How do I search for records?

Persons with experience in using genealogical search engines should be able to figure out how to use JRI-Poland’s new search engine by entering information in the search engine,  following the instructions posted there, and experimenting.

Less experienced users may benefit from the detailed instructions posted below.

How do I start? 

• Click “LOG IN” in the upper right corner, enter your email address and password, and click “SIGN IN”

How do I search? 

• • Choose a type of search – Basic or Advanced – by clicking the applicable button.
  • Next, enter surnames, given names, and/or towns into the boxes as indicated, and click “SEARCH”
  • Both a Basic search and an Advanced search allow you, by typing a name or town in a box, to:
    • Search a surname and/or given name
    • Search by town, along with a surname and/or given name
    • Search for a second person by surname and/or given name
  • An Advanced search also allows you, by selecting the pulldown menu under Surname or Given Name to choose one of four methods for how closely search names and given names must match the entered names:
    • Exact Match – Search for the exact spelling of the name you wish to have displayed  
    • Phonetic – Search using a Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex search, which converts the phonetic sound of the name or town into a numeric code (Basic searches use Phonetic for surname matches)
    • Sounds Like – Search using a Beider-Morse Phonetic Matching system, which is an alternative to Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex with fewer false hits (Basic searches use Sounds Like for given name matches)
    • Fuzzy – Search for names or towns which are different from your request by one letter or one pair of transposed letters
• Click “Reset Search” to start a new search.

How can I review and sort my search results? 

• Your search results will appear on a new page, which includes your search results and ways to limit your search results. 
• Your search results appear in a list at the bottom of the page.
  • The search results include the following information, where available:
    • Surname
    • Given name(s)
    • Town of registration
    • Year of registration
    • Record type (typically, birth, marriage, or death)
    • Akt number (the number of the record in the register for the year)
    • Scroll down or click the arrow at the bottom of the page to see more search results (100 results appear per page). 
  • You can sort each column by clicking on the up or down arrow next to the heading of each column.  
• By default, the search results identify only persons who are the subject of the record.
  • Choose the “Additional people” slider to include information concerning other persons who are identified on the record.

How can I use the map on the search results page? 

• The map on the search results page identifies the number of records in the search results, by geographic subregion (gubernia, voivodeship, or province).
• Click the plus or minus sign in the lower right corner of the map to make the map larger or smaller.
• Hover over the circled number to see the name of the subregion (gubernia, voivodeship, or province).
• Click on the circled number for a gubernia, voivodeship, or province to see each town in the search result.
  • Clicking on the circled number narrows the search results to those for the selected gubernia, voivodeship, or province).
  • The circled number for each town identifies the number of records in the search results for that town.
• Hover over the circled number to see the name of the town.
• Click on the circled number for the town to limit the search results to those for the selected town.

How can I use filters to refine my search results? 

• Enter dates in the “From” and “To” boxes under “Year of Register” to limit the time frame on the record search.
  • Because this search reports results by year of registration rather than year of event, you may want to expand the date range to take into account the possibility of late-recorded births or marriages.
• Check the boxes under record type and click “Apply Filters” to include one or more specific types of records in the search results (and to exclude the record types that are not checked).
• Check one or more boxes under “Surname” to see records with that surname or surnames (see “How do I search?,” above, for information on choosing a type of search).
• Click the arrow to the right of the “Surname” box to see the “Other Surname” search box, and check one or more boxes under “Other Surname” to see records that include the second surname in addition to the first surname.
• You can combine various filters by adding a date range and by checking boxes under “Record Type,” “Surname,” or “Other Surname.”
• To remove any limitations as to record types and surnames, (1) click “Clear Filters,” (2) click “clear” to the right of “Record Type,” “Surnames,” or “Other Surnames,” or (3) click the “x” on the box for each type of record.