* * * * * * * * * * G E N    D O B R Y ! * * * * * * * * * *

Volume 1, No. 4. 31 October 2000. Copyright (c) 2000, PolishRoots(tm), Inc.
Editor: William F. "Fred" Hoffman, E-mail: WFHoffman@prodigy.net

***************************************

CONTENTS

     Welcome
     Sound Logic In Genealogical Research
     Feedback from Readers
     Genpol Shuts Down...Temporarily!
     The Poznan Project: Update
     PGS-Cleveland Ohio Has Moved
     More Useful Web Addresses
     Coming Events
     To be added to or removed from this mailing list...

***************************************

*** WELCOME! - ***
to the fourth issue of GEN DOBRY!, the e-zine of PolishRoots(tm). If you
missed the first issue, you can read it at:

     http://www.polishroots.org/gendobry/GenDobry_vol1_no1.htm

For issues 2 and 3, change the last part of the URL to "_no2.htm" or
"_no3.htm" respectively.

Thanks to all who've taken the time to send me your comments, suggestions,
and contributions. I'm very glad to receive them, because material from
you diminishes the danger that this could become "The Hoffman E-zine" -
which would be too boring for words! If you have something to contribute,
or just something to say, please E-mail me at <WFHoffman@prodigy.net>.

And please remember to check out the Website that brings you Gen Dobry!,
and much more besides:

     http://PolishRoots.org

There's always something new and interesting there. If you can make a
contribution of material or money, you'll be supporting a valuable source
of information for Polish family history researchers!

***************************************

*** SOUND LOGIC IN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH ***

by William F. Hoffman <WFHoffman@prodigy.net>

There was an interesting exchange of notes recently on
PolandBorderSurnames-L@rootsweb.com. It got me to thinking about the role
of logic in genealogical research. Bear with me - I know this sounds like
a real snooze, but I think it raises issues researchers can profit by
pondering.

First, the notes that got me thinking. On October 7 (I believe - I forgot
to save the original note) Bill Tarkulich <bill@iabsi.com> responded to
notes posted on "made-up names," i. e., the prevailing notion that names
of immigrants were often changed by officials at Ellis Island. He pointed
out that immigrants entering the U. S. legally had to have papers which
included their names; furthermore, immigration officials had little
incentive to make up names, and considerable incentive to copy them
accurately. (Obviously with non-legal immigrants all bets are off). Mr.
Tarkulich concluded that these officials probably didn't make a habit of
changing names intentionally; more often such changes resulted from honest
misunderstandings, or things that happened before the immigrant arrived
for processing.

Larry.Wallace@Medscape.Com took issue with this in a note posted October
8th:

>   In response to Bill Tarkulich
>  1. Since when does our government go according to the rules.
>  2. I personally know of a case where the name was
> assigned using the correct first two letters. A ten letter
> name, with several unrecognizable letters became a
> four letter name.
>  3. Does any one believe immigrants were told that they
> could correct mistakes; or that WOPs (i.e. WithOut Papers)
> would, if their welcome was in doubt?

Several more folks posted notes stating that they personally knew of names
that had been changed "at Ellis Island." Mr. Tarkulich replied:

> Every generalization, including those from the INS and the
> suggestion that the government does not go by the rules must
> be taken in its own context. Of course there were those who
> didn't follow the rules. In the course of genealogical
> research I find it imperative to consider all sources and all
> explanation, test the hypothesis and substantiate conclusions
> with corroborative evidence. This is a far superior method for
> reaching conclusions than to sweepingly discount a possibility
> based upon one piece > of data to the contrary.

Eventually the dispute died down, but not really with any satisfactory
resolution.

The thing is, I've heard from experienced researchers who strike me as
knowing their stuff that Mr. Tarkulich is right - the extent to which
names were changed "at Ellis Island" is greatly exaggerated. And yet Mr.
Wallace's comments are certainly pertinent; after all, who's naïve enough
to believe bureaucrats always perform their duties flawlessly?

So who's right? This question isn't easy to answer, but let's ponder it,
and the nature of research and truth.

- RESEARCH AND TRUTH -

One of the main benefits of genealogical research, in my experience, is
that it gives "ordinary folks" a chance to do some real, honest-to-God
research. This helps us learn hard lessons that benefit any thinking
person. They include:

     - the truth is sometimes very hard to determine;
     - you may have to dig for it;
     - you can't believe everything you hear or read;
     - sometimes you never do get a satisfactory answer, you just weigh
the facts and make the best decision you can.

Competent scientists and scholars have these rather unsettling realities
rubbed in their faces every day. Genealogy gives the rest of us a chance
to experience them for ourselves, and that can have a positive effect.
This is a world where we all have to make vital decisions. We can make
better ones if we take into account all the facts available and apply
sound reasoning to them. The ability to discern and weigh the relative
merits of arguments is a valuable tool - not the only tool we need, but a
good one to have at our disposal. Genealogical research can help develop
that ability.

- ELLIS ISLAND -

In regard to the Ellis Island controversy, I think Mr. Tarkulich is right,
in general. Perhaps subsequent experience will change my mind, but his
argument makes sense in light of what I've seen so far.

For most of the 19th century, and on up to the end of World War I, Poles
were ruled by the empires of Germany, Russia, and Austria. Those
governments didn't want people getting away with not paying taxes, dodging
the draft, etc. They tended to be pretty darned unreasonable about any
citizen or official who played fast and loose with their rules. Research
tells us our ancestors had to register with their local district offices,
carry personal IDs and employment papers, and even register for business
trips with the local authorities at home and in the place they traveled
to. The typical legal immigrant from eastern Europe had to have those
papers to travel legally to Bremen or Hamburg or whatever port he wished
to emigrate from. The police authorities in port cities typically required
would-be emigrants to register on arrival. The shipping lines, whose
activities were monitored by the various governments involved, generally
insisted on seeing those papers (and money!) before issuing tickets. Data
from those papers was transferred onto the ships' passenger lists, and
that's what U.S. immigration officials had before them when processing new
arrivals.

In other words, there was a paper trail, which began at home with papers
filled out by clerks using birth and marriage records issued by priests or
officials who often knew the applicants personally and witnessed by
family, friends and neighbors who swore to their accuracy. Data was copied
from those papers onto subsequent ones. So it's reasonable to assume that
IN MOST CASES legal emigrants started with papers that had their names
more or less correct - allowing always for human error, linguistic
confusion, etc. - and that that information followed them the rest of the
way. My experience suggests most changes in names and other data took
place either before the immigrant left home or after he came to the New
World.

So was Mr. Wallace full of it? Hardly. There are always exceptions. Some
officials didn't really care. Some tried to fill out the information
correctly, but made mistakes. Language problems affected the extent to
which clerks and immigrants understood each other. Name spellings were
subject to many factors that could cause inadvertent mistakes. Even if we
assume most immigration officials tried to do things by the book, there's
plenty of room for error along the way. So Mr. Wallace and the others who
said they knew personally of name changes may be absolutely right. But I'm
inclined to think, by and large, the travel papers were filled out as
accurately as possible under the circumstances.

Yet changes unquestionably took place. Did they all happen at Ellis
Island? I think the whole "Ellis Island" image is a kind of crystallized
experience, a short way of summing up all the changes that could take
place along the way. In normal conversation you can't go around citing
every possible eventuality that might pop up in various circumstances. So
we tend to use some place or event as shorthand reference to all the
possibilities involved. "Ellis Island" is such a shorthand (as proved by
the fact that lots of immigrants didn't even come through Ellis Island).
Such shorthand is useful, but must not be relied on too much, or you get
sloppy.

If your research provides evidence of a change, trust it. Just don't
assume "Oh, the name got changed at Ellis Island." Use good logic to help
you focus on the facts and draw sound conclusions.

- LOGIC -

I was lucky because in high school I had a geometry teacher who drilled us
relentlessly in the logic necessary to prove theorems. He made us learn
about various logical fallacies, and I was astonished when I realized
these applied to everyday life, not just geometry! Some errors in logic
people make include: drawing conclusions from insufficient evidence;
relying on anecdotal evidence; succumbing to the "post hoc, ergo propter
hoc" fallacy; and failing to document their facts adequately. Any one of
these can lead you to serious error, and I'll discuss them in a moment.

In school I hated the science classes I had to take, and it wasn't till
after grad school that I began to appreciate the "scientific method," the
underlying approach scientists follow in their work. It's really just a
practical way of using sound logic in a constant effort NOT TO SCREW UP!
We humans are prone to make mistakes. In any research that deals with
facts, the "scientific method" is a common-sense approach to avoiding
error - except the sense involved is not really all that common.

This scientific method is described well in books by Carl Sagan, Isaac
Asimov, and many others. I won't waste time discussing it in detail here.
But the basic ideas are sound and worth emulating. 1) clarify the
hypothesis you want to test; 2) devise the best way you can think of to
test it, going to great lengths to minimize error; and 3) publish your
results, so that others can confirm or refute your findings. In every
instance the guiding principle is to determine the facts as best you can,
and take every precaution you can think of to avoid mistakes - then let
others check your work to see if they spot errors you missed.

The scientific method isn't the answer to every problem. The heart has a
logic of its own. Sometimes you just know in your gut what you have to do,
even if it doesn't really make sense. As "Star Trek" never tired of
preaching at us via Mr. Spock, a life ruled solely by logic, with no room
for emotion or inspiration, can miss out on a lot of what makes life worth
living.

But when it comes to determining FACTS, the scientific method is a useful
tool. Like any tool, it can be misused. A hammer is great for driving
nails, not so great for cutting wood. Logic and the scientific method are
useless when applied to the wrong task. But used properly, they are handy,
even indispensable.

- DRAWING CONCLUSIONS FROM INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE -

In drawing valid conclusions, a sense of proportion is vital. If you're
dealing with actions repeated hundreds of thousands of time, or even
millions of times, a few exceptions don't invalidate general conclusions.
In the specific matter under discussion, we know millions of people passed
through immigration offices in the U. S. and Canada. Given human nature,
surely some officials took, shall we say, a lackadaisical approach to
their duties. If 10 million names were processed, and 99% were handled
accurately, that still leaves 10,000 bogus names. So one may find
thousands of exceptions to the generalization "The officials didn't
usually change names." That doesn't mean the generalization is garbage. It
means you must recognize that it's generally true, but remain ready to
recognize exceptions when you encounter them.

If you roll the dice three times and come up with sixes every time, that's
rather remarkable. It doesn't mean you're going to get a six every time.
Try rolling the dice a hundred times, and you'll see that the odds catch
up with you sooner or later. (Casino owners count on it!) Before you draw
conclusions, make every effort to take into account as much evidence as
possible, so that you don't let a few exceptions skew your results.

- CITING ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE -

This is another mistake that bedevils us. Anecdotal evidence is evidence
supplied by those who are repeating what someone else said. We've all
heard someone say, "Oh, I know a guy who swore that..." Such statements
can be absolutely accurate, but we still have to treat them with great
care precisely because they are so hard to investigate. Over the years
I've heard that Paul McCartney is dead, John F. Kennedy is still alive in
a guarded room on the top floor of Parkland Hospital, Congress is getting
ready to put a tax on E-mails, and so on. It all turned out to be a lot of
rubbish. But not to the people who'd convinced themselves otherwise!

If dear old granny says your family's name was changed at Ellis Island,
don't brand her a two-faced liar. She may be right. But it's also possible
she's recalling things as she remembers them, and her memory has misled
her. Anyone with much research experience soon comes to realize that even
the most vivid memories can be wrong on key details.

The solution? Whenever possible, as far as possible, try to find
corroboration for anecdotal evidence. Keep an open mind, but not so open
your brains fall out!

- POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC -

This Latin phrase just means "After this, therefore because of this." The
principle involved is that just because event B came after event A, that
doesn't necessarily mean event B was caused by event A.

Thus, if your ancestor left his home village the year a cholera epidemic
broke out there, it's natural to conclude that's why he left. That
certainly could be right. On the other hand, maybe cholera had nothing to
do it. Maybe there was no work and he realized his only options were to
emigrate or starve. Maybe he was due to enter the military and didn't want
to spend years of his life in an army serving hated oppressors. Maybe he
had a fight with his family and decided "To hell with this, I'd rather
risk going to America than go on living around these clods." You need to
look for every possible reason before you pick one and cling grimly to it.

- PROPER DOCUMENTATION -

Put your research together in the most accessible form possible, and cite
your sources! Share it if possible! That way, if you did make a mistake,
someone else might be able to point it out. Sometimes the most perplexing
puzzles clear up because another researcher points out an error, and
contradictory facts then fall into place. That should make you happy, not
angry. So document your facts and share them if possible. The very act of
doing so may help you do better work.

Along these lines, Leonard F. Jakubczak sent me a note advising that a new
issue of the _Family History Documentation Guidelines_ has come out. This
handbook, which costs US$10 ($12 outside the U.S.A. and Canada), has
helped researchers approach their work more methodically and format their
results more accurately, whatever software package they use. If you're
interested, you can get more info and order online at this Web address:

     http://www.svpafug.org

- PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE -

I wanted to mention one last expression, "preponderance of evidence." It
sounds like typical lawyer weasel-words, but it represents something very
real and completely practical. If you have much luck with your research,
it's almost certain you'll come across discrepancies in your data. You may
find the same person - unquestionably the same guy - appearing under
different names in the records. You may find the dates in this record
conflict drastically with the dates in that record. You are lucky indeed
if you've encountered no such discrepancies!

What do you do in such cases? Don't gloss over the contradictions; but
don't let them rock your world, either. Note them down, draw the best
conclusions you can, and keep trying to gather more evidence. You may have
to incorporate notes saying so-and-so was "born 1872 (or 1874 according to
_)." If so, that's not the worst thing that can happen! The worst thing is
to waste lots of time and effort on a wild goose chase because you were
too quick to "correct" your facts in a desire to keep everything cut and
dried.

- CONCLUSION -

Discussions of logic and sound methodology aren't particularly sexy, and
I'm sorry if I've bored you to tears. It's just that I've seen too many
instances where researchers ran into terrible snags, and wasted enormous
amounts of effort, because they drew the wrong conclusions from what they
found. Sometimes faulty logic is to blame, and that is correctable.

The whole "Ellis Island" controversy attracted my attention because I'm
constantly being asked about names and their forms. It's only one example
of how important it can be to follow certain logical guidelines. You can
see why it might make a big difference whether or not your ancestor's name
was changed upon entering the country, and why. Perhaps yours was; perhaps
not. The key is not to be lazy or sloppy and just assume it was. Find the
facts, and draw valid conclusions from them. That applies to this question
and many others we encounter.

As I say, sound logic isn't everything in life. But sound logic can help
you get your facts straight and draw correct conclusions from them. They,
in turn, may lead you to the truth. Truth can be hard to find, but it's
worth the effort!

***************************************

*** FEEDBACK FROM READERS ***

Subject: Translation Software
From: Erozyl@aol.com

Referencing the GenDobry newsletter , Volume 1, No. 2. 30 August 2000,
"Polish Translation Software - Wishful Thinking?" We decided to pursue
translation software that was mentioned, but not recommended (obviously),
in the above newsletter. We contacted:

     http://www.languagetranslator.com/software/intran/

and forwarded our questions to them to elicit a comfort level before
forking over the $160. Price was not the issue here but the level of
support and warranty.

Q1: Users interface, English or Polish?
A1: Choose either

Q2: Manual, English or Polish?
A2: Original manual is in Polish; English translation is provided.

Q3: Can it translate a scanned Polish document?
A3: Providing document scanned has no errors.
(Interpretation: OCR's are incapable of scanning foreign languages without
errors. This is normal. Chance of a good translation is at best iffy.)

Q4: Tech support: Florida (seller) or Poland?
A4: Poland by e-mail; response time is iffy if tech support has no English
speaking personnel available at the moment.

Q5: Money back guarantee if product fails to deliver?
A5: If unopened, YES; if opened, NO.

Q6: How can we tell if product works unless we open it. Then we find that
it lacks the translation capability?
A6: Still waiting for a response.

Needless to say, I passed on this. These folks seem to be middlemen. Will
not gamble with $160 if product is not warranted. Any US firm will at
least warranty their product.
____________

Subject: SS Pernambuco, and Grabskis in Brazil

Fabio Xavier <fxavier@apo.cainet.com.br> wrote:

> This is a great site!!  Can any other listers please help
> me? Does anyone know if the SS Pernambuco, of the Hamburg
> America Line, departed Hamburg, for Brazil on or about March,
> 1891. I am trying to find a  passenger list for a ship called
> the "PERNAMBUCO". She was the second of three sisters built
> by Reiherstiegwerft, Hamburg: PETROPOLIS (1882 yd338),
> PERNAMBUCO (1883 yd 342) and LISSABON (1883 yd 345) for
> Hamburg-Sud's Germany/Brazil/Argentina service...
> My g-grandfather, Adam GRABSKI,b1868, in Poland, married
> Felischesi, b 1874, in Poland. They married 05 Feb 1890
> in Poland. This family immigrated to Brazil about 1891.
> Family tradition (which is often in error) indicates they
> came through the port of VITORIA - ES, BRAZIL. In my research
> I have found several GRABSKI with similar names, but none that
> match my family. Any information will be helpful.
____________

Subject: Mangled names

Lou Ruffus <louisruffus@altavista.com> wrote:

> I'm a member of LGGS and on the mailing list for Gen
> Dobry. I thought I would send an example of mangled
> Polish names. My gfather's name was William Pulaski
> (Americanized). 1900 census reads: Walenty Pokolskie.
> 1910 census reads: William Pokalsky. His tombstone
> reads: Walenty Puchalski. If you want to use this as
> an example, go ahead.
____________

Subject: Samples of Vital Records in Latin, Polish, and Russian

Norman J. Pieniazek <normanp@mindspring.com> wrote:

> If you are looking for examples of birth, marriage, and
> death records in Latin, Polish, and Russian please visit
> my family site:

     http://www.pieniazek.com

> I have over 1,000 scans of such records
> pertaining to my family history.  Not all are still on the
> Website and not all are translated. I hope to finish the
> project in about six months. The oldest document is from
> 1713 (a list of members of the Brotherhood of the Holy
> Rosary) and the oldest vital record is a marriage certificate
> from 1719, a marriage record of Krzysztof Rendaszka and
> Zofia Pieniazek.

***************************************

*** GENPOL SHUTS DOWN...TEMPORARILY! ***

On October 30 Kaj Malachowski <GENPOLMN@plearn.edu.pl>, manager of the
list Genpol, sent out a note informing subscribers that the server used by
Genpol is giving up the ghost. It has had Y2K problems since the start of
the year, and Genpol has sputtered badly since then. Now it's about to be
shut down.

But that doesn't appear to be the end of the story. Today (October 31) Kaj
announced plans to revive Genpol on a more reliable server, connected with
the University of Torun. He advises members to watch for announcements on
other lists if and when Genpol returns. Of course, if that happens, we
will tell you about it in "Gen Dobry!"

For now the word is, Genpol is shutting down, but will move to a new
server. There may be some inconvenience during that process, but it
appears Genpol will live on! Keep your eyes open for more details.

***************************************

*** THE POZNAN PROJECT: UPDATE ***

Lukasz Bielecki <bielecki@rose.man.poznan.pl> sent a note that read, in
part:

> Our project is slowly being launched. I ask everybody who
> have this possibility to start right now. I remind that the
> original description is still available under the URL:

     http://www.polishroots.com/posen_indexing.htm

> It gives the general idea of what should be done. It will
> probably soon be replaced with a more detailed file.

> Please promote the project in any place you think it might
> get new volunteers. Please give my email as the contact.

> We have already received several declarations of
> volunteering for indexing particular parishes. The
> list of those who declared is available under:

     http://www.man.poznan.pl/~bielecki/proj_volunt.txt

> Please refer to it before you sign up for a parish.

> If you had notified me your interest for a particular
> parish and you are not on the list, PLEASE WRITE TO ME
> AGAIN!! It might have been sent on the early stage of
> the project or the declaration was not unambiguous for me.
> Please also remember to write if you want to take the
> Catholic parish, the Lutheran community or maybe both.
> Transcribing civil records might remain the task to be
> done by the end of the project, unless there are no
> other records available for a town.

> The file containing the very detailed information on all
> parishes (RC and LU) within the area of the Poznan
> province, about what marriage records exist for the
> 1835-84 period (which is to be transcribed) and on what
> LDS films they are available at:

     http://www.man.poznan.pl/~bielecki/mrecords.htm

>and some comments on the format:

     http://www.man.poznan.pl/~bielecki/mrecords_expl.txt

***************************************

*** PGS-CLEVELAND OHIO HAS MOVED ***

On October 7 Nancy Gorzkowski Parisi <parisi@mindspring.com> posted a note
on PolandBorderSurnames-L@rootsweb.com with the following information:

The Polish Genealogical Society of Cleveland has moved from St. John
Cantius in the Tremont Area to: St. Mary's PNC Church, 5375 Broadview
Road, Parma, Ohio. The meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month
from September to June. They start at 7:30 p.m. and usually end at 9:20.

***************************************

*** MORE USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES ***

     http://www.kartenmeister.com/
James Birkholz, list manager of Posen-L@rootsweb.com, mentioned this site
on his list. It is a searchable database compiled by Uwe Krickhahn with
52,621 locations and over 14,000 name changes. All locations are EAST of
the Oder and Neisse rivers and are based on the borders as of spring,
1918.

     http://www.delphi.com/iarelative/start/
On PolandBorderSurnames-L@rootsweb.com Bill Tarkulich <bill@iabsi.com>
said there is a very knowledgeable and helpful Czech and Slovak discussion
group at this address.

    http://members.nbci.com/makushome/atpc/index.html
This is a site for Polish genealogy and culture, and features a forum,
photo library, news from Poland, music, resource links and index and more.

     http://golem.umcs.lublin.pl/users/ppikuta/lessons/lessidx.htm
Thaddeus Ciechanowski mentioned this site on Poland-Roots-L@rootsweb.com,
responding to a request for a Polish language online instruction site.

     http://www.ambient.com.pl/gminy/en/index.htm
Pat Smith <pita@WESTOL.COM> mentioned this on Genpol, describing it as an
online atlas of cities, towns and villages. Topics include towns &
villages, general information, history and tourism. She adds that it has
highlighted cities that you can click on to get a brief history of the
towns.

     http://www.ipipan.waw.pl/~klopotek/church/rcc_in_p.htm
Pat Smith also mentioned this site on Genpol. She says it includes 108
martyrs of WW II (priests, nuns & lay persons) murdered by the Gestapo,
some with biographies. There are also pages with 16 categories which
include the archdioceses of Poland, some with photos of the churches and
sanctuaries, Catholic traditions, the Mass in Poland, etc.

     http://www.calle.com/world/poland/
Pat Smith also mentioned this site on Genpol, saying it's super if you are
trying to find a town/village in Poland. It Includes "google links" if
there are web sites for that particular town or city.

     http://neris.mii.lt/heritage/metrika/metrika.htm
On LithuanianGenealogy@egroups.com, Richard Vitkauskas <tooketu@epix.net>
posted the URL of this site, which deals with the Lituanica Metrica, a
collection of documents issued by the state office of the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania in the 15th-18th centuries.

***************************************

*** COMING EVENTS ***

NOVEMBER 12, 2000

The Polish Genealogical Society of America will hold a meeting on November
12th at the Social Hall of the Polish Museum of America, 984 N. Milwaukee
Ave., Chicago IL. The speaker will be Ms. Julie Satzik, Assistant Research
Archivist at the Archdiocese of Chicago Archives and Records Center,
located at 711 West Monroe, Chicago. She will speak about what kind of
records are available at the Archdiocese of Chicago Archives, what kind of
access to expect, and the protocol for obtaining records. There will be an
election of officers and directors at the meeting.

NOVEMBER 11-12, 2000

The Polish Highlander Festival will be held at the Dom Podhalan
[Highlander Hall], 4808 S. Archer Ave., Chicago. We have it on excellent
authority that this festival is always a lot of fun, with dancing, music,
and lots of _goral_ stories.

***************************************

To be added to or removed from this mailing list, go to this address:

     http://www.PolishRoots.org/GenDobry_signup.htm 

YOU MAY REPRINT articles from GEN DOBRY!, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint is
used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following
notice appears at the end of the article: Written by [author's name,
e-mail address, and URL, if given]. Previously published by GEN DOBRY!,
Vol. 1, No. 4, 31 October 2000. PolishRoots(tm): http://PolishRoots.org/.

************************************************************ 

Copyright 2000, PolishRoots, Inc. All rights reserved.