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* * * * * * * * * G E N D O B R Y ! * * * * * *
* * *
Volume IV, No. 11. 30 November 2003.
Copyright (c) 2003, PolishRoots(R), Inc.
Editor: William F. Fred Hoffman, E-mail: <WFHoffman@prodigy.net>
***************************************
CONTENTS
Welcome
Useful Dictionaries and Translation Aids
Letters to the Editor
JRI-Poland Order Processing System
Dziekuje, Krzysztof and Ela Kowalkowski
Follow-up to "Finding Raymond Kaniok"
Primers on Basic Research Procedures
Upcoming Events
More Useful Web Addresses
You May Reprint Articles...
***************************************
*** 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. And if you have a
little time and would like to volunteer your services to PolishRoots, your
help would be greatly appreciated! Some of the projects for which help is
needed are listed here:
http://www.polishroots.org/projects.htm
***************************************
*** USEFUL DICTIONARIES AND TRANSLATION AIDS ***
by William F. "Fred" Hoffman <wfhoffman@prodigy.net>
Not long ago, a researcher asked me a very reasonable question: what do I
consider the best Polish dictionary available? He said, after all, I work
with the language enough I might have some insights worth sharing.
This time of year, people are looking for good gift ideas. So I realized
this is a timely question, one many of you might like to hear the answer
to. I’ve drawn up, therefore, a brief list of some of the best
dictionaries and translation aids I know of.
* WHAT DO YOU WANT THEM FOR? *
The first question you have to ask yourself is, what do you intend to use
these works for? I, for instance, do a lot of research into name origins,
so I've paid some sizable bucks to get rare, multi-volume Polish-language
dictionaries that contain information on archaic or dialect terms that may
be connected with names. Almost every day I refer to the 8-volume _Slownik
Jezyka Polskiego_ [Dictionary of the Polish Language] edited by J.
Karlowicz, popularly called the _Slownik warszawski_ because it was
published in Warsaw. I also have a set of the massive 6-volume _Slownik
Lindego_ [Linde's Dictionary]. Aleksander Bruckner's _Slownik
etymologiczny jezyka Polskiego_ [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish
Language] is also valuable in my work. These are three of the sources
Polish scholars start with whenever they're getting ready to do some
serious linguistic work.
These are great books for my purposes; but it'd be stupid of me to
recommend them to you. They're rare, expensive, and require fluency in
Polish -- not exactly what most of you are looking for.
Similarly, there are good dictionaries available that focus on medical
terminology, computer and hi tech terms, business jargon, and so on. Great
books if that's what you need, fairly worthless for genealogists.
* TRANSLATION GUIDES *
So what do I recommend for those who want a dictionary or similar work to
help them with genealogy?
Well, my honest answer will sound very self-serving. Jonathan Shea and I
wrote the first volume of the _In Their Words_ series, dealing with
Polish, precisely because in genealogical research you see a lot of terms
that are rare or archaic, and not included in most dictionaries. We could
have saved ourselves a LOT of trouble if we could have told people,
"Buy such-and-such, it's got just what you need." We wrote our
book precisely because we knew of no work that gives you just what you
need. In addition to analysis of dozens of documents of all kinds, our
book includes 60 pages of Polish terms, with special emphasis on those
found in records of genealogical value. If you do want to know more about
it, you can visit our Website at http://www.langline.com/index.htm#Polski.
So forgive me that bit of blatant self-promotion. I'm telling you the
truth as I see it. And of course, recognizing I might not be the most
unbiased person in the world, you're welcome to say "Yeah, sure,
whatever."
Now if your main interest is in translating Polish-language birth,
marriage, and death records, and if you feel our 400-page book is way more
than you need, there is an alternative that's stood the test of time:
Judith Frazin's _A Translation Guide to 19th-Century Polish-Language
Civil-Registration Documents_, 2nd edition (published 1989 by the Jewish
Genealogical Society of Illinois, ISBN 0-9613512-1-7). It is a good,
useful work that focuses on that type of document, and contains brief but
useful lists of terms typically encountered in research.
For this book's price and ordering information, you can check with the
publisher at www.jewishgen.org/jgsi/libraries.htm.
To be honest, neither of these books really substitutes for a good
Polish-English dictionary. The book Shea and I did supplements a good
dictionary, but does not replace one. You're still going to need a good
dictionary to deal with all the Polish material you run across.
* ONLINE *
There are some innocent souls (notice I did NOT say "morons")
who are convinced they can find everything they need online. So that
raises the natural question -- is there a good dictionary online?
Well, free is good, and there are free dictionaries online. But I can't
really recommend them, because they all concentrate on modern Polish.
True, many of the terms you run across have not changed over the years;
these online dictionaries will be some help with them. But the Polish
language has changed quite a bit over the last century -- terminology has
changed, and spelling has, too. My guess is, in a typical paragraph-style
vital record, you'll be frustrated by how many terms just don't show up in
modern dictionaries, especially occupations. Modern works will tell you _wozny_,
for instance, means "janitor," but don't mention that it used to
be a term for a local official, kind of like a bailiff or beadle. They'll
tell you these days a _mysliwiec_ is a fighter plane or fighter pilot, but
not that it used to mean "hunter."
The most impressive source of Polish dictionaries I've seen online is at
http://slowniki.onet.pl/. It includes a pretty respectable choice of
dictionaries for Polish into various languages, include English, French,
Hebrew, Russian, and Spanish. My previous point still applies -- they
aren't a lot of help with some of the archaic terms you run into in old
documents. But for the price, the Polish-English one is worth a try; it
will help you at least sometimes.
While I'm at it, I probably should also mention online translation sites.
On the soc.genealogy.slavic newsgroup, someone asked for the address of a
Website with free translation of Polish to English, and Herma <hp@gumpert.nl>
suggested this site: http://www.genealogienetz.de/misc/translation.html. I
have never had occasion to use this service, so obviously I cannot say how
competent or reliable it is. But if you're looking for a free translation
and feel adventurous, you might try it.
Also, on the Galicia mailing list some months ago, Laurence Krupnak gave
this address for "Polish-English Translations by Humans Online":
http://www.polish-translation.net/. The same caution applies: I haven't
tried it, so I can't vouch for it; but it may be worth a look. There is a
charge involved for any translation longer than three words; but, after
all, brevity is the soul of wit!
Of course, there are also online services such as that at www.poltran.com.
They're not very good for general work, and even less so for the
specialized vocabulary you encounter in genealogical research. Still, the
price is right; and they can sometimes help you get the gist of a given
passage in Polish.
Finally, I should remind you of one simple and useful source of assistance
online -- the list of Polish genealogical terms on the LDS Family History
Library site:
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/rg/guide/WLPolish1.asp#a
* DICTIONARIES *
Now let's look at traditional dictionaries in book form. Future
generations may wonder why we were ever so attached to these old-fashioned
works. But there's something awfully handy about a good book that's always
right there when you need it, even during a power outage!
There are quite a few Polish-English dictionaries available, and it can be
confusing trying to keep them straight -- two authors, Iwo Cyprian
Pogonowski and Jan Stanislawski, seem to have produced most of them! I'm
going to concentrate on ones I have seen myself during some thirty years
of browsing. That way I know they are not too hard to find, and I can
speak with some authority on their strong and weak points.
Hippocrene, a publisher specializing in Polish and other Eastern European
reference works, has published several dictionaries by Iwo Cyprian
Pogonowski. I have a copy of his _Polish-English, English-Polish
Dictionary_, copyright 1979, ISBN 0-88254-463-2. He also has a more recent
one called _Hippocrene Standard Dictionary: Polish-English English-Polish:
With Complete Phonetics, Menu, Business Terms_, a paperback published
April 1995, ISBN 0781802822. It's available on Amazon.com for $13.97.
I haven't seen that latter version, but from the sample pages shown on
Amazon, it looks like the same material as in the one I do have, in a
slightly fancier format. It has some good points -- to his credit,
Pogonowski makes an attempt to indicate how you pronounce Polish words. It
helps a lot if you can sound words out, and he tries to make that easier
for you.
Still, I can't get very excited about these books. His dictionaries don't
have an impressive range of terms, and the format is not very
user-friendly. My biggest complaint is that he doesn't give you samples of
proper usage, brief phrases that illustrate how a word is used. He tells
you _orzech_ means "nut," but how are you supposed to know
whether it's a nut you eat, a metal fastener, or a mental case? I feel
strongly that a good dictionary must give you a few samples of how the
word in question appears in typical phrases; these quickly help you
understand how the word is used. Don't laugh -- the right word matters. If
you ask an archive director for permission to look at his
"records," you want old documents, not a bunch of polka albums!
While I'm on the subject, let me give you a tip that applies to using any
kind of dictionary. If you look up a Polish word and get the English
meaning, do yourself a favor: look at all the translations given, then go
cross-check some of them in the English section. It will soon become
apparent whether the word means what you think it means. That can save you
a lot of trouble, because many words, in English and Polish, have multiple
meanings. Polish _akt_ can mean "deed; act; certificate; nude
painting"; you might want to make sure the subject is documents, not
portraits of naked Slavs.
For years I've used the _Wielki slownik polsko-angielski, angielsko-polski
/ The Great Polish-English, English-Polish Dictionary_. This dictionary,
one of several edited by Jan Stanislawski, is a 4-volume set, and covers
an awful lot of the terms you'll see. The edition I have is an old one;
the current one is hardcover, 3,135 pages, ISBN 83-7236-049-9. It ain't
cheap -- it typically goes for about $140.00. (Of course, you could buy
just the two volumes covering Polish-English for about half that price).
For serious work, this is a good all-purpose dictionary, with a wide range
of terms (including many archaic ones) and usage samples. Until recently,
this was the one I picked up when I started work on a translation; I
didn't resort to others unless the word I was looking for did not appear
in it.
More recently, I bought _Nowy slownik Fundacji Kosciuszkowskiej
polsko-angielski, angielsko-polski / The New Kosciuszko Foundation
Dictionary English-Polish, Polish-English_, edited by Jacek Fisiak,
Universitas 2003, hardcover, 3,080 pages, ISBN 83-7052-574-1, 2 volumes,
including a CD-ROM with the complete text that appears in the books. It
lists for $135.00 (at www.polbook.com you can get it for $101.25 plus
shipping and handling, but I can't tell whether that includes the CD).
There are two things I love about this dictionary: 1) that CD-ROM is
downright handy; 2) this is the first Polish-English dictionary done
specifically for American English usage. (Until now most dictionaries
featured British English, and that can cause us poor Americans occasional
confusion). The books themselves are nicely made, with lots of sample
usages and other good features. I keep the books on the bookshelf for
occasional reference (and to keep my granddaughters from trashing them);
for everyday work I pop the CD version into my computer whenever I begin a
translation project, and just keep it running minimized on the desktop,
instantly ready for reference, until I'm finished.
These last two items are pretty expensive, so you may wonder if there's a
reasonably priced dictionary that I like better than Pogonowski's. There
is; it's been around for decades, and it was also by Jan Stanislawski,
although the exact title and publisher has varied. The most recent version
I have is called _McKay's English-Polish / Polish-English Dictionary_,
Random House 1988, ISBN 0-812-91691-3. I found it online for as little as
$12.95 from various sources -- I just searched at www.google.com for
"McKay's English Polish Dictionary Random House" and a number of
matches came up.
(I've seen an earlier edition of this dictionary, published by David McKay
Publishers, first reprinted in March 1940. It's the exact same dictionary
as the one I bought decades later in the 90s. They redesigned the cover
and changed the title slightly, but the text is a page-by-page reprint).
I've seen this dictionary again and again over the years in bookstores, so
I think it shouldn't be too hard to find. What I like about it is its
compact size and impressive range of terms. It includes a number of older
words you won't find in some larger dictionaries (including the archaic
meanings of _wozny_ and _mysliwiec_). I think it's a good value.
For those who prefer a dictionary on CD-ROM, there's also the _Collins YDP
Multimedia Slownik polsko-angielski angielsko-polski_. I bought it some
years ago, and it's not bad. It's still available for $99 or so, depending
on current rates, from http://www.zem.co.uk/polsoft/slo_coll.htm. But the
interface is tricky for English speakers; it clearly was designed for
Poles trying to translate into English, not so much for English-speakers
trying to translate into Polish. I prefer the new Kosciuszko Foundation
dictionary, because you get the handy CD as well as the very nice books;
so you get the best of both worlds.
* SUMMARY *
Those are dictionaries I've had a chance to look at personally. There are
others out there that I have not seen. I notice there's a Langenscheidt
Pocket Polish Dictionary, paperback, ISBN 1585730521, available at
Amazon.com for $11.16. Langenscheidt usually produces respectable
efforts; if all you need is a basic, no-frills dictionary, this one might
suffice. But remember: it will focus on MODERN Polish.
You can find these and other books by searching online booksellers such as
www.polbook.com -- on that page, click on the left column where it says
"Dictionaries and Encyclopedias." The Dom Ksiazki has a
selection at http://www.poloniabookstore.com/kategoria.asp?k=slowniki. I
also found a good selection at http://finebooks.bizland.com/rfpolish.html.
To sum up, there isn't any one dictionary that's "the best" --
it depends what you're using it for and how much you want to pay. For
genealogical researchers' purposes, the new Kosciuszko Foundation
dictionary is a fine work, but a little pricy. The old standby _Wielki
Slownik_ by Stanislawski is also a very good work, but I'd have to say it
isn't as good a value as the Kosciuszko Foundation offering. Pogonowski's
dictionary isn't half bad, is easy to find, and some may find the phonetic
pronunciation hints useful. But if you're looking for something under $20,
I'd have to vote for McKay's English-Polish Polish-English dictionary.
There's just something about it I've always liked, and for the money it's
a pretty decent buy!
***************************************
*** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ***
Subject: Polish fonts
I bought some Ogonki PL fonts for use with Windows XP and noticed that
many of my East European fonts now also print the 9 special letters. When
installing XP I specified E. European fonts, if I remember correctly.
From the fonts folder it’s not possible to tell if a font is E. E. I got
the list from my Illustrator character listing, of all places.
I have software that shows every letter according to its code number, and
although Helvetica 191 shows the upside down question mark for PL "z
with the dot above," using Ogonki/XP it now prints properly. The
Ogonki fonts show the correct "z + dot."
I haven’t tried all my 150+ E. E. fonts, but some that do work are
Albertus Extra Bold, Andale Mono, Arialic Hollow, Compugraphic Omega,
Coronet, Marigold, Mistral, Palatino, Univers, etc. Some, such as
Copperplate, don’t work.
Some of my fonts are from Adobe, Microsoft, and some are free from the
Net. It appears only True Type fonts work, not Open Type. Also, the extra
fonts only work with MS programs, not Adobe.
Happy typing,
Garret Mierzejewski <gmpolam@att.net>
[Editor -- I'm passing on Garret's note for those interested
in using fonts that reproduce Polish letters. This whole subject is
terribly complicated, and will remain so until all software -- word
processors, browsers, e-mail programs, etc. -- support Unicode as a matter
of routine. For now, you still have to figure using Polish fonts is fine
for showing those letters on your screen or your printer; but you cannot
rely on their reproducing properly on others' machines. They may; they may
not (probably not).
But I read an interesting article from PC Magazine recently,
"Embedding Fonts in Web." In theory it should be possible to
embed any font you like in the code for a Website and make it reproduce
correctly on others' machines. In practice I have no idea how well this
works. But if you're interested, the article is here: www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1309279,00.asp.
There are also some useful comments on using Polish fonts,
including the Ogonki, at http://www.zem.co.uk/polsoft/faq.htm.]
-----
Subject: Jewish Records Indexing
In future, should you have the opportunity to refer to Jewish Records
Indexing - Poland, may I ask that you use our direct home page address at:
www.jri-poland.org.
While we are hosted by JewishGen, we are two totally independent
organizations with our own management, volunteers and fundraising, and the
confusion has created problems of many sorts.
Stanley Diamond <smsdiamond@aol.com>
[Editor -- I appreciate the correction. I included an item in
the last issue that referred to JRI-Poland and directed people to a site
on JewishGen. As Stanley points out, it's best to go straight to the
source. And, while we're on this subject, take a look at the next
item....]
***************************************
*** JRI-POLAND ORDER PROCESSING SYSTEM ***
Recently Stanley Diamond, Executive Director of Jewish Records Indexing -
Poland, announced that it is now possible to use an online shopping basket
to order 19th-century records dealing with Jewish Poles from 19 branches
of the Polish State Archives. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and
congratulations go to Stanley, Steven Zedeck, Michael Tobias, and Mark
Halpern of JRI-Poland, and to Andrzej Biernat, Executive Director of the
Polish State Archives.
For more information on this remarkable achievement, visit the Website of
JRI-Poland at www.jri-poland.org. It's also advisable to read the FAQ file
at http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl/jriplfaq.htm to learn exactly what is
and is not involved.
***************************************
*** DZIEKUJE, KRZYSZTOF AND ELA KOWALKOWSKI***
by Ceil Jensen <cjensen@mipolonia.net>
We’ve all heard stories about friendships formed on the Internet. I have
my friend Dewey to thank for the online introduction to Ela and Krzysztof
Kowalkowski. They are a dynamic team. Ela translates the e-mail from
English to Polish for her husband, and Krzysztof is the genealogy writer
and researcher.
His staid photo on his books belies his kinetic nature. His local history
books are so interesting and unique I put an interview with him on my
website:
http://mipolonia.net/view/kowalkowski/index.htm
The introduction was a natural because Krzysztof and I have ancestors from
the village of Milobadz (Muhlbanz). In fact, Krzysztof wrote the history
of the village for the 750th anniversary. Imagine my surprise when
Krzysztof sent me a gift copy and I found my great uncle Adolph Wendt was
listed in the school ledger! There was also a photo of a current citizen
named Roman Wendt.
I put a visit with Ela and Krzysztof Kowalkowski at the top of my travel
plans for my recent trip to Poland. I flew into Poznan and was greeted by
my translator and guide Kasia Grycza of Discovering Roots
(http://discovering-roots.pl).
I had a planned a full agenda for us.
- Kashubian Regional Restaurant Mestwin
http://www.tawernamestwin.pl/
- Walking tour of Old Town Gdansk
- Visit to the villages of Milobadz and Lubiszewo
http://www.lubiszewo.pelplin.opoka.org.pl/
- Visit with possible cousin Jan Wendt, Ph.D. at the University of Gdansk
- Research at the Archives in Gdansk
http://www.gdansk.ap.gov.pl/english/index.htm
- Visit to a Mennonite Cemetery
- Kashubian Ethnographic Park in Wdzydze Kiszewskie
http://www.koscierzyna.gda.pl/eng/wdzydze_eng.htm
But Krzysztof had a plan of his own. Unbeknownst to me, he had contacted
the local newspaper, _Gazeta Trzewska_, and ran a story that I was coming
to the region to search my Wendt line. The newspaper article brought
results.
The Wendt family of Tczew came to the hotel with flowers, books, documents
and a pedigree chart. I marveled at Kasia’s translation skills as she
seamlessly moved between Polish and English and kept the conversation
flowing. We enjoyed a dessert of homemade apple cake made by the hotel
owner’s wife. They told me one additional family member was going to
join us a little later, and sure enough, Roman Wendt -- the fellow
pictured in the book -- arrived with more photos and documents. Roman’s
photo of his ancestor, Franciszek Wendt (1924-2002), bears a strong
resemblance to my great-grandfather, Frank Wendt (1837-1908).
It’s now my job to knit the family together. My theory is that our
common ancestor is Antoni Wenta, born abt. 1765 in Malzewo (Gross Malschau),
a village in the parish of Lubiszewo (Liebschau). I speculate that their
ancestor inherited the land, and my ancestor Johann, the youngest son,
moved with his wife Catherine Reschke to the neighboring parish of
Milobadz.
The Wendt families in Michigan and Tczew are anxious for results. They
have agreed that if documents don’t exist to establish family ties they
will participate in a Y Chromosome DNA test to see if the males match.
***************************************
*** FOLLOW-UP TO "FINDING RAYMOND KANIOK" ***
[Editor: In the last issue we had a note from Cathy Chabo
<cathleen5@btopenworld.com>, whose mother, Eileen Groden, greatly
desires to find Raymond Kaniok, a Polish warrant officer in the 308th
Polish Fighter Squadron, whom she met while serving with the RAF during
World War II. I don't know if anyone answered Cathy directly, but Armela
Hammes sent me this note, which may help Cathy a bit and also gives ideas
on how one can search for an elusive person.]
I was just re-reading the latest _Gen Dobry!_. I came across the
"Finding Raymond Kaniok" article and thought I would try to find
him. You've probably had many answers on this already, but here
goes.
I first went to the Social Security Death Index. Did not find a
Raymond Kaniok but a Raymond B. Kanyok, birthdate, 23 May 1929, death date
of 07 Oct 1997. His SS was issued in PA, place of death given as Palmetto,
Manatee, FL.
Then I tried Google, and what should appear but the article in _Gen
Dobry!_.
Next was www.switchboard.com, and there was no Raymond Kaniok, but there
was an Edward Kaniok in Morris, IL and a Michael in Chicago, IL.
Then I tried Raymond Kanyok, the other variation, and there was a R.
Kanyok in PA and a Ray Kanyok in NJ.
Hope this is of some help.
Armela Hammes <armelahammes@att.net>
***************************************
*** PRIMERS ON BASIC RESEARCH PROCEDURES ***
In the past I have quoted several insightful and delightfully sensible
notes Bill Tarkulich <bill@iabsi.com> has posted on mailing lists.
Two he posted on the Poland Border Surnames list this month were
particularly good. They're really primers on how to make your research
more effective. They're too long to reprint here -- but then why reprint
them here when you can easily look them up in the archives?
I particularly liked his note dated November 14th on how to post
genealogical information online, and what one can learn by analyzing such
posts. You can find it here:
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PolandBorderSurnames/2003-11/1068825505
That whole address has to be one line. If your browser breaks it into two
lines, copy and paste it into your browser's address window so as to
remove the break. Or if you don't know how to do that, just go to this
address:
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/PolandBorderSurnames
Near the bottom, click on "November 2003." This shows a list of
all notes posted to Poland Border Surnames in November. Look down about
halfway to "How to Post your Genealogical Info and what it may
yield" by Bill Tarkulich. Click on that link and you'll get the whole
note. It analyzes the best way to post info online and how
Another particularly valuable note is the one he posted on November 12
entitled "RE: [PBS] polish surnames":
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PolandBorderSurnames/2003-11/1068699358
Newbies and old pros alike can benefit from reading these notes. His basic
point, in both notes, is that it's a waste of time posting notes saying
stuff like "Need help finding my Nowak family" or "Who can
tell me who my ancestors were?" If you put a little thought into what
you say, however, and present your facts well, you can maximize your
chances of making a valuable connection. It's good stuff!
***************************************
*** UPCOMING EVENTS ***
[Note: the PolishRoots Events Calendar <http://www.polishroots.org/coming_events.htm>
usually has more info than we have room for here. If you have an event
coming up you want Polish genealogical researchers to know about, send as
much info as possible to <Events@PolishRoot.org>.]
January 8-11, 2004
POLISH AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
To be held in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the American Historical
Association. For the full program visit their site at
www.polishamericanstudies.org.
==========
January 22-24, 2004
NGS-Gentech
St. Louis, MO
For details visit:
http://www.eshow2000.com/ngsgentech/register_now.cfm
==========
January 24, 2004
POLISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA MEETING
LA-FHC, 10741 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles CA
Dr. Robert S. Sherins will speak on using maps in genealogical research.
For more information see www.pgsca.org.
==========
February 21, 2004
The Legion of Young Polish Women will present its 2004 debutantes at the
65th Annual White and Red Ball at the Grand Ballroom, Chicago Hilton
Towers. For further information write: Legion of Young Polish Women, 5216
W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago IL 60630.
==========
March 27, 2004
POLISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA MEETING
LA-FHC, 10741 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles CA. For more information see
www.pgsca.org.
==========
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.
***************************************
*** MORE USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES ***
http://www.genealogicalstudies.com/eng/gstudies.html
Bob Postula" <robertp@bignet.net> was kind enough
to send me this Website, which offers a 6-week course on Polish Genealogy
beginning 2 February 2004 (click on "Courses," then look under
"Research: Polish Ancestors"). The class is taught by Jan
Zaleski and Kathleen LaBudie-Szakall, experienced researchers and longtime
stalwarts of the Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan. If there's any
chance of taking the course, consider doing so!
______________________________
http://library.ccsu.edu/lib/archives/polish/microfilm/ampol.htm
Bob also posted a note on the Poland-Roots mailing list
giving this address in reply to a question asking about libraries with
Polish newspapers on microfilm. He added, "The following URL will
identify holdings in hard copy form: http://library.ccsu.edu/lib/archives/polish/hardcopy/alphahard.htm."
______________________________
http://www.kapliczki.tc.pl/kapliczki.html
Also on the Polish Genius list, Andy Jendrzejewski
<ajend2@charter.net> said this address "takes you to one of the
nicer sights I have seen in a while, needing no Polish-language skills to
get the idea -- a series of beautiful fast-loading photographs of shrines
in the countryside."
______________________________
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kolbuszowa/
On the soc.genealogy.jewish newsgroup Lisa Dashman
recommended this site for help translating Galician vital records. She
says to scroll down to "Orientation," click on
"Resources," and then click on "Samples of vital records
found in Rzeszow Archives."
______________________________
http://www.genesconnected.co.uk/genesconnected.asp?wci=jewellerygenespage
Ceil Jensen <cjensen@mipolonia.net> sent out a note
citing this Website and commenting, "We've heard about having the Y
chromosome checked for male lineage and mtDNA for the maternal line. From
the 'now I've seen everything' Dept.: a British genealogy website offers
women's jewelry and men's ties decorated with the pattern of your DNA.
Just in time for Christmas?"
______________________________
http://www.lithuaniangenealogy.org/labas/index.html
For those interested in Lithuanian genealogy and culture,
Diane Rooney posted a note on the Lithuanian Genealogy mailing list:
"Just a reminder that Bernard Tirva's excellent e-zine, _Labas_, is
back in online publication." She says the November issue with 8
interesting articles can be read on the LGGS website at the above address.
______________________________
http://www.galizien-online.de/
On the Galicia mailing list Gunter Gross praised this as an
excellent page on Galicia, with content available in German and English.
______________________________
http://www.ny.pl
I and a number of others received a note earlier this month
announcing a "new Polish portal on the Web in the U.S." It
offers Polish news, an online store with Polish products, and so on.
______________________________
http://www.Horlacher.org/germany/ewpruss/index.html
This Website offers online access to Stephen Barthel's
_Gazetteer of Parish and Civil Jurisdictions in East and West Prussia_.
Used in conjunction with www.kartenmeister.com, it can help you trace and
identify the German and Polish names of many, many communities formerly in
Prussia, and establish which parish and county they were in.
______________________________
http://kuhttp.cc.ukans.edu/kansas/cienciala/342/ch2.html
Paul Valasek found this link, which he considers the best
description of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 he's ever read. If you'd like
to know more about this crucial but little-known moment in history, this
site is required reading.
______________________________
http://www.genealogia.ru/projects/maps/maps/alf.html
On the newsgroup soc.genealogy.jewish, Pavel Bernshtam
recommended this as a good site for maps of the Russian Empire.
______________________________
http://www.avotaynu.com/nu11.htm#v04n20
As usual, the latest issue of Avotaynu's e-zine _Nu? What's
New?_, available for reference at this address, has articles worth your
attention. I particularly liked the sites mentioned as sources of
excellent European maps on the Internet.
______________________________
http://historykpress.com/whatsnew.htm
Historyk Press has a new publication, _Tombstone Inscriptions
of Sacred Heart of Mary Cemetery_, transcribed by Diane Lasek. This
cemetery was founded in 1925 to serve primarily the Polish population in
the recently developed eastern Baltimore County, Maryland suburb of
Graceland Park. For more information see the Website indicated above.
***************************************
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. 11, 30 November 2003. PolishRoots(R): http://PolishRoots.org/.
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