General.
I recently became aware that some census lists of great interest to Lithuanian genealogy researchers are posted online at FamilySearch.org, but they are not yet identified sufficiently to know the content of the records.
These include the following:
- 1795 , 1795-1844 , 1811 , 1816 and 1834-1841 revision lists of Vilnius gubernia.
- 1843-1916 revision lists of Kaunas gubernia.
The revision lists are very important for genealogical purposes because of the information they provide about the members of each household. They were essentially census lists used primarily for levying taxes.
Revision Lists of Vilnius Gubernia.
Vilnius gubernia covered a large area of present-day eastern Lithuania and western Belarus.
Parishes in Lithuania. The 1795 revision lists of Vilnius gubernia include the following parishes in Lithuania: Adutiškis, Alanta, Alytus, Antakalnis, Aukštadvaris, Bagaslaviškis, Butrimonys, Čiobiškis, Darsūniškis, Daugai, Daugėliškis, Dieveniškės, Dubingiai, Dūkštos, Eišiškės, Gegužinė, Gelvonai, Giedraičiai, Glitiškės, Inturkė, Jieznas, Joniškis, Kaltanėnai, Kalviai, Karkažiškė, Karvys, Kernavė, Kietaviškės, Kuktiškės, Lavoriškės, Lyduokiai, Maišiagala, Medininkai, Merkinė, Mielagėnai, Molėtai, Musninkai, Nemajūnai, Nemenčinė, Nemunaitis, Norviliškės, Onuškis, Pabradė, Palūšė, Paparčiai, Pašaminė, Pavoverė, Pivašiūnai, Punia, Semeliškės, Senieji Trakai, Skiemonys, Stakliškės, Strūnaitis, Sudervė, Šalčininkai, Šešuoliai, Širvintos, Šumskas, Šv. Juozapas ir Nikodemas [in Vilnius], Švenčionys, Šv. Steponas [in city of Vilnius], Trakai, Turgėliai, Tverečius, Upninkai, Užuguostis, Valkininkai, Verkiai, Videniškiai, Žasliai, Žiežmariai.
(These names are the present-day names in the Lithuanian language.)
Parishes in Belarus. The 1795 revision lists of Vilnius gubernia include the following parishes in Belarus (excluding Dzisna and Vileyka uyezds): Aborak, Ashmyany, Astravyets, Beniakoni, Bielahruda, Bystrytsa, Daniushevo, Derevnoe, Dudy, 'El'nya', Geraneny, Germanishki, Gervyaty, Gorod'ki, Gravzhishki, Gudogai, Halshany, Ishchalna, Ivianets, Iwye, Kamai, Kamelishki, Kamen', Khowkhla, Kliushchany, Konstantinovo, Kreva, Lebedevo, Lida, Lipnishki, Liudzk, Losk, Lyntupy, Markava, Mikhalishki, Myadzyel, Nacha, Nalibaki, Narach, Nestanishki, Novy Dvor, Ossova, Pershai, Rachkava, Razhanka, Smarhon', Soly, Subotniki, Survilishki, Svir, Svirany, Traby, Tsudenishki, Valozhyn, Varnyany, Vasilishki, Vaverka, Vishnyeva, Voistom, Zabalats', Zabrez'ye, Zadev'e, Zhaludok, 'Zheliadsk_', Zhodishki, Zhuprany, Zhyrmuny.
(These names are the present-day names in the Belarusian language, transliterated from the Cyrillic alphabet.)
'Parish'. Although the word "parish" appears in the titles of many revision lists, these lists were civil documents and not church documents. Separate revision lists were prepared for each piece of owned land (estates (including villages on the estate), farmsteads, etc.) and the revision list usually (but not always) identified the parish in which the land was located. The revision lists for a 'parish' was simply a collection of the various revision lists of the land parcels located in the boundaries of that parish.
Language. The early revision lists are in handwritten Polish, and later lists are in handwritten Russian.
Search Aids for Lithuanian Genealogy. I am currently preparing a 'locator guide' document (in MS Word) with the objective of listing the titles/ subjects of the online books of revision lists and identification of the parishes that are include. This is a work-in-progress, and will be changing, but contains a significant amount of information. You can view it on Google Docs, and can also download it or print it if you wish. The link to the current version is:
Locator Guide to Online Revision List Books of Vilnius Gubernia 2020-07-26
I am also preparing a companion document that helps to locate the places named in the revision list books. A link to this draft (on Google Docs) is:
Locator Guide for Lithuania Parishes in Online Revision Lists of Vilnius Gubernia 2020-07-26
Revision Lists of Kaunas Gubernia.
Kaunas gubernia covered a very large area of Lithuania.
I am planning to work on a similar 'locator guide' for the revision lists of Kaunas gubernia, and will post it here when a draft is available.