Dear lkaspick1

[Note: names are preferable in my opinion when asking for help]

In America we have used censuses since 1790 which improved over time with the amount of information gathered; however, in Europe and specifically in Germany, they did not unify until much later and prior to that time few censuses were taken and if so, they were more regional. There were numerous German states or duchies, etc.

In the US, the states did not generally all keep vital statistics until after 1900. In Germany, such info was gathered locally first through the churches and then through the local government (Standesamt) starting in 1874 but these were not submitted to a national database but kept locally.

Thus, one must know where to look, i.e. which town to find the records. Frustrating for sure when trying to find immigrant ancestors but understandable once you see how their system developed.

Now, for this specific question about available census reports in Poland (Prussia or Silesia), you would be better asking this question on one of those message boards as they may have more specific info or experts on those areas who can answer.

Bob Behnen