Metadata: Treasury Chamber of Kaunas Governorate
Collection
- Country:
- Lithuania
- Holding institution:
- Lithuanian State Historical Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas
- Postal address:
- Mindaugo 8, 03107 Vilnius
- Phone number:
- +370 5 219 5320
- Email:
- istorijos.archyvas@lvia.lt
- Reference number:
- 1262
- Title:
- Treasury Chamber of Kaunas Governorate
- Title (official language):
- Kauno gubernijos iždo rūmai
- Creator/accumulator:
- Treasury Chamber of Kaunas Governorate
- Date(s):
- 1843/1916
- Language:
- Russian
- Extent:
- 195 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection comprises materials of the Treasury Chamber of the Kaunas (Kovno) Governorate and includes: revision lists (reviskie skazki) of the population in different districts; minutes of meetings of the Panevėžys (Ponevezh) Revision Commission in 1857-1858 that set rules for compiling the revision lists and verified their authenticity; terms and conditions for the lease of taverns in 1859-1863; books of money income and expenditure for the Novoaleksandrovsk district; journals of real estate tax revenues for the Vilkomir (Ukmerge) and Rossieny districts; and various financial documents of private individuals.
According to the official data for 1847, 81,505 Jews lived in the Kaunas Governorate, and therefore materials in the collection contain numerous records relating to Jewish life. A large part of these records are revision lists which reflect the population “fiscal census” conducted for the purpose of accounting for taxation and for conscription into the army. The revision lists indicated the name, patronymic and surname of the head of the family, his age and estate. It also indicated the names and age of his sons, his wife and his daughters. Sometimes the lists may also indicate people’s marital status – widows or a second marriage. The individuals once listed were considered living and subject to taxation until the next revision took place, which was sometimes decades later. However, it is important to note that revisions did not cover the many Jews who avoided the census. For instance, the later censuses of the 19th century revealed that the tenth revision of 1858 omitted 50,000 Jews in the Kovno Governorate.
This collection contains information on Jews according to the tenth revision for the Vilkomir district (inventory 1, file 16). Revision lists of the Jewish community of Zheimeli in the Panevėžys district in 1850 (inventory 1, file 163), of the Panevėžys Jewish community in 1853 (inventory 1, file 172), and of Jewish communities in the Rossieny district (inventory 1, file 127) are also included in the collection. In addition, the collection contains private financial documents of Jews relating to their economic life. These mainly consist of promissory notes. For example, a file dated 1870 deals with complaints from various people against Leiba Blazhib for not honouring promissory notes provided by him (inventory 1, file 128).
- Archival history:
- Information about the history of the collection is not available.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Treasury Chamber of the Kaunas Governorate was established in 1843 following the formation of the Kaunas Governorate in 1842. It was in charge of tax and arrears collection, local state treasuries in districts of the governorate, monitored activities of banks and other financial institutions, activities of industrial and commercial enterprises, and carried out audit censuses. In particular, the chamber accounted for state spending in the governorate and reported on them to the Ministry of Finance in St. Petersburg. In order to determine the tax revenues, the Treasury Chamber organised population censuses. The chamber was also in charge of some sources of state incomes such as alcohol tax-farming and the leasing of state property. Accordingly, it organised public tenders for establishing contracts with merchants and concluded contracts with suppliers. In 1918 the Soviet government abolished the Treasury Chamber of the Kaunas Governorate.
- Access points: locations:
- Ponevezh
- Rossieny District
- Vilkomir district
- Zheimeli
- Access points: persons/families:
- Blazhib, Leiba
- Subject terms:
- Census
- Financial matters
- Vital records
- Vital records--Marriage records
- System of arrangement:
- The collection consists of one inventory that is arranged in thematic-chronological order.
- Finding aids:
- Detailed inventories are available on the website of the Lithuanian Chief Archivist Service.
- Links to finding aids:
- https://eais-pub.archyvai.lt/eais/faces/pages/forms/search/F3001.jspx
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Ilya Vovshin, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2020
