When genealogists enter the names of the locations where events in their ancestors’ lives occurred, they are faced with the dilemma of how to enter place names so as to unambiguously identify the locations in both space and time.
As a result of the November Uprising of 29 November 1830 – 05 October 1831, the Russian authority of the Kingdom of Poland reorganized the administrative structure of the Kingdom of Poland to bring it more in line with that of the Russian Empire. On 07 March 1837, the Voivodeships were renamed Gubernias (singular gubernia, plural gubernii) and, in 1942, the Obwóds were renamed Powiats (singular powiat, plural powiaty).
The eight Gubernias from 1837 to 1841 were:
gubernia augustowska (Augustów Gubernia)
gubernia kaliska (Kalisz Gubernia)
gubernia krakowska (Kraków Gubernia)
gubernia lubelska (Lublin Gubernia)
gubernia mazowiecka (Masovian Gubernia)
gubernia płocka (Płock Gubernia)
gubernia podlaska (Podlasie Gubernia)
gubernia sandomierska (Sandomierz Gubernia)
In 1841, the Kraków Gubernia was renamed the Kielce Gubernia. This was a reasonable move since Kraków was never part of the Kraków Gubernia, but instead was a free city (until 1846).
The eight Gubernias from 1841 to 1844 were:
gubernia augustowska (Augustów Gubernia)
gubernia kaliska (Kalisz Gubernia)
gubernia kielecka (Kielce Gubernia)
gubernia lubelska (Lublin Gubernia)
gubernia mazowiecka (Masovian Gubernia)
gubernia płocka (Płock Gubernia)
gubernia podlaska (Podlasie Gubernia)
gubernia sandomierska (Sandomierz Gubernia)
Genealogists may specify a place name in the Kingdom of Poland from 07 March 1837 to 1842 as follows:
name of city or village, obwód, gubernia, nation
for example:
Krasne, Przasnysz Obwód, Płock Gubernia, Kingdom of Poland
or, if one prefers to write the place name in Polish:
Krasne, obwód przasnyski, gubernia płocka, Królestwo Polskie
Genealogists may specify a place name in the Kingdom of Poland from 1842 to 1844 as follows:
name of city or village, powiat, gubernia, nation
for example:
Krasne, Przasnysz Powiat, Płock Gubernia, Kingdom of Poland
or, if one prefers to write the place name in Polish:
Krasne, powiat przasnyski, gubernia płocka, Królestwo Polskie
The Kingdom of Poland was also known informally as Congress Poland (Kongresówka). In my own records, I call the nation established by the Congress of Vienna the “Congress Kingdom of Poland” in order to differentiate this nation from the Kingdom of Poland that existed from 1025-1569 and the Kingdom of Poland proposed as a puppet state by the German Empire and Austrian Empire from 1916-1918.
To directly learn the names of the Obwód (Powiat) and Voivodeship (Gubernia) to which a village belonged, the researcher should consult the civil registrations recorded in the corresponding parish during the 1817-1826 time period. Most civil registrars of the time included the names of the Obwód and Voivodeship directly in the records.
Other articles in this series:
Copyright © 2010 by Stephen J. Danko
