Was one of your ancestors a parish elder? What was a parish board, and what did the parish elder do? This blog post will explore these questions.
The 1866 Parish Self-Government Law
The history of parishes in Latvia is much older, but here we will focus on a relatively short period from 1866 to 1918.
In the 17th–18th centuries, self-governance was primarily organized by manors. While parish boards (Latv. pagasta valde) existed, they were not independent in practice. During this time, parishes were referred to as manor parishes.
In 1866, the 1866 Baltic Governorates Parish Self-Government Law was adopted. This law granted self-governance to peasants who had been freed from serfdom. Manors no longer controlled parish administration.
The Parish Elder
The parish elder (Latv. pagasta vecākais) was elected by the parish assembly, which included all farm owners and tenants. Those without land, such as servants (Latv. kalpi) and free laborers (Latv. vaļinieki), collectively sent one representative for every ten individuals. The parish assembly was held once a year.
The Elder’s Assistants
The 1866 law stipulated that each parish must have a parish elder and 2–4 assistants or supervisors. These officials, known as parish officers, were paid for their work. Parish officers had to be at least 25 years old, but those over 60 years old or in poor health could refuse to serve.
All decisions related to the use of parish money or property could only be made jointly by all officers, requiring a majority agreement. If there were only two assistants, at least one assistant’s approval was required.
The Parish Deputies
The assembly also elected not only officers but also deputies, known as defenders or spokesmen. These deputies were unpaid.
The number of deputies ranged from 8 to 24, depending on the parish population.
Half of the deputies were landowners, while the other half were farmhands and free laborers.
The parish elder convened the deputies as needed, but they had to meet at least once a year. Their tasks included:
Determining the salaries of parish officers.
Deciding how much money to raise, how to collect it, and how it would be spent.
The Parish Scribe
An important member of the parish board was the parish scribe, responsible for managing office work and accounting.
Until 1866, scribes were often of German origin.
Later, scribes were frequently local schoolteachers.
Parish Economy
The parish elder could assign specific administrative sectors to his assistants, such as managing:
The parish granary.
The poorhouse.
The parish chest.
However, the elder remained accountable for the work of his assistants.
The Parish Granary served as a grain reserve for years of poor harvests. Grain was loaned out but had to be repaid immediately after the harvest.
The Parish Chest functioned as the parish treasury, where money and debt documents were kept. Its funds came from revenues and were used for:
Supporting the poor and orphans.
Historically, buying out recruits to exempt them from conscription.
The End of the 1866 Laws
The 1866 laws remained in effect until the establishment of independent Latvia in 1918.
Parish Board Collections in the Archives
The Latvian State Historical Archives preserves documents from parish boards . These can be found in the specific collection of the corresponding parish board. Sometimes, a single parish may have multiple collections from different time periods.
It is important to note that parish names and boundaries have changed over time. If you are researching a specific parish, first review the information about its history available online. This will help you understand under which names the parish board’s collection might be listed.
Sources: Latviešu konversācijas vārdnīca, XV sējums.
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