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.<\/p>\n
On 22 January 1863, a spontaneous protest against mandatory conscription into the Russian army broke out in Poland. The Russian government bitterly suppressed this January Uprising, as it had the November Uprising which began on 29 November 1830. The aftermath of the January Uprising included complete incorporation of the Kingdom of Poland into the Russian Empire, where it was officially called the Vistula Land (Kraj Nadwi\u015bla\u0144ski in Polish).<\/p>\n
In 1867, the Polish language was replaced by Russian in official state business and education. Thus, after 1867, civil registration records were maintained in Russian rather than Polish. In reality, the exact date the language of the civil registration records changed from Polish to Russian differed from parish to parish. In fact, some parishes maintained the civil registration records in both languages for several years. Nonetheless, Polish civil registration records after 1867 were generally recorded in Russian.<\/p>\n
The administrative structure of the country also changed considerably. The former Kingdom of Poland was divided into ten gubernias. In addition, the substructure of the gubernias was reorganized, so that the names and the borders of the powiats themselves changed.<\/p>\n
In 1893, some territory from the P\u0142ock and \u0141om\u017ca Gubernias was transferred to the Warsaw Gubernia.<\/p>\n
In 1912, some territory from the Lublin and Siedlce Gubernias was transferred to a newly formed Che\u0142m Gubernia, and the Che\u0142m Gubernia itself was moved from the Vistula Land to the Southwestern Land of the Russian Empire.<\/p>\n
As of 1907, the gubernias and powiats in the Vistula Land were:<\/p>\n
gubernia kaliska (Kalisz Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat kaliski
\npowiat kolski
\npowiat koni\u0144ski<\/a>powiat \u0142\u0119czycki
\npowiat sieradzki
\npowiat s\u0142upecki
\npowiat turecki
\npowiat wielu\u0144ski<\/p>\ngubernia kielecka (Kielce Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat j\u0119drzejowski
\npowiat kielecki
\npowiat miechowski
\npowiat olkuski
\npowiat pi\u0144czowski
\npowiat stopnicki
\npowiat w\u0142oszczowski<\/a><\/p>\ngubernia \u0142om\u017cy\u0144ska (\u0141om\u017ca Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat kolne\u0144ski
\npowiat \u0142om\u017cy\u0144ski
\npowiat makowski<\/a>powiat mazowiecki
\npowiat ostro\u0142\u0119cki
\npowiat ostrowski
\npowiat szczuczy\u0144ski<\/p>\ngubernia lubelska (Lublin Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat bi\u0142gorajski
\npowiat che\u0142mski
\npowiat hrubieszowski
\npowiat janowski<\/a>
\npowiat krasnostawski
\npowiat lubartowski
\npowiat lubelski
\npowiat nowo-aleksandryjski
\npowiat tomaszowski
\npowiat zamojski<\/p>\ngubernia piotrkowska (Piotrk\u00f3w Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat b\u0119dzi\u0144ski
\npowiat brzezi\u0144ski
\npowiat cz\u0119stochowski
\npowiat \u0142aski
\npowiat \u0142\u00f3dzki
\npowiat nowo-radomski
\npowiat piotrkowski
\npowiat rawski<\/p>\ngubernia p\u0142ocka (P\u0142ock Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat ciechanowski<\/a>
\npowiat rypi\u0144ski
\npowiat lipnowksi
\npowiat m\u0142awski
\npowiat p\u0142ocki
\npowiat przasnyski
\npowiat sierpecki<\/p>\ngubernia radomska (Radom Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat i\u0142\u017cecki
\npowiat ko\u0144ski
\npowiat kozienicki
\npowiat opatowski
\npowiat opoczy\u0144ski
\npowiat radomski
\npowiat sandomierski<\/p>\ngubernia siedlecka (Siedlce Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat bialski
\npowiat garwoli\u0144ski
\npowiat konstantynowski
\npowiat \u0142ukowski
\npowiat radzy\u0144ski
\npowiat siedlecki
\npowiat soko\u0142owski
\npowiat w\u0119growski
\npowiat w\u0142odawski<\/p>\ngubernia suwalska (Suwalki Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat augustowski<\/a>powiat kalwaryjski
\npowiat maryampolski
\npowiat sejne\u0144ski
\npowiat suwalski
\npowiat w\u0142adys\u0142awowski
\npowiat wylkowyski<\/p>\ngubernia warszawska (Warsaw Gubernia)<\/strong>
\npowiat b\u0142o\u0144ski
\npowiat gosty\u0144ski<\/a>powiat gr\u00f3jecki
\npowiat kutnowski
\npowiat \u0142owicki<\/a>
\npowiat nieszawski
\npowiat nowo-mi\u0144ski
\npowiat p\u0142o\u0144ski
\npowiat pu\u0142tuski
\npowiat radzymi\u0144ski
\npowiat skierniewicki
\npowiat sochaczewski
\npowiat warszawski
\npowiat w\u0142oclawski<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNote that the above list includes the names of the gubernias in both Polish and English, but only the Polish names of the powiats are listed. The corresponding English name of the powiats may be generated by using the term “Powiat” followed by the name of place where the powiat seat is located. For example, powiat pu\u0142tuski is Pu\u0142tusk Powiat in English. Genealogists may specify a place name in the Vistula Land from 1867-1915 as follows:<\/p>\n
name of city or village, powiat, gubernia, land, nation<\/p>\n
for example:<\/p>\n
Krasne, Ciechan\u00f3w Powiat, P\u0142ock Gubernia, Vistula Land, Russian Empire<\/p>\n
or, if one prefers to write the place name in Polish:<\/p>\n
Krasne, powiat ciechanowski, gubernia p\u0142ocka, kraj nadwi\u015bla\u0144ski, imperium rosyjskiego<\/p>\n
The names of most of the powiats and gubernias can be gleaned from the 1907 map of the Kingdom of Poland online at the website of the Polish Genealogical Society of America. Note that the pages of the website incorrectly call the major subdivisions wojew\u00f3dztwa while the maps themselves correctly call the major subdivisions gubernii.<\/p>\n
The 1907\u00c2\u00a0General Map of the Kingdom of Poland <\/a>is also available on this blog. The 1907 maps of several of the powiats are reproduced\u00c2\u00a0on this blog and\u00c2\u00a0are linked in the list above.<\/p>\n
The advent of the Great War (World War I) would have great impact on Poland, as Austria and Germany attempted to create a puppet state, but eventually Poland reemerged as an independent nation.<\/p>\n
Other articles in this series:<\/p>\n
Describing Place Names in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569-1795<\/a><\/li>\n Describing Place Names in the Duchy of Warsaw 1807-1815<\/a><\/li>\n Describing Place Names in the Kingdom of Poland 1815-1816<\/a><\/li>\n Describing Place Names in the Kingdom of Poland 1816-1837<\/a><\/li>\n Describing Place Names in the Kingdom of Poland 1837-1844<\/a><\/li>\n Describing Place Names in the Kingdom of Poland 1844-1867<\/a><\/li>\n Copyright \u00a9 2010 by Stephen J. Danko<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On 22 January 1863, a spontaneous protest against mandatory conscription into the Russian army broke out in Poland. The Russian government bitterly suppressed this January Uprising, as it had the November Uprising which began on 29 November 1830. The aftermath of the January Uprising included complete incorporation of the Kingdom of Poland into the Russian Empire, where it was officially called the Vistula Land (Kraj Nadwi\u015bla\u0144ski in Polish). Continue reading