"The 1897 census had an ambitious intent: to document the entire poulation of the Empire and describe its associated characteristics on a single day.  This [odnodnevnaya perepsis] would collect data on age, gender, literacy, nationality, place of birth, etc., for all residents irrespective of their social estate or tax status. . . . Varying census forms were printed for what were considered the five principle groups of persons.  Form [A] was for peasant households that resided on agricultural property; Form [B] was for landed estates; Form [V] for urban populations; [another form] for the military population; and [the final form] for boarding students, clergy, wards of charitable organizations, etc." (from a prepublication copy of Tom Edlund's article "The 1897 Imperial Census of Russia" in FEEFHS Quarterly. volume VII, numbers 3-4, Salt Lake City, Utah.)

All individuals were listed together, but nationality (including "Jewish") was identified. Preliminary planning for the 1897 Census of the Russian Empire was started in 1895. It was the first census that listed the street address where families lived, the town where they were registered, and, most important of all, where individuals were born. The individual's trade or occupation was frequently listed. It is recent enough that most people can find a connection to it. Originally, two copies of the census were recorded. One copy went to a local or regional archive and the second copy was stored in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia at the time.

After the 1917 Russian revolution, the Communists took a new census. A decision was then made to destroy the 1897 census and the copy in St. Petersburg no longer exists. Many copies stored in a local or regional archive have been destroyed over the years due to wars, fires, floods, etc. However,  parts of the original 1897 census still exist in the archives in Vilnius, Lithuania; Riga, Latvia; Grodno, Belarus; various archives in the Ukraine; and possibly elsewhere.

In 1999, Howard Margol finalized an agreement with the Lithuanian State Historical Archive in Vilnius for the Archives to translate the information from the 1897 Lithuania census records into English, key the data into a computer, and send the data to him on diskettes. The entire project was completed in February 2000. Howard asked Peggy Freedman to help co-ordinate the data collected for the project. Howard donated the entire translation of existing Jewish records  from the 1897 Lithuania census to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The FHL re-produced the census data on microfiche. The title on the microfiche is, "1897 census extracts from Lithuania".*  The  Family History Library catalogue description is: Filming: 459 exposures on 10 microfiches (105 mm.), GS6001828.  You can order in a copy of the microfiche through your local Family History Center (Church of the Latter Day Saints). All one should need to do is provide the film number 6001828.

To fund the project, donors were asked to donate $25 if they wanted to receive the census data for one town or, a minimum of $100 for an entire district. The money was collected through a fund that Howard, and his wife Esther, founded in 1994 to help the elderly, needy Jews in Lithuania and Latvia. Other than payment to the archive, 100% of the donations received for the project have been sent to the soup kitchen for elderly, needy Jews in Vilnius, Lithuania. Thus far, almost $4,000.00 has been sent to the soup kitchen from the project proceeds. Our heartfelt thanks to all those who made a donation. Your help and cooperation not only made the project possible but you also helped the elderly, needy Jews in Lithuania. If you would like to receive a copy of the translation of the 1897 Census, you can still receive it by e-mail.  Just send a check made payable to the American Fund For Lithuanian-Latvian Jews, Inc. to: American Fund for Lithuanian-Latvian Jews, Inc. % Howard Margol 4430 Mt. Paran Parkway NW Atlanta, GA 30327-3747. Please include a note naming the town(s) and district(s) in which you are interested. The American Fund is an approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible in the USA.

Inventory of the Translation of the 1897 Census of Lithuania

The following disclaimers are necessary:
This arrangement is not part of any other organized purchase of Lithuanian records.
There is no guarantee that your ancestors will be on the list.
No research of individual families is permitted.
1897 Lithuania census data obtained through a donation to the American Fund, or from the
    FHL microfiche, is strictly for personal use only.

*The reason why the FHL titled the census as "extracts from Lithuania" is simply this. When the 1897 census of the Russian Empire was recorded, it was not done separately by religion. The census form contained a column in which the person's religion was recorded. When Howard originally made an agreement with the Lithuanian Historical Archive in Vilnius, they agreed to extract only the names of the Jews and translate the data into English. In other words, the data on the microfiche contains only Jews and not the entire census. Therefore, it is an extract and not the complete census.
 

Web site updated by Peggy Mosinger Freedman September 28, 2001