Studying and Researching a Parish or Area of Poland Remotely
Studying and Researching a Parish or Area of Poland Remotely
Written by, Al Wierzba
One way to get the most out of studying and researching a parish or area of Poland remotely is to use all the possible tools that are available. After I have located where an ancestor had originated, which usually starts with the name of the parish, I try to learn everything I can about the area and its people. I think this is a key to successfully researching a family history. I would like to share a few steps, processes, and tools that I use while I research my family roots within Poland.
I do understand that I am skipping a major task. Finding where your ancestor originated (Prussian, Austrian, or Russian Poland) and then mapping that location back to present day Poland can be a difficult process. Some ways to find the Polish locale or parish information from sources within the United States are from local newspapers, parishes, naturalization records, or passenger lists. For this article, I’d like to focus on what I do after I have found and then located the Polish parish of my ancestors.
Once the parish is located, it’s time to order the films from the local Family History Center. Personally, I like to scan the films onto a jump drive and then utilize my PC to later enhance the images through various PC software programs. You can accomplish this by using the PC and film scanner at your local Family History Center (FHC). One program that I use frequently is Adobe Photoshop 6. By saving the films to my jump drive I can study the parish records at my leisure and I can bypass any personal or FHC time constraints.
If you work your way through the films, let’s say 1820-1870, you will be able to recognize variations of surnames within the parish. By going through the films completely you will be able to see the baptismal patterns of families in the parish. These baptismal patterns will allow you the ability to connect family lines. Also, look at the names that are listed as patrons in baptisms or witnesses in marriages because they could be related or closely tied to your family. Another thing to look for is the variations in spellings of your ancestor’s last names. One minor example of how a surname can change through the years is my Kobs family name, which was spelled as Kops and then later as Kobs. Imagine how spellings could change with some of the longer and more difficult spelled Polish surnames like Włoszczyński.
I frequently use the Polish surname map or locator created by moikrewni.pl called Mapa nazwisk. This website allows you to search for the surname that you are researching and then it provides all the places where the surname is currently located in Poland. Last year, while I was still searching for the origination of my Kobs family I had utilized Mapa nazwisk to help narrow possible locations. I then used these results, along with Milwaukee church records, to pinpoint my Kobs families’ Polish orgin, which was Złotów county.
Another tip is to learn as much as possible about the area or parish that your ancestors had come from. The Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego, which is a Polish gazetteer, is a great tool to use when you are trying to discover any information about Polish towns, cities, or villages from the 1890’s. The information that can be obtained from this gazetteer can be either geographical, civil, and/or population in nature.
Polish county (powiat) or municipality (gmina) websites can be used to gather a history of the area. Some of these websites are in Polish and may offer an English translation. Also, Catholic Diocese and parish websites contain histories about the area or church. The Google translation tool is one of the best tools to use for translating these websites into English. I also use Polish-English translation dictionaries where needed. Also, I tend to use these websites to formulate an idea of how people lived in a certain area or time in Poland. Each area in Poland can have different cultures and customs, which may have been kept within your family and still in use or practiced today. Although my ancestors arrived here in America over 100 years ago, they lived in Poland for much longer. Poland has a rich history and my ancestors lived it, so I want to know all I can about this past. (Links within this paragraph are provided as examples).
I’d like to close by suggesting books as another valuable reference source. There are many English language books that deal with Polish history. One such set of books that was written by Norman Davies is called God’s Playground: A History of Poland. This is a two-volume set that chronicles Poland’s history from its origins to the present. Another set of books that I use frequently in my genealogy research is the In Their Words series written by Jonathan D. Shea and William F. Hoffman, these are definitely priceless reference guides. The books listed above are only the tip of the iceberg, because there are so many more that are available.
This article does not list every possible tool or website that is available. This is only a fraction of the tools that I have found helpful. Hopefully, you will also see the value in this and these suggestions will help further your family history the way they have mine.
Best Regards,
Al
