Hello Lydia, Not only were parts of Poland considered Russia, but between 1772 and 1795, in a series of three partitions, Russia, Prussia and Austria divided up Poland. It ceased to exist as a separate country until 1918. Understanding which part of Poland came under which country is important in knowing how to find records of Polish ancestors. During the period of those divisions and for a number of years afterwards, church records were kept in German in the Prussian and Austrian sections, but in Russian in the region taken by that empire. Best wishes, Doug Nicol Norman D. Nicol, Ph.D. Professional Genealogist/Family Historian Specializing in NE Pennsylvania, England, esp. Cornwall, and Scotland Lydia Kedzierski wrote: >My husband's family is Polish. You might also look for Russia as a birth place. At times, parts of Poland were considered Russia. Some of his ancestors have Russia listed as their birth place, although in their hearts and minds they were 100% Polish! > > >--------------------------------- >Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PALUZERN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > >