Czernowitz District Records


The following was extracted and edited from an email exchange about the 'Czernowitz District Records' between Bruce Reisch and Peter Elbau.

Bruce Reisch wrote to the list:  I ordered seven microfilms from the Family History Library to look up family records from Sadagora.  Two of these films included the 1901 to 1929 birth records for what's listed as Czernowitz "District". The question here is "what regions were included in the Czernowitz District?"  I looked through several years of these records and, in most cases, the town of residence is included.

Microfilm 2395740  item 3 Czernowitz district birth records, 1901-1923 (only a very few 1901 records)
Microfilm 2395784 item 2 Czernowitz district birth records, 1923-1929
 
Peter Elbau located the official listing of towns comprising the 'district' according to a 1900 census (see scanned image below). In this listing, the towns are separated under the headings of "Ortsgemeinden" and "Gutsgebiet".  So Peter was asked if he could explain the difference between these two terms and his answer follows below:

The difference between Ortsgemeinde and Gutsgebiet is a bit difficult to explain.  An Ortsgemeinde is a normal place with a local government. A Gutsgebiet has an owner who is charged with administering public rights and duties. The two may overlap in some cases.

Normally in a Gutsgebiet, one would find very few people living there. For instance: in the Ortsgemeinde Lukawitza there were 1620 inhabitants (54 jews).  In the Gutsgebiet Lukawitza, 35 inhabitiants - (10 jews) + 21 horses + 130 cows + 6 pigs. You might think of a Gutsgebiet as a  self-governing land holding or ranch.

Extract from the "Gemeindelexikon der Bukowina" (derived from the census 1900):