Vital records of the Jewish Community of Gniewkowo

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Archiwum Państwowe w Bydgoszczy Oddział w Inowrocławiu

Title (official language):: Akta metrykalne żydowskiej gminy wyznaniowej w Gniewkowie (pow. Inowrocław)

Scope and content:: The collection consists of material produced by the Jewish community in Gniewkowo (Inowrocław county), including registration records of Jews from Gniewkowo from 1815-1847:

Geburts-Register des Synagogen-Sprengels zu Stadt Gniewkowo, 1815–1847 (ref. no. 7/111/0 / - / 1) – birth register;

Trau- und Scheidungs-Register des Synagogen-Sprengels der Stadt Gniewkowo, 1825–1847 (ref. no. 7/111/0 / - / 2) – marriage and divorce register;

Sterbe-Register des Synagogen-Sprengels der Stadt Gniewkowo, 1816–1846 (ref. no. 7/111/0 / - / 3) – death register.

The records in the collection contain the following information:

Birth records - name and surname of the parents, occupation of the father, name of the infant, date of birth, names and signatures of witnesses.

Marriage records - name and surname of the bride and groom, their places of origin, the groom's profession, information about witnesses, their origin and profession, date of the marriage.

Death records - name and surname of the deceased, date of death, age and, optionally, cause of death.

Archival history:: The materials were produced and collected by the Jewish community in Gniewkowo as documentation registering the demographics of the Jewish community for the needs of local authorities. Record books were kept in the municipal archives. The community in Gniewkowo was dissolved in 1933 and incorporated into the Jewish community in Inowrocław. It is highly probable that the materials were sent to the newly created (1953) County State Archives in Inowrocław, which since 1983 has been a branch of the State Archives in Bydgoszcz.

Administrative/biographical history:: From 1794 to 1812 the magistrates were responsible for registering the births, marriages, and deaths of Jews. The registration was conducted mainly for identification purposes. Pursuant to the edict of 11 March 1812 on the civil status of Jews, they were divided into two groups: naturalised and non-naturalised. The first group consisted of holders of a specific property status, with permanent occupation and place of residence and determined to adopt an inherited surname. These persons were entered on the list of state "citizens". From 1812, these Jews were obliged to register births, marriages, divorces and deaths with the city police authorities or with the landrat (district authorities) in the case of village inhabitants. This civil registration was limited to naturalised Jews only. On 30 March 1847, a decree was issued on the civil certification of births, marriages and deaths of Jews and religious dissidents. Pursuant to the Act of 23 July 1847 on the registration of the marital status of Jews, these functions were taken over by district courts (from 1849). Universal civil registration was introduced in Prussia in 1874. Its management was entrusted to special civil status officials appointed by the administrative authorities.

Subject terms:: Jewish community records; Marriage and divorce; Vital records; Vital records--Birth records; Vital records--Death records; Vital records--Marriage records

System of arrangement:: The collection consists of 3 sub-series:

1. Geburts-Register des Synagogen-Sprengels der Stadt Gniewkowo, 1815–1847 (ref. no. 7/111/0 / - / 1) - the sub-series contains 41 pages;

2. Trau- und Scheidungs-Register des Synagogen-Sprengels der Stadt Gniewkowo, 1825–1847 (ref. no. 7/111/0 / - / 2) - the sub-series contains 48 pages;

3. Sterbe-Register des Synagogen-Sprengels der Stadt Gniewkowo, 1816–1846 (ref. no. 7/111/0 / - / 3) - the sub-series contains 33 pages.

Finding aids:: A printed inventory is available in the Archive. A digital catalogue entry also exists.

Links to finding aids:: https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/strona_glowna

Yerusha Network member:: The Taube Department of Jewish Studies of the University of Wrocław

Author of the description:: Mikołaj Wojciechowski, Taube Department of Jewish Studies, University of Wrocław