Translating Polish Records

Hooray! You may have some Polish records of your ancestors; however, you now face a new set of challenges:

• The records are not in English. They are written in German, Polish, Latin, or Russian.
• They are handwritten using German Script and are hard to read.
• Name variations are confusing, so you do not recognize your ancestors in the registers.
• They are in the narrative format, which magnifies the difficulty of handwriting and language.

Don’t be discouraged. Be patient! Overcoming these problems is possible.

Language

My mind initially froze when I saw my first record in a foreign language. In the past, I consistently failed when trying to learn a foreign language. However, after the first document, I learned to work through my lack of language skills and find my ancestors in the records.

My translating toolbox includes the following:

• Genealogical Word Lists for keywords
• Online translator apps for words not in word lists
• People Translators for complex documents

The wordlists and online apps will not give me a complete translation but will get me close.

Genealogical Word Lists

Most modern translation tools, such as dictionaries and online apps, will not accurately translate genealogical records because languages have changed. Many terms have fallen out of use. Luckily, genealogists have compiled word lists or glossaries of genealogical terms to overcome these changes. A few online apps also include older terms and definitions. These lists help overcome some of the problems of lack of language skills.

As I browse online digital images of the records, I usually have a list of keywords such as dates, occupations, and relationships available to help me select images pertaining to my ancestors. First, I verified the name on the document and then used the word list to decipher the date and other keywords to confirm details.

I recommend the online source for word lists in FamilySearch’s “Wiki” pages. Other online sources exist, but FamilySearch includes more words and is easy to access and use. Exceptions to this recommendation are the specialty lists compiled for occupations, sickness, and causes of death.

FamilySearch’s word lists will include the terms in the native language (German, Polish, Latin, or Russian) arranged alphabetically, with English equivalents following the terms. In addition, the general section of the list includes terms commonly found in genealogical documents.  These glossaries of terms list the numbers, months, and days of the week in the general list and separate sections before the general list.

You can find genealogical word lists on the FamilySearch.org Wiki pages by typing “word lists” into the wiki search box and pressing “enter.” Then, select the correct language from the resulting list.

More Books

Here are a few books that also give a glossary of genealogical terms and translation aids.

In Their Words: German, Polish, Latin, and Russian – A Genealogist’s Translation Guide by William F. Hoffman and Jonathan D. Shea – There are four books in the series with a version for Polish, Latin, Russian, and German. The book offers another excellent resource for a word glossary of genealogical terms used in older documents. The books are available on Amazon.com and the Polish Genealogical Society of America’s online bookstore, PGSA.org.

A translation guide to 19th-century Polish-language civil-registration documents: including birth, marriage, and death records by Judith R. Frazin – This book is a great tool when deciphering the Polish narrative records in the Russian Partition. Each type of record has a standard format to record the information, and the author breaks down each section into phrases. As a result, her book offers translations of most of the phrases you will encounter in the narrative records.

Online apps such as Google Translate (https://translate.google.com/) and Poltran (http://www.poltran.com) do a reasonable job of getting to the meaning of the sentence or giving a quick meaning to the passage. However, it is not perfect.

Reading Old Script

The information in the Polish records will be handwritten using Old German gothic handwriting. The formation of the letters is very different from the handwriting you recognize in today’s writing. An example are the letters f, h, j, s, and t, which differ only by the location of the loop or no loop. Download a chart from FamilySearch’s wiki pages comparing the letters of Roman Type and Old German Type and the letters of Old German Script and become familiar with their differences. Also, exchange similar letters when trying to decipher difficult words.

It is crucial you attempt to decipher as much of the record as you can. Your efforts will improve your comfort zone with Polish records, produce better research, and reduce the number of false family records analyzed.

Using Translators

The above books and word lists can partially translate most columnar formatted documents and many words in narrative records. However, some documents, such as narratives describing complicated marriage or death records, may have important family information and should be translated by someone knowledgeable in the appropriate language. In these situations, I request translations from someone familiar with the language who can give me the complete translation.

Before committing to any translator, ask questions about their experience and use recommendations from other genealogists. You also need to discuss the method of payment with your translator. It is essential if they are in Europe because transferring funds overseas may include costly fees. I have used PayPal and Western Union in the past.

One source I recently found for translating records is the Facebook Group, Genealogical Translations. Once you join the group, you can post one document daily for someone to translate. You will usually receive a translation within 48 hours. This service is free and performed by group members, so be respectful.

Here are two more resources where you can find a Polish translator:

• Polish Genealogical Society of America (PGSA) – List of Polish Translators – http://www.pgsa.org/Research/ (These translators are for a fee)
• PolandGenWeb – Translation and Research Aids: http://sites.rootsweb.com/~polwgw/trans.html

Final comments on translating Polish records

1. Try to decipher as much of the record as you can
2. Learn to read Old German Script and recognize how the letters differ from today’s writing.
3. Use genealogical word lists to translate your records partially.
4. Ask for help if you find a problematic passage or phase.
5. Translate as much to the records as possible because even small comments can enrich your family history when combined with facts from other documents.