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The Austrian Census for Galicia
by
Gayle Schlissel Riley

edited by John Movius

© copyright 2003 by Gayle Schlissel Riley and John Movius
Latest Update: 12 February 2003

Read The Latest Update to this Page


(A letter from Gayle Riley of southern California to John Movius on 21 October 1997): As I prepare to write this article, I must be honest with you. I have been overwhelmed by your interst. Not that I am surprised. New information is hard to come by.

Background: I went to a 1997 genealogy convention in Salt Lake City with hopes that one of the experts in attendance would know more then I about this subject. That did not happen. I could not find anyone with the exception of Gordon McDaniel (then of Hoover Insitution, Stanford, California) who knew anything at all about the Austrian census. But I did find great interest in learning more about it.
Webmaster's Note: (At a 1997 Convention, Gayle was encouraged to carry on her research further and write an article. She was advised we will publish whatever she learns about the Austrian Census in our newsletter and on our website. Thus this now the "second draft" article. While Gayle's primary interest is Galicia, our interest also includes the rest of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.)
Now I like playing private investigator. And I think I have tried virtually everything. I have written the National Library of Poland, Archeion, the new Galician Newsletter, etc. But so far no-one has been able to provide me with any imformation.

The Jagiellonian University at Krakow, Poland did advise me they believe these records were in Vienna. But they feel only the "Stats" (linear statistics = summary statistics - just the raw numbers and not the detailed personal and family enumerations that are of interest to genealogists) were retained by the Austrian Empire.

In my quest to write this article, I have also sent letters to: Their reports will be provided to you as they are received (and will be posted here as part of this article). Most importantly, I have asked many persons for help. This includes posting messages on three Usenet newsgroups. However only a very few persons have provided any information.

One lead I received is that there are 10 rolls of international census at the New York Public Library. I have called them at the NY Public Library but so far I have been unable to obtain a full description of those rolls, i.e. the years and the cities. My best suggestion to you is to write and ask.
Webmaster's Note: These appear to only be the "linear stats" mentioned above.
Two Types of Polish Censuses This article is based on the general census in Poland (Spis Mieszkancow or Spis ludnosci).

Please feel free to post this letter on your website and the enclosed census page I obtained from Tarnobrzeg. Here is what I know about the Austrian Census:

Census History: A International Statistical Convention was held in 1853 in Brussels. This was the impetus for the Austrian Empire to develop it's first census in 1857. This article deals only with the Austrian census taken in the "Crownland of Galicia and Lodomeria" (Official name) of Austria that became part of Poland after World War I (between 1918 and 1921).

Census Years for Galicia: A census of Austria was actually taken in the years of 1869, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, etc. At first glance, one might say they look just like the United States census and they do. In my opinion the first census was held on 1857.

1880 Austrian Census of Galicia: My interpretation of this Austrian census is based on the copies of the 1880 Austrian census of Galicia, which I am fortunate to have found for the town of Tarnobrzeg, Galicia where my ancestors lived.

View a sample Census Page: