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

Volume IV, No. 10. 31 October 2003.
Copyright (c) 2003, PolishRoots(R), Inc.
Editor: William F. Fred Hoffman, E-mail: <WFHoffman@prodigy.net>

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CONTENTS

   Welcome
   Full Circle
   Letters to the Editor
   Finding Raymond Kaniok
   Mapping Surname Data
   Upcoming Events
   More Useful Web Addresses
   You May Reprint Articles...

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*** WELCOME! ***

to the latest issue of _Gen Dobry!_, the e-zine of PolishRoots(R). If you missed previous issues, you can find them at

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

Don't forget to visit PolishRoots.org, the sponsor of _Gen Dobry!_, and take advantage of the many resources offered there. One of the most popular resources is the feature Surname Search(TM), available here:

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

If you have suggestions of other links people might enjoy, don't hesitate to let Webmaster Don Szumowski know about them: <Webmaster@PolishRoots.org>.

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*** FULL CIRCLE ***

by Ceil Wendt Jensen <cjensen@mipolonia.net>

   [Editor: Michigan Polonia researcher Ceil Jensen shares this interesting story of Polish documents that went full circle, returning to Poland earlier this year. It's not only an interesting story in its own right -- it may also inspire and encourage you to believe you, too, can do this! This same story, with illustrations, is posted on Ceil's Website at http://mipolonia.net/fullcircle.]

The earliest document in my research on Antoni Przytulski was a baptismal certificate for Mikolaj Przytulski, issued in 1882, for passage to the US. A copy returned to Poland in 2003! My visit in June to the Mlawa archives resulted in the return of papers to Poland from the collection of Antoni Przytulski's genealogical research as an example of the American experience in Polish genealogy.

The main focus of my trip to Poland earlier this year was to identify materials at the archives that would be useful for genealogists and were not filmed by LDS. But a few words from the Director of the Archive in Mlawa, Andrzej Grochowski, sowed a seed for a Transatlantic project.

In the course of our conversation, he mentioned that all the archives in Poland would be hosting open houses on October 10 and 11, 2003. There was a range of themes, and Mlawa selected genealogy. I proposed sending a set of U.S. records that demonstrate the paper trail American researchers must recreate in order to find their ancestral village. Director Grochowski was enthusiastic about the idea.

The display was sent to Poland September 15, 2003. It arrived in plenty of time to be displayed at the open house.

The display documented my search for the ancestral and/or birth village of Anthony/Antoni Przytulski in Russian Poland. The first interview with Anthony took place in 1975, and his birth document was finally received from Poland in 2001. The majority of the documents were collected over the course of five years.

The display board contained the basic documents all U.S. researchers should check if they are seeking the village of their ancestors in Europe.

Doc. 1 -- Anthony's uncle Mikolaj Przytula's birth certificate, issued in 1888 for his passage to the United States. The village is Ciborz, Kreis Strasburg [now Brodnica], but the certificate was issued in Lautenburg [Lidzbark].

Doc. 2 -- Anthony's grandparents, Adam Przytula and Johanna Psiuk, with Uncle Mikolaj Przytula and Aunt Stanislawa Przytula (Pisarek). Photo taken in Detroit, MI between 1898 – 1908.

Doc. 3 -- School photo of young Anthony Przytulski, labeled "Room 5, St. Casmir's." St. Casmir Parish School Detroit, MI.

Doc. 4 -- Baltimore Index Card listing Anthony's last residence as Gross Lensk, now Wielki L~e~ck. This document led to a set of FHL microfilm records that documented Antoni's maternal line to 1787.

Doc. 5 -- Anthony Przytulski's naturalization papers and photos of Anthony at those filing dates. The Polish residence is listed as Plock. That is the region, not the village. It sent the research off in the wrong direction for several months.

Doc. 6 World War I draft registration. Anthony was required to register in the First Draft (5 June 1917) of three draft registration periods. The village of birth is listed as "Cutsburg." Anthony’s home village was Kuczbork, now Kuczbork-Osada.

Doc. 7 -- Birth record of Anthony, found at the Mlawa Archives in 2001. His mother is listed as unwed and residing with her parents in Kuczbork.

Doc. 8 -- Pedigree chart showing Anthony's maternal line back to 1787.

Doc. 9 -- My hope is to identify the family of the unwed father. My notes from a 1975 interview with Anthony's half-sister states that his father's surname was Podgorski or Wisniewski. A 2001 interview with Anthony's grandson included the information that Anthony's father was also born out of wedlock. Additional research needs to be conducted in the newly-identified village to see if a Podgorski or Wisniewski boy was born out of wedlock 17 years before Anthony's birth.

This 113-year-old mystery might be solved if a male member of the unwed father's family can be identified and would consent to a Y-chromosome test with one of Anthony's grandsons.

Doc. 10 -- Photo of author Ceil Wendt Jensen (Anthony Przytulski's granddaughter) and Andrzej Grochowski, director of the Mlawa branch of the Polish State Archives.

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*** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ***

   [Editor: Quite a few folks wrote with words of sympathy over the system crash I described in the last issue. I appreciate the sympathy -- and many of you may appreciate the practical advice these folks added to their notes].
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Subject: Hard drive crashes

I've had only one so far.

I have a second internal hard drive I use as backup, as well as zip & cd discs. I carry copies of my Family Tree Maker in my backpack [to work] in case the house burns down.

In any crisis we go thru 5 steps: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Then maybe revenge!

Supposedly a hard drive has to be smashed with a sledgehammer in order to not be able to extract the data from it. There are layers of info that can be extracted...

Garret S. Mierzejewski <gmpolam@att.net>

   [Editor: Sounds like you're well protected! It's true that data can often be recovered from a hard drive unless it's physically smashed all to hell. In my case I didn't feel I could afford the time and expense -- especially since, by the time I realized how much I'd lost, I'd already written a lot of stuff back onto the hard drive. So odds were good I'd already overwritten the data I might have recovered. But it's true, in many cases data recovery resources are well worth using.]

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Subject: Backup Your Work

I read your backup problems with compassion -- been there -- haven't we all?

One problem I experienced is backing up copies of e-mail. I'm sure you get many a day and perhaps as I do, just keep them in case I have time later to follow up on a link. I also had many e-mails from a variety of fellow Kurys and Piech researchers. I have yet to find a good way to archive these e-mails. A recent switch from Windows 98 to Windows NT had our tech guy at work trying to switch my e-mails from Outlook to Outlook Express, but it turns out the systems were incompatible (at least that's what the Microsoft site said). Perhaps you or a reader has some good suggestions for backing up e-mail.

Barb Kwietniowski <barbkwie@enoreo.on.ca>

   [Editor: My own methods in this regard are fairly primitive and not worth sharing. Perhaps some of you have some good ideas for Barb.]

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Subject: Austrian Military Files

There was a quotation in the recent _Gen Dobry!_ as follows:

> "You should consider that because of the treaties after World
> War I Austria was forced to surrender personal files to the
> successor states."

This may or may not be true as a matter of history, but as a practical matter, don't count on it. I am a veteran of the Vienna-Warsaw hokey-pokey. I first went to Vienna, which sent me to Warsaw, which sent me to Vienna. Warsaw professes no knowledge of any partition-era records. Karen Hobbs notes that the actual location of the records may be at the powiat level, which I have not yet explored. But the "successor states" idea in my limited experience is a mirage. Add in the fact that from 1918 to around 1920 Poland was involved in a war with Russia, and, well, there may not have been a lot of energy to deal with disorganized scraps of paper about dead people, nor even a very organized government to do it. As we say in my family, if it were easy, it would be called hockey.

Sophie M. Korczyk <economist21@hotmail.com>

   [Editor: If hockey's your family's idea of easy, I'd hate to see what you consider hard!
   [There are certain maddening traps one can fall into when doing research in Poland. One I've heard of occurs when a researcher tries to get records from the area that is now in Lithuania but was under Polish rule after World War I. I've heard of people who got bounced back and forth like a ping-pong ball between the Lithuanian and Polish archives, each claiming the other guy has the records they need.
   [This business with Austrian military records is another one I've heard about. Apparently you can spend years trying to figure out who's actually got the records and why they won't admit it.
   [All I can say is, I never argue with actual research experience. I believe what you say -- and I'm glad none of my ancestors served in the Austrian military!]

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Subject: Google Search Engine

Am in receipt of the latest issue and just finished reading the section on Google. You may be interested to know there exist Polish search engines that focus on Polish websites. One location to find them is: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/2739/search-polish.html. There is also a search engine called Copernic that is downloadable from the internet at: http://www.copernic.com/en/index.html. It automatically searches numerous search engines and even had a feature to search the Polish web. I have located two potential relatives here that did not show up on Google.

Here is a Russian search engine that may be of use to some of us with ancestors from Belarus, the Ukraine, and points east: http://www.zhurnal.ru/search/engines.shtml. One will need to write their name in Cyrillic, of course.

Stanley Klemanowicz <stanklem@msn.com>

   [Editor: I'm glad to spread word of any such resources. Incidentally, for those who love using Google, _PC Magazine_ recently had an article entitled "20 Great Google Secrets." You can read it at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1306756,00.asp.]

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Subject: Site with Info on Villages
 
First of all I'd like to thank you for your monthly editions of this awesome _Gen Dobry!_ e-zine! I was recently introduced to it and am now trying to read through all of the older editions. I have learned a lot already and have only gotten through a handful so far.
 
One website I would like to tell you about is http://www.bazagmin.pl/. It is in Polish but it is simple to navigate through. When you get to your ancestral village it provides information on how large the village is and the current population. I found this interesting when comparing what I found to what was listed in the _Slownik Geograficzny_ from the late 1800's, as I have recently wrote my family's genealogy book and used the information to compare "then" and "now."

I do have some questions for you and thought maybe you or someone might be able to help me. Is there any way to find military information on specific Russian Poles during the 1800's? (The LDS has a limited amount of information but doesn't pertain to my ancestors.) Is there any way to find out more about people (Russian Poles) who were killed in World War I overseas (do they hold any lists of people that were killed in action)?

Again thanks for all of your hard work that you have done in assisting all of us Polish/Russian genealogy researchers. Without it, I wouldn't be where I am today in my research!

Kim Stankiewicz <kim.stankiewicz@comcast.net>

   [Editor: You're very welcome, Kim. As for military info on Russian Poles during the 1800s, I would start with searching for military records kept now in the nearest branch of the Polish State Archives. These records were drawn up by local draft boards and should, in theory, have ended up there. But for Russian Poles killed in World War I, I'm not having much luck thinking of anything for them. Anyone with good ideas, please speak up!].

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Subject: Translation Help

I am a poor, ignorant amateur genealogist who is looking for someone to translate something from Polish to English.

Some background. My father was born May 1920. His father, Josef LAGA, died in January of 1921, and my grandmother, Frances GAIK, moved back to her family house in Bridgeport and had very little contact with her husband's family.

I've already done some very basic digging, using census information, and found that my great-grandfather was August LAGA (born Poland/Germany 3/1855) who married Frances SOCHA 3-16-1886 in a "Kashubian" church (St. Josephat) in Chicago and moved to the near South Side where I was born and raised (Bridgeport). Both the 1910 and 1920 census agrees with their 1886 marriage. However, there seems to be some discrepancy in the census information, with the 1900 census listing their marriage as taking place in 1883. Further, August lists his arrival in the U.S. around 1880, but Frances lists her arrival in 1884, and their first two children were born BEFORE they were married in Chicago in 1886, although both of those kids are born in Illinois (as are their 5 subsequent children). There is no online database where I can verify any of their birth/death information.

In looking at the Polish Surname distribution database (the 'Slownik Nazwisk"), I found most of the LAGA surnames in the Gdansk/Danzig district. I then made a big leap to the 1772/73 "census" (Die Kartei Quassowski) and found the LAGA name almost exclusively in the town/village/settlement/estate of Darglau, which is part of the modern town of Strzepcz. I found a history of this place on the Website <www.ug-linia.pl/stepcz.html> -- which finally brings me to my question.

Would some kind soul PLEASE translate that site for me? All of the online translators I use are inadequate, to say the least. I've tried to send information to a real person (Translation Team Manual), but something seems to get muddled thru my ISP. It doesn't arrive in the proper form and I don't know what the proper form is supposed to be.

So, PLEASE, have pity ..............HELP!

Frank < EVIN47714@cs.com>

   [Editor: What about it, kind readers? Who feels up to helping Frank with this?]

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Re: Polish War Refugees

If you ever get questions about Polish war refugees in Africa, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Lebanon, Syria, or Iran, you can refer them to me and the Kresy-Siberia Group.

These refugees are all survivors of the million-plus deported from Poland in 1940-41 by the Soviet occupiers to labour camps in the USSR. After the Nazi attack on Soviets in 1941 resulted in a treaty to release these Polish citizens, some 115,000 were fortunate enough to be evacuated from the USSR to Iran in 1942 with General Anders' Polish Army.

While the soldiers went on to fight in Italy and throughout Western Europe, the tens of thousands of civilians who were evacuated were sent to refugee camps across the British Commonwealth, its colonies, and exceptionally some were hosted by Mexico in the Santa Rosa Colony near Leon. While some of these refugees returned to Poland after the war, for most of them their homes had been stolen and their land remained under Soviet rule according to the Yalta agreement. As displaced persons, they dispersed across the Western world as part of the Polish Diaspora.

Information on this history and on all the Polish citizens deported, enslaved and killed by the Soviet Union during World War Two can be found in the film "A Forgotten Odyssey" previously mentioned in _Gen Dobry!_, and through the Kresy-Siberia Group.

Stefan Wisniowski <swisniowski@px.com.au>

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Subject: Good recent history of Poland

I recently finished Norman Davies _God's Playground_, as recommended by the Polish Roots website, and found it fascinating. The only problem is that I find myself wanting more. I have been hunting (unsuccessfully) for an equally good reference that would pick up where _Playground_ left off, starting with Solidarity in 1980, covering the fall of communism and finishing as near to the present as possible. Understanding the past has given me a perspective to appreciate how truly incredible the past 25 years have been. I would also be interested in any quality analysis of Poland's prospects for the future. I cannot help but believe that the future looks brighter than it has at any time in the last 300 years. I see Poland (and Hungary) just blossoming in their newly obtained freedom. I've gone so far as to invest part of my portfolio in Central Europe. Are you aware of any good references on Poland's recent past and/or its future?

Jim Folcik <Jim_Folcik@eogresources.com>

   [Editor: No brilliant suggestions come to mind. But I'll bet some of you have some ideas for Jim.]

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*** FINDING RAYMOND KANIOK ***

   [Editor: I thought this note deserved special attention.]

My mother, Eileen Groden, is dying. She was a driver in the British Royal Air Force during World War II. All her life she has talked about her love for a warrant officer, Raymond Kaniok, in the 308th Polish fighter squadron she served with. I would really like to tell her what happened to him. Can you help me please? I do not know where to start.

Cathy Chabo <cathleen5@btopenworld.com>

   [Editor: I'm glad to say in subsequent notes Cathy told me her mother is doing much better. Cathy discussed printing this note in _Gen Dobry!_ with her mother, and her mother agreed. She would be very glad to hear from anyone who could give her an idea how she might find Mr. Kaniok. Ideas, anyone?]

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*** MAPPING SURNAME DATA ***

Pat Smith <patunia@winbeam.com> wrote to tell me of a Website created by Tomasz Nitsch that lets you create a map showing the frequency and distribution of surnames, using the data from the "Slownik nazwisk" online database. It's located at the following address:

   http://www.genpol.com/Mapa+main.html

The procedure for using it could be more user-friendly; some of you may find it difficult. I, for one, think it's worth the trouble. After all, it's one thing to see a lot of numbers telling you where a name shows up most often. Looking at a map lets you identify patterns instantly. I find I'm using this page several times a day.

The first thing you need to do is to get the data on the name you're interested in. Go to the Slownik nazwisk database at http://www.herby.com.pl/herby/indexslo.html. Key in the surname you want to find and click on "Szukaj" (Search). (If you need help using this data, or want to know more about it, read my article "The 'Slownik Nazwisk' Is Online" at http://polishroots.com/gendobry/GenDobry_vol3_no8.htm).

When you search for a specific name in the database, the third column that appears, "Rozmieszczenie," shows how that name is distributed all over Poland. Highlight the data in that column (put your cursor over it, click the left mouse button, and hold it down as you move the cursor to cover the whole box). Copy it (on a PC, press Ctrl and C simultaneously). Then go to the Mapa site and paste that data into the empty box (press Ctrl and V simultaneously). Under that box there's a smaller box where you can type in the name you're looking for (so that the resulting map will be labeled). Then look down to the little box that says "Pokaz mape" (Show the map), and click on it. This will produce a map that shows you at a glance how the name is distributed all over Poland.

The default interface language for this site is -- surprise! -- Polish. If you find it too confusing, over in the top left column there is a window saying "Jezyki/Languages" where you can click and choose the option "English." This will take you back to the site's home page, www.genpol.com. Once there, look in the left column, second section down, where it says "Menu." The second option listed there, "Mapa Polski," is the one you want. Click on it, and it will take you to the page where you can do the mapping, but with everything in English.

There are other options for the map, including the colors or tones used to indicate data, the scale, and whether or not to append a list with the data. You can play around with these at your leisure. But concentrate first on mastering the procedure for getting the data and mapping it, and then it'll be easy to fine-tune the results.

Thanks for the tip, Pat! I find this site handy, and I think others will, too.

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*** UPCOMING EVENTS ***

November 6 - 9, 2003

New England Regional Genealogical Conference

Sea Crest Resort, North Falmouth, Massachusetts

New England -- America's Melting Pot

For more details: http://www.rootsweb.com/~manergc 

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November 22, 203

PGS-CALIFORNIA meeting
2:30 p.m.
Room 6 of the Los Angeles Family History Center

Special speaker: Rik Fox, a member of the Polish Nobility Commonwealth Guild. Rik is going to talk to us about the Polish Hussars who existed in the time frame of roughly 1500-1755. Rik will talk about these Winged Horseman, their armor and their activities of that time which partially coincided with the age of the European Renaissance.

We invite you to come and meet him in person at our meeting on November 22 to hear him talk about about the history of that time in greater detail, and take the opportunity to ask him questions. If you want to know more about him, and his activities in teaching others about the Winged Hussars, you can go to his website at <www.geocities.com/Rik_Fox>.

Annette Gathright, Program Chair

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April 16-19, 2004

United Polish Genealogical Societies
Biennial Conference
Salt Lake City, Utah

Mark the dates on your calendar. Additional conference particulars will be announced in the coming months. Check the Websites PGSCA.org and PolishRoots.org for additional information as it becomes available.

The 2004 conference is co-hosted by PGS-California and PGS-America. Paul Lipinski is the chairperson. Email: Paul.Lipinski@acm.org.

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*** MORE USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES ***

http://www.warszawa.ap.gov.pl/intro.html
   Garret S. Mierzejewski <gmpolam@att.net> directed me to this site of the Archives of the Capital City of Warsaw, noting "It even has psychedelic music...."
______________________________

http://www.jewishgen.org/JRI-PL/agad/agadtowns.html
   On the mailing list <soc.genealogy.jewish> Mark Halpern announced that "50,000 AGAD vital record indices have been added to the Jewish Records Indexing - Poland database at http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl/ [click on Search Database]. Thanks to the efforts of the AGAD indexing team in Warsaw and Michael Tobias, there are now over 450,000 vital record indices for 66 eastern Galician towns in the JRI-Poland database."
______________________________

http://homepage.mac.com/lizurd/genealogy_other/bookmarks/index.html
   Debbie Greenlee <daveg@airmail.net> pointed out this site, maintained by Liz Hujsak and featuring links for towns and villages mentioned on the Bukowsko Triangle mailing list, which concentrates on the area near Bukowsko in the southeastern tip of Poland.
______________________________

http://www.thorn.co.uk/Warsaw_at_War/Warsaw_WW2.htm
   Gary Mokotoff, editor of _Nu? What's New_, told me about this site, created by Stefan Mucha <stefan@thorn.co.uk> and featuring a small collection of photos taken mainly by Nazi soldiers stationed in Warsaw during World War II.
______________________________

http://www.unsere-ahnen.de/
   Arlene Gardner told PolishRoots' Vice President Paul S. Valasek about this site, which provides maps and information on places in Poland, and especially those in areas formerly ruled by Germany. The only language interface choices are German and Polish; but it's not too hard to find your way around.
______________________________

http://www.mytarg.net/index2.html
   Here's another site Arlene Gardner told Paul about, the home page of TARG, the Tatra Area Research Group.
______________________________

http://en.wikipedia.org/
   Paul happened across this site while looking for interesting sources on Haller's Army. It is unusual in that it purports to be an encyclopedia with articles that readers may edit! This is a noble idea in principle -- but it's hard to say how it will work out in practice. I've found the people most anxious to publish their ideas online are often the ones who really out to be in padded cells... Still, our guiding principle is to tell you about interesting resources and let you judge for yourself. So the address is given above, and you're encouraged to draw your own conclusions!
______________________________

http://hum.amu.edu.pl/~rafalp/GEN/wykaz-eng.html
   We've mentioned this site before -- it's a list of surnames being researched, on Rafal Prinke's Website. But recently on the Poland-Roots mailing list Marie <polandgenweb@comcast.net> gave a timely reminder that folks with names on that site should check to make sure their e-mail addresses are current. She said, "I believe that any Polish surnames of interest posted to this mailing list are automatically added to the database. Even if you didn't submit them via the website, you should check to see if you have a listing there."
______________________________

http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-geogmap2.html
   On the Poland-Roots mailing list Marie <polandgenweb@comcast.net> gave another good reminder: that requests for maps from the Library of Congress can no longer be handled by e-mailing the address <maps@loc.gov>. Now you have to use the "Ask A Librarian" online form, at the address given above. This is a good source of maps, if you know how to use it correctly!
______________________________

http://home.swipnet.se/roland/maryintro.html#ukrainiantribes
   On the Galicia mailing list, Bohdan Jurkiw <bir@alphalink.com.au> suggested checking this site for information on Ruthenian history. He also recommended checking this site: http://home.swipnet.se/roland/ukrainiantribes.html.
______________________________

http://www.battleofmontecassino.com/link.htm
   On the Poland-Roots mailing list Evelyn <evelyn@gbonline.com> suggested checking this site for Polish experiences during World War II. "Poland's stories are either the 5th or 6th group down."
______________________________

http://www.aforgottenodyssey.com/gallery/
   Stefan Wisniowski <swisniowski@px.com.au> pointed out that the Kresy-Sibera Group has a listing of Polish civilian evacuees from the U.S.S.R. to Iran in 1942 on this Website.
______________________________

http://www.polishroots.com/genpoland/polhistory.htm
   On the PolandBorderSurnames mailing list, Tina Ellis <przymelewski@hotmail.com> recommended this page on PolishRoots for a history of Poland that's not too long and is easy to read. She also mentioned this site as worth a look: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~atpc/heritage/history/historic-geography.html
______________________________

http://www.kerntopf.com/diverses/kolliste.htm
   On the Posen mailing list, Jan Textor <textor@oncable.dk> pointed to this site in response to a request for a list of colonies of German settlers in Prussia.

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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 [authors name, e-mail address, and URL, if given]. Previously published by _Gen Dobry!_, Vol. IV, No. 10, 31 October 2003. PolishRoots(R): http://PolishRoots.org/.

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Copyright 2003, PolishRoots(R), Inc. All rights reserved.