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

Volume III, No. 6. 30 June 2002.
Copyright (c) 2002, PolishRoots(tm), Inc.
Editor: William F. "Fred" Hoffman, E-mail: WFHoffman@prodigy.net

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CONTENTS

   Welcome
   Another One Bites the Dust!
   Letters to the Editor
   Genealogical Advisor
   Humor
   Upcoming Events
   More Useful Web Addresses
   You May Reprint Articles...

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*** WELCOME! ***

to the latest issue of GENDOBRY!, the e-zine of PolishRoots(tm). If you missed previous issues, you can find them at

   http://polishroots.org/gendobry/gendobry_index.htm.

PolishRoots President Don Szumowski asked me to mention one thing our subscribers need to read and remember:

   "I get a lot of requests asking me to change a subscriber's email address. PolishRoots is unable to comply since we use an opt-in list and our service provider prevents us from having direct access to a registrant's information. This protects the service provider against legal action enacted as part of new Federal Internet Security legislation passed last year.
   "If a subscriber wants to update their registration information, they need to follow the link at the very end of their _Gen Dobry!_ newsletter. They must ignore the fact that the link says to unsubscribe, and continue to follow the link. Here is an example of how the link is worded:

"Powered by List Builder

"To unsubscribe follow the link:
"http://lb.bcentral.com/ex/sp?c=00000&s=C00D006AC54CC8BC&m=00"

So folks, follow the link that appears at the end of your copy of _Gen Dobry!_ (it's different for each subscriber -- the one above is just a sample). It will give you options to modify your registration setup. Let's give Don a break and start doing this for ourselves, instead of pestering him with requests to do something he literally cannot do!

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*** ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST! ***

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

These days shocks come so thick and fast I almost feel something's missing if I haven't had my thunderbolt for the day. Terrorist attacks, video of a journalist being beheaded, companies collapsing amid incredible accounting errors and deception -- one thing's for sure, we don't live in boring times!

I still feel we have enough resources and strength to see our way through all this and come out OK. One part of the problem is that we have a particular group of people whose job (as they see it, anyway) is to fill our eyes and ears with the bad, the catastrophic, and the corrupt. This causes us to forget what's right before our eyes: the countless times every day each of the millions of us does something right and decent. Doing your job and meeting your obligations may not be sexy, and won't show up on TV. But it's what will get us through all this, as long as we don't lose our nerve.

Still, I can't blame anyone for being nervous when these shocks keep hitting us, one after another. This week even our relatively placid field of genealogy took a pretty good hit. The much-anticipated, much-heralded INTERNATIONAL ROOTS CONFERENCE, scheduled to take place July 14-18 in Dearborn, Michigan, has been canceled! This doesn't rank up there with terrorist attacks or massive company collapses, but in our corner of the world it's a pretty dramatic event.

Dick Eastman, who writes a column for Ancestry.com, even issued a special edition on June 28 devoted to this subject. If you've read it already, you don't need to read it again. But if you haven't read it, he sums up the available info, and he doesn't pull any punches:

   http://ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/eastman.asp

A lot of us were affected by this one personally. PolishRoots had helped sponsor this event, based on a conviction that a successful conference would be a quantum leap forward for the field of central and eastern European genealogy. I was scheduled to speak at the Conference, as were a number of friends and colleagues, including many of the best known people in our field. (I know of no speakers who were paid in advance; when the conference was cancelled, we lost payment for talks in which we had already invested considerable time and effort to prepare. PolishRoots received no money either; its participation was limited to trying to spread word of the Conference).

Hardest hit, of course, are the people who had already registered for the conference and sent in their money. At the moment, at least, the outlook for recovering any of that money looks pretty grim. Eastman's column outlines steps to take if you are among the good people who had signed up to participate and are now left high and dry. All I can say is, I wish you the best of luck!

(And that's not idle talk: I'm out the cost of a roundtrip Chicago-Detroit ticket. When I made my reservations, less than 2 weeks ago, the airline representative asked for my credit card number, and the fare was charged to me personally, not to the Conference organizers. I should have wondered about that! But I figured I'd be reimbursed later ... The ticket wasn't that expensive, so I'm not out much money -- but just enough that my interest in the money angle is not wholly academic.)

* This Isn't the Only Disappointment Lately *

As far as I can tell at this point, the organizers of the Conference were on the level, but miscalculated the public's willingness to spend time and money at a really first-class event. They had made plans based on attracting 2,000 attendees, and it appears registration as of last week wasn't even close to what they had expected. The letter sent out by the attorney representing the organizers said they had run up debts of $300,000 with no assets!

That sounds outrageous. And yet, putting on an impressive, major event requires huge up-front investment. I guess it could be they had spent that much -- including all money that had been sent in by registrants -- before they realized the attendance numbers weren't coming close to what they had projected, and had to have. Maybe it was too late to do anything but cancel.

I must admit I'm disappointed. Oh, from the first I thought the plans for the Conference were awfully ambitious, and I wondered if they could possibly pull them off. (And I'm not the only one who felt that way). But I didn't want to be like the guys telling the Wright brothers, "That thing'll never get off the ground." Sometimes the key to a breakthrough is a visionary with the guts to go for broke and try the impossible. If the Conference organizers had succeeded, we'd have called them heroes for taking Eastern European Genealogy to the next level.

I'd feel different, too, if this were an isolated instance. The International Roots Conference is just the latest and most visible example of a disturbing trend I've noticed this last year: a disappearing act being put on by conference attendees. I can think of at least 5 events since October that were planned or put on by quality organizations, had a history of success, yet were canceled or lost money because of low registration.

Not everyone is suffering. The largest genealogical conferences, such as those held by FGS and NGS, seem to be all right. The organizers of the multi-society event in Regina July 19-21 (see Upcoming Events below) say their registration looks good. Mass-Conn-ection II, held last October in New Britain, CT, exceeded expectations. Some events are succeeding, I'm glad to say.

But it's clearly getting harder and harder to put on a successful conference -- even a rather modest affair, let alone a massive one like the International Roots Conference. It seems fewer and fewer people are willing to invest their time and money in attending such events. I wonder why?

* Where'd Everyone Go? *

I won't keep you in suspense -- I don't know the answer. Maybe you can tell me. I'd be very interested in hearing what you think. I will speculate a bit, though, just to see if I can stir up a discussion.

I know some folks might think the reaction to September 11th is to blame. But I find that hard to believe. I've flown several times since then, and most of the time the airports and the flights were quite crowded. And as I say, some conferences are doing well. So it's not as if Osama been Hiding has everyone cowering under their respective beds.

The economy? It may have something to do with this. It's still kind of rocky, and I'm not sure folks that have money to spend feel a lot of confidence in the future. The headlines each day don't much to inspire optimism. And don't forget, genealogy is a luxury, not a necessity; in uncertain times luxuries are often the first thing to go.

Some have suggested the Internet is a factor, and I find this plausible. The Internet, mailing lists, and companies selling genealogical info do not eliminate the need for personal research, networking, comparing notes, etc. -- but they may give that impression. It's very clear to me that a lot of the people who write me asking for help have made no effort whatever to do anything for themselves. When I tell them to get off their butts and go to meetings, visit FHCs, and the like, I usually never hear from them again. (To which I say, good riddance!).

I've noticed, too, that a lot of folks online are talking about trips they're taking to the old country. You can hardly fault them for this decision! If you have $1,000 and can apply it toward attending a conference, or toward flying over and  experiencing your ancestral home -- well, I know which one most of us would choose. This is a particularly wonderful option for people who have done some serious research and know where their families came from.

* Conclusion *

These are possible factors. If you can put finger on something I've missed, I'd like to hear from you.

The failure of the International Roots Conference may be nothing more than a story of people who had big plans and couldn't pull them off. I don't think successful genealogical conferences are a thing of the past. There are still organizers willing to make reasonable plans and invest the effort necessary to bring them to fruition. As long as that's true, there will be meetings and conferences.

But it's getting tougher to pull off a successful events. Even groups with good credentials and experience are having trouble. And the failure of the International Roots Conference will make that harder by scaring off potential investors and participants.

The biggest tragedy, however, is the lost chance to expand our field, to come together and share resources, to our mutual benefit. That you cannot put a dollar value on!

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*** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ***

Subject: Poles in the Vilnius Area

[This note is in reference to a note I answered in the last issue from Pat Keenan <pekeenan@laplaza.org> regarding Polish ancestors living in the Vilnius, Lithuania area].

I enjoyed your research on Pat's request. The only thing that I would add for Pat's information is that between 1919 and 1939, Vilnius (Wilno is the Polish version) was in the republic of Poland, in the province (wojewodztwo) of the same name.

Wilno, like Lwow now in Ukraine, was primarily a Polish-populated city that was officially in the Poland reborn after WW1 but which was lost to the Soviet Union after WW2.  Interestingly, in present-day Lithuania there is an ongoing wrangle between the remaining Polish ethnic population and the government that does not allow them to use the Polish spellings of their names, just the Lithuanianized spellings!

   Stefan Wisniowski
   <swisniowski@px.com.au>

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*** GENEALOGICAL ADVISOR: TITLE TURMOIL ***

by Tomasz Kulesz <tkulesz@juno.com>

Recently in an article entitled "Phonetic Pandemonium", or "Surname Slaughter" which appeared in Volume 18, Number 1, Fall 2001 issue of _Pathways & Passages_, the publication of the Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast, I related the various ways in which my maternal grandfather's surname had been uncovered.

The name in question is CIUPINSKI, pronounced "choo-pin-ski." The article explained how ten variations in the spelling of the name were uncovered. The misspelled forms of this name are: Chipinski, Chiupinski, Chupinski, Cinpinski, Cipinsky, Cuipinski, Cupinska, Cupinski, Czupinska and Czupinski. These misspelled forms of the name have been found in every form of record, from birth to marriage and to death records, Petition for Citizenship, Declaration of Intent and passenger ship manifests, and Social Security records, including the application. The only record with information on this ancestor that had eluded this researcher was the 1920 census.

Recently while at my local LDS Library I looked at the Library Catalogue for the 1920 Pennsylvania census. Luzerne County is contained in six rolls of microfilm! I sent for the first two rolls in the series, as the town he lived in was Exeter, Pennsylvania, and the towns and or localities are listed alphabetically or numerically in each county. How was I to find the name?

When the film arrived I was informed and immediately visited the library. I was able to determine that the town of Exeter was on the very first roll for this county. I proceeded to scan the entire town for the name Ciupinski or a variation of it that I had uncovered to date. No luck -- nothing appeared close to the original or variations.

Upon returning home I checked my personal archives and reviewed my godmother's birth certificate. Mary Ciupinski was born in December of 1920 at the home of her father Stefan Ciupinski, 112 Orchard Street, Exeter, Pennsylvania. I went through the film containing Exeter again, this time looking for a street, Orchard, and then the house number. There on page 19B, lines 63 through 67, were my ancestors! My grandfather and grandmother were listed along with their three daughters, "The Kapinsky's," Steve and Mary. Aunt Katherine was listed as Katherine, while aunt Clara was listed as Caroline. My mother, whose birth certificate gives her name as Bertha Ciupinski, is listed as Alberta.

The census disclosed that my grandfather became a citizen in 1911. Another avenue to explore! The LDS Library Catalogue showed an index to the naturalization petitions from 1912 to the 1940s. Could my grandfather be in this index? No such luck! I checked this index under the letters "C" and "K" with negative results. Unfortunately 1911 is not filmed by the LDS, thus an actual visit or mail is required to obtain citizenship records. The question remains as to how will I find the spelling.

The number of spelling variations on the surname is eleven, with the possibility of finding more. For the time being I am satisfied with knowing the derivation of the name. There remained in the 1975 Polish Province of Rzeszow 46 persons with this surname, according to the 1990 census. The ancestral village is Dzikowiec from this province. Chances are excellent that in fact I will find other spelling variations of this name, purely based on the number of names still in existence.

Frustrating, no! Exciting, yes!  This can be said every time an ancestor and relation is uncovered with this surname, even though the name may be misspelled.

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*** MY POZNAN TRAVEL JOURNAL, PART II ***

by Ceil Jensen <cjensen@mipolonia.net>

* Research on the Raczynski Palace and Manor of Poznan *

One of the goals of my trip to Poznan was to research the Raczynski family.  This magnate family of Poznan is of great interest to me. I'm not a descendant of their line, but my peasant ancestors lived on the manor farms and worked at the palace of Rogalin.

I didn't know the ancestral village(s) of the Adamskis and Wojktowiaks when I began interviewing my great aunts, so their snippets of information didn't provide many clues. Now I see that the family folklore referenced historic fact.

Folklore:
   Michael Adamski worked as a gardener for a rich man. His eye was injured pruning trees so he wore dark lens in his glasses.

Fact:
   Rogalin palace near Poznan was built towards the end of the 18th century as a residence for the Raczynski family. The palace is surrounded by an English-style park with 950 ancient oaks and elegant French gardens. It is the handiwork of the architect responsible for the Lazienki complex in Warsaw.

Folklore:
   The rich man's butler would give Michael books to read, who in turn taught others in the village to read.

Fact:
   The Raczynski Library is the first public library in Poznan, founded by count Edward Raczynski. The opening took place in 1829 -- its construction lasted 7 years (since 1822). Today this is the second-biggest library in Poznan.

I did extensive research on the Raczynski family before leaving home. I obtained Count Edward Raczynski's memoirs, _Rogalin i jego mieszkancy_, via interlibrary loan. As I scanned the pages I noticed a reference to Adamski. I took the book to a bilingual friend to translate and the paragraph actually mentioned the coach driver Adamski. The Count said that Adamski would pick him up at the train station at Mosina in one type of coach in the rain and a different style coach in good weather. Raczynski said from his position in the coach he could see Adamski's long mustache.

This was a description of my great uncle Jacob Adamski.  Jacob's 1907 ship manifest listed him as a coach driver from Rogalin. This paragraph made be think that family history didn't stop with the church and civil records, but could possibly be gained from the manor books and palace ledgers.

I checked the Sezam database on the State Archives in Poland website:

   http://www.archiwa.gov.pl/sezam/index.eng.html

I entered Rogalin. The search results:

   Fond Name: Majatek Rogalin - Raczynscy Dates: 1570 - 1936.

This could be interesting. I made a three part research plan:

   1. To explore the holding of the civil archives to see if materials available referenced workers.
   2. To revisit the Palace of Rogalin and meet with Mikolaj Dmowski, the archivist of Majatek Rogalin.
   3. Follow the route of Count E. Raczynski visiting the manor houses and farms once owned by the family. Here are the results of my visit to the archives.

* Poznan Archives: Archiwum Panstwowe w Poznaniu *

My translator, Katarzyna Grycza (of Discovering Roots), told me that at the beginning of World War II the majority of the Rogalin archives were taken to Warsaw for protection. Unfortunately, they were destroyed during the bombing of the city.

But the archives still had some papers spanning 1580-1936. I had to select from the 86 entries in the index. Kasia read the titles to me and I selected:

   # 10. Inventory of Rogalin Farm 1759
   # 16. Mortgage of Rogalin 1845
   # 27. Bills and Budgets Rogalin, Jezewo, Korzkowo 1884-1895
   # 30. Reports, Incomes and Expenses from the harvest 1891-1894
   # 35. Kitchen Expenses 1775

We filled out our request slips and returned in the afternoon when the ledgers were available. It's interesting that the records are kept in another building, and when it's raining the 300-year-old books arrive in a "granny" pull cart with a plastic flap pulled over them to protect them.

I will write a more extensive article with illustrations about the findings, but the most exciting book -- and I'm no accountant! -- was the Bills and Budgets from Rogalin, etc.

The 1889-1890 ledger listed the wages of the workers at the palace and the manor farm. Jakob Adamski, referenced in the book _Rogalin i jego mieszkancy_, was listed at the top of page 47. The records were written in German and were divided by costs for the farm, forest, distillery, palace, garden and retired people.

The wages were recorded as the yearly amount in marks as well as payments in wheat, rye, oats, peas, potatoes, salt, flax, sheep, wood and cows. There was a column for an extra benefit for St. John's "Swzl~ojanki" but nothing was awarded to the workers in 1889-90.

My g-g-grandfather Michael Adamski was listed as working in the garden and received 60 marks, 10 units of wheat, 3 units of rye, 2 units of oats, 2 units of peas, 12 units of potatoes, 2 units of salt and 1 and 1/2 units of flax. His son Jacob received a better wage of 750 marks and more grains, but he didn't receive salt or flax.

Other surnames recorded in the ledger include: Szarzynski, Jankowiak, Piskorz (sp), Wolna, Matejka, Szmania, Szczesny, Rychlewicz, Lewendowski, Adamowa, Swietlik, Madaj, Chrzanowska, and Stechow.

I encourage other researchers to try this type of research. A good place to start is with Avotaynu's webpage on magnates:

   http://www.avotaynu.com/magnates.htm

It lists known magnate families and the location of the archives. As the introductory paragraph from their site points out, a good source for learning which Polish noble owned the land on which ancestral towns stood is the 15-volume _Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego i innych krajow slowianskich_ (Geographic Dictionary of the Former Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Lands). It is available on microfilm through the Family History Library system (microfilm numbers 920957-920971):

   http://www.familysearch.com/Eng/Library/FHL/frameset_library.asp

Libraries with large map or Slavic departments might also have the dictionary. It is written in Polish, of course. One list of translated entries is here:

   http://www.polishroots.org/slownik_index.htm

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*** FOR ANY NEW RESEARCHERS -- HOW I BEGIN MY RESEARCH ***

[Susan Nokes <snokes@tscnet.com> posted this note on <Poland-Roots-L@rootsweb.com>. It's brief but has a lot of good pointers for the beginner.]

Much of my research comes from renting microfilms from the LDS Family History Center. I start by sending for birth, death, and marriage certificates for my ancestors in the counties where those events occurred, then I check the local libraries -- either in person (if they are close) or by writing (if they are far away). I search for obituaries; from these obituaries I then search for Probate Records (Wills) and send for copies of those (they are found in the county where the deceased lived).

I also check cemetery records, either in person or by writing. When I am armed with as much information as I can find, I plan a trip to the closest National Archives Regional Branch and search through the microfilms there -- pay close attention to neighbors and other people living in the same area and sharing the same name.

This is how I start, then occasionally I make contacts with other researchers by posting the information which I have found in the sources listed above. Genforum and Family History.com are my favorites:

Genforum:
   http://genforum.genealogy.com
Family History.com:
   http://www.familyhistory.com
Ancestry.com:
   http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/an/surnames/1/25/next
SSDI: (Social Security Death Index)
   http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm
U.S. GenWeb:
   http://www.usgenweb.org/statelinks-table.html
RootsWeb:
   http://www.rootsweb.com

I hope this helps.

[Editor -- Notice how not a word is said about the "old country"? This is an important lesson for newbies: you must trace the family on THIS side of the Atlantic before you can hope to get anywhere in Europe. Susan's suggestions are good common-sense ideas for how to tackle the most important part of your research: the beginning.]

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*** UPCOMING EVENTS ***

[Note: It's always a good idea to check the PolishRoots Events Calendar, as it contains more info than we have room for here: <http://www.polishroots.org/coming_events.htm>]
__________

{July 14 - 18, 2002}

{2002 INTERNATIONAL ROOTS CONFERENCE}

{Dearborn Michigan}

!!!PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED!!!

__________

July 19 - 21, 2002

DISCOVERING OUR LINKS TO EUROPE:
AN INTERNATIONAL GENEALOGICAL CONFERENCE

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

July 19th - 21, 2002

This event is being hosted by the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (SGS), in conjunction with the Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS), the Bukovina Society of the Americas (BSA), the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE), and the East European Genealogical Society (EEGS). It is anticipated that it will attract an audience of several hundred people. For more information visit their Website:

http://www.saskgenealogy.com/seminar/sgs_seminar.htm

__________

August 4-9, 2002

+++ MEETING PLACE +++

22ND IAJCS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON JEWISH GENEALOGY

Sheraton Centre Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hosted by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Canada (Toronto)

http://www.jgstoronto2002.ca

Peter Jassem, Programme Chair, said, "Over the period of five days we will have several topics related to Poland daily. In addition we will have related films and exhibitions, new resources and book sales. In fact this year's conference will focus on Polish resources, the history of Poland and Polish Jewry. Many of the programs will extend beyond the Jewish-only genealogy.
   "I believe that the genealogy and history of peoples that once lived in the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, whether Poles, Jews or others, are inseparable and constitute integral part of Polish Heritage.  I hope to increase our ties with your organizations for our mutual benefits."

__________

August 7 - 10, 2002

FGS 2002 CONFERENCE

Ontario, California

Contact: Phone 888-FGS-1500
         Website http://www.fgs.org
         E-mail: fgs-office@fgs.org

__________

September 14, 2002

MASS-CONN-ECTION III

All-day Polish Genealogical Conference
Sponsored by
The Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast, Inc.
and
The Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts.

Pulaski Club (Polish American Citizens Club)
13 Norman St.
Chicopee, Massachusetts

FEE: $35.00 per person, includes Polish-American buffet lunch

Register early by mail:

MASS-CONN III
c/o PGSCTNE
8 Lyle Rd.
New Britain, CT  06053-2104
Tel. (860) 223-5596

Or visit the Website:

http://www.pgsctne.org/confintro2.html

__________

January 17 & 18, 2003

GENTECH 2003
PHOENIX, ARIZON
The Phoenix Civic Plaza.

"Digital Technology - The Ancestral Frontier"

Past conferences of GENTECH have focused on how to use technology more effectively in your genealogical research. You can get more information at the Website:

     http://www.agcig.org/gt03.htm

or at Gentech's site:

     http://www.gentech.org/

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*** MORE USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES ***

http://www.posen-l.com/HamburgPolice.jpg

   On <POSEN-L@rootsweb.com> Date: list manager James Birkholz <James.Birkholz@usa.okmetic.com> explained "David Manthei has been investigating the Hamburg Police registration records and has scanned an image for us." The address above is where you can see it.
   He added the following addresses for info on this resource:

http://www.zah.ndirect.co.uk/hamburg_police_records.htm
http://www.horlacher.org/germany/articles/hambpl.htm
http://feefhs.org/frl/de/placeorg.html

He also mentioned the following articles on this subject:
   "Some suggestions on tracing emigrants through Hamburg police records," _The Palatine Immigrant_, vol. 14, no. 1 (March, 1989) pp. 16-18.
   "Hamburg Police Records, by Sonja Hoeke-Nishimoto, Part 1: Hamburg Resident Registration Office, Register of non-citizen residents of Hamburg." _German Genealogical Digest_ (6:1:9).
   "Hamburg Police Records, by Sonja Hoeke-Nishimoto, Part 2: Hamburg Passports." _German Genealogical Digest_ (6:2:46).
  (see http://www.german-digest.com/mozart/ggd_06.htm for ordering info )
______________________________

http://www.grl.com/grl/relationship.shtml
   On POLAND-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Alan J. Kania posted this address, saying "I found a chart that provides a definitive relationship chart -- who was removed and who wasn't. You can check it out from the Genealogical Research Library."
______________________________

http://www.polishcities.pl/
   Jackie (nee Adamowicz) <wordsmith@att.net> mentioned this site on <POLAND-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com>. She added, "If you click on the English words, you'll be able to look at the various regions and read detailed information about some of the villages in each region. (It is a site that discusses investment opportunities in Polish cities and communities.)
   "For the towns and villages that are listed, you'll find recommended restaurants and hotels if traveling, useful addresses (both www and snail mail), the names of churches, government addresses, etc. Please note: It doesn't list ALL Polish villages -- only those they are trying to get investors for. Unfortunately I didn't find any of my ancestors' villages listed right now, but I did see some that I recognized from various posts on the list.  The information they give is great reading."
______________________________

http://golem.umcs.lublin.pl/users/ppikuta/lessons/lessidx.htm
   On POLAND-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Cynthia Piech <cpiech_00@yahoo.com> gave this site as a good source of info on the Polish language. She also mentioned another page on the same site where you can hear some of the words being pronounced:

   http://golem.umcs.lublin.pl/users/ppikuta/lessons/infor1.htm
______________________________

http://www.poland.pl/article/?c=421
   Ceil Jensen <cjensen@mipolonia.net> mentioned that this site has a new announcement from the Polish National Archives with documents online that illustrate the history of Poland.
______________________________

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~slavicmaps/index.html
   Maryellen Tobiasiewicz <deeprootsaz@lycos.com> has developed an outline and links for a lecture on using maps in genealogical research. It is now online at this site.
______________________________

http://www.horlacher.org/poland/
   On <PolandBorderSurnames-L@rootsweb.com> Tina Ellis gave this site for the following maps of Poland showing border changes from 1772 to now:

The Polish-Lithuanian Empire prior to 1772
First Partition - 1772
Second Partition - 1793
Third Partition - 1795
Duchy of Warsaw - 1807-1813 (Napoleon)
Kingdom of Poland - 1815-1921 (was part of Russian Empire)
Independent Poland - 1921-1939 (shows part of Germany
   given to Poland and part of Poland on the east border
   that was taken away after WWII)

She added, "Dark gray areas are Poland as it is today.  There are also 3 maps showing the different province names and their designated areas from 1921 until today."

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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. III, No. 6, 30 June 2002. PolishRoots(tm): http://PolishRoots.org/.

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Copyright 2002, PolishRoots(tm), Inc. All rights reserved.