Q: Polish vital records
Liz Salen
I had the good fortune several months ago to find three birth records
containing one of my family names (BERK) among the civil records of
Przasnysz, Poland from the mid-1800's. A Polish friend of mine was kind
enough to translate them for me. The handwriting was difficult to decipher
but it was clear that they were birth/circumcision records.
The translations raised several questions. I'm hoping some JewishGenners can
shed light on them:
(1) One child (male) was given the name Josek. I've never come across this
name before. Might it be a Polish name? Could it have been a misspelling of
Josef? Any other ideas?
(2) Each record shows that the father lives in Bartniki. Thanks to the
JewishGen shtetl seeker I found that there is a Bartniki very close to
Przasnysz where the records were written. Does anyone know if Bartniki was a
subdivision or "suburb" of Przasnysz?
(3) Why would a man from Bartniki have traveled to Przasnysz to record his
sons' births? Could it be that there was a town clerk of sorts there who was
responsible for vital records of surrounding areas?
(4) The records say that the father Ayzyk (Isaac?) BERK was unable to sign
his name to the document. Was it common in that place and time (1862) for a
man not even to be able to sign his own name?
(5) Each birth records recite the presence of two witnesses. One man was a
witness to all three documents. His name was Mordechai Seborer Shkolnik and
he lived in Przasnysz. Could it be that he was a stranger to my ancestor and
was merely "hired" to witness the documents because he was a local man who
could sign his name?
(6) Here's the tricky one - two of the records are consecutive (#95 and #96)
and seem to show the birth of twin boys to Ayzyk Chaymowicz BERK and Chaya
Sarah of Krukoworow on May 6, 1862. At that time Ayzyk was 33 years old and
Chaya Sarah was 25.
The third record (#204) is dated December 27, 1864 (the date of birth is
unintelligible) and the parents are named as Ayzyk Berk Montsasch, aged 33,
and Chaya Sarah of Usherov, aged 26.
What's going on here? Were there two Ayzyk Berks married to two Chaya
Sarahs? Why is Chaya Sarah's town of origin different on the third record?
Why is "Montsasch" added to Ayzyk's name?
Any ideas will be appreciated.
As an aside, finding the reference to Bartniki was wonderful. You see, I had
always been told that my grandmother came from Przasnysz (she called it
"Prushnitz". But, curiously,
my father often said that he was affectionately called Isaac Bartnik's
ainicle (grandson). Now, after all these years, this meaning of this
mysterious appellation has been revealed!
Liz Salen (ESal...@aol.com)
Brooklyn, NY
Searching for:
SALENSKY/SOLINSKY; Keidan, Lithuania
BERG/BERK; Przasnysz, Poland
HARRIS; New York City
HOFFMAN/VON HOFFMAN; Riga and NYC
RICH; Riga and NYC
APPELBAUM; Poland
KRAININ; Riga and NYC
BERNHARDT; NYC
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Warren Blatt
Liz Salen (ESal...@aol.com) wrote:
> I had the good fortune several months ago to find three birth records
> containing one of my family names (BERK) among the civil records of
> Przasnysz, Poland from the mid-1800's. A Polish friend of mine was
> kind enough to translate them for me. The handwriting was difficult
> to decipher but it was clear that they were birth/circumcision records.
>
> The translations raised several questions. I'm hoping some
> JewishGenners can shed light on them:
First of all, I would suggest that you purchase Judith Frazin's
excellent book on translating Polish vital records, which is
described in the "polandv" InfoFile: <pol...@jewishgen.org>,
or <http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/polandv.html>. It will
give you the basic guidance in translating these records more
effectively.
You might also want to consult the journals of the two SIGs
covering the Kindgom of Poland, "Landsmen", the journal of
the Suwalk-Lomza SIG, or the journal of the Kielce-Radom SIG.
Both groups have JewishGen InfoFiles. Both journals contain
instructive information about Polish records.
See <http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/landsmen.txt>
and <http://www1.jewishgen.org/krsig>, respectively.
Unfortunately, there is currently no SIG which covers Plock
gubernia.
> (1) One child (male) was given the name Josek. I've never come
> across this name before. Might it be a Polish name? Could it
> have been a misspelling of Josef? Any other ideas?
It's the Polish diminutive (nickname) of Josef. Names ending
with "-ek" were common: Abramek, Moszek, Herszek, etc.
> (2) Each record shows that the father lives in Bartniki. Thanks to the
> JewishGen shtetl seeker I found that there is a Bartniki very close to
> Przasnysz where the records were written. Does anyone know if Bartniki
> was a subdivision or "suburb" of Przasnysz?
Neither.
Bartniki is a small village about 3 miles northeast of Prasnysz.
> (3) Why would a man from Bartniki have traveled to Przasnysz to
> record his sons' births? Could it be that there was a town clerk
> of sorts there who was responsible for vital records of surrounding
> areas?
Yes. Vital records were recorded in towns, not villages. Each
town in the Kingdom of Poland had the responsibility for recording
vital records events for the villages in its district, usually about
a 5 to 10 mile radius.
> (4) The records say that the father Ayzyk (Isaac?) BERK was unable
> to sign his name to the document. Was it common in that place and
> time (1862) for a man not even to be able to sign his own name?
Yes, it was not uncommon.
And yes, Ayzyk = Isaac.
> (5) Each birth records recite the presence of two witnesses.
> One man was a witness to all three documents. His name was
> Mordechai Seborer Shkolnik and he lived in Przasnysz. Could it
> be that he was a stranger to my ancestor and was merely "hired"
> to witness the documents because he was a local man who
> could sign his name?
"Shkolnik" was not his last name, it was his occupation.
It means 'synagogue sexton', a Jewish community official.
Starting in the 1820's, most civil registrations in the Kingdom
of Poland were signed by these "professional witnesses" -- you
will see the same two or three men signed nearly all of the civil
registrations in that community.
> (6) Here's the tricky one - two of the records are consecutive
> (#95 and #96) and seem to show the birth of twin boys to Ayzyk
> Chaymowicz BERK and Chaya Sarah of Krukoworow on May 6, 1862.
> At that time Ayzyk was 33 years old and Chaya Sarah was 25.
>
> The third record (#204) is dated December 27, 1864 (the date of
> birth is unintelligible) and the parents are named as Ayzyk Berk
> Montsasch, aged 33, and Chaya Sarah of Usherov, aged 26.
>
> What's going on here? Were there two Ayzyk Berks married to two
> Chaya Sarahs? Why is Chaya Sarah's town of origin different on
> the third record? Why is "Montsasch" added to Ayzyk's name?
It's difficult to say, given your transliteration. I'd have to
see the original registration. You might be mis-reading his
occupation, which normally follows the name and precedes the
age in these registrations.
The phrase following the mother's name is not a town of origin,
it's a patronymic -- her father's name. In the first example,
"Krukowerow" is her maiden surname KRUKOWER (the "-ow" is a plural
genitive suffix). In the second example, "Usherov", is her
father's given name, "Uszer" (Asher). So her father's name
was Uszer KRUKOWER. (P.S. There is a village named Krukowo
21 miles northeast of Prasnysz, which is the likely origin of
the surname).
Also, just because two births were registered consecutively
does NOT mean that the children are twins. Check the birth
dates in the record, not the dates of registration. Often
there were "delayed regsitrations", where a family registered
the births several children at once.
> Liz Salen (ESal...@aol.com)
> Brooklyn, NY
Warren
Warren Blatt
Boston, MA
<wbl...@jewishgen.org?
KromeLion
Josek is a Polish form of Yosef.
The Yiddish name Aizik is a different name from the English name Isaac (a
translation of the Hebrew Yitzchak). I even know of an Aizik the son of
Yitzchak.
Michoel Ronn
(Krom...@aol.com)
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