Chapter 4 · Life in America · Polish-American parishes
Polish parishes in America were run by Polish priests who spelled names correctly and cared where people came from. Their registers are among the most accurate American sources for a Polish village, and among the least used.
Marriage records and investigations
Before a wedding the priest needed each spouse’s baptismal certificate, often written for from Poland. Marriage registers and the pre-marriage investigation files therefore frequently record the parish of baptism of both bride and groom, in Polish or Latin, with the correct spelling.
Baptisms and godparents
Godparents were very often relatives or neighbours from the same village. When the parents’ own records are vague, the godparents’ origins can point to the parish.
Jubilee books
Parishes published jubilee books for their twenty-fifth or fiftieth anniversaries, listing founding families, societies and benefactors, sometimes with their places of origin. They are found in parish offices, diocesan archives and Polish-American libraries.
Where the registers are
Active parishes keep their own registers. Closed and merged parishes, common in cities like Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit and Pittsburgh, usually passed their books to the diocesan or archdiocesan archive. Access rules vary by diocese.
How we can help
Ancestral Village Identification requests the relevant parish records from American parishes and dioceses, alongside the civil records.