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Masovian (Mazowieckie) Voivodeship, Poland Genealogy

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Masovian Voivodeship

Guide to Masovian (Mazowieckie) Voivodeship ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

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Historical Geography[edit | edit source]

Mazovian Voivodeship or Mazovia Province is the largest and most populous of the 16 Polish provinces, or voivodeships, created in 1999. Its principal cities are Warsaw, Radom, Płock. Siedlce, and Ostrołęka. The capital of the voivodeship is the national capital, Warsaw. The province was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Warsaw, Płock, Ciechanów, Ostrołęka, Siedlce and Radom Voivodeships. The province's name recalls the traditional name of the region, Mazowsze (sometimes rendered in English as "Mazovia"), with which it is roughly coterminous. However, the southern part of the voivodeship, with Radom, historically belongs to Lesser Poland, while Łomża and its surroundings, even though historically part of Mazovia, now is part of Podlaskie Voivodeship. Source: Wikipedia, Masovian Voivodeship


  • 1967 Warszawa is essentially the same as modern Masovia, except that Radom in 1967 was in Lesser Poland, while Łomża and its surroundings, even though historically part of Mazovia, now is part of Podlaskie Voivodeship

Maps[edit | edit source]

Civil Registration and Church Records[edit | edit source]

Almost all of the research you do will be in civil registration (government birth, marriage, and death records) and church records (baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial records). To understand these records better study the articles: Poland Church Records and Poland Civil Registration.

1. You will find birth, marriage, and death records:
  • in online databases
  • in microfilmed records of the FamilySearch collections
  • by writing to request searches
  • from State archives where records have been deposited
  • from church archives where records have been deposited
  • from local civil registration offices
  • from local parish churches
2. To find information on town of origin for U.S. immigrants from Poland, use the Wiki article Poland Locating Town of Origin.
3. You will need to determine the both the Polish and German name of the town your Polish ancestors lived in.
  • If the town was in the area of Poland once controlled by Russia or Austria, look it up in Skorowidz Gazetteer Online to find the parishes of various religions. Here are the instructions. Use the second option, "Viewing anywhere via the Digital Library of Wielkopolska".
  • To see a map of the town, use mapa.szukacz. Enter the town name in the "place" field in the right sidebar and click "Show". Province, area, commune, and postal code will appear at the bottom of the right sidebar.

Finding Aids[edit | edit source]

Poland finding aids have been created by a variety of state, church, society, and private organizations. Their goal is to inform what records exist and the repositories that hold them. Each finding aid has a different focus--a particular religion or geographical area or archive or collection. Be sure to search all that apply to your ancestors. Remember that churches often produced civil registration records. The church records might have been destroyed, but copies had been sent to the government and still exist. So we search for both church records and civil registration records.

1. Online Databases[edit | edit source]

Ancestry.com[edit | edit source]

FamilySearch Historical Records[edit | edit source]

Jewish Records[edit | edit source]

Some areas of Poland were predominantly Jewish settlements.

Because churches were frequently expected to act as civil registrars, Jewish births, marriages, and deaths can appear in Catholic records.

2. Microfilms and Digitized Records: The FamilySearch Catalog[edit | edit source]

Many church records have been microfilmed and can be viewed at the main FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Eventually, microfilmed records will all be digitized and available online. The records you need might have been digitized now. Check back from time to time to see if they have become available.
The FamilySearch Catalog is organized by the voivodeships as they existed in 1967. There are maps on the Poland Genealogy main page comparing those jurisdictions with the modern jurisdictions. In 1967, Masuria voivodeship was formed mostly from Warsawa voivodeship and part of Kielce voivodeship. To search the catalog:

a. Click on the records of Poland, Warsawa or records of Poland, Kielce.
b. Click on Places within Poland, Warsawa or Places within Poland, Kielce , and a list of towns will appear.
c. Click on your town.
d. Click on the "Civil registration" or "church records" topic, if available. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
c. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor.
For records in German: "Geburten" are births. Heiraten are marriages. "Verstorbene" or Toten are deaths.
For records in Polish: Akta urodzeń are births. Akta chrzest are christenings/baptisms. Akta małżeństw are marriages. Akta zgonów are deaths.
f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

3. Writing for Records[edit | edit source]

Poland Letter Writing Guide[edit | edit source]

This letter writing guide will enable you to write in the Polish language to parish churches and church and government archives: Poland Letter Writing Guide. Generally, the people you wrie to will appreciate your effort to use Polish and cooperate more readily.

Civil Registration Office Address[edit | edit source]

Write to the local civil registration office for records after 1900. Records prior to 1900 will probably be in the state archives. Records in the last 100 years will have some privacy restrictions where you will have to prove your relationship and/or the death of the person the certificate reports.

1. Use mapa.szukacz.
Enter the town name in the "place" field
in the right sidebar and click "Show".

Dynow1.png

2. Find the commune

at the bottom of the right sidebar.

Dynow2.png

3. Google: urzad stanu cywilnego
with the name of the commune.

Dynow3.png

4. From the list of hits,
find the official page of the
URC (urzad stanu cywilnego).
Click on the link.

Dynow4.png

5. Find the e-mail address.

Dynow6.png

6. Use the Poland Letter Writing Guide
to write an email
requesting the record.

State Archives Addresses[edit | edit source]

  • PRADZIAD This website can be searched by location (town or parish). It will then tell you which archives hold what records for the location. On the entry for the records you want, click on "More" at the far right, and it will give you the contact information for the archive.

Church: Parish Addresses[edit | edit source]


Church Diocese Archives Addresses[edit | edit source]

See the Catholic Diocese map on the Poland Church Records page. Use The Catholic Directory, Poland to find the diocese for your town. Click on "View Full Listing" for your parish.

Warsaw Archdiocese[edit | edit source]

Archdiocesan Archives of Warsaw
ul. Dewajtis 3
01-815 Warsaw
Poland

Telephone: 22 561 01 36
22 561 01 37
E-mail: archiwum.archidiecezjalne.war@gmail.com

Płock Diocese[edit | edit source]

DIECEZALAL ARCHIVE IN PŁOCK
ul. Abpa A. Nowowiejskiego 2
09-400 Płock
Poland

tel .: 24 262 63 34
Email: archiwum@diecezjaplocka.pl ; bibl.wsd@wp.pl

Radom Diocese[edit | edit source]

Radom Diocesan Archives
ul. Malczewskiego 1, PL
26-600 Radom
Poland

T. (headquarters): +48 48 340 62 00
T .: +48 48 340 62 20

Łowicz Diocese[edit | edit source]

Archives of the Łowicz Diocese
Old Market Square 19 A
99-400, Łowicz
Poland

Phone number (+48) 46 837 62 18

Inventory of Lutheran Parish Records[edit | edit source]

This website lists for each parish the years parish records exist, the archives where they are held, and links to online records and microfilms.

Reading the Records[edit | edit source]

Word Lists[edit | edit source]

The language of the records depends on the controlling government. Records in parts of Poland controlled by Russia are in Russian from 1868-1918, and in Polish otherwise.

Word-by-Word Reading Aids[edit | edit source]

How-to Guides[edit | edit source]

For areas of Poland that were once part of Russia:

Russian and Polish Transliteration Tools[edit | edit source]

Lessons[edit | edit source]

Search Strategy[edit | edit source]

For records before 1808, you will use just church records. For records from 1808 on, civil registration records will be your main source, supplemented by church records, if possible.

  • Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
  • Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
  • You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
  • Search the death registers for all known family members.
  • Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
  • If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

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