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Microfilms and the Mormons The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or the Mormons have their headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.   One of their missions is to preserve family history.  They have accomplished this by preserving records by microfilming and have an enormous collection of books,  from around the world.  In addition to the main library in Salt Lake City, they operate thousands of family history centers. These preserved records are made accessible to everyone for free by using their website FamilySearch.org which enables one to search census, military and immigration records, birth, marriages, death and obituaries.   One can search the wiki, upload family trees, pictures, create charts, share recipe stories and more.  The blog offers useful research tips. From the website, one can log in with a simple user name and password to assist with indexing efforts.  Projects are categorized as easy, intermediate or advanced.  None of this would be available if not for the efforts of thousands upon thousands of people who volunteer their time to index records.   I recommend getting involved with one or more of the indexing projects found on the website.  Saving the best information for last, I recently learned that several of my ancestral parishesw in the old province of Rzeszów, present day Podkarpackie,  have been digitized and are now available to view at a family history center.  Even though I have been looking at the microfilm for the parish of Niwiska for close to 20 years the work is incomplete and I will continue to review the scans, digitally, in search of lost relatives or new connections.   Check out your parish soon!

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DNA  Testing For years it did not seem necessary to take the DNA tests like everyone else was doing.  When the prices dropped, I considered it, especially in conjunction with setting up a free account with My Heritage.   The first DNA test was with Family Tree DNA,23 and Me including health reports and later Ancestry.  The first test with Family Tree was for the maternal line only which put me in Haplogroup J1c1b1a.  The results were not surprising at all since I had a fair amount of data about mom’s family.  One of the stories that we had been told with little detail was there was a rabbi in the family.  As it turned out  there is less than one percent Ashkenazi Jewish DNA in my results.  Family legends can be good clues and turn into a truth.  The next test with 23 and Me was done out of curiosity because they offered health reports.   That was interesting as some were spot on, others not.  Lastly, I chose Ancestry because everyone was doing it and there was a sale.  Since so many others were taking this DNA test it seemed logical for me to be able to find a genetic cousin.  Without going into a great amount of detail, I found some long lost cousins and discovered others in the United States and Poland.  Is it worth it to send in a sample to have one’s DNA tested?  It really all depends on the individual circumstances.  In my own situation, I was happy to meet new cousins but firmly believe that DNA tests cannot take the place of sound genealogical research.  If you are thinking about having your DNA tested, please read up on each company and the tests they offer.  DNA will not tell you exactly where your family was from nor will it give you surnames.  That is what comes later when you connect with others.

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Research in the parish of Niwiska, Św. Mikołaja Biskupa,  has been difficult but not been impossible to trace my family. It began with ordering one  microfilm, 0996700, ranging from the years 1795-1855.  It contains birth, marriage and death entries from the parish books.   Writing to the parish, hiring a researcher, using message boards, My Heritage, Facebook and visiting Poland have yielded additional results to fill in the gaps. Searching nearby villages is vital to finding ancestors as it was custom for grooms to marry in the bride’s village.   My own work began about 1997 when I met a fellow genealogist at a meeting.  One of the advantages of attending meetings is the opportunity to network with other researchers.   We talked and discovered that our ancestors came from the same parish,Św. Mikołaja Biskupa in Niwiska. He told me about the only microfilm, 0996700, that he looked at to get information about his family.   I ordered the same microfilm and copied all Warunek and Żadło surnames from the village of Hucisko and Huta Przedborska.  My new found friend worked with me to compare notes on our families and discovered that two of our ancestors married each other. Andrzej Warunek, son of Andrzej  and Marianna Kot, married Anna Dłuzen, daughter of Szymon and and Katarzyna Jemioło.  In another post, I will write about the other techniques employed to fill in the family tree.

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Research strategies for finding your family in Poland; part two.

It is important to know the history of Poland.  It was partitioned three times and disappeared off the world map for about 123 years.   Our ancestors either lived in the Austro-Hungarian, Prussian or Russian partition; they were not Austrians, Germans or Russians.  They may have had to learn the language of the ruling country but remained Polish.

It is a good idea to learn the geography of the country by studying historical and modern maps.  We may find more that one village with the same name and need to know the correct one before searching records.

The language of the church was Latin but documents are written in Polish, German or Russian and we should have a basic understanding of the key words used in these documents to read them.  There are books and online guides to help us learn the words found in vital documents.

Now that we have prepared to research in Poland, where do we find these records?  The first place that I would recommend is using the Family Search.org catalog to see if your parish and village has been microfilmed.  If it has, then online ordering into your local Family History Library is easy to do.  The advantage to using microfilms is searching your collateral family lines as well as direct relationships.  

In my experience, not all parishes and villages are microfilmed up to the point of our first immigrant ancestors leaving Poland, or their birth due to privacy laws or perhaps the lack of permission given by the local bishops to films these church books. 

This is when we have be creative and take our research to the next level by writing to the parish, local civil records office or archives for the records that we need to complete the family tree.  Locating a good Polish researcher is very helpful if all else fails. 

In Poland, there were always more than one copy made of each baptism, marriage or death.  If you cannot find it in church records, then the civil records office or state archives should have what you need. 

If you should have to write to a Polish parish, civil records office or State archives, it should be written in Polish.  A donation and thank you should be sent to the parish.  Civil records offices or State archives will tell you if they have the records after the initial request.  They will give you the cost and once it is paid, the records will be sent.  

Between the Polish genealogical societies and the Polish National Archives, more and more vital records are being digitized to search online.  

Polish digital libraries are a great source of additional information about your village or town.  You might find parish jubilee books or newspapers that mention your relatives.   You may need to add special software to view these collections.

As your family tree grows, cite your sources for the information that you are finding.  Later I will try to write about organizing your notes.

Lastly, try to plan a trip to your ancestral villages, if at all possible.  One of the greatest feelings is to walk the land of your ancestors.   Who knows, you might even meet relatives on the path!

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Research strategies for finding family in Poland

Successful Polish research begins with talking to living relatives, asking them for letters, pictures and documents when they lived in the United States.  Collecting documentation about the first immigrant ancestor is key to successful research of their lives in Poland.  Records are created by the church and state about each person. 

Ask yourself the questions about your ancestors: who were they, where did they live, work and attend church, when did they emigrate from Poland and did they have siblings who emigrated before them.  

The kind of records that we are most familiar with are birth, marriage and death records. Passenger manifests,citizenship and military records may provide the sought after village of the first immigrant ancestor. Census records and city directories identify the neighborhood in which they lived.  Newspapers should not be overlooked for potential articles including death notices or obituaries which often list the names of other family members.  Funeral cards list dates, the funeral home and cemetery.  Estate papers and wills list heirs, property and other belongings.

Once your relative or relatives have been identified and all the facts are collected, it is crucial to stay organized.  

Today we want and sometimes expect to find everything on the Internet but the fact of the matter is that we will not be able to do it in spite of massive volunteer efforts and partnerships with archives and libraries to digitize their holdings with the large commercial companies.  It is my belief that one has to use the Internet for as much as possible then visit courts, libraries and archives to fill in the blanks.  Microfilms are another option for gleaning additional information.

Familiarize yourself with privacy laws in the places where you are researching. This includes Poland.

Now that the first immigrant ancestor or ancestors have been identified, especially the ancestral village, the documents collected and organized, it is time to begin researching in Poland.   

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Pan Pogoda wears traditional Lasowiacy folk clothing at the beginning of the video filmed at the skansen in Kolbuszowa.

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This guide book is bi-lingual and comes with a map.  Interesting history and pictures inside. 

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Niwiska

Niwiska, with Hucisko, village, district of Kolbuszowa, lies in a sandy lowland (289 meters elevation), on a field in the midst of deforested coniferous woods. The highway from Kolbuszowa to Preclaw (11 kilometers) runs through the village and a stream flows into the Swierczówka River (which, father on its course, is called the Przyrwa) then into the Lega River. In the center of the village stands a brick church, to the north a windmill and brickworks, while to the east is an abandoned glassworks behind which is found the hamlet of Hucisko which was founded by metallurgical settlers. Niwiska has a mission parish which belongs to the church in Rzochów, a public school 1-class, a community loan office with assets of 408 zloty (Austrian Currency), 1,198 Roman Catholic residents, 66 of whom work on the estate owned by Kazimierz Hupko. The property consists of 615 mórgs of fields, 147 mórgs of meadows, 112 mórgs of pasture land and 1,478 mórgs of forests; the lesser domain consists of 1,805 mOrgs of fields, 291 mOrgs of meadows, 249 mórgs of pasture land and 403 mórgs of forests. The present church was erected in the year 1876, replacing the wooden structure built in 1595. In addition, a brick chapel built in 1874 stands in the cemetery. The parish (Diocese of Przemyl, Deanery of Mielec) embraces Debrzyna, Hucina with Zabien, Leszcze, Hucisko, Poreby, Trzen, and Zapole. The population numbers 3,512 Roman Catholics and 141 Jews. Besides agriculture, the inhabitants are engaged in cabinetmaking and turnery (the art of forming solid substances into cylindrical or other forms by means of a lathe). In the 16th century, Niwiska belonged to the Lubomirski Family. In 1680 it was obtained by the Jesuits of Sandomierz for 15,000 Polish zloty, which they later loaned from the Bobola Foundation to Aleksander Lubomirski, voivode of Kraków, for the education of 12 students from the aristocracy. After the suppression of the Society of Jesus, the monies were placed in an educational find which was eventually sold. Niwiska borders on the east with Trzenia, on the north with Zabieniec and Hueina, on the west and south with many coniferous forests.

Source: Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego - Warsaw [1885, Volume 7, pages 163]

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My surnames

It has been my belief to research collateral lines in addition to all my direct ancestors.   These are my primary surnames from Hucisko, Leszcze, Huta Przedborska and a few neighboring villages mostly part of the parish of Niwiska.

Warunek, Zadlo, Swider, Jemiolo, Dziewit, Staron, Depa. Kot, Wolak, Swider, Mazan, Kuca, Kuna, Pach, Zielinski, Zieba and Swiniuch.  

There are a few surnames found in other villages like Kamionka such as Staron and Swider.  

Kamionka is a story unto itself.   

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The cemetery chapel built by the Hupka family.  First photo was o taken in 2003 and the second in September, 2015. 

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Sw, Mikolaja in Niwiska.  This photo was taken in 2003.  

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It would be wonderful to correspond with anyone who has roots in this parish.  Later on I would like to add more information about my family who lived in Budy Glogowskie and their migration to the United States.

Warunek genealogy

My interest to learn more about the Warunek family began at an early age.  Their origins were Hucisko, Poland.   My grandfather Jozef was born there in 1889 to Jan and Anna Zadlo.

I have been able to trace this line through the parish of Niwiska church records on microfilms as far back as 1738.  

I have been very fortunate to visit Poland and meet with cousins on several occasions. 

From time to time, I will share my pictures, stories and research with anyone who is interested.  

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Warunek genealogy

My interest to learn more about the Warunek family began at an early age.  Their origins were Hucisko, Poland.   My grandfather Jozef was born there in 1889 to Jan and Anna Zadlo.

I have been able to trace this line through the parish of Niwiska church records on microfilms as far back as 1738.  

I have been very fortunate to visit Poland and meet with cousins on several occasions. 

From time to time, I will share my pictures, stories and research with anyone who is interested.  

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This is the genealogy group that I have belonged to for a few years.  I joined because of a man who helped me to learn about researching in Poland.   His family belonged to the parish in Niwiska.

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People tell you who they are by the things that they say and do.

Very wise man

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A few pictures from my trip to Kolbuszowa in September 2015.

All pictures taken by Valerie Koselka.