine This site is offering information on "Austrian Census Returns 1869 to 1910 with Emphasis On Galicia" Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.german and soc.culture.austria Post Offices of Former Austrian Territories - includes Base post offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bohemia, Hungary, Levant, Lombardy, Mantua, Moravia, Silesia, Prague, Poland (Galicia), Venetia and Yugoslavia - all places are in alphabetical order, with provinces prefixed http://www.kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk/austamps/pobook/main.htm WW I in Galicia and proclamation of western Ukrainian National Republic - Research Steps These steps are offered by Phyllis Kramer to help Todd Katz search for a shtetl called Semyatichi: 1. Checked on JewishGen's Shtetl Seeker for the name of the shtetl, using the standard query. No results. Tried with the Soundex ... aha ... it has another name ... Semiematichi ... 2. Clicked on the longitude/latitude ... aha ... a map of its location. Printed that out. 3. Checked on the JewishGen Family Finder, using the standard query ... no results. 4. Checked on JewishGen Family Finder using the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex ... aha .. for Semyatichi ... 83 researchers listed ... good chance that's the town. Why not e-mail some of them, especially any researchers looking for similar sounding surnames? 5. Checked the 1891 Galician Business Directory ... 3 hits 6. Checked on the archives ... 187 messages with Siemiatycze in it. Lots of folks interested in this shtetl ... bets some of those prior postings are fascinating ... 7. Two more to go ... the JewishGen web wide search ... and ShtetLinks ... Slavic Cataloging Manual - Ukrainian Transliteration Table Spanish Galicia - yes, there is one, but is it relevant? Maps Austrian Galicia Map - Austrian Galicia Administrative Map - plus a Resource Center, other maps, History, Ships, and more at Austrian Kingdom of Galicia in 1772 - Austro-Hungarian Empire http://feefhs.org/maps/AH/ah-galic.html The Baltics - East Russian Empire 1882 Central Area of Galicia - "Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia" 1902 The Polish Provinces of Russia-East Russian Empire 1902 - "The Comprehensive Atlas and Geography of the World" published 1882 by Blackie and Sons, Edinburgh, Scotland Regional Special Interest Groups http://www.jewishgen.org/Shtetlinks/ukraine.html East Prussia - German Empire 1882 Galicia-Austro-Hungarian Empire 1882 - Regional Special Interest Groups Galicia - The western area Turkel settled in and other map sites Galicia under Hungarian and Polish Rules Time Line - Galician Administrative Map showing the district names. General Map (in Russian) of Galicia (Western Ukraine) including Transcarpathia, West Bukovina and southern parts of Volyn on the north. You can click on the map to enlarge the map Map of Austro-Hungarian Empire 1882 - Galicia in color. Map of Galicia 1875 Map of eastern part of Galicia (in Russian) , namely Ternopol region with river Zbruch on the east. Zbruch was the eastern border of Galicia and Austria since it was also a border between Russian and Austrian Empires. You can click on this map to enlarge Map of Poland - Map of Ukraine - Name and Geographic Locations "As it is generally known, Galician Jews have been compelled to adopt German Passports for Citizens of Galicia - local authorities throughout the Empire issued passports. The register that LDS has only includes a listing of passports that were issued by the Vienna passport office (i.e. the register doesn't include passports which were issued by other offices in Austria, such as Galicia, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, etc.). Here is what LDS has from the Vienna Passport Office: Polish Jewish Web site - offers a lot of information and it is in English Posen-Prussia-German Empire East 1882 - Routes To Roots - Miriam Wiener's outstanding and informative site offers travel advice and also visits to your shtetl on your behalf at Russia-The Crimean - Russian Empire-European Russia 1882 Silesia-Prussia-German Empire East 1882 - Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego - an excellent classical Polish gazetteer. It is available in the New York Public Research Library on 42nd Street and 5th Avenue, New York and the Mormons (FHC) in New York City have the entire Slownik on several rolls of microfilms. "Street names were not used in most places in Galicia until the 20th century. Szlachta Zagrodowa - in Polish this refers to a 'land nobility'. They were the 'upper crust' and were small landowners, presumptuous and arrogant: - "A nobleman on his land is equal to a governor'. Time Line of Galician Medieval History - Translating Polish - Check out this site for free assistance - Vital and Marriage Records From Greek Catholic and Orthodox Parishes in Former Austrian Galicia, Former Malo Rus, Ukraine, Poland, and Belarus (former Byelorussia) available through The Mormon Family History Library (FHL) Towns and Cities
Bavoriv (Baworow, Bavorov) - a village in the Ternopol district Belchatow - a new pamphlet was added to the Yizkor Book Project Belsk (Bielsk) and Belsk Uyezd (district) are available in the Grodno (Belarus) archive. These include Revision Lists, family lists and the 1897 Russian Census. These films have not yet been filmed by the FHL, they are planning to do so. Berezhany (Brzezany, Brezany, Byeryezhany) - district center in Ternopol region which is in the heart of Galicia. The town site information, the history of medieval town and photographs and an electronic street maps of the town, and more are at It is 4.5 miles to Zavaliv (Galician mile = 7.5 km) Memorial page to bygone world of Berezhany Jews Berezhany District - site contains list, descriptions of all villages, photos, maps, a Brzezaner Memorial Page to Berezhany Jews, Yellow Pages, Telephone and Address Book (in Ukrainian), a list of all villages in the Berezhany district and history at Bialy Kamien (Bialykamin) - the Jewish Records Indexing - Poland is indexing records for 90 districts and sub-district towns in the former Galician provinces of Lwów, Tarnopol and Stanisiawow. Nearby towns and villages may also have registered their vital records in these district and sub-district towns. This is one of the towns currently being indexed. There was a Bialykaminer Aid Society in New York. The area was formerly owned by Austria and had a German name and spelling but now it is called Belyy Kamen in Ukraine. It is somewhat near L'viv also formerly called Lemberg, Poland There was once Jewish cemetery and Joseph Hirschfield offers to send digital pictures of these gravesites. JOECYP@aol.com Bibrka (Bobrka, Bobrce) - Bobrice is a grammatical form of Bobrka. There are three different towns of Bobrka in three different administrative districts of: Bobrka; Krosno and Lisko. Note that Bobrka spells with an accent over the 'o'. One town of Bobrka was in the Austrian province of Galicia until WW 1. Between the wars, Bobrka was in the L'vov district of Poland and today Bobrka is called Bibrka and it is in the Ukraine. Contact is Beverly Shulster Bielsko Biala - there is a Yizkor Book Bilshivtsi (formerly Bolszowce, Bolshovtsy) - a village in Halych district Bilyavyntsi (Biliavuntsi, Bialanowce, Bielyavintsy) a village in Buchach district Bircza - "Bircza Online, the 'virtual shtetl' for the town of Bircza and its environs has also been completely reshaped and includes a large number of new information that would be useful to anyone researching this area. This new material includes many new maps (both old and contemporary), images (many photos -- as recent as last summer and as old as the 1950s and 1960s, as well as scanned images of documents, stamps, and signatures from the 19th-Century Jewish community), lists (a large number of new lists: business listings, cemetery lists, Jewish community tax and elections lists, and more), as well as other things, such as the pre-1941 'phone book' directory that represents an attempt at recreating a list of those resident in the Bircza area at the start Regional Special Interest Groups Bishche (Biszcze) - a village in Berezhany district Bobrka - (Bobrce, Bobreca) There are 3 possible shtetls with this name in Poland. One is in the Krosno area with a Jewish population of 8 families and is 82 km WSW of Przemysl; there is Bobrka which had a Jewish population of 27 families and is located 50 km SSW of Przemysl; Bobrek (Bobrek Karf) which has a Jewish population of 28 and is located SW of Krakow the Jewish Records Indexing - Poland is indexing records for 90 districts and sub-district towns in the former Galician provinces of Lwów, Tarnopol and Stanisiawow. Nearby towns and villages may also have registered their vital records in these district and sub-district towns. This is one of the towns currently being indexed. The town is near Krosno and Zmigrod in Western Galicia according to a translation of the Polish "Slownik Geograficzny" published between 1880 and 1902. Bogorodchany - Contact is Susannah R. Juni Bohordczany Bolechow - the cemetery is across a couple of hills and is unfenced. There are maybe two hundred vertical gravestones. The inscriptions face away from the graves and in most cases surnames appear on the reverse side. Often full names. The reverse side usually has a number inscribed as well. Bolekhov (Bolekhev) - located in the area near Ivano Frankivsk (Stanislawow) which was in eastern Galicia. There is a major chapter that has been translated by Dr. M. Hendel's "Maskalim and Haskalah (Enlightenment) Movement in Bolekhov in the 19th Century" (35 pages). This chapter should be of interest to anyone researching the region of Galicia, not only in Bolekhov itself. This chapter tells a fascinating story of the history of Jewish schools in the region including mention of the major leaders of the Haskalah movement who were from Bolekhov, and also discusses some of the controversies which stirred the political and education spheres of our ancestors. More chapters are currently being translated - see http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/bolekhov/bolekhov.html There are 10 articles written by Yonah Ashel-Ellendman, under the heading "Daily Life," pages 219-241, plus other articles from that section on pages 261-263, and pages 267-277 are now in the process of translation. Bolszowce - currently Bolshovtsy, Ukraine Borislav, (Boryslav, Boryslaw) Drohobycz (Oil City) and surrounding area - including Sambor. Jews helped developed the oil industry in the area. This group has already identified and compiled names of more than 75 small villages (except for Stryy which has it's own site) Details can be found in the archives of Gesher Galicia SIG galicia@lyris.jewishgen.org 12/29/99 entitled: Town information There is a Jewish cemetery in existence for the past 200 years. More information about the cemetery can be obtained from William Fern Whfern@aol.com "A Tysmienica Nadal Plynie" (The Tys'mienica Still Flows) is the title of a Yizkor Book was written by the late Leopold Held, a French-educated, Boryslaw-born oil engineer. Tysmienica is the name of the river which flows through the towns of Boryslaw and Drohobycz Regional Special Interest Groups - Contact Laurel White Borshchiv (Borszczow, Borszczew, Borschtschiw, Borshchev, Borshchov) - located in the center of the Ternopol district in Eastern Galicia. there is a comprehensive list of village in the area at Regional Special Interest Groups - Boryslav (Boryslaw) a town in Drohobych district Borzna |
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