Kaunas District Research Group

The Kaunas District Research Group (KDRG) of LitvakSIG is chartered with obtaining records from all shtetls (towns) in the Kaunas Uyezd (district) of Kaunas Gubernia (provine) of Lithuania. This includes the city of Kaunas itself as well as records that pertain to the entire Uyezd.

The group translates all available records for all towns within the district: 19th century and early 20th century Revision Lists and Other Census Lists and Tax Lists from the Kaunas Regional Archives (KRA) and the Lithuanian Archives in Vilnius (LVIA) and vital records.

We access records, translate and database them, and distribute the data to our contributors. We distribute the data to our contributors in Excel format via our contributors-only website http://donors.litvaksig.org/site/kaunas. As part of LitvakSIG’s overall mission our group data is made publicly available in the LitvakSIG All Lithuania Database (ALD) 18 months from when members first receive access but only via the web interface and not in Excel format.

Since the Kaunas DRG was established, we have spent over $50,000 on acquiring, translating and distributing data (records) for Kaunas Uyezd and the shtetls in Kaunas Uyezd – that’s over 220,000 individual records (lines of data) and individual people! Our project is ongoing and progress is based on our available funds. There are ample available records for Kaunas District but we are constrained in our progress by funds at present.

Our contributors are people who are researching ancestors from any shtetl in Kaunas Uyezd who have joined together to make the most of our shared resources. Since many of our ancestors lived in one place but worked, were officially registered, owned property or assets, or had relatives in other places nearby, it is only by researching on the broader geographic scale of the uyezd that one can be sure where a family was really "from" and that one has searched thoroughly.

Main shtetls in Kaunas Uyezd are:

Ariogala, Babtai, Cekiske, Dotnuva, Grinskiskis, Jonava, Josvainiai, Juodoniai, Kaunas (city), Kedainiai, Krakes, Labunava, Rumsiskes, Sanciai, Seredzius, Slapaberze, Surviliskis, Vandziogala, Veliuona, Vilijampole, Vilkija and Zeimai.

We hope you will consider becoming a qualifying contributor at the $100 level or more to the Kaunas District Research Group. A $100 contribution provides early access for a 5 year cycle, based on calendar years. Instructions on how to contribute may be found here If you have questions, you may contact the Group Coordinator Ralph Salinger.