Metadata: Notarial Archives of the Kaunas Regional Court
Collection
- Country:
- Lithuania
- Holding institution:
- Lithuanian State Historical Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas
- Postal address:
- Mindaugo g. 8, 03107 Vilnius
- Phone number:
- +370 5 219 5320
- Email:
- istorijos.archyvas@lvia.lt
- Reference number:
- 1245
- Title:
- Notarial Archives of the Kaunas Regional Court
- Title (official language):
- Kauno apygardos teismo notarinis archyvas
- Creator/accumulator:
- Notarial Archives of the Kovno (Kaunas) Regional Court
- Date(s):
- 1842/1939
- Language:
- Russian
- Extent:
- 200 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
- The collection contains materials of the Notarial Archives of the Kovno Regional Court including law books, numerous contracts, and personal notarised documents. The notaries supervised and notarised commercial transactions, wills, inheritance documents and donations in Kovno province. Notaries weren't supposed to be lawyers and in accordance with the order of the Minister of Justice in June 1887, Jews could not be notaries. Many of the materials in the collection refer to the economic life of Jews in Kovno, Ponevezh (Panevėžys), Vilkomir (Ukmerge) Keidany (Kėdainiai), Vilki and other cities and towns in Kovna province. For example, files from 1894, 1895, 1898 and 1908, which include notarial bans on the use of lands and houses by their owners in Ponevezh, mention Abram Abelsky from Kovno (inventory 1, files 71, 72, 77, 103). Similar papers from 1902 relate to the property of Khaim Berlin (inventory 1, file 86). Part of the bans were issued based on requests following the death of property owners. This is in case there was any dispute regarding the property. Other files contain permissions issued by the chief notary of the archives for landowners and owners of houses in different places. For example, a file from 1914 mentions an authorisation granted to Khaia Farber from Ponevezh (inventory 1, file 128). Names of Jews appear in the numerous notary books. For example, many names of Jews, including Eliash Blokh, Lev Abelman, Izrail’ Abramopvich, Rosalia Abramson, Girsh Brener and Maks Blumental, are found in the notary books of Kovno for 1898 (inventory 1, file 4). A notary book from Vilkomir in 1914 also includes records on Maks Blumental (inventory 1, file 46). Especially important are records pertaining to the relationship between Jews and non-Jews. For example, a file from 1914-1915 deals with a contract to rent a part of a house in Kovno that was concluded between Etta Shtern and Kazimir Sventetsky (inventory 1, file 21). A file from 1842-1882 includes bills of sales, promissory notes (weksels), contracts for a lease of land, documents on granting of loans and interest payments. It includes records relating the activities of Itsik Gershoinovich in Kovno (inventory 1, file 1). The notaries did not receive salaries from the state, but for each notarisation they were given the right to charge a fee pending the voluntary agreement of their clients.
- Archival history:
- In 1961 the Panevėžys branch of the Central State Archives of the Lithuanian SSR transferred the collection to the Central State Historical Archive of the Lithuanian SSR in Vilnius (current Lithuanian State Historical Archives).
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Notarial Archives of the Kovno (Kaunas) Regional Court were established on November 1883. The archives issued copies of documents and were responsible for the security of these documents. The regional court was the highest court in the province which heard criminal and civil cases in the first instance. The court consisted of the chairman, his deputy and the judges who were all appointed by the Tsar on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice. On November 1917 the Notarial Archives of the Kovno Regional Court were closed following a decision by the Council of People's Commissars.
- Subject terms:
- Financial matters
- Legal records
- Real estate
- System of arrangement:
- The collection consists of two inventories. The index of names and places of the first inventory indicates the old numbers of the files.
- Finding aids:
- A detailed inventory is available on the website on the Lithuanian Chief Archivist Service.
- 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