Our Databases

Index created from Assumption Parish records. Includes dates of birth and baptism, parents’ names and places of birth, and godparents. Digital images available on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292804).

Index created from Assumption Parish records. Includes bride and groom names, parents’ names, date of marriage, and witnesses. Digital images available on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292804).

Index created from Corpus Christi Parish records. Includes dates of birth and baptism, as well as parents’ names. To obtain copies of records found in the index, use the church records request form.

Index created from Corpus Christi Parish records. Includes bride and groom names, places of birth, parents’ names, date of marriage, and witnesses. To obtain copies of records found in the index, use the church records request form.

Index created from Corpus Christi Parish records. Includes date of death, date of burial, age at death, and parents’ name(s) or spouse. To obtain copies of records found in the index, use the church records request form.

Baptism records transcribed from ledgers stored at Holy Mother of the Rosary Cathedral office (6298 Broadway, Lancaster, NY). Includes dates of birth and baptism, parents’ names, and godparents. Many baptismal records were rewritten and may contain errors; original books for 1895–1910 baptisms are lost.

Index to church marriage records from 1916–1949, and marriages extracted from Erie County marriage records that predate the surviving parish registers (1896–1907 completed; indexing of Erie County records is an ongoing project). Records may be viewed in the Grosvenor Room at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Church records stored at Holy Mother of the Rosary Cathedral office (6298 Broadway, Lancaster, NY).

Burials at Holy Mother of the Rosary Polish National Catholic Cemetery in Cheektowaga, NY. Includes burials extracted from parish records and gravestone inscriptions. Parish funeral records do not begin until 1926; information prior to 1926 is very incomplete.

Index created from St. Adalbert Parish records. Includes dates of birth and baptism, parents’ names and places of birth, and godparents. Digital images 1889–1916 on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292862; baptisms start on image no. 35). To obtain copies of records after 1916, use the church records request form.

Index created from St. Adalbert Parish records. Includes bride and groom names, places of birth, parents’ names, date of marriage, and witnesses. Digital images 1887–1910 on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292862; marriages start on image no. 1028). To obtain copies of records after 1910, use the church records request form.

Index transcribed from St. Adalbert Parish death records or extracted from United German & French Cemetery burial records (for 1886–1889, when the earliest parish burial records were lost; those records are held at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library). May include dates of death and burial, ages, parents’ names, and cause of death. Digital images 1889–1907 on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292862; burials start on image no. 1227). Note: parish death records from mid-1907 through 1919 are missing. To obtain copies of records from 1916–1923, use the church records request form.

Burials in St. Adalbert Cemetery, Dale Road, Cheektowaga, NY, extracted from duplicate records at St. Adalbert Parish and other sources. Additional information for 1890–1942 entries may be found on FindAGrave.
About this collection

Entries transcribed from the Parish Census (Status Animarum) for St. Adalbert Parish. May include address, ages, and places of birth for all members of the family. Copies available by contacting PGSNYS at information@pgsnys.org.

List of individuals who received the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Adalbert Parish in 1892. Includes names, ages, and confirmation names. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292862; confirmations start on image no. 995).

Names of children who made their First Communion at St. Adalbert Parish, extracted from the Dziennik dla Wszystkich newspaper. No additional information is included. Not all years are available.

Names of founders and early parishioners extracted from the St. Adalbert Parish jubilee album. No additional information is provided.

Indexed from the Album pamiątkowe złotego jubileuszu parafii św. Wojciecha w Buffalo, New York 1886–1936 (Souvenir Album of the Golden Jubilee of St. Adalbert Parish, 1886–1936), a 282-page Polish-language commemorative book published by the parish jubilee committee and printed by The Broadway Press, Buffalo, 1937. Entries provide genealogical details about St. Adalbert parish families.

Index created from St. Casimir Parish records. Includes dates of birth and baptism, parents’ names and places of birth, and godparents; may also include place of origin in Poland. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292862).

Index created from St. Casimir Parish records. May include date of marriage, parents’ names of bride and groom, birthplaces, and names of witnesses. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292862; marriage records start on image 180 of 428).

Index created from St. Casimir Parish records. May include date of death, date and place of burial, age at death, cause of death, parents’ names, and place of birth. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292862; deaths start on image 195 of 428).

Index created from St. John Kanty Parish records. Includes dates of birth and baptism, parents’ names and places of birth, and godparents. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292857; baptisms start on image no. 7).

Index created from St. John Kanty Parish records. Includes bride and groom names, place of birth of each, parents’ names, date of marriage, and witnesses. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292857; marriages start on image no. 396).

Index created from St. John Kanty Parish records. Includes dates of death and burial, place of birth, age, and parents’ names. Index is partially completed and includes deaths through 1977 (as of June 2022). Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292857; deaths start on image no. 502).

Index created from Sts. Peter and Paul Parish records. Typically includes dates of birth and baptism, parents’ names, and godparents. Digital images available on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292859; baptisms start on image 5 of 122).

Index created from Sts. Peter and Paul Parish records. May include date of marriage, names and ages of bride and groom, birthplaces, parents’ names, and witnesses. Records are in Latin and Polish. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292859; marriages start on image 36 of 122).

Index created from St. Stanislaus Parish records. Includes dates of birth and baptism, parents’ names and places of birth, and godparents. Digital images 1874–1903 on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292864; baptisms start on image no. 186). To obtain copies of records after 1903, use the church records request form.

Index created from St. Stanislaus Parish records. Includes bride and groom names, places of birth, parents’ names, date of marriage, and witnesses. Digital images 1873–1917 on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292864; marriages start on image no. 1308). To obtain copies of records after 1917, use the church records request form.

Index created from St. Stanislaus Parish death records. May include dates of death and burial, ages, parents’ names, and cause of death. Digital images 1874–1917 on FamilySearch (FHL film nos. 1292864 and 1292865; deaths 1874–1893 start on image no. 1608). To obtain copies of records after 1917, use the church records request form.

St. Stanislaus Parish published a historical account of its first 50 years — and of the broader Polish community in Buffalo — written and coordinated by Mieczysław Haiman, a journalist then working in Buffalo who went on to become the founder and first curator of the Polish Museum of America in Chicago and a co-founder of the Polish American Historical Association. The album is a rich source of historical facts, and its patron advertisements provide biographical details of Polish-American families: names, birthplaces, spouses, children, and organizational affiliations.
About this collection

Index created from Transfiguration Parish records. Includes dates of birth and baptism, parents’ names and places of birth, and godparents. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292859; baptisms start on image no. 7).

Index created from Transfiguration Parish records. Includes bride and groom names, places of birth, parents’ names, date of marriage, and witnesses. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292859; marriages start on image no. 312).

Index created from Transfiguration Parish records. May include dates of death and burial, ages, parents’ names, and cause of death. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 1292859; deaths start on image no. 469).

Dziennik dla Wszystkich [Everybody’s Daily], Buffalo’s principal Polish-language daily newspaper (1911–1957), is an invaluable resource for genealogists researching Western New York Polish ancestors. PGSNYS began indexing the Dziennik in 1999 under the leadership of volunteer Ed Kornowski, and the index has since grown to over 51,000 entries — covering not just death notices but also birth, marriage, and engagement announcements. Years 1911–1941 are fully indexed (with the exception of September–December 1913). Full issues are searchable and downloadable at NYS Historic Newspapers.
About this collection

Index to death notices in Polak w Ameryce [Pole in America], a Polish-language newspaper covering an earlier period than the Dziennik. The database was initiated by former PGSNYS President David Newman, working in the Fronczak Room at SUNY Buffalo State. Issues are searchable and downloadable at NYS Historic Newspapers.

Index to Polak Amerykański [American Pole], a Polish-language daily published in Buffalo. 250 issues from March–December 1909 are available online via NYS Historic Newspapers.

Index to Przegląd Tygodniowy [Weekly Review], a Polish-language newspaper published in Niagara Falls, NY. First printed in 1920, it covered news for the approximately 25,000 Poles in Niagara Falls, Tonawanda, Lockport, and Medina, and was published weekly from 1921 to 1931. The newspaper has been indexed from July 1928 (mistakenly labeled as June in the original) through July 17, 1929. Issues are searchable and downloadable at NYS Historic Newspapers.

Album pamiątkowe i przewodnik handlowy osady polskiej w mieście Buffalo [Souvenir album and commercial guide of the Polish settlements in the City of Buffalo, and neighboring villages in the State of New York] was written and published by Wincenty Smolczyński and his partner Henryk Łokański in 1906, with a supplemental Album printed three years later. Since entries were paid advertisements, the information was supplied by the advertisers themselves — in most cases including place and date of birth, name of spouse and year of marriage, names of children, and organizations and parish the family belonged to. Database entries include surname, given name, date and place of birth (if provided), and page number.
About this collection

Index to deaths that appeared in the Warta, a newspaper published by the Holy Mother of the Rosary Independent Polish Church. Entries are from 1900–1905. Issues are searchable and downloadable at NYS Historic Newspapers.

An ongoing PGSNYS collection of funerary prayer cards (obrazki) indexed by surname. The database contains genealogically relevant information about decedents drawn from cards spanning multiple parishes and communities.
About this collection

Prepared by David Newman and Keith Kaszubik, this database contains transcribed gravestone inscriptions for those with recognizable Polish surnames from cemeteries in Southern Erie County, including St. Mary’s Cemetery (East Eden), St. John the Baptist (Boston), Saints Peter & Paul (Hamburg), Nativity (Orchard Park), St. Martin’s (Langford), St. Vincent de Paul (North Evans), and others.

An estimated 20,000 Polish persons answered the call to fight for freedom and the opportunity to regain Poland’s independence during World War I in the Polish Army in France (Armia Polska we Francji). They were from among the Polish immigrants who came to America to fight with France. The Polish Army in France was also called “Haller’s Army,” after the general who commanded it, or the “Blue Army,” for the blue uniforms the soldiers wore. Digital images of the registration records are available on FamilySearch.

Records transcribed from the WWI Buffalo draft lottery, all dated July 1, 1918. Entries include the registrant’s name and address. A useful resource for locating a Polish ancestor who was of draft age in Buffalo during World War I.

Transcribed by Kasia Dane (2017), this database was derived from the naturalization index created by the Erie County Clerk’s office for final naturalization papers dated 1895–1906. Indexed entries include the petitioner’s name, year of petition, volume number, and page number, which can be used to obtain the original naturalization papers. Digital images on FamilySearch (FHL film no. 979256). Original records are stored at the Erie County Courthouse, Buffalo, NY.

A useful resource for locating Polish ancestors living in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood in 1929 — the year the Great Depression began. Includes each voter’s surname, given name, house number, street address, and district. Surnames are spelled exactly as they appear in the original source material.

The International Institute of Niagara Falls was established in 1919 under the auspices of the YWCA to assist women immigrants assimilate in their new environment — including help with naturalization and obtaining housing. It separated from the YWCA in 1933, became the International Center and Girls Club, and was discontinued in 1970. Intake forms are indexed by surname; each case file may include date of birth, marriage dates, maiden name, children’s birthdates, and more. Records have been digitized and are available at NYHeritage.

A listing of Polish midwives practicing in Buffalo gathered from city directories and other historical sources. A useful resource for researchers whose ancestors were delivered by a midwife or whose female ancestors may have worked as one.
About this collection

A listing of Polish and Polish-American undertakers and funeral directors gathered from memorial cards (obrazki), parish anniversary albums (pamiętniki), and microfilmed copies of the Dziennik dla Wszystkich and Polak w Ameryce newspapers. The dates listed do not indicate the year the business was established, but rather the date by which the owner was already doing business. Family relationships show that many of these families intermarried.

A valuable resource for tracing Polish ancestors who attended parochial schools in Western New York. Includes surname, given name, school attended, and year of eighth grade graduation, spanning 1916–1970. Schools represented include Our Mother of Good Counsel, Queen of Peace, St. Adalbert’s, St. Barbara’s (Lackawanna), St. Casimir’s, St. Luke’s, St. Mary’s (East Eden), SS. Peter & Paul (Hamburg), St. Stanislaus, and Transfiguration.

St. John Kanty Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania, operated from 1912 to 1980 under the Vincentian Fathers. Established to provide a college preparatory education for the sons of Polish immigrant families, the school graduated 1,214 young men during its 68-year history. This database contains the names of St. John Kanty Prep School alumni, and where available, their graduation years. It is the only database in the PGSNYS collection from outside Western New York.

List of over 400 children recorded as inmates of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Orphan’s Home (2600 William Street, Cheektowaga, NY) in the 1930 federal census. Founded in 1882 by the Felician Sisters of St. Stanislaus Parish to care for orphaned children of Buffalo’s Polish community.

View the census list (PDF)

This is a standalone reference document and is not included in the searchable databases.