Map of Churches

This link is a map from the 1500’s that might be of interest to you before you explore the information on this page.

Where to Start Searching for your Family Information

It is very fortunate that Catholic Church record indexes (and some civil record indexes) from the Pomorskie Voivodeship are available online through the Pomeranian Genealogical Association (PTG), which has recently been updated – it is much easier to use compared to the previous version.

This database does not include the actual records, but it does record the book, page, and record # of the original documents, which can be helpful in obtaining more details from other sources. This database is free to everyone and you do not need to sign in. Below is a brief summary of how to use the website.

Open the website (see the cover page in the screenshot below).

Click on the Flag in the upper right corner to switch from Polish to English.
Click on the Databases tab and open the Vital Records tab.

Vital Records Tab

Sometimes you will see more than one spouse for a person. It was not uncommon for men and women to die young (due to disease, accidents, difficult childbirth, etc.).

If a couple had other children at home when a spouse died, the surviving spouse sometimes married again quickly (men needed someone to care for their children if the wife died, women needed a husband to bring in family income if the husband died).

Once you get a feel for the Baptisms, Marriage and Death records in this database, you will see how you can scroll between them to piece together what happened to a family. Then, you can use other sources to confirm the relationships and gather more information.

Click on the Database-Descriptions tab, then click on the Parishes and Registry Offices dropdown

Parishes and Registry Offices Tab

This takes you to the churches and what records by year are available for each church.

• You can see the list of all the specific parish records and civil records that are available in the whole database.

• You can see the range of years the information has been collected for births, marriages and deaths for each specific church. You can also see gaps in years that are missing (church fires and wars are speculated to be possible reasons).

Click on the village name you are looking for and you will find the name of the church, address, the Deanery and Diocese, and a map.

This is an index, so you do not get an actual record or the full date through this website. However, you can find the year that a person was baptized, married or buried. Then you can look for the actual record through other sources, knowing that you have it narrowed down to a year.

PGS-MN Newsletter Articles about the PTG Database Index

Newsletter issue	Page	Title/Author
Winter 2022	10-15	How I Found my Korcal Family’s Village of Zblewo by Kay Freund
Spring 2023	7-11	Continuing the Search for my Korcal Ancestors by Kay Freund

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Where to Search Next

FamilySearch

Because you can find many copies of actual records online, it is an efficient and practical way to obtain information from church records. A good place to start might be FamilySearch, since it is free (but you do need to register). Some FamilySearch records are available online from home, while others can only be obtained from an LDS Affiliate location (the Hoffman Research Library is an affiliate) or at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

• Begin searching names and Baptism, Marriage and Death records of the family members you found on the PTG Index Website. In some cases, you can find a copy of the actual record directly through FamilySearch. If your ancestors are from the Pomeranian Voivodeship, you are very fortunate as many of the church records for that area are directly available through the FamilySearch website.
• Type in the name or you can start with a town with a church that you found on the PTG index site (eg. Brusy) and you may be able to find the church records that way.

State Archives (Szukaj w Archiwach)

The Archives is designed to make the collections of many state and other institutions archives available on the Internet. It is free, but you need to establish an account. It contains many photos and documents.

Obtaining Church Records of the Pelplin and Gdansk Dioceses

Kashubian church records are maintained in either the Pelpin or the Gdansk Diocese. There are a few ways that you can access the records:

In Poland

If you are traveling to Poland and want to find church records there, you can make an appointment with the Diocese (or sometimes directly through the church) but that can be very time-consuming and can keep you from exploring the churches, cemeteries and villages of your ancestors.

Another option from Home

If the actual church records are not available through FamilySearch, or if traveling to Poland to search records is not possible, you might consider obtaining specific church CDs from Stanley Frymark. Stanley lives in Leśno, Chojnice in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. He has worked with the Gdansk Diocese and the Pelplin Diocese and has copies of the actual church records from those dioceses on CDs.

A listing of the church records that Stanley has access to from the Pelplin and Gdansk Dioceses can be found in the buttons below.

Once you have determined which CDs you would like to purchase, send an email to Stanley with your request at: stanleyfrymark@yahoo.com

CDs are $15 each (Stanley accepts U.S. checks for payment). There are many records on each CD.
Checks should be mailed to him at:
Stanislaw Frymark
Kaszuba 11
89-634 Kaszuba
Poland

Kashubian Churches – Photos by Paula Colwell in 2018