One of the things that I enjoy most about researching my ancestry is learning the local history of my ancestors. The majority of the time the history is from a place or country that is completely foreign to me. The local history can give insight to the life and times of my ancestors. The difficult […]

Navigating through various Polish Diocese websites will generally be similar for one and all. I’d like to give a basic navigation overview,  specifically for the Pelpliń Diocese website in this post. Below is a screenshot of the Pelpliń Diocese homepage.    Diecezja Pelplińska. (2013). Strona główna. Retrieved February 22, 2014, from http://diecezja-pelplin.pl/   In the […]

Hello, Below is my translation of the Słownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego entry for the Kociewiacy. This is an entry about a specific ethnic group that resides in the area surrounding Starogard Gdański, near Gdańsk. Any errors in the translations are completely my own. Kociewiacy, A distinct Polish-Pomeranian tribe in West Prussia, inhabiting the area called […]

Administrative Districts of Prussian Poland German Empire (1905-1918) In 1905, the German Empire created a new Department in the Province of East Prussia.The Department of Allenstein was formed from the lower kreise (districts) of the Departments of  Königsberg and Gumbinnen. Please note that the Provinces of Posen and West Prussia would stay unchanged until 1918. 1905-1918 […]

Administrative Districts of Prussian Poland  German Empire (1878-1904) The German Empire underwent changes within their provincial administrative districts and re-emerged with the following changes that are listed below. The major change was the division of the Prussian Province into the Provinces of West Prussia and East Prussia. The Department of Danzig expanded to include Kreis […]

Administrative Districts of Prussian Poland  German Empire (1871-1877) In 1871, the unification of the German Empire took place. The German Empire would be ruled by a German Emperor, in 1871 by Wilhelm I. The unification of Germany occurred after the following wars were won by the United Prussian States: the Second War of Schleswig in […]

Administrative Districts of Prussian Poland  United Prussian States (1824-1870) In 1824, the Provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia were merged into the Province of Prussia. The Grand Duchy of Posen would lose its pseudo independent status of Grand Duchy in 1848. In 1849, the Grand Duchy of Posen became the Province of Posen.  1824-1870 […]

Administrative Districts of Prussian Poland  Kingdom of Prussia After the Napoleonic Wars (1815-1824) The Congress of Vienna (1814) marked the defeat of Napoleon and his French forces. The victors would divided the territories that were gained by the French during the Napoleonic Wars. The Duchy of Warsaw was divided between the Russian Empire (Kongress Kingdom of […]

Administrative Districts of Prussian Poland Kingdom of Prussia During the Napoleonic Wars (1807-1815) During the War of the Fourth Coalition (1806-1807), the Prussian Empire joined forces with Russia, Saxony, the United Kingdom, and Sweden with hopes to defeat the French Empire. In August 1806, the Prussian Empire launched attacks against the French forces located in […]

Administrative Districts of Prussian Poland Kingdom of Prussia after the Third Partition of Poland (1795-1806) An uprising occurred throughout Poland in 1794. The uprising was led by General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, among other notable leaders. The uprising had some initial success, but Poland ultimately lost the war against Prussia and Russia. In 1795, the remainder of Poland […]