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

Volume IV, No. 9. 30 September 2003.
Copyright (c) 2003, PolishRoots(R), Inc.
Editor: William F. Fred Hoffman, E-mail: <WFHoffman@prodigy.net>

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CONTENTS

   Welcome
   Google Your Names -- Back Up Your Work!
   Letters to the Editor
   October: Polish Heritage Month
   New Book on Polish-American Identity
   The Kosciuszko Squadron
   Austrian Military Records
   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. If, for instance, you'd like to know about upcoming events you might want to attend, visit the Events Calendar:

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

If you have an event coming up that you'd like people to know about, visit that page and click on the link to give Webmaster Don Szumowski all the details.

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*** GOOGLE YOUR NAMES -- BACK UP YOUR WORK! ***

by Fred Hoffman <WFHoffman@prodigy.net>

I like to think of _Gen Dobry!_ as an ongoing discussion among friends with a common interest. Those who write articles pass on information they think others will find useful. Those who read the articles, in turn, often reciprocate with their ideas and suggestions. It's not like a lecture series, with a few people talking and everyone else expected to shut up and listen. At its best, _Gen Dobry!_ is more like a dialog; I'm just the guy who gets the talking started.

When you have a discussion of this sort, often someone will speak up with friendly advice born of personal experience (usually painful). Maybe everyone has already heard the advice; the point's not to tell us something new, but to remind us of something we can all benefit from hearing again.

This time around, I'm going to give two pieces of that kind of advice, based on things I've experienced in recent weeks. I'm sure you've heard them before, but I'm going to say them again: 1) Google your names, and 2) Back up your work!

* GOOGLE YOUR NAMES *

In the last couple of years, as the search engine www.Google.com has gained more and more prominence, people in all walks of life have recognized the value of "Googling" names. Maybe you're going to date someone you just met, and want to make sure he's not listed on SerialKillers.org, or she's not the Webmaster of PsychoHagsFromHell.com. Maybe you're trying to land a job and want to see if your potential boss has published professional articles you can read (all the better to kiss up with, my dear!). Maybe you got some advice from someone and just wonder if he knows what he's talking about. Looking up people on Google has become routine for a lot of folks. And why not? It's quick and easy; you never know how it might help.

Of course, if things go the way they usually do in this world, a search engine better than Google is probably available. Have you noticed, by the time a particular product or service gets to be well known, it has usually peaked and started to go downhill? There may be better search engines out there -- if so, I'd be happy to hear about them.

Still, Google is widely regarded as a darned good way to search the Web. And if you're a genealogist, the advantages of Googling names of people in your family tree are obvious. You just might get lucky and find someone else who's already done years of work on the family! It happens (though I must say, don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen to you).

Of course, you have to be sensible. Googling "Smith" is a waste of time, obviously. In fact, so is Googling "Hoffman" -- you wouldn't believe how common that name is, and how many Fred Hoffmans there are! (All fine, reputable men, except for that one dominatrix in drag).

Even if a surname is common, however, you can use Google to good effect by clicking on the "Advanced Search" option. There you can specify parameters that focus the search by restricting it. You can specify that you want to see only pages in English, or Polish, or Croatian (no Klingon yet, but it's only a matter of time). Especially valuable are the options under "Find results," where you can say "Find something with all of the words" or "with the exact phrase" or "with at least one of the words" or "without the words."

So try to come up with some relevant bit of data that narrows the search. Specifying "Smiths on Main Street" may not help much -- but "David Smith gynecologist Pineville Arkansas," that just might cut the number of matches down to a manageable number. There are several options to the advanced search that can make a difference; use them!

* PLACE NAMES, TOO *

The reason I was reminded of Googling was because I received a note from a gentleman asking about the surname ZADARNOWSKI. I couldn't find it in any of my books on surnames, but it did appear in the searchable database with 1990 data on Polish surname frequency and distribution at http://www.herby.com.pl/herby/indexslo.html (if you need help using it, read my article "The 'Slownik Nazwisk' Is Online" at http://polishroots.com/gendobry/GenDobry_vol3_no8.htm). There were 83 Polish citizens by that name, scattered all over the country. So the name is legitimate, and not even all that rare by Polish standards.

Names in the form X-owski usually refer to places with names beginning with the X part, so I checked the _Slownik geograficzny_ gazetteer for places with names beginning Zadarn-. I found only one, Zadarnowo, a village near Kobryn in what is now Belarus. Obviously I couldn't be sure this gentleman's family was named for a connection with that village; but it seemed a fairly promising lead.

Next I tried Googling "Zadarnowski." I got many pages of matches, none of which looked all that exciting. There were several people mentioned with this name -- especially a Patryk and a Steve -- but Lord only knows if any of them is interested in genealogy and could help the gentleman who contacted me. Of course a Zadarnowski would want to take a closer look at all of them; but nothing really jumped out and demanded exploration.

So I tried Googling "Zadarnowo" -- and found 2 matches. The first one is here:

   http://www.ornatowski.com/board/board2003-03.htm

Apparently this is a site where Poles are invited to post notes on families they're researching. And one note -- in English, yet -- was from a gentleman whose family Zadarnowski came from Zadarnowo, a small village near Kobryn, Belarus!

Now I didn't get carried away. Chances were good the gentleman who asked me already knew about this. For all I know, he's the one who posted that entry. Still, if he wasn't, this is a lead he HAS to check out! I included the address and information in my reply to him. (I haven't heard back, so I don't know if it helped him or not.)

But notice how the search for Zadarnowo led straight to a very promising match. The same Web entry was buried on the 9th page of results when I searched for Zadarnowski; I never noticed it because it failed to stand out. But you couldn't miss it when you searched for the place name.

So Google your surnames -- but also your place names! And any other name or fact you can think of that might turn up something useful.

(By the way, the home page of that site www.ornatowski.com might be worth a closer look, especially if you can read a little Polish.)

And while you're Googling, don't forget about the option that finds "images." You never know -- a photo of your ancestral village may be on the Web, just waiting for you to find it!

Now on to my other bit of advice:

* BACK UP YOUR WORK! *

We computer-users hear this all the time. I suspect I'm not a remarkable case -- most people are like me in that they think they've taken adequate steps to save their work. For years I've tried to make a point each day of copying files I'd created or modified onto something besides my hard drive. And I kind of resented all the would-be nannies nagging me, "Save your work! Back up your work!" Yeah, right -- are you also going to remind me to breathe?

Turns out I should have listened closer. On Friday, September 12, I turned on my computer and found the system could not boot up because an essential file was missing or corrupted. I figured no problem, and used the program GoBack to restore my hard drive to its condition 24 hours earlier, when I knew it had been working fine. I started up again, and still the system couldn't find that file.

Now I was getting worried. I even called Gateway and spent a fair piece of change to renew my expired warranty so I was entitled to tech help. In the past Gateway's tech help had been superb. This time I ended up talking to a woman who may one day speak English, but not yet. She managed to read me through one procedure from the tech database, which did not work. Then she told me how to start re-installing the system. I gulped and said, "That means I lose everything on my hard drive, right?" She said "Huh?" and I got a sick feeling in my stomach.

Later, in cold blood, I thought of 100 things I could have done to minimize the loss. But at the time I thought, "Well, I've backed up my work, so I won't lose much. And a clean new system installation will have some benefits." So I proceeded to re-install Windows XP. That took about 45 minutes -- and not a minute passed by that I didn't think of a valuable file I had not backed up recently. (Don't you love how these thoughts never occur to you until it's too late?)

Once the system was up again and I started restoring my hard drive, I quickly found just what a lousy job I had done of saving my work. For instance, I'd spent the last 4 weeks working mainly on a new edition of my Polish surname book (which will not be finished for months yet). Turns out I hadn't backed up those files for TWO WEEKS! I stared at the date on the last version I'd saved and moaned, "No, that can't be right." It was.

Same for this issue of _Gen Dobry!_. I'd never thought to save the material I was accumulating for it onto a writable CD or DVD. Oh, it would have been such a splendid issue if I hadn't lost all that great stuff!

I won't prolong this agony -- you get my point. As a card-carrying anal-retentive Germanic type, I probably do a better job of saving my work than most. And here I am, 19 days later, STILL trying to catch up to where I was when I turned off my computer on the evening of September 11.

So let me join the chorus of nagging nannies. At some point, due to hardware or software failure, you WILL lose the work you've saved on your hard drive. And you WILL feel sick when you realize what you've lost -- UNLESS you get in the habit of saving anything and everything you might want to refer to later. You have various options -- rewritable CD's and DVD's, and even fast, handy portable hard drives that plug in and save your work automatically. If you really want to be safe, have a rotating series of backups, on different media, and store them offsite in case of fire or other disaster.

Get in the habit, or you, too, will know the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that comes with the loss of data you spent hours, weeks, years collecting. And I wouldn't wish that on anybody -- let alone my friends!

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*** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ***


   [Editor – As I just mentioned, I experienced a hard drive disaster accompanied by a total meltdown of my brain. Much of the material I'd saved for this issue was lost. If you sent me something and it doesn't appear here, please re-send it.]

Subject: Locating a Polish Observers Wing

In 1944, as an officer in the RCAF, I taught air navigation to 18 Poles, 6 English and 6 Canadians at Malton. When I presented their wings the Polish boys (they stood at the top of their class) gave me a Polish Observers Wing! Somehow in the intervening 59 years the 'Wing' has flown!! I am putting together a 'memory plaque' for my children & grandchildren and am trying to locate another Polish Wing.

I will be very grateful for any suggestions of potential contacts/sources.

   Beth & Bill [bethnbill2@comcast.net]

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Subject: TOL

There are interesting articles in TOL ("Transitions Online"), a Czech web page which features news on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. I don't know who writes for them, but they update their site monthly. You have to subscribe to read past issues. Some universities may have subscriptions. The Website is at:

   http://archive.tol.cz

Articles include: "Poles Apart," on a Silesian independence movement in Katowice and areas of southwestern Poland; "Volynia: The Reckoning Begins," about the current relationship between Poland and the Ukraine when viewed in the light of atrocities done to each other during and after World War II; and "This Land is Your Land," on fears in modern Poland of the return of Germans who were expelled from that country after World War II. To read that third article you have to subscribe. I am going to do so and check into it.

   Ray Marshall <raymarsh@mninter.net>

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*** OCTOBER: POLISH HERITAGE MONTH ***

   [Editor: On the Poland-Roots mailing list, Debbie Greenlee <daveg@airmail.net> posted this timely reminder that October is a special month to Americans of Polish descent.]

Only a few days left to prepare for Polish American Heritage Month, which is October. 

Don't hesitate to let your heritage be known! Wear a Polish flag pin, fly the Polish flag. Teach a youngster _anything_ about Poland. Teach yourself the Polish alphabet and its pronunciation! Visit a Polish bookstore, restaurant, church. Try learning a Polish folk craft. Order a Polish folk costume like Babcia wore!

   http://www.perfekt.krakow.pl/index_en.php

For more ideas:

   http://www.polishamericancenter.org/Heritage_Frame.htm

Print out the posters featured on the above site and distribute them.

Debbie

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*** NEW BOOK ON POLISH-AMERICAN IDENTITY ***

In the September 2003 issue of the _Polish American Journal_ there was a review of the book _Traitors and True Poles: Narrating a Polish-American Identity, 1880-1939_, by Karen Majewski, Ph.D. (Ohio University Press, 2003, 264 pp., cloth $42.95, paperback $24.95, ISBN 0821414690, available at www.amazon.com). The review, by Florence Waszkelewicz Clowes, MLIS, says that this book is part of the Polish and Polish-American Studies Series and provides a "highly commendable picture of Polish immigrant literature." The author concentrated on novels and stories in Polish written by immigrant authors and published in the United States during the period 1881-1939. It reflects the challenges Polish-Americans dealt with as they adjusted to changing times and a society that seemed foreign to the earliest immigrants, but became a natural environment for their descendants.

Doctor Majewski is Special Collections Librarian for the Polish Book Collection at the Orchard Lake Schools in Michigan, and serves as Executive Director of the Polish American Historical Association (PAHA, http://www.polishamericanstudies.org/). I have not yet had a chance to order her book (I'm waiting for a couple of checks to come in so I can afford another spree at Amazon.com!). But from what I know of her past work, I feel sure it will be must reading for anyone deeply interested in America's Polonia. And the reviewer points out that the book's "bibliography, source notes and index will be a treasure for scholars and researchers alike."

I wanted to mention this, so that readers of _Gen Dobry!_ who might be looking for a solid, substantive work on this subject will not overlook Dr. Majewski's book. In many cases books exist on subjects that interest us -- the hard part is finding out about them. Let's not let this one slip into oblivion!

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*** THE KOSCIUSZKO SQUADRON ***

   [Editor: As long as we're talking about good books, Alan Kania posted a note on the Poland-Roots list about a book some readers might want to look for.]

I should learn not to go to bookstores -- I'm spending more on books than I have time to read. This isn't meant to be spam; I just found a new book that is published by Alfred A. Knopf that looked good, so I bought it. It's called _A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron -- Forgotten Heroes of World War II_ and it's written by Lynne Olson and Stanley Cloud [ISBN 0-375-41197-6]. I've read their previous book about the creation of CBS News, _The Murrow Boys_, and found it well written. The following is the fly-leaf from the book:

   "_A Question of Honor_ is the gripping, little-known, and brilliantly told story of the scores of Polish fighter pilots who helped save England during the Battle of Britain and of their stunning betrayal by the United States and England at the end of World War II.
   "Centering on five pilots of the renowned Kosciuszko Squadron, the authors show how the fliers, driven by their passionate desire to liberate their homeland, came to be counted among the most heroic and successful fighter pilots of World War II. Drawing on the Kosciuszko Squadron's unofficial diary -- filled with the fliers' personal experiences in combat -- and on letters, interviews, memoirs, histories, and photographs, the authors bring the men and battles of the squadron vividly to life. We follow the principal characters from their training before the war, through their hair-raising escape from Poland to France and then, after the fall of France, to Britain. We see how, first treated with disdain by the RAF, the Polish pilots played a crucial role during the Battle of Britain, where their daredevil skill in engaging German Messerschmitts in close and deadly combat while protecting the planes in their own groups soon made them legendary. And we learn what happened to them after the war, when their country was abandoned and handed over to the Soviet Union.
   "_A Question of Honor_ also gives us a revelatory history of Poland during World War II and of the many thousands in the Polish armed forces who fought with the Allies. It tells of the country's unending struggle against both Hitler and Stalin, its long battle for independence, and the tragic collapse of that dream in the 'peace' that followed.
   "Powerful, moving, deeply involving, _A Question of Honor_ is an important addition to the literature of World War II."

As a personal comment, for many years, Poland and the people of Poland got short shrift when it came to celebrating the heroes of World War II. Finally, a series of books has been published that brings credibility to our ancestors and the people of Poland today. I think it is important that we show our appreciation to authors who are coming forward to celebrate a positive history of Poland and the Polish people. Go forth and buy their books! Hopefully more positive books and videos will be forthcoming.

   Alan Kania <ajkania@comcast.net>

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*** AUSTRIAN MILITARY RECORDS ***

   [Editor: Not long ago there were two notes on the Poland-Roots mailing list with information useful to those looking for Austrian military records. I thought they were worth repeating. The first writer shows her good sense by recommending an excellent source of information on all aspects of Polish research! ;-)]

The LDS has filmed some of the Austrian records. You may also find a lot of info here at PolishRoots:

   http://www.polishroots.com/military/austrian_recruit.htm
   http://www.polishroots.com/military/austrian_regiment.htm

It's very complicated. If you have no idea which regiment your ancestor was in or what his rank was, it's even more complicated. Also men did not necessarily enlist in their area of residence. I was extremely lucky and found my grandfather's regiment on a postcard addressed to him during World War I.

Unfortunately there isn't much that's available in English when the regiment is found. This is an area I would like to get into a little more one of these days. I would like to know exactly which battles my grandfather's regiment fought in. I know they fought in Galicia, the portion that is now in Ukraine, but I think the regiment also fought in Italy.

Here is another site that may be of interest:

   http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/

Hope this helps,

   Eve <Eve5J@aol.com>

   [Editor: The next day the following note appeared with more information.]

The web-address is www.oesta.gv.at and you need to write a letter by mail because of the Austrian laws. For successful research you need at least the first name(s) -- more than one is helpful if the names are common -- as well as surname and place and time of birth. You need his date of birth to know when he was recruited, and the place to know where, because the monarchy was divided into recruiting districts for army, the Landwehrs, and the navy. Charges are only for copies. You should consider that because of the treaties after World War I Austria was forced to surrender personal files to the successor states. Because of a lack of personnel the war archive is very limited to research!

With regards,

   Mag. Reinhard Desoye [a8527476@unet.univie.ac.at]
   Vienna

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*** UPCOMING EVENTS ***

October 3 - 5, 2003

Polish Genealogical Society of America

* 25th Anniversary Fall Conference *

Ramada Hotel O'Hare, Rosemont, Illinois

For details check the PGSA Website at http://www.pgsa.org

Or contact the Conference Chairperson, Linda Ulanski: LUlanski@aol.com

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October 5, 2003

70TH ANNUAL PULASKI DAY PARADE
PHILADELPHIA PA

For more information, visit the Website:

   http://www.polishamericancenter.org/Parade.htm

-----

October 11, 2003

1:00 p.m.

Meeting of the New England Chapter of the
CARPATHU-RUSYN SOCIETY

St. John's Church Auditorium
346 Mill Hill Ave.
Bridgeport, CT

Prof. Paul Robert Magocsi, Chair of Ukrainian Studies of Toronto University, will be the featured speaker: "Carpatho Rusyns - Today and Tomorrow."

For further information contact: J. Mihaly, 914-273-9019.

See upcoming events at:

   http://www.carpathorusynsociety.org/evnt.htm

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October 12, 2003

Polish American Heritage Program

1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

in the Great Hall of the
Polish Museum of America
984 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, Illinois

Admission is free. The program will be followed by a dinner at 3:00 p.m. in the PRCUA Social Hall: $12.00 for PMA members, $17.00 for non-members, $7.00 for students (reservations required by 6 October).

Call the Museum at 773-384-3352 for more information.

-----
October 15 - 18, 2003

9th CGSI Genealogical Conference

Houston, Texas

The Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International, together with the host organization, the Texas Czech Genealogical Society <http://www.txczgs.org/>, will hold the 9th CGSI Genealogical Conference at the Omni Houston Hotel Westside in Houston, Texas, October 15-18, 2003.

-----

October 18, 2003

Family History Open House
at the Newberry Library, Chicago

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Talks on genealogical research, including "The Old Chicago Neighborhood: Life in Chicago in the 1940s," talk and book signing by Neal Samors.

The Newberry Library
60 West Walton Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
312-943-9090

www.Newberry.org

-----

October 23, 2003


Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts Meeting

6:30 p.m.

Details to be announced <www.rootsweb.com/~mapgsm/>

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October 25, 2003

Polish Genealogical Group of Arizona Meeting

For meeting location information contact Carole Buskin <cfbuskin@srpnet.com> or (480) 839-8215.

-----

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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*** MORE USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES ***

http://www.mysticseaport.org/library/initiative/MsList.cfm
   This is the Website of the G. W. Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT. Carol Goodson <cgoodson@westga.edu> mentioned it on the Poland-Roots list, and particularly liked "a very fun book online there, Information Booklet for Passengers on the Hamburg-America Line (it's in German and English).... no date, but clearly very old."
______________________________

http://www.davidrumsey.com/
   Carol Goodson also posted a note to the Poland-Roots list on the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, available online at this address.
______________________________

http://www.iabsi.com/gen/public/mapstopographical.htm
   On the PolandBorderSurnames list, Bill Tarkulich <bill@iabsi.com> explained that he created this page to summarize and provide links to topographic maps online. He said the maps of the Bieszczady region are especially good. He added that there is also an interactive map of that region at: http://moon.valek.net/~valeko/travel/browse.cgi?map=b&cp=1.
______________________________

http://www.geocities.com/heraldica_litvaniae/
   On the Herbarz list, Lucian <webmaster_kalinowa@yahoo.com> said he found this site on "the heraldry of Great Litvania (Belarus)."
______________________________

http://www.rollintl.com/roll/symbol.htm
   On the Posen mailing list, Marda <mardab@juno.com> said the most recent Rootsweb Review mentioned found this site, which provides help with "German-English Genealogy Symbols and Abbreviations."
______________________________

http://rootsweb.com/~scoconee/names.html
   On the Posen list, Halina <htrevelyan@msn.com> was quoted as saying this site lists "Polish-to-English first name translations." She added, "Most Polish immigrants tried to retain as many letters of the original first name in the Americanized name as possible ... the initial letter in particular. Some used any American name they liked or found easy to pronounce." Nicely put -- she's right on target.
______________________________

http://www.polhome.com/church-p.html
   On the PolandBorderSurnames list, Tina Ellis <przymelewski@hotmail.com> gave this address for "a website which lists all of the Polish Roman Catholic parishes in the U.S. They are listed by the name of the state first and then the city name."
______________________________

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06752a.htm
   Also on the PolandBorderSurnames list, Bill Tarkulich <bill@iabsi.com> cited this address in response to a question on the Greek Orthodox Church. He said other sites worth checking are:
   http://user.intop.net/~jhollis/eorthodox.htm
   http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06744a.htm
______________________________

http://www.avotaynu.com/nu11.htm#v04n16
   As usual, the latest issue of _Nu? What's New?_, the e-zine devoted to Jewish genealogy, offers some good articles by Gary Mokotoff. Especially worth reading are his report on the dismal lack of progress in correcting errors in the Ellis Island Database, and his take on the role of DNA in genealogical research.
______________________________

http://www.rootsweb.com/~polwgw/trans.html
   On the Galicia list, Charlene Herbert <cherbert2666@rogers.com> said she used an online translating service she found at this address. "You type the letter in English and send it off. It goes into a queue and it gets translated and they send it back to you. My letter only took a couple of days. I was not charged for this and the lady that translated for me did an excellent job and I got excellent results. "
______________________________

http://www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/ArchaicMedicalTerms.htm
   Arlene Gardiner mentioned this site to PolishRoots(R) Vice President Paul Valasek as a big help with the archaic medical terms we sometimes sees in records.
______________________________

http://www.jewishsoftware.com/
   On the newsgroups <soc.genealogy.jewish>, Michael Bernet <MBernet@aol.com> posted a note to let people know about this site, which offers material on virtually any topic of interest to Jewish researchers.
______________________________

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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. 9, 30 September 2003. PolishRoots(R): http://PolishRoots.org/.

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