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

Volume 2, No. 7. 31 July 2001. Copyright (c) 2001, PolishRoots(tm), Inc.
Editor: William F. "Fred" Hoffman, E-mail: WFHoffman@prodigy.net

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

CONTENTS

   Welcome
   More Data on Haller's Army
   Special Letter to All Readers of _Gen Dobry!_
   Letters to the Editor
   Upcoming Events
   More Useful Web Addresses
   You May Reprint articles...

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

*** WELCOME! ***
to the latest issue of GEN DOBRY!, the e-zine of PolishRoots(tm). If you missed previous issues, you can find them at http://PolishRoots.org.

Remember to visit PolishRoots.org, the Website that brings you _Gen Dobry!_. It includes a link to the database listing Polish National Alliance lodges at this address:

     http://PolishRoots.org/pna_lodges.asp

Also, please take a moment to look at the special letter in this issue to all _Gen Dobry!_ readers from PolishRoots Webmaster Don Szumowski.

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

*** MORE DATA ON HALLER'S ARMY ***

As the PolishRoots site continues to grow, it can be
difficult to keep up with the additions. But there is a
particular set of resources recently made available that
shed light on a topic fascinating both from a historical and
a genealogical point of view: Haller's Army, so called
because it was under the leadership of General Jozef Haller.
It was also known as the Polish Army in France, and as the
Blue Army because of the color of their French-issued blue
uniforms.

This army is fascinating because it consisted largely of
Polish immigrants to North America who wanted desperately to
fight their ancient German foes in World War I, but could
not join the American army because the United States was
officially neutral -- in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson ran
for reelection based largely on his success at keeping
America out of the war. Eventually, of course, America did
enter the war, but long before then Poles had grown tired of
waiting. They wanted a shot at the Hun!

Where there's a will, there's a way, and Poles found their
chance with a new army formed and trained under the auspices
of the Canadian Army. Regiments were recruited in North
America and formed at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Other
regiments were made up of Polish recruits from Poland as
well as recruited Polish prisoners-of-war in Italy, France,
Ukraine, and Belarus. They were all under the command of
General Haller in France.

But fate played a rather cruel trick on them: by the time
they got organized and trained and actually got over to
Europe, the United States had finally joined the war and the
Germans were on their last legs. The members of Haller's
Army did serve in various battles against the Germans, and
suffered their share of casualties. They did not, however,
have a chance to play the pivotal role they had hoped for in
crushing the enemy that had tormented them for centuries.

Things have a way of balancing out, however, and Haller's
Army got a chance to fight, and fight valiantly, against
another ancient foe of Poland: Russia. The Czar was history,
but the Russians remained, now under Communist rule.
Haller's Army fought in numerous battles on behalf of the
newly reborn Republic of Poland against the Red Army/
Bolsheviks during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. So the
way things worked out, during the period 1918-1921 they got
their licks in against both their historical enemies on the
western and eastern borders of Poland.

* Haller's Army Databases *

It might not be readily apparent why information on the
members of Haller's Army is valuable to genealogists. But
you must understand there was enormous support in America's
Polish communities for the war effort, and large numbers of
young and middle-aged Poles (approximately 32,000) tried to
enlist in the Polish Army in France / aka Haller's Army. Of
this total, roughly 23,000 were accepted, trained and
shipped to France aboard U.S., Canadian, and Russian ships.
If your ancestors or their relatives served in the Army --
and a great many of them did -- the surviving records
connected with their recruitment and service may give
detailed information you can't get anywhere else!

Dr. Paul S. Valasek has long been particularly interested in
Haller's Army, and has two new databases on the PolishRoots
site. From the home page you can click on Databases, and on
the Database page scroll down to Haller's Army/Polish Army
in France to choose from the databases. Or you can go
directly to the pages at these addresses:

Polish Army in France Casualty List:
   http://PolishRoots.org/hallers_casualty.asp

Haller's Army - Polish Regimental Casualty Database
   http://PolishRoots.org/hallers_casualty2.asp

These new features join two other databases devoted to
Haller's Army:

Haller's Army - Virtuti Militari Awards
   http://PolishRoots.org/hallers_virtuti.asp

Polish Aviators 1918-1920
   http://PolishRoots.org/polish_aviators.htm

There's no point going into more detail on the records here,
because you can visit those Web pages and learn all you need
to know.

Dr. Valasek would love to hear from anyone who has more info
to add, or anyone who is trying to learn more about
relatives who served in the Army. He will be giving a
lecture on Polish genealogy in general at the FGS Convention
in September, September 12-15, and will be mentioning the
databases there. He will also be lecturing specifically on
Haller's Army at the FEEFHS Convention in Milwaukee, October
5 - 7, 2001. [Info on both these conferences is given in the
list of upcoming events, below]. Or you can contact him by
e-mail at <Paval56@aol.com>.

In short, if you've never looked into this possible source
of information, you need to visit the Database page of
PolishRoots right away:

     http://PolishRoots.org/database.htm

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

*** SPECIAL LETTER TO ALL READERS OF _GEN DOBRY!_ ***

From Don Szumowski, Webmaster of PolishRoots.org

Cyber-space. The final frontier. PolishRoots has boldly gone
into this frontier to bring valuable research materials to
the Internet. But running this enterprise isn't cheap. The
costs to operate and improve PolishRoots are increasing
rapidly. As a non-profit organization, this sharp escalation
in costs is cutting into our ability to maintain existing
service levels and allow us to focus on projects that will
bring more materials to the Internet for your use.

I know each of you enjoys receiving and reading _Gen Dobry!_
each month and wants to see it continue.  This, again, is an
expense PolishRoots carries, and we need the community's
support to keep it going financially.

PolishRoots has introduced you to many exciting materials
that have helped you move your research forward, such as
Galician Vital Records availability and PNA Lodge listings.
There is much more that we at PolishRoots want to do about
indexing PNA records, presenting Poznan school records, and
implementing other, even more impressive projects -- but
doing so requires your support as a volunteer or financial
supporter for these projects.

How can you support PolishRoots? Here are your options:

   1) Make a contribution online through Helping.Org. Go to
the PolishRoots Website at http://PolishRoots.org/join.htm,
and click on the Helping.Org button. You will be transferred
to Helping.Org, where you can make your tax-deductible
donation by Credit Card.
   2) Send us a check in the mail. Go to the PolishRoots web
site, http://PolishRoots.org/join.htm, and click on a
Donation Form link. Fill in the form and mail it along with
your check to the listed mailing address.
   3) Volunteer your time. Go to the PolishRoots web site
http://PolishRoots.org/projects.htm, and select a project
that interests you.

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

*** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ***

Subject: Problems with the Ellis Island site

I have had problems similar to those mentioned by Charles
Sokolski [in the last issue of _Gen Dobry!_]. I tried
locating information for which I already had a copy of the
Ship's Manifest. I was unable to locate these individuals. I
tried possible "logical misspellings," based upon looking at
the handwritten manifest and asking myself, "What letters
could this be mistaken for?" No luck. I tried every
combination and finally gave up.

Then I scanned my Manifest page for a name that would be the
most legible and least likely to be misspelled. After THREE
attempts, I finally found one, on the fourth try, a name
that wasn't misspelled in the Ellis Island Records.

I typed that name in, pulled up the correct Manifest from
the Ellis Island Records, went to it, asked to see the
original manifest, and lo, a few names above, was my
grandfather's surname, which was quite clearly spelled on
the manifest as, "Poterejko", but had been entered as
"Poterejkp".

I had another individual, Daniel Panko Makuch. There were
well over 200 Makuch's, many from Myscowa (Poland), and two
Daniels from that town, but the ages were off by 10 years or
so, hmm... I tried looking for "Panko" in that list, and
found him, listed as "Nanko"! Everything else was in line
with what I knew about him; unfortunately, he was on line 15
and the enlarged image stopped loading at line 9....
oiyyhh... headaches! But how else would I have ever searched
through such a massive volume of data?

Now the question is, how do we methodically devise search
techniques to best take advantage of this mass of data ?

None of my futile attempts with name variations had worked
as possible "Similar Names." I surely would never have
thought to type "Potorejkp" or "Nanko" as possible searches.
One is unable to type Wild Cards or leave off the last
letter. It sure would be nice to insert Wild Cards where one
wished to, or search by Ship or Date or Town of Origin, or
some other info, and bring up all people fitting those
criteria.

While I haven't checked the Ellis Island Records yet, on the
LDS microfilm I happened to stop on the reel, at the very
end of that Ship's Manifest. I located an entire new list of
some of the original passengers in the main body of the
list. These names were typed, not handwritten. Apparently it
is a list of passengers with whom they had had some problem;
the one I looked at hadn't had the minimum amount amount of
money needed, so he was temporarily detained until someone
came for him, as best I can determine. The problem they had
with the passenger was stated, and I believe the final
disposition, too.

But my points are:

   a) you may be able to glean a little bit more information
about your ancestor
   b) if the original entry is hard to read, you may be able
to pick up the same information in a more legible entry, if
he is listed in the back of the list.

Subject: Maps of Poland

I believe I found these or maps similar to the above maps
[described in the last issue of _Gen Dobry!_] on microfiche
at the LDS library in Salt Lake City in July 2000. It
consists of a series of 483 microfiche, from the series
6312622 [the Library of Congress Photo Duplicaton Service,
1987]. An FHL specialist replied to my request for a copy of
some of the individual fiche, saying that their volunteer
staff could not be expected to make individual copies of
some of the fiche. It was "all or nothing" -- although they
would be happy to make copies of any of the 278 maps of the
set that they had in paper form. She noted that 270 pages
(8.5 x 11") comprise one fiche. There are approximately 483
fiche to the set, of which the FHL has 481. One would have
to order the entire set of fiche, at a cost of approximately
$70.00. They would be sent to your local Family History
Center, where they would remain a permanent part of the
collection. You can not purchase it for yourself from them;
you have to view the fiche on-site at the FHC.

The description is:
   FHL INTL Map Case
   Call # 943.8 E7w
   Author: Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny
   Title: Mapa Polski (Taktyczna)
   Skala 1:100,000
   Publication Information:
       Warszawa: Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny 1926-1938.

It features maps of Poland as is existed between World Wars
I and II (1918-1939).

I was able to find L~uka Wielka, a small town located
perhaps 4 miles south to the city of Tarnopol, Ukraine. The
map is so detailed that each little "." represents a house.

An alternative source of online images of topgraphical maps
of Poland, which included Galicia and the Tarnopol [now
Ternopil] and L'vov [now L'viv] regions of modern-day
Ukraine, is:

   http://www.maps.expedia.com

This is an excellent source, but only the topo section of
the maps for the world.

Finally, a good source of maps and ethnic/church centers,
railway links, population demographics, migration patterns,
etc., of Eastern Europe is the _Historical Atlas of East
Central Europe_, Paul Robert Magocsi, University of
Washington Press, (C) 1993, Seattle and London, ISBN
0-295-97445-1.

     Edward Potereiko <epotereiko2@hotmail.com>

-----

Subject: Thanks

Many thanks for your latest newsletter and the route given
into Ellis Island. My research is really taking off now. I
will have to get my feet dirty and go into the field as soon
as I can.

You advised me [in a note asking about the surname Gibas]
that there were about 2,300 people with that name in Poland
as of 1990. After reading Professor Sykes at

   http://www.oxfordancestors.com

I am convinced we are all 95% related.

Ellis Island data has shown me that Gibas is generally
restricted to the area southwest of Krakow. Of 119 entries,
most come from this area, which includes my home village.
The main spread is along the country road from Z*ywiec to
Krako~w, passing through the valley to the south of
Wadowice, through villages, in line, Pewel, Gilowice,
S~lemien~, Kocori, Las, Kuko~w, Mucharz, Palcza, Skawinki,
Brody, Lanckorona and Harbutowice. One offshoot is north
from Z*ywiec towards Ke~ty at Pora~bka.

[Editor's note: as usual, I'm using tildes to stand for
Polish characters that can't be reproduced in a text e-mail
note. The ~ represents accents over c, n, s, and z; the
crossbar in the Polish slashed L; and the tails under the
nasal A and E. I use Z* to distinguish the dotted Z from the
accented one.]

U.S. records show 145 Gibas deaths and 185 telephone
listings, thus not very prolific breeding from 119
immigrants over 100 years. The Ellis data also shows Gibas
from Russia, Czech, Greece, and Hungary, all likely
migratory patterns from Krakow. I tracked two Gibas in East
Prussia (the location escapes me for the time being) from
land registers, possibly left behinds of those gone to
Russia.

If I take your figure of 2,000 Gibas and assume each father
has two sons and each generation is 25 years, we get back to
one Gibas in 1675. I have found a Stanislaus Gibas married
in 1782 (when perhaps 16 Gibas existed) who had two sons,
Thomas, born 1783, and Joseph, born 1791. Thomas had four
children, including one son, Joannes, born 1819. The family
groupings I am picking out tend to support this theory. I
hope to have a Sykes DNA test soon as this should be very
interesting.

Possibly Stanislaus had a brother or cousin or nephew called
Casimiro who married Manuela Menenses in 1798 in Bolivia?

The Ellis data also show that Gibas emigrated to the U.S.
prior to records in 1895, for example, Andrei returned to
the U.S. in 1902 from Hamburg but was already a U.S.
citizen.

Some of the data has been misread -- very easy from
handwriting -- so after checking maps I was able to make
corrections and establish family links.

I have drawn a sketch map and it is amazing how over a
period of 20 years a whole group of Gibas migrated from a
very tight knit chain of villages from a very small area. We
have branches in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Holland,
Italy, and Austria. I have two references to Gibas in Spain
in 1580.

To tie it all together, I have no option but to visit the
churches and graveyards in the above named villages and see
what I can put together. When is the big question.

Again thanks for your information, help, and advice; it has
been really appreciated. I hope some of this info can be of
help to your readers.

     Richard Gibas <irenehooi@maxis.net.my>

[Editor -- I think the main lesson to draw from the work of
Mr. Gibas is that a successful researcher must search every
conceivable source of information, and not hesitate to think
big when trying to tie it all together. If you limit
yourself to one line of approach, your success may be pretty
modest. But if you get inventive and cast your net as far
and wide as possible, you have a real shot at grasping the
big picture. Some of the conclusions of Mr. Gibas at this
point may prove incorrect -- but the way he's working his
data, he'll find and correct any such errors, and end up
with excellent results!]

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

*** UPCOMING EVENTS ***

August 1-2, 2001, Chicago Illinois

CANTORES MINORES

The Boy Choir of the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the
Baptist, Warsaw, Poland

Stanley Brescoll <sbrescoll@hotmail.com> of PGS-Michigan
sent us information that the 10th Anniversary American Tour
tour of the Cantores Minores Boys Choir includes two
performances in Chicago:

Wednesday, August 01, 2001
Chicago Arts Center - Preston Bradley Hall
6:00 p.m Concert
(Marking the Outbreak of the 1944 Warsaw uprising)

     and

Thursday, August 02, 2001
Episcopal Church of the Atonement
7:00 p.m. Concert

If you're in the Chicago area Wednesday and Thursday, you
might try to attend!

=====

August 2-3-4, 2001

8TH ANNUAL RUSYN FOOD FESTIVAL

St. John's Orthodox Church Center (air conditioned)
5th St. Ambridge, PA
11a.m.-8 p.m. each day

A wide array of traditional Rusyn foods. Rusyn ethnic and
religious items for sale. A wealth of homemade baked goods
-- palachinke, cheregi, Rusyn torte, nut rolls and more!
Slavjane Rusyn ensemble performs 3 p.m. Aug. 4. C-RS has a
display of Rusyn costumes.

Free admission!

Call (412) 749-0675 for info or directions, or e-mail
<rusynone@excite.com>.

=====

September 9 - 23, 2001

TRIP TO: (A) JUST POLAND; (B) POLAND & ROME; or (C) POLAND
&  LWOW

Dan Kij has sent updated information on the trip to Poland
he's organizing. A trip to Krakow has been added, along with
an extra day at no extra charge. The group will leave from
Toronto on Sunday, September 9th, to fly non-stop to Warsaw,
and will return to Toronto on Sunday, September 23rdrd.
According to the update, three options are offered, and I
quote:

"(Trip A)   JUST  POLAND - $1619 -  11-day guided tour of
Warsaw; Krakow (added at no extra charge), Wroclaw; Poznan;
Gniezno; Biskupin; Torun; Baltic ports of Gdynia, Sopot and
Gdansk; Marlbork; etc.; PLUS four days in Poland on your own
to visit family, or just explore. We'll help with car
rental, hotel and rail reservations to visit sites like
Zakopane, Rzeszow, Wadowice, Czestochowa, Bialystok.....or
ANY PLACE!

"(Trip  B)  POLAND  &  ROME - $2459 -  11-day Poland guided
tour (like above); PLUS  four guided days in ROME: St
Peter's; Vatican: Pope's general audience; Coliseum;
Felician Sisters Motherhouse; Forum; sightseeing; museums;
basilicas, etc.

"(Trip C):  POLAND  &  LWOW - $2039 (plus $85 Ukr visa) -
11-day Poland guided  tour (like above); PLUS four guided
days in LWOW (a proud Polish city, now known as LVIV in
Ukraine): Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals; famous Art
Museums; historic Lyczakowski Cemetery; sightseeing;
relaxing; hotel with unlimited bar and kitchen; etc.

"Price includes all flights (Poland, and Rome or Lwow); tour
breakfast and dinner daily; first-class hotels (double occ);
admissions; taxes; porterage of two bags; gratuities;
English-speaking guides; Lackawanna bus to and from Toronto
airport; luxury tour buses; DETAILED  REVISED ITINERARY ON
REQUEST !

"Limited space!  To hold your reservation, mail your $200
non-refundable deposit payable to order of: Daniel J. Kij,
as attorney; 1200 Electric Ave., Lackawanna NY 14218-1417,
by

  !!! AUGUST 1, 2001 !!!

"Questions? Call Dan at (716) 822-5258, or Dorothy Mozg at
(716) 822-3213. E-mail: <danieljkij@aol.com>. We might be
able to help you locate relatives to visit in Poland through
our Polish Genealogical Society of NY State!  Join
First-timers, veteran travelers, Singers, Genealogists,
Friends.....

"Rather than splitting our travelers into different
departure and return flights and/or departures and returns
from/to New York City, Newark or Toronto, we have made new
dates for our trip. In return for this change, we have
negotiated to add an extra day, with a stay with breakfast
and dinner in Krakow...AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE! We will now
fly from Toronto on Sunday, September 9th, and return to
Toronto on Sunday, September 23rd. Those whom we have
notified of this change are pleased with this Krakow bonus.
However, should you be unable to take advantage of these new
dates or added day, notify me and we will refund your
deposit!  Sorry for the change...hope you can fly with us
and choose the trip that interests you the most!"

=====

September 12-15, 2001

THE 2001 FGS/QUAD CITIES CONFERENCE

"A Conference for the Nation's Genealogists"

The RiverCenter, Davenport, Iowa

For more info:
   Our email: fgs-office@fgs.org
   Our website: http://www.fgs.org

Register Online at:
   http://www.fgs.org/2001Conf/fgs-2001.htm

=====

October 5 - 7, 2001

FEDERATION OF EAST EUROPEAN FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES
-- INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION 2001 --

Ramada Inn South Airport
6401 South 13th Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Conference details, as they become available, will be posted
at:

   http://feefhs.org/conf/01mil/01mil-hp.html

or by return mail from:

FEEFHS, PO Box 510898, Salt Lake City, UT 84151-0898

=====

October 6, 2001

MASS-CONN-ECTION II

Last year's first Mass-Conn-ection Polish Genealogical
Conference was a big success, so a second one is planned for
this year. Like the first, this conference is being
sponsored jointly by the Polish Genealogical Societies of
Massachusetts and of Connecticut/the Northeast. It will be
held on Saturday, October 6, at General Jozef A. Haller PAV
Post, Grove & Broad St., New Britain, CT. It will include a
Beginners Workshop, and talks on Records in Poland, Polish
Surnames, and Using the US National Archives. There will be
a Polish lunch! The price is $35. Register early by mail:
PGSCT, c/o MASS-CONN, 8 Lyle Rd., New Britain, CT
06053-2104. Telephone: (860) 223-5596. Conferences on Polish
genealogy are not often held in New England, so if you live
in the area, this is one you want to attend! You can learn
more by e-mailing PGS-CT/NE at: pgsne2@aol.com.

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

*** MORE USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES ***

http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/nylists1820.html
   In an e-mail to patrons of the FHC in Naperville,
Illinois, Adrianne <Familytreehist@aol.com> mentioned this
URL for "the 1820-1897 passenger list info," and repeated it
because not everyone at the last meeting got a chance to
copy it down. Perhaps you'd like to have it, too, with
thanks to Adrianne and the other FHC patrons.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~polish/
   The July 4, 2001 issue of _Rootsweb Review_ mentioned
this link under "Some New Homepages and Freepages." The
description was as follows: "Polish-Americans in 1920
Buffalo, New York. Census transcription of more than 20,000
names of Polish-Americans and related families. The main
criteria for this project are to include those whose (1)
birthplace or parent's birthplace is Poland, Galicia, or
Posen, or (2) native language is Polish, or (3) who have a
Polish surname. It is organized by enumeration districts
that are accessed through ward pages."

http://webpages.charter.net/mroman/ptafel.htm
   The July 11, 2001 issue of _Missing Links_ listed this
page under "Web Links," saying it deals with Polish
genealogy "from the Przasnysz district parishes of Chorzele,
Krzynowloga Wielka, Krzynowloga Mala, Dzierzgowo, and
Podos/Ploniawy. Surnames ROMAN, ZMIJEWSKI, ZBIKOWSKI,
GADOMSKI, CHODKOWSKI, LIPOWSKI, CHRZANOWSKI, SMOLENSKI,
CZAPLICKI, et al."

http://images.google.com
   On POSEN-L@rootsweb.com on July 6th Rod Braun
<rbchron@juno.com> wrote that many folks know of the merits
of the search engine Google.com, but not everyone knows
about this site, which searches "literally more than a
million pictures of almost any subject under the heavens...
I looked yesterday and I know there were several hundred for
Posen."

http://www.lemko.org/maps100/
   Edward Potereiko <epotereiko2@hotmail.com> wrote to tell
us about this site, with great online color topographical
army maps of southeastern Poland. For anyone interested in
research in this area, he also recommended these sites:

   http://www.ukrainet.org/ukr.html
   http://www.carpathorusyn.com/#Maps
   http://www.eegsociety.org/

http://www.geocities.com/leg_dictionaries/zodframe.html
   Jennifer <jpmoore@warwick.net> gave this address on
LithuanianGenealogy@yahoogroups.com for an online translator
page for Lithuanian to English. Such online translation
sources have their limitations, but if used intelligently
can be quite helpful.

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

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. 2, No. 7, 31 July 2001. PolishRoots(tm): http://PolishRoots.org/

***************************************
Copyright 2001, PolishRoots(tm), Inc. All rights reserved.