Rodziny - Polish Genealogical Society of America

RodzinySPRING 2008The Journal of the Polish Genealogical Society of America®In This Issue:Thomas Sajwaj, 1703 Carroll Lane, Chattanooga, TN 37405,(423) 240-5231, , sent this weddingphoto of his grandparents, Łukasz Sajwaj (b. about 1880 nearTarnobrzeg, Poland) and Anna Ordyk (b. in the early 1890slikely in Dzików, near Tarnobrzeg). They were married inKansas City, Kansas, on July 12, 1909, at St. Joseph’s CatholicChurch. For more information, or to compare notes on possiblerelatives, contact Tom.• From Our Correspondent in Poland—The Journey to America• Moikrewni.pl—A Review of a Polish Genealogical Web Site withSurname Mapping• A Warsaw Cemetery Adventure• My Great-Great-Grandmother Was an Enemy Alien!!• What Does the -wicz Mean in Polish Surnames?• PGSA Financial Statement for 2007

Ta b l e o f Co n t e n t sNews and Notes from the President.........................1Letters to the Editor...................................................1From Our Correspondent in Poland—The Journeyto America, Iwona Dakiniewicz...........................3Moikrewni.pl—A Review of a Polish GenealogicalWeb Site with Surname Mapping, Robert P.Sliwinski..............................................................6A Warsaw Cemetery Adventure, Phyllis M.Sternemann........................................................9Ask the Retoucher, Eric Basir.................................14Attention All PGSA Members..................................15Follow-Up to Iwona’s Galician Railroad Article,Margaret Wolan Sullivan...............................16My Great-Great-Grandmother Was an EnemyAlien, Kenneth P. Nowakowski......................17What Does the -wicz Mean in Polish Surnames?,Keith Kaszubik...............................................22From the Słownik Geograficzny: Tarnowiec............24From the Library: Book Review, Virginia Witucke...25PGSA Financial Statement for 2007.......................26Articles of Interest...................................................27Index to Surnames Mentioned in This Issue...........28Po l i s h Ge n e a l o g i c a l So c i e t y o f Am e r i c a ®984 No r t h Mi l w a u k e e Av e n u e • Ch i c a g o, IL • USA • 60622— An Illinois Not For Profit Corporation —OfficersCommitteesEdmund Iwanski........................................PresidentLinda Ulanski......................................Vice PresidentJoy Mortell............................................... TreasurerThomas Zarecki.........................................SecretaryEileen CarterIrene-Aimee DepkeSonja Hoeke-NishimotoDirectorsRichard LachRichard StanowskiIrene-Aimee Depke.............................. PublicityLarry Grygienc.........................................MediaChristine Bucko................................... Web site[Open]...............................................PublicationsRich and Barb Szparkowski........... MembershipLinda Ulanski................................... Conference[Open].............................................Library ChairPGSA’s e-mail address is pgsamerica@aol.com. Its Website is at http://www.pgsa.org.Statement of MissionThe Polish Genealogical Society of America® (PGSA) exists as a national nonprofit educational organization to collect,disseminate, and preserve information on Polish and Polish-American family history and to help its members use thatinformation in their own research.PGSA Publications PhilosophyThe PGSA will consider for publication articles, books, edited documents, bibliographies, anthologies, reviews, and otherwritings pertaining to all aspects of Polish genealogical research from all parts of the world. The PGSA invites the submission ofinteresting and educational stories on genealogical research, including those acknowledging the efforts of helpful researchers,librarians, state and religious archives, or other persons and organizations. The PGSA also welcomes contributions thatexamine the historical and cultural heritage of our ancestors and families.MembershipEffective January 1, 2008, membership rates were increased by $5, and the 3-year membership option was discontinued.Membership rates have been unchanged for several years, and during that time the costs of printing and postage have goneup. Of course, all current multiple-year memberships will be honored until their expiration date. Effective January 1, 2008,the new rates are:1 year 2 years 1 year 2 yearsBulk-rate mailing $25 $40 Canada $30 $50First-class mailing $30 $50 International $40 $70The mailing label states the expiration date of your current membership. If you have any questions, please e-mail themto . Renewal applications are available at www.pgsa.org. Please send change of address or duesto the Membership Chairmen, Rich and Barb Szparkowski, 1603 E. Linden Ln., Mt. Prospect IL 60056-1529. Makechecks or money orders payable to “PGS of America,” in U.S. funds. Thank you!MeetingsRegular meetings of the Society are held on the second Sunday of February, August, and November, and the third Sundayof May, unless otherwise ordered by the Board of Directors. They are usually held at the Polish Roman Catholic Union ofAmerica facilities, 984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. An annual Society Conference with several speakers is held in the fallat a location in the Chicagoland area. A United Polish Genealogical Societies Conference is held in May biennially in SaltLake City, Utah.

From Our Correspondent in PolandThe Journey to AmericaIwona Dakiniewicz, Łódź, Poland;e-mail: genealogy@ pro.onet.pl[with translation assistance from William F. Hoffman]They all departed in fear of the Unknown:fear of losing their way, of beingstopped at the border, of arrest, of thehordes of swindlers, of the voyage by ship,and of the fate that awaited them on a newcontinent. Nonetheless, their great hope fora better, more decent life was stronger thanall their fears and anxieties. They set outwith no possessions other than their healthand their family.During the years 1840-1920, more thanfour million citizens departed from Poland.There was an all-encompassing determination:the emigrants were fleeing poverty intheir native land, which furthermore was aland enslaved by foreign partitioners. Theyfelt they were slaves in their own land. Theylived in wretched conditions, often morethan a dozen to a single hut, abused bytheir employers, with little chance of betteringtheir lot. But there were other motivationsas well: escaping military service,curiosity about the world, or, finally, theordinary desire for personal freedom.The motivations of emigrants can alsobe differentiated on a geopolitical map. Ineach of the individual partitions, Prussian,Russian, and Galician, a different kindof repression prevailed against the nativeinhabitants.In Prussia, they were tormented by thepolicy of Germanization. In fact, in that partition,things went so far as a school revolution.The police jailed thousands of rebelliousPoles. But the more people they jailed,the higher the flame of vengeance rose. Theweary ones who dreamed of a normal lifebecame emigrants.Also worth mentioning are two otherPrussian issues. The earliest wave of emigrationfrom Prussian Poland was the resultof natural disasters and years of famineduring the period 1844-1847. The secondfactor was the result of an 1848 Prussiandecree that ordered men ages 17-25 topresent certificates to military authoritiesattesting that they would not dodge militaryservice. Because of this, many young menleft illegally.Those who left overpopulated Galiciawere fleeing high taxes and starvationwages. Some 50 thousand people died eachyear from starvation. Harsh reality prevailed:the averaged Galician farm was nolarger than five Austrian mórgs, and workerswere paid pitiful wages. If you had ahorse, you were a rich man.In the Kingdom of Poland, on the otherhand, unemployment was rampant. Peoplefrom the Russian partition ran off toPrussia to find seasonal labor there. Oftenthey took the place of Prussian emigrantswho had already settled in America. EmpressCatherine poured oil on the fire whenshe issued a ukase liquidating the UniateChurch in 1873. Religious repression becamea rape for these communities, and atthe same time an essential cause of emigration.Desperate Greek Catholic believershad two choices: to conduct their churchservices in the woods at night, or to travela long way to the nearest church. Many ofthem traveled on foot to Kraków.One can give many numbers and statisticsregarding the scope of emigration, butwhat is most interesting here is the humanfactor—how each of these individuals experiencedthe parting and the voyage acrossthe ocean.Emigrants were more or less informedabout the obstacles and difficulties of thetrip to America. News came to them in letters.The first obstacle to overcome was collectingthe necessary sum of money: for thetrip to the railroad station, then for traintickets, ship tickets, other expenses on theroad, and a minimum to help them get offto a start in their new country. The totalcost of the trip could range from 150 to over200 marks or rubles, depending on wherethe trip began.Rodziny, Spring 2008 3

Fro m Ou r Co r r e s p o n d e n t in Po l a n d : Th e Jo u r n e y to Am e r i c aHow difficult it was to save thenecessary funds is illustrated by thesituation of a typical married couple livingin a Prussian village with several childrenin the 1840s. Both husband and wife,employed in physical labor at the nearbymanorial farmstead, could not hope toattain a combined income of more than 40dollars annually (the equivalent of about120 marks later). At the most, they couldsave perhaps 10 dollars a year.At first, several families would contributeto buy a single ticket to America, inthe hope that the one chosen to go wouldquickly find work and repay the loan, thusproviding financial assistance to those departingsubsequently.As of the years 1888-1889, a ticket fromBremen to New York cost 150-200 rubles,or 120-200 Austrian crowns, and aboutthe same amount in German marks. A tripfrom Poznań to Chicago cost 30 dollars inAmerican money, by the rate of exchange atthe time. The firm Red Star offered a competitiveprice: 21 dollars for a trip from thePrussian partition to many American ports.The Polish emigrant often had a tragicview of the price of ship tickets, for hewas sure that they wanted to cheat him.Although the prices were fixed, he felt hewould not waste the money and would bevery cautious and frugal with it.The first to go were strong, healthy men,who went as a sort of advance guard, to getfamiliar with the new land and estimate thechances of bringing the family on over assoon as possible. Those who were particularlyresolute and determined sold off theirlands, houses, or share of inheritance fromtheir parents. I noted interesting cases inwhich the same land was sold to two differentpurchasers. By the time the truth cameout, the cunning farmer was already beyondthe reach of the local jurisdiction.The departure from home was a verysolemn day for the family, and sometimesan event for the whole neighborhood. Bestwishes were accompanied by tears of joymixed with fear. Usually the wives, children,and grandparents remained on thefarm. Over the course of the next year, thewhole family would follow in the steps oftheir fathers, brothers, or cousins. Thosewho remained in Poland were usually theold folks, or those who had been assignedthe role of guardians of the family nest.Emigrants usually got ready for the trip4 Rodziny, Spring 2008very carefully. They planned their departureto fit the work schedule on the farm and inthe field. They worked out plans beforehandwith their relatives or neighbors for a triptogether. They chose those who were hardworking,healthy, and upright. For thetrip they collected spare underwear, warmclothes, long boots, a blanket, tobacco,liquor for bribes, pierzyny [quilts, typicallyof goose down], photos of family and patronsaints, simple work tools, seeds, pots, castironpans, everything needed for pickling,and smoked or pickled food products. Themore informed they were regarding materialneeds in the new land, the more things theyassembled. Instructions came in lettersfrom America. Among other things, theywere advised to bring woolen belts to wearon the lower abdomen during the voyage, sothat in case of dysentery (bloody diarrhea)they could maintain a consistently warmtemperature in the belly area, whichalleviated the unpleasant effects of thisillness.Things were packed in wooden trunkspadlocked or nailed shut. These trunks alsoserved as stools for seating on the ship.Later on, however, the rules didn’t allowfor the use of padlocks or nails, because ofcustoms controls.The Prussian border was the nextobstacle on the way, and not always inregard to formal considerations. Along thewhole eastern border of Prussia, there werehordes of swindlers of every kind: fakeguides, agents offering phony ship ticketsor money exchange “at a bargain rate,” conartists collecting payment for half-free lodgingsfor the night, the usual thieves, andeven bandits. In general, the black marketand corruption flourished in the areas nearthe border. Almost everyone took bribes,from the wójt who issued departure certificatesto the soldier who guarded the border.Most often the bribes were in money, butnobody turned down vodka or tobacco.The paths of emigrants from Galicia andRussia came together in Prussian borderpoints in Mysłowice, Oświęcim, OstrówWielkopolski, Iłów, Prostki. The trip acrossGermany lasted two or three days.The railroad trip took them first toBerlin, where they had to transfer to anothertrain. The first contact with a foreigncountry was worrisome; the emigrants’ lackof knowledge of a foreign language causedthem stress. But they had to exchange

Fro m Ou r Co r r e s p o n d e n t in Po l a n d : Th e Jo u r n e y to Am e r i c amoney, buy the next ticket, and find a placeto stay for the night. Still, the hardest timeslay before them.The seaports during the times of peakemigration were swarming with thousandsof emigrants stuck at the docks for two oreven three weeks. In Bremen and Hamburg,ships sailed twice a week, on Wednesdayand Saturday. The emigrants were forced towait for the ship on the spot. They crowdedrailway sidings, barracks, eating establishments,or churches; or they just wanderedaround the town, worried about their fate,lost in a foreign place, and left to their ownresources. Provisions cost 2½ marks a day,payment for a bed was 1 mark. When therewere no beds to be had, people slept underthe open sky.The ports full of foreigners were alsoheaven on earth for crooks, who tookadvantage of the naïve emigrants at everyopportunity.Reporters also came to the ports andpublished their stories in national andregional newspapers. In one of these articles,the author wrote: “All remember theirhomeland with tears in their eyes, in viewof the fact that they were leaving, not bliss,but poverty…” (Kurier Polski, 1890, no.168).The voyage itself filled the emigrantswith terror but also attracted them withits exoticism. The last stage of the trip wasthe most exciting and most terrifying at thesame time. Fear of the Great Water musthave been a significant psychic barrier.None of the emigrants had ever traveledacross the ocean by ship before. The mostsevere voyages were experienced by the earlyemigrants, those who traveled on sailingships during the 1870s. The length of thesea voyage made the situation even worse;the first sailing ships took as long as 15weeks. They carried 200-500 passengers.The passenger sailing ships were unstable,and had primitive decks and cabins devoidof all comforts. There were deaths, drownings,and even suicides on almost everyvoyage.In the 1880s, a new era began—thatof steamships. The number of passengersrose to as many as 2,000, and the lengthof the trip was shortened to 9-11 days. Thelargest ships, for instance, the Imperator orAmerica, had a displacement of 50 thousandtons. Shipowners were compelled tobuild their ships according to the requirementsof American immigration officials.Among other things, they had to guaranteea minimum amount of space per passenger,appropriate sanitary conditions, andthree meals a day. These requirements werestrengthened in 1883; there had to be adoctor on every ship (in view of the moreand more frequent deaths).The German ships had the worst reputation,as well as the English. Of the ports,the one in Liverpool supposedly had theworst reputation.Poles, who were the poorest, traveled onthe cheaper German ships, on which theybought the cheapest spots, on the tweendecks.Many of them had particularly badexperiences during their voyages, and thestatutory social requirements repeatedlydeviated from the norm.Henryk Sienkiewicz, the Polish NobelPrize winner, described his impressions of avoyage thus:In general this is a large, dark room,where the light of day penetrates, notthrough glass-covered openings in thedeck, but through the usual small windowsin the sides of the ship. There areno cabins; beds are pushed all the wayto the wall, and the corner designatedfor women is set off only by a separaterail. In stormy seas, the waves strike thewindows with a boom, filling the hallwith a gloomy, greenish light. The smellof cooking and of people combines withthe sharp odor of the sea, tar, and thewet ship ropes. All in all, it is stifling,humid, and dark there … It is in roomssuch as these that the emigrants travel.If you were to ask them from where,the answer would be “from under thePrussians,” “from under the Austrians,”“from under the Muscovites.” Despair,fear, and longing for their homeland aretheir lot.The end of the voyage did not mean theend of worries and problems; adapting tolife on American soil was not the easiestthing to do. But horizons of a better futureseemed more and more close and real, andthe painful separation from their nativeland found an outlet in maintaining contactsby letters with their relatives in theold country and preserving their nationaltraditions on American soil—as attested bythe number of Polish confraternities, clubs,and organizations that remain active to thisday in almost all the states of the U.S.Rodziny, Spring 2008 5

Moikrewni.pl—A Review of a Polish Genealogical Web Sitewith Surname MappingRobert P. Sliwinski, M.S., e-mail Genealogical Web sites designed forPoles are becoming fashionable thesedays, because of an emerging interestin family history in Poland. One recentlydeveloped site catering to Polishcitizens and allowing them to createfamily trees online is www.moikrewni.pl (Figure 1). This site, written in Polish,has a unique feature that may alsobenefit Polish-American genealogists:its surname mapping.The very existence of this site is aninteresting development because, forthe longest time, Polish citizens werevery private and did not like providingany personal information online. Sitesthat do give such information are protected,and you need to register to buildyour tree. There are, however, typicallysome features that are available to allwithout registering.In Polish, moi krewni (pronounced mo´yeekrev´-nee) means “my relatives.” Thesite’s title, therefore, uses appropriate Polishwords to describe its theme.Worth noting, however, is the fact thatthis site is just one of a family of genealogicalWeb sites created by OSN Online SocialNetworking GmbH, based in Hamburg, Germany.Similar sites were designed for otherlanguages, including English, German,Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and BrazilianPortuguese. The English version, http://www.itsourtree.com/, is very similar to the otherWeb sites, but there are slight differencesbetween the various language versions.Moikrewni uses the basic “let’s build afamily tree” idea as its starting point. Additionally,it provides a forum, contact information,and a section regarding the company’spolicies. As I said, though, the featuremost valuable for Polish-Americans is the“Mapa nazwisk” or “surname map” at http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/. Mapping of surnamesin current-day Poland can potentially be auseful tool to locate lost relatives in the oldcountry. It is especially useful for uncommonsurnames.Remember, however, that the site isgeared toward the Polish speaker, and aname you type into the “Mapa nazwisk” boxcould be only partially correct. The Polish6 Rodziny, Spring 2008Figure 1. Home page of www.moikrewni.pl (all screen capturesused with permission of the Moikrewni webmaster).diacritical marks are very important on thissite, and the database may contain numerous,slightly different variants of surnameswith diacritical marks. For instance, if youtype in Sliwinski in English and click on thebutton that says “Szukaj” (Search), you willget a map for Sliwinskis in Poland; but thismap will be misleading and incomplete.In Polish the standard spelling of thisname is Śliwiński, with acute accents overthe s and n. Variant spellings of the nameinclude Śliwinski and Sliwiński. To illustrate,a search for Sliwinski tells you that asof 2002 there were nine Polish citizens whowere listed under that name in the databaseof PESEL (a Polish government agency)from which these figures were compiled.There were 31 entries for Śliwinski and 119for Sliwiński. A search for Śliwiński, on theother hand, shows you there were 8,955Poles who spelled it that way. The diacriticalmarks make a difference!What’s more, Poles use feminine formsof many surnames, including those typicallyending in -ski, -cki, -zki, and -ny. Thestandard feminine form is Śliwińska, and9,570 Polish citizens went by that formas of 2002—not something you’d want tooverlook. The variants Sliwinska, Śliwinska,and Sliwińska, though not technically correctby Polish spelling rules, should not be

Mo i k r e w n i.p l—A Re v i e w o f a Po l i s h Ge n e a l o g i c a l We b Si t e w i t h Su r n a m e Ma p p i n gFigure 2. “Mapa nazwisk” page with Polish alphabet.Figure 3. Searching for surnames.Figure 4. Map of the surname Śliwiński showing itswide distribution in Poland.ignored, either. It just might be that yourrelatives, for some reason, are among thoselisted under one of those variants.So to achieve a full understanding ofa specific surname in Poland, you reallyneed to review all maps associated with allvariants of that surname. There are alsohyphenated surname combinations to bereckoned with; a study of Śliwiński, for instance,should also include Sliwinski-König.Although the diacritical marks presenta challenge, there is a convenient alphabeticaid located at the bottom of the “Mapanazwisk” page (Figure 2). All possible firstletters of surnames are represented, andclicking on any letter lets you start searchingfor names beginning with that letter. Itsounds straightforward, but it can take alittle longer to find your particular surnamewhen searching a list from one spelling toanother, and yours might be in between(Figure 3). Plan on searching several timesat different locations. You may need to pagepatiently through successive lists, narrowingthe possibilities down as you go, untilyou get the exact form you want.If the name you want doesn’t includeany diacritical marks, you can go straightto the page with your name by inputtingthe URL http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/XXX.html, substituting your name (no capitalletters) for the XXX. Thus http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/kowalski.html takes youstraight to the map for Kowalski, and http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/kowalska.html tothe map for Kowalska. This does not work,however, if names include diacritical marks.Thus http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/śliwiński.html will not work. Those Polishcharacters must be coded a specific way:http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/%25C5%259Bliwi%25C5%2584ski.html.The name Śliwiński is very widely distributed,and high concentrations are associatedwith big cities (Figure 4). Althoughthis is interesting, it does not point to aRodziny, Spring 2008 7

Mo i k r e w n i.p l—A Re v i e w o f a Po l i s h Ge n e a l o g i c a l We b Si t e w i t h Su r n a m e Ma p p i n gspecific region in Poland and thus providesno starting point for researching thesurname. I’ve established that there are anumber of unrelated families who bear thisname. Therefore, old-fashioned documentsearches offer a better chance of finding anancestral village for my family.Some surnames, such as Czopor (frommy mother’s side), have no separate feminineform and no diacritical marks, andtherefore there is only one map for that surname(Figure 5). Since Czopor is an uncommonname, this map has proven to be veryuseful. This surname shows high concentrationsin southeastern Poland.The data from the “Mapa nazwisk”search engine is comparable to the datafrom the searchable database at http://www.herby.com.pl/indexslo.html, which some call the“Rymut site,” after Kazimierz Rymut, thePolish professor who first compiled andpublished the data. Both sets of figurescame from the Polish government agencycalled PESEL, and both show the frequencyand distribution of surnames borne byPolish citizens—the Rymut site with datafrom 1990, Moikrewni with data from 2002.For some time it has been possible to createsurname maps by taking data from theRymut site and plugging it into the appletat http://www.genpol.com/Mapa+main.html. Butthat mapping program is not as sharp andeasy to use as Moikrewni’s.It’s interesting that Moikrewni shows1,710 more Śliwińskis than the Rymut sitedoes. [Editor—Rymut said the 1990 datalacked figures for about 7% of the Polishpopulation, so the more accurate 2002 datawill often show larger numbers.] The Rymutsite combines the figures for the masculineand feminine forms, whereas Moikrewnigives separate maps and pages for eachform, and the total is up to you to calculate.The Rymut site breaks data down by the49 provinces of 1990, whereas Moikrewni’snumbers are broken down by current countiesor powiaty, not the 16 current provinces.The greater detail of Moikrewni’s data,and the ability to place your mouse over alocation on the map and see a county orcity name pop up, are particularly valuableto anyone not too familiar with Poland.Genealogists looking for all variantsand all data during searches may wish toconsult Rymut’s Dictionary of Surnamesin Current Use in Poland at the Beginningof the 21st Century, a CD published in8 Rodziny, Spring 2008Figure 5. Map of Czopor surname showing its comparativelylimited distribution in Poland.2002 by the Polish Genealogical Society ofAmerica (formerly sold by the Society, butnow out of print). That CD gives completebreakdowns of PESEL’s 2002 data for everycounty in which a surname appears, whereasMoikrewni lists data only for the 10counties in which a name is most common.Moikrewni’s maps, however, illustrate datafor all counties, not just the “top 10.”Moikrewni also allows you to incorporatethe surname maps it generates intoyour blog or family Web site. Naturally,the map includes the Moikrewni logo as areminder of where it came from.The forum portion of the Web site ishelpful for those with very good Polishwriting skills. Fortunately, as mentionedearlier, there is an English-language versionof the Web site, http:// www.itsourtree.com,and it provides contact information that willrespond to questions in English. The folksthere were very helpful with my inquiries.The English site does not have a surnamemapping feature, but you can access theMoikrewni site by clicking on the Polish flagnear the top right of the home page.Polish-language family tree Web sitesare aimed at the growing number of Polesinterested in genealogy. These sites attractnew clients by offering different free amenitiesthat make the experience potentiallymore fruitful. With a little bit of assistance,Polish-Americans can also use these freeamenities to benefit their research.

A Warsaw Cemetery AdventurePhyllis M. Sternemann, 74 Shore Rd., Manhasset NY 11030 By a stroke of good luck and after hoursof planning, I was able to arrange child carefor my son and daughter in order to takea brief trip to Warsaw in January of 1998.My father’s 76-year-old cousin Łucja wasexcited at the prospect of seeing me again,since my previous visit of just 20 yearsprior. Aside from a quick catch-up withŁucja, my other goal was a cemetery visit tophotograph graves of my ancestors.After dropping off my bag at the hotel,I skipped a chance to rest so I could getas much accomplished as possible in onlythree days. I met my prearranged translatorin the lobby, and off we went by cab with abouquet for Łucja. The wonderful visit includednibbling cookies with tea, a review ofher old photograph albums, and enthusiasticexchanges about the “olden days.” ThenI wrote down the name of the cemetery(Powązki) where her husband, Jerzy, wasburied and, way across the Wisła River, thecemetery where her parents lay (Bródno).Because of poor health, Łucja had not beenable to visit any graves for several years—not even for the special commemoration ofAll Saints’ Day, when pilgrimages acrossPoland by family members lead to gravesidereunions and cause horrendous traffic congestion.I thought it would be a nice gestureto photograph Jerzy’s grave and send acopy to her.Leaving her apartment while chatteringwith the translator about various waysto seek out dusty old records at the localarchival offices, I realized I had forgotten toask Łucja for the burial plot locations.Early the next day, armed with my busmap, city map, Berlitz Polish phrase book,itchy wool sweater, down coat, ugly hat,and clunky snow boots, I stuffed my camera,wallet, passport, notepad, pen, waterbottle, and seven granola bars into mybackpack. Along with the names of thesetwo cemeteries and emergency provisions, Ifelt prepared to find the final resting placesof my ancestors. I had no idea what was instore for me.Sure, the first cemetery, near the middleof the city, was easy to find, since thebus quickly stopped right at the main gate.Walking past the snow-covered graves ofAbove: A photo of Łucja Półtorak, 1938. Below:Her mother, Gizela Rychlewska Półtorak.Rodziny, Spring 2008 9

famous artists and writers, I sought thecaretaker’s office. Along the quiet pathbetween the rows of elaborate verticalmonuments, my muffled footsteps allowedthe crispness of the chickadee’s“bee-bee-bee” to sound out.The birds flitted from pine branchto tombstone and back again, escortingme, a lone visitor on a weekdaymorning, through this still place. Onelanded atop a tall stone, and I thoughtto photograph it, a small form of life inthis silent gray stone yard. But the birdwould not stay still long enough for meto dig through my pack and adjust thecamera. I walked on.Scanning each marker in the nextrow for names carved into the granite,I stopped abruptly at letteringwhich, surprisingly, spelled out JerzyKędzierski. How startling to see thevery name I was looking for, right thereafter the chickadee’s antics. Now, was itthe correct Jerzy Kędzierski? After all, thatsurname is extremely common. A quickreview of the dates, since the other Polishwords were too hard to decipher, showedthat I had indeed found the grave of Łucja’shusband. The stone letters had been filledin by shaky hand with black paint, perhapsto aid the visually impaired. I adjusted thecamera and took a few shots from differentangles and a close-up.After repacking my bag and putting mygloves back on, I bid farewell to this manwhom I had only met once, whose storieswere kept secret since World War II. Perhapsto be contemplated later, since I hadyet another cemetery to travel to. The daysare shorter in winter.Three buses and two hours later, I wasover the river and past the zoo. The mapshowed that this bus should turn left soon,unless it’s the wrong bus. After the auto repairshops and stone quarry, my stop wouldbe just ahead, where clusters of fat candlesand plastic flowers were sold outside thegate of Bródno Cemetery. People were eagerto earn even a few złoty from sales such asthis. Yet they would only brave the cold ifthe sun was shining.The cemetery office staff attempted tohelp, but the language barrier was too high.My poor pronunciation of the surname wasridiculed as one worker mimicked to anothermy exaggerated vowels in the namePółtorak. Without the exact year of death,A Wa r s a w Ce m e t e r y Ad v e n t u r e10 Rodziny, Spring 2008Above: A photo of Bródno Cemetery on All Saints’ Day. Theoriginal is available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Br%C3%B3dno_Cemetery?uselang=pl.they were unable to look up the grave’slocation on their computer. I did not wantthis long trip to be wasted; after all, whoknew when I might be able to return?So I decided to call Łucja. By myself,using my trusty Berlitz book. But where tofind a phone? And how to obtain the coinsor token needed? At least I had her numberand some paper złoty with me. It was wortha try. The office worker politely waited asI mangled the Polish for, “Where is a payphone?” She used the ever popular internationalgestures to accompany her words,letting me know that a post office was downthe block, with a phone inside.Off I went, Berlitz book in hand, pastthe candle sellers, briskly now, as I wouldnot wish to remain in this neighborhoodafter dusk. In line at the post office, eyeingthe gruff unshaven man behind the counter,I waited uncertainly. My goal was toconvey a need not for stamps, but for theuse of a pay phone. Only for a local call—or does one have to dial a certain prefix? Asmile came to me as I realized the people inline behind me were in for quite an event.Here’s a woman who can’t speak Polish,trying to buy a phone token, taking toolong to make her request, and even if she issuccessful in procuring the desired phonetoken, the biggest question becomes: Whoon earth would she be trying to call sinceshe doesn’t speak Polish?So, I was next, and I used every politephrase I could. The sweat trickled along my

A Wa r s a w Ce m e t e r y Ad v e n t u r ebrow as my wool had done too good a jobwhile I was walking briskly to the overheatedbuilding. The postal man responded byholding up a plastic card, with a picture ofa phone on it. I was so happy. Then, beforehanding it to me, he produced a hugesentence that I could not understand forthe life of me. It had nothing to do with allthe words swirling about in my head whichI had looked up while waiting—words suchas “phone,” “cost,” “ local call,” and the like.I was forced to produce the only fluent sentencein my repertoire: “I’m sorry, I do notunderstand.” At that moment, his gruffnessfaded while he snapped off the perforatedcorner of the card to activate it for me.“Thank you,” I replied, in Polish, of course.Then I waited for the chattering girlwho was in the phone booth to finish hereternal call. The sun was lower. The meltedsnow would be freezing again, forming slipperypatches. When was the last bus goingback? And where does it stop for me toboard?I was grateful to close the door to thephone booth, thereby ending the show forthe other patrons. I juggled my pen, notebookand Berlitz book while balancing thephone on my shoulder. I inserted the card,first upside down, then backwards, andfinally correctly, and dialed Łucja’s number.She was very surprised to hear myvoice. I was able to convey that I was at thecemetery and I wanted the “grave of hermother.” In fractured words, of course. Shethought I was at the cemetery where herhusband was buried.“No, Cmentarz Bródnowski,” I replied.“Oh, uwaga!” she exclaimed, a warningto me, as the neighborhood was not so safe.I quickly wrote the way she said the numbersfor the row and plot and the alphabetletter for the section. If only I had takentime to learn numbers in Polish, I wouldnot have had to write them phonetically tolook up in my handy book.I thanked her and tried to convey thatI would be careful. I walked back to thecemetery, energized by my newly gatheredinformation, certain of success in my quest.Section D was far into the center of anexpansive field. I stopped and looked outinto the open area beyond the trees thatlined the perimeter, seeing that only themain path was clear. The snow seemeddeeper on this side of the river. The littlemarkers for Section D were tall enough tostand out, but there had to be other lowsigns and markers for rows and plots thatI couldn’t possibly find under the snowyblanket. This blanket spread over everygrave, covering hundreds of names andidentities.There were no tall monuments, no highstones, only low plaques, all obscured bywinter’s fallen flakes. The huge fluffy whiteblanket could not be folded over to uncoverthose ever important names and dates forwhich I searched. And I could not pay myrespects at the graves of the ancestors whohad chosen not to emigrate as my grandparentshad done.I thought of many possibilities as Iwalked slowly to the bus stop, scatteringmy granola bar crumbs for the birds. Maybethe chickadees would find them.Letters to the Editor (cont’d)What a wonderful, interesting publication! Iespecially enjoyed reading “A Child’s Recollection,”which brought back memories ofmy childhood in Chicago. Living on Cullertonand Leavitt St. in the area with thevaulted street. Not knowing why the streetwas raised until later on in life, just acceptinglife the way it was. Living in a neighborhoodwhere everyone spoke Polish andsome speaking half-Polish and half-English.The cold water flats, Saturday night bathsin the galvanized tub. Summer eveningsitting on the front concrete porch talkingwith neighbors until bedtime. Flats withno hot water, no heat, only by coal or oilstoves, no air-conditioning, no refrigeration,and yet we survived. Could the children inthis day and age do the same?Looking forward to the next publication,keep up the good work.Loretta (Majerczyk) NemecEditor: I’m pleased you enjoyed thatarticle. I knew it was a good article when Ifound myself enjoying it—and I didn’t evengrow up in Chicago!Subject: Lithuanian Heritage magazineI just received the latest edition ofRodziny. I read it cover to cover and enjoyedit greatly.Rodziny, Spring 2008 11

I always find the “Articles of Interest”section such a teaser that I decided tocheck the Internet for some of the publicationsmentioned. Since my great-grandparentsWincenty and Helena (Bodanowicz)Woroniecki were Polish speakers from theWilno area, I am particularly drawn to theLithuanian resources.It appears the Web address for LithuanianHeritage magazine should be www.lithuanianheritage.com (instead of .org).Thank you for the great journal.Joe Zadroznycurrently of Berlin, GermanyEditor: I appreciate your kind words,and you’re absolutely right about theproper URL for Lithuanian Heritage—a veryfine publication, incidentally. Thanks forthe correction!Subject: Galician RailroadI’m a longtime PGSA member andwanted to drop you a note to say how muchI appreciate the continuing high quality ofthe Rodziny journal and the articles thatappear therein. I was especially impressedwith the piece on the “Galician Railroad” byIwona in the Winter 2008 issue.Railroad development in the 19th centuryis a topic about which I would like tosee additional follow-up articles, especiallyregarding the various railroad travel routesthat were available to emigrés transitingto Atlantic seaports with ships sailing forAmerica. It would be informative to learnsomething about the logistics of how Polishimmigrants from the rural countrysidebecame aware of their travel options toAmerica, where they bought tickets, etc. I’msure this would be of interest to many readersof Rodziny.Lastly, I would like to put in my requestfor a translation of the Słownik geograficznyentry for the regional town of Jasło insoutheast Poland. I don’t think I’ve seenthis entry translated as yet, but it’s my impressionthis is a major regional town andmight be of broad interest to PGSA members.Chet Szerlag, Woodridge, IllinoisEditor—I passed your words on toIwona, and I’m sure she’ll do what she canto give us more on this subject. She saidLe t t e r s t o t h e Ed i t o r12 Rodziny, Spring 2008the main sources she used on her articleare as follows:Bissaga, T.: Geografia kolejowa Polski,1938.Dzięsieciolecie Polskich KoleiPaństwowych 1918-1928, MinisterstwoKomunikacji.Golsdorf, K.: Koleje w Austrii1837-1918.Wierzbicki, L.: Rozwój sieci koleiżelaznych w Galicji,1847-1890.As for the SGKP entry for Jasło, I translatedit years ago for the Polish GenealogicalSociety of Texas, and you can read it—enhancedwith nice photos—on their Web siteat http://www.pgst.org/places/jaslo.htm.Subject: Iwona!I desire to advise you of how much Ienjoy the articles by Iwona Dakiniewicz inRodziny. I also wish to advise you of thewonderful professional relationship I havehad with her for a few years now. She hasperformed some really detailed research forme during these years, and I have alwaysbeen more than satisfied with her workperformance. In the family research she hasdone for me, she has always been diligent,thorough, helpful, and reasonable. I wish tocommend her highly to you and to anyonewho wishes to have family research and/or guide-travel-tour assistance work donefor them. She is a wonderful researcher andvery considerate.Daniel Kobylarz-HughesSubject: Germans/Poles in MemelPerhaps you can point me in the rightdirection. In doing family research, I amtrying to find facts to support a familystory.The story is that Frederick William’s(born 1801) father and mother moved toMemel from (possibly) Poland because theyhad a Polish name. His father said to thefamily that from then on, their name wouldbecome Licht (German for light) because“Now we are Germans.” They were Protestants.He was a tailor. His wife’s name wasHenrietta.In doing a bit of online research, I canguess that one of the Polish rebellions (either1794 or 1831) brought them to Memel.Or perhaps (considering his first andmiddle names) they were part of the 20,000

efugees from Salzburg, or other areas, whowere invited to settle in this region by FrederickWilliam I.Would my guesses be accurate? Do youhave any other thoughts on Polish-namedpeople in Memel during the late 1700s toearly 1800s?Thanks for any help.Joanne RodgersEditor—I can’t answer this, but perhapsone of our readers can.Subject: Where is Wrzonca?I am having trouble locating my grandfather’splace of birth in Poland, and I hopeone of the readers can help.My grandfather, Josef S. Gembicki,came to the United States in 1913. He arrivedin New York on November 6, 1913, onthe SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. He camethrough Ellis Island, his place of birth islisted as “Wrzonca, Russia/Poland.” I havechecked old maps and new maps of Poland,and I cannot find this city. I have come tothe conclusion that I am reading it wrongon the passenger record, or maybe it is misspelled.Can anyone out there help?Karen Glynn51718 Red Mill RdDowagiac MI 49047-8775Editor—I’m printing your letter inhopes other members can help more. In themeantime, I might be able to help a little.I used the Steve Morse Web site, www.stevemorse.org, to view the manifest forJosef Gembicki’s arrival in 1913, and youhave read his place of birth correctly, inmy opinion. It does indeed seem to say“Wrzonca,” and gives his country of originas “Russia”—presumably that part ofPoland seized by the Russian Empire inthe late 18th century. “Wrzonca” is also theplace indicated as his previous residence.The problem is, there is no place in Polandcalled Wrzonca! But a little familiaritywith the Polish language solves that mystery.In Polish, the nasal vowel written asą is pronounced much like on, and it wasnot at all unusual for people to spell namesphonetically with on, especially if they werenot familiar with Polish. For that matter,even Poles sometimes did this. Universalliteracy is a comparatively recent developmentin Poland, and there was not alwaysLe t t e r s t o t h e Ed i t o ra consensus on the “right” way to spell aname when there was more than one phoneticallyaccurate version. So while Wrzącais the “correct” spelling these days, in olderrecords and letters it wouldn’t be odd to seeit as Wrzonca sometimes.That’s the good news. The bad newsis, there are nine places in Poland namedWrząca, and six of them were in RussianPoland. Wrząca can be a village of some 60people in Gostynin county, Mazowieckieprovince; a village of some 350 people inPabianice county, Łódzkie province (nearŁódź); a village of some 660 people in Sieradzcounty, Łódzkie province; a village ofsome 110 people in Kalisz county, Wielkopolskieprovince; a village of some 270people in Turek county, Wielkopolskie province;or a village of some 480 people in Kołocounty, Wielkopolskie province. There werealso places by this name in the Germanpartition, but I think you can ignore those,since the manifest says your grandfatherwas a citizen of Russia, not Germany.Without further information, there issimply no way to tell which Wrząca yourancestor came from. All I can suggest isthat you keep digging, in hopes of findingsome document that mentions the name ofthe nearest large town, or the county seat.That would allow you to focus in on one ofthose places. Otherwise, your only hope isto take them one at a time and dig around,hoping that you’ll get lucky and he camefrom the first or second one you check, notthe fifth or sixth!Incidentally, keep your eyes open alsofor documents that mention people namedGębicki, because Gembicki is a variantspelling of that name. We’re dealing herewith the other Polish nasal vowel, ę, whichsounds like en usually, but before b or pmore like em. In modern Polish, Gębickiis the more common spelling; as of 1990,some 1,438 Polish citizens spelled it thatway, as opposed to 390 who spelled it Gembicki.Of those Gębickis, 198 lived in whatwas Łódź province in 1990; another 109 informer Płock province (in which the Wrzącain Gostynin county was located in 1990);and 86 in Konin province (in which currentTurek county was located in 1990). So thesurname is spread all over, and we can’tpoint to any one of those places namedWrząca and say “that’s the only place in Polandwhere we find people named Gębicki/Gembicki.”Rodziny, Spring 2008 13

Ask the RetoucherEric Basir He’s worked in darkrooms—both digital and conventional—newspapers and studios. He runs Photo Grafix, a humblephoto-retouching studio in Evanston, Illinois (USA), helping genealogists restore and preserve photos and documents withtheir computers. If he doesn’t know the answer, he won’t rest until he finds it. Eric Basir is at your service. With each “Ask theRetoucher” column, he’ll help you successfully tackle your digital photographic preservation and restoration problems.Please send your questions and problem photos, your location, and genealogical society affiliation (if appropriate) toquestions@abetterreality.net for future “Ask the Retoucher” columns. You can learn more about Eric and his work online atwww.abetterreality.net. He has also enhanced many of the photos in issues of Rodziny. Thanks, Eric!Question—Tom (USA) asks: “I haveheard about various clear sprays that aredesigned to protect color photos againstUV damage. How effective are these sprays,and can you suggest one or two that workespecially well?”Answer—Tom, I have had no experiencewith any UV protection sprays. I treatUV sprays the same way I do nutritionalsupplements: they might help prevent problems,but—in many cases—they are not asgood as a commonsense diet with exercise.You certainly deserve a more detailedexplanation, since your photos don’t eat ormove. So, a commonsense diet with exercisefor your photos would be:1. Keep them out of sunlight. Period.That is, direct or indirect sunlight.2. Keep them behind a glass framewith matt-board.3. Use archival-quality framing materials.4. Keep them away from any kind ofsmoke or moisture.5. Use real photographic prints(which can be done even with digital images).If you use an inkjet printer, useonly the manufacturer’s ink and paper;HP ink and paper for HP printers, forexample.If you do all of these things, I don’t believeyou’ll need the UV spray. You will alsosave money, your lungs, and the environmentby not using the spray. Regarding theframe, I highly recommend a professionalframing service or archival and/or scrapbooksupply service. They are trained in thelatest archival techniques and use the bestquality supplies. In the worst case, you canpurchase a frame with its own matt-boardfrom a local retail store.Question—Lee (USA) asks: “I have avast amount of picture albums that I wouldlove to put on CDs for sake of space. WhichCD is the best? The CD-R or the CD-RW? Ihave heard that after a few years they willnot be gone from the CD. Is this true?”Answer—Lee, all recording media evolvethroughout the years. From stone tablets,cave walls, and papyrus to audiocassette,CD, and flash memory, the best way topreserve them is to transfer to the latesttechnology and create multiple copies.This should include digital and hard copy(prints) or analog (tape). It sounds a bitfanatical—having various copies of everything—butit’s worth it.Organizing it can become a headache,however. So it’s important to start out withthe basics before establishing an elaboratearchiving system. The most basic systemshould consist of an external hard-drivewith almost twice the capacity of your computer’shard-drive and a high-quality DVDwriter. First, copy your entire photo archiveonto the external drive. Then, transfer thecollection onto CDs or DVDs, as appropriate.I also recommend you create one extracopy of each CD or DVD of your photos andstore the extra copies in another locationoutside of your home. This process willgreatly reduce the risk of losing your collection.I suggest using DVD-R for archivingfamily photos. I’m only recommendingDVD-R because its capacity is six times thecapacity of a CD-R. CDs can hold about650 megabytes. DVDs can hold about 4,500megabytes. Besides that, either one shouldwork fine. Avoid using RW (rewritable)media because the surface is not stableenough for archival purposes. The slightestscratch or sneeze might render it useless(smile).I use CD-RW and DVD-RW for sharingfiles and burning MP3s for playing music(which I then later overwrite, since all the14 Rodziny, Spring 2008

As k t h e Re t o u c h e roriginals are on my computerand backup drives).There is an emerging duallayer DVD technology alsoavailable. These DVDs arerecordable on both sides,thus increasing their capacitytwofold, from fourgigabytes to eight. However,because they’re so new,I don’t recommend usingthem for your archives atthis time.Finally, I recommendyou read the “CD LongevityNotes” on our Web site. Goto http://www.abetterreality.net,click on “Ask the Retoucher,” and look forthe file in “Downloads for our Readers.” Inthis folder, you’ll find articles from variouspoints of view about CDs and DVDs.Housekeeping note for our readers: Toimprove distribution of downloadable content,we have moved our files to differentservers. So any links in past articles willnot work. Everything has been moved to the“Ask the Retoucher” section at http://www.abetterreality.net.Please send an e-mail messageto if a fileyou need is not in the downloads list.Please do not duplicate, publish, ordistribute this article without permissionfrom Photo Grafix. This article is exclusivelydistributed to specific publications throughour own syndication process. Adobe Photoshopand Adobe Photoshop Elements © 2007Adobe Systems Incorporated.ATTENTION ALL PGSA MEMBERSThe PGSA Board needs your help and support in selecting the recipients of the Wigilia and GwiazdaAwards for 2008. As you know, the PGSA recognizes the work of an outstanding individual or an institutionat our annual meeting. There is a strong feeling that we need more input from our membershipin finding those worthy of these honors. Please help us by suggesting people for each of these awards.Simply submit a nomination letter in which you describe your reasons, in as much detail as possible,for selecting your candidate. Indicate for which award(s) you are nominating the individual. Also, let usknow how to contact you, if we have any questions. Please send the nomination letter to:Richard Stanowski, PGSA Awards Chairperson, 1648 Ash Avenue, Woodstock, IL, 60098-2589Another option is to submit your selection to the Awards Chairperson via e-mail: .We need your selection(s) no later than April 30, 2008. If you have any questions, you may also contactRichard Stanowski at 815-337-5835. The basic guidelines are given in the following paragraphs:Annually, the PGSA Board selects a recipient of the Wigilia Award for outstanding service to the fieldof Polish-American genealogical research. It is given to an individual who has made, over a period oftime, noteworthy contributions to the field. The award may also be given to a public or private institutionthat has made a significant contribution to Polish-American genealogy.A second award, known as the Gwiazda Award, is given to a volunteer who has given freely of his orher time and talents to the Polish Genealogical Society of America. The recipient should be someonewho has a record of meritorious service to the Society, is supportive of the Society’s goals and endeavors,and can be depended on to successfully complete any task undertaken.Rodziny, Spring 2008 15

FOLLOW-UP TO IWONA’S GALICIAN RAILROAD ARTICLEI want to tell you how delighted I wasto read about the Galician railroad in theWinter 2008 edition of Rodziny. My fatheralways told me that my grandfather workedas a carpenter for the railroad in the erabefore World War I, but I knew very littleelse about it.One thing that your article did not mentionis that railroad employees and theirfamilies were given passes for riding on therailroad. I don’t remember my father sayingwhether these were “free rides” or just reducedfare. What makes them very specialto me is that they were photo IDs. They arethe only photographs I have of my paternalgrandparents, Antoni and Katarzyna (neeSanecka) Wolan, and one of the few childhoodphotos of my father, Julian. You cansee that my grandfather’s photo/pass wasused because it shows creasing and morewear than the others. My father recalledthat he was about seven or eight whenthe photo was taken, which would make itabout 1918. He said my grandfather workedfor the railroad before and during WorldWar I, starting about 1910. They lived in asmall village just outside the small town ofStrzyżów in what was then Rzeszów province,where they had a farm.Margaret Wolan Sullivan 16 Rodziny, Spring 2008What makes them passes is the officialstamp of the National Railroad, which youcan see in the attached scans. With these,the family were able to travel from nearStrzyżów to Kraków, where two older brotherslived and worked, and presumably toreceive visits in return.Margaret Wolan Sullivan

MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER WAS AN ENEMY ALIEN!!Kenneth P. Nowakowski On May 5, 1891, the first of my directancestors to arrive in America, mygreat-grandparents, Jan and AgnieszkaWardyński, with their six-month-old daughterStanisława, disembarked the NorddeutscherLloyd passenger liner Karlsruhe,were ferried from the pier in Hoboken, NewJersey, to the southern tip of Manhattan,and filed through Castle Garden. They hadleft a rural existence in the Poznań areaof Prussian Poland to seek freedom in theUnited States to carry on their Polish traditionswithout the restrictions imposed uponthem by German autocrats. Their namesas listed in the manifest of the Germanship were Johann and Agniska Wardenski.Although in the ship’s records they bothwere declared as farmers, they would soonreinvent themselves when they arrived bytrain in the state of Illinois.They settled in the twin towns of Peru-LaSalle, located on the northern bank of theIllinois River in LaSalle County about onehundred miles west-southwest of Chicago,where a large Polish population was alreadybeginning to thrive. They chose this area astheir home and remained there for the restof their lives. St. Hyacinth, a Polish RomanCatholic Church, was founded in LaSalle in1875 as an alternative parish to St. Joseph’sin Peru, which was mostly attendedby those of German descent. Now the Poleswho settled in the Illinois River Valley hada religious institution that offered Massin their native tongue. After the originalchurch was consumed by fire in 1890, anew building was completed the followingyear—the same year that the Wardynskisarrived (since they were now Americans, Isuppose we should drop the accent fromthe n). The new red brick Gothic-stylebuilding stood proud and tall on 10thStreet. Its twin steeples with bells namedfor the three Polish saints, Hyacinth,Stanisław, and Wojciech, rang out to call allthe Polish families in the area to Mass.Unfortunately, the first religious ceremonyperformed in the church for theWardynski family in the year of their arrivalwas a funerary mass for their baby daughter,Stanisława, who took sick and died onSeptember 14, 1891. She was buried inan unmarked grave in St. Hyacinth Cemetery.This had to be a devastating timefor 20-year-old Agnes and her 25-year-oldhusband. But now, every child born to thecouple would be born on American soil.On March 10, 1892, Agnes gave birthto another daughter, Josephine. Shewas raised as a small-town girl with anall-American attitude toward life and awarm and pleasant disposition that madeeveryone who met her feel at ease. Butshe was truly a child of two worlds; shecould read, write, and speak Polish withthe best of the newly arriving immigrants.This child, who the family nicknamedJosie, would grow up to marry an ungainlyPolish immigrant named WładysławNowakowski, and the two of them wouldraise a family of eight children, the secondof which was my father, Chester, who wasborn in Peru in 1910. It wasn’t until 1926that Władysław, now known as Walter,and Josephine decided that perhapsemployment opportunities in the big city ofChicago appeared more hopeful, and theyand their family, which now numberedseven children, left Peru. Over the years,some of the Wardynski brothers and sistersmoved to and settled in other Illinois towns,and some left to raise their children in thebig cities of other states; but only Josephinemoved her family to Chicago.In the 1950s, I remember my greatgrandfather,John Wardynski, from tripsdown to Peru with my grandmother. Therewere weddings and funerals, a familypicnic, and great-grandpa’s 90th birthdayparty in October of 1955. John Wardynskiwas a small, iconic figure of a man aroundwhom family members were always eagerto gather for picture taking. And well theymight have, since without him all of uswouldn’t have been here. As a child, I couldnever approach him without apprehension;this man was genuine family royalty. Whenattending the wake for my grandmother’sbrother, Bernard, at the Ptak Funeralparlor in Peru in March of 1956, my fatherwalked up to his grandfather and, seeingthe saddened look on his face, tried to cheerhim. John Wardynski looked up from thedeeply upholstered chair in which he wasRodziny, Spring 2008 17

My Gr e a t-Gr e a t-Gr a n d m o t h e r Wa s a n En e m y Al i e n!!At right: A photo ofthe house at 1325Walnut St. Below:A Wardynski familypicnic. All photoscourtesy of theauthor.seated and said, “I am not so much mourningthe death of my son as I am worriedabout outliving all my children. Will therebe anyone left to see me to my grave whenI die?” This was a man who truly loved hisfamily. He died on January 19, 1963, at theage of 97; he had outlived two wives and allbut five of his thirteen children.In working on the family genealogy, Ihave developed a special appreciation formy great-grandfather. He accomplished allthat other Polish immigrants did in theirrelocations to the United States, but withan amazing speed of purpose and unerringdirection. In the 1894 city directory hewas listed as already working for the IllinoisZinc Co., one of the largest employers in thearea. The company operated a huge rollingmill on the riverfront that manufactured18 Rodziny, Spring 2008sheets of zinc and ran mines that providedcoal for its blast furnaces. On June 12th,1897, with three children already addedto his family, John Wardynski signed topurchase a lot from the Roman Catholicchurch in what would soon be the FirstWard of the town of Peru. The church hadalready built a school building in 1891, andin September of 1899 the Polish Church ofSt. Valentine’s was completed just one halfof a block from the Wardynskis’ new homeon 1325 Walnut St. Now, both Peru and La-Salle had churches offering services in Polish.Soon that ward, located between a ravineand the eastern town line that abuttedthe western limits of LaSalle, would becomea Polish community where bartenders andshop owners could welcome the hard-workinglaborers into their establishments withan enthusiastic “Dzień dobry!” John mightstop for a beer at Kulikowski’s Saloon whileAgnes could shop at Urbanowski’s Grocery,Meat, and Hardware Store. In October of1904, John Wardynski’s naturalizationpapers were finalized at the County Courtbuilding in the town of Ottawa, and he andAgnes could proudly acclaim themselves asAmerican citizens.On April 12, 1894, the SS Amerikaarrived in Baltimore Harbor with six passengersaboard who had declared theirdestination in the United States as Peru,Illinois. Jan and Michalina Skrzypczak werethe parents of Agnes Wardynski. With them

My Gr e a t-Gr e a t-Gr a n d m o t h e r Wa s a n En e m y Al i e n!!came her four younger sisters, Katha, Marianna,Magdalina, and Josepha. I’m surethat John and Agnes provided some or all ofthe money needed to finance their trip. Thefamily had sailed from the port of Hamburgafter leaving a village named Topola on theoutskirts of środa.Today, with only a few of my aunts andno uncles still living, the Skrzypczaks werepretty much a forgotten family. MichalinaSkrzypczak had first introduced herselfto me in the early days of my genealogicaljourneying when I was on one of my latenighttreks through ancestry Web sites. Iwas delving into the 1920 census takenin the town of Peru, Illinois, when this77-year-old woman appeared as the lastentry in a list of family members living at1501 Walnut St. This was the residence ofmy grandmother’s sister, Pearl, who livedthere with her husband, Joseph Wyciskalla,and their three young children, Edmund,Joseph, and Mary. That census listedMichalina as a boarder who had arrived inAmerica in 1894 and was never naturalized.Two things first came to my mind whenI discovered this household shared by aSkrzypczak and the Wyciskalla family.First, this address had to be a nightmarefor postal delivery. Wyciskalla is a difficultenough name, but Skrzypczak is a pronunciationnightmare devoid of almost everyvowel. It is misspelled at the rate of about80 percent whenever it appears in legaldocuments, city directories, and newspaperobituaries. One must never assume thatone can find this name in any form similarto its proper spelling. The second thingcame in the form of a question. Why wasthis elderly lady living in the residence ofmy Great Aunt Pearl, who was obviouslybusy building a family in the early years ofher marriage? My assumption was that shehad to be a close relative.Over the years, I was able to unearthall the ships’ manifests, the baptismal andmarriage records, and the governmentpapers that substantiated the Skrzypczaks’relationship to my great-grandparents. Theywere my only great-great-grandparents tohave emigrated from Poland and settledhere in the United States.But then, one night about a half-yearago, while I again was surfing the Net,checking out sites that might disclose theWardynskis’ origins in German Poland, Ityped the their name into Ancestry.com andbegan scrolling down through the differentareas. Eventually I came to AncestryWorld Trees and, to my surprise, the namesJohn and Michalina Skrzypczak appeared.And though that surname was misspelled(Skszypczak), I knew that this couple linkedwith the names of John Wardynski andhis wife Agnes Skrzypczak added up to mygrandmother’s parents and grandparents.And not only was Michalina listed butalso her parents, Joseph Maciejewski andBrigida Wozniak.In what turned out to be the greatestfreebie of my probing into the past, I realizedthat someone had handed me thenames of my great-great-great-grandparents.My next step was to discover whohad taken the time to construct this familytree online. After spinning around throughseveral revolving doors, I came up with thename Mary Zukowski, who lived in La-Salle, Illinois. Because of the research I hadbeen doing in the LaSalle-Peru area, I hadbecome a member of the LaSalle CountyGenealogy Guild. The guild is located onGlover Street, just a few blocks south ofthe Illinois River, in a great little buildingfilled with library tables that offers lots ofarea for research, a plethora of old booksand documents (church records, city directories,obituaries, microfilms), and anexceptionally helpful staff. I first became amember of this organization in 2002. SinceMary Zukowski lived in LaSalle and wasgenealogically astute, I assumed that shewas a fellow member of this organization,and in searching through the Guild’s 2006Surname Index, I found her listed as member# 43. I am member # 4033. I obtainedMary’s address from the Guild Index andthen looked up her phone number in theLaSalle-Peru telephone directory.Each step in this genealogical discoveryprocess would bring me nearer to myunderstanding of the Wardynskis. Thisfamily bypassed the opportunities of settlingin the big city of Chicago where therewas an abundance of jobs and housing.Instead they opted to come to the town ofPeru, Illinois. Why? In May of 1891, whenJan and Agnieszka arrived in the Midwest,a great white city was being constructedin Jackson Park on the southernmost citylimits of Chicago that two years later wouldopen as the World’s Columbian Exposition.Chicago was crying out for immigrant labor!Why didn’t the Wardynskis follow the over-Rodziny, Spring 2008 19

My Gr e a t-Gr e a t-Gr a n d m o t h e r Wa s a n En e m y Al i e n!!Registration card, with photograph, of the enemy alien (see page 22).whelming tangle of steel rails into Chicagoinstead of heading southwestward into theIllinois River Valley?In my late Tuesday morning telephoneconversation with Mary Zukowski, all myquestions were answered. Mary had beeninvolved in researching her family genealogyfor 25 years. I found out that hergrandfather, Wojciech Maciejewski, hadbeen born on March 27, 1853, in the tinytown of Brzeziak, in the parish of Mączniki,which was located near środa, a city justsoutheast of Poznań. He emigrated in 1880and settled in LaSalle, Illinois. On November16, 1884, he married Mary Gniewkiewskiat St. Hyacinth’s Church in LaSalle.Mary Zukowski’s father, John, was born in1887 in Peru as the second of their children.Mary’s father wed Sophie Tomaszewskiin 1913, and Mary was born in 1926.But Wojciech—or Albert, as he was later20 Rodziny, Spring 2008known—was the maternal uncle of AgnesWardynski. After he had come to Peru, Illinois,he most likely exchanged letters withhis sister Michalina Skrzypczak, who stillresided in the Poznań area of Poland. Thoseletters probably were filled with the promiseof many job opportunities that awaitedmembers of the family in the Illinois Riverregion of America, and most likely led to theemigration of Jan and Agnieszka in 1891,and eventually of Agnieszka’s parents, Janand Michalina Skrzypczak, and their fouryounger daughters, in 1894.Several weeks after our conversation,a packet arrived at my door with informationon the Maciejewski family. Mary and Ishared the ancestors Joseph Maciejewskiand Brigida Wozniak. They were her greatgrandparentsand my great-great-greatgrandparents,which makes us secondcousins, twice removed. Of them and their

My Gr e a t-Gr e a t-Gr a n d m o t h e r Wa s a n En e m y Al i e n!!10 children, only Michalina and Wojciechhad come to the United States. Includedin the paperwork were charts for the familiesof Joseph and Brigida Maciejewski andWojciech and Mary Maciejewski, with birth,death, and marriage dates and town namesfor all these events in their children’s lives.Mary and I have kept up a correspondencenow for about five months. I senther ship’s records that I had found for theWardynskis and the Skrzypczaks and alsoa copy of a photo of Agnes Wardynski andfour of her children that had been taken inthe front of their house on Walnut Streetin Peru circa 1905. She recently mailedme an obituary for Helen Noramczyk, whodied in Peru on November 14, 2007, at theage of 99; she was the second wife of mygrandmother’s brother John Wardynski. Inreading through the death notice, I foundthat my father’s cousin, Romana Jasiek,and her husband, Stanley, are still livingPages from the registration booklet.in Peru. After I told my father’s youngestsister, Frances Kempa, about this, she senta letter to their residence and received afriendly reply. I feel as if a lot more genealogicalinformation is on the way now that Ihave contacts in the towns where my fatherand my grandmother were born and raised.When Michalina Skrzypczak and herhusband John arrived in 1894, he was 60years old and she was 52. Mary Zukowskitold me that even though he was of anadvanced age, he accepted employmentin a coal mine where he later became thevictim of some on-the-job injury. For a longperiod of time, with John unable to work,the couple depended on their family forsupport, and there is even some indicationthat they lived out of state in Missouri withone of their daughters for a few years. Butthey were back in Peru when John died onNovember 20, 1910. After this, Michalinamust have moved in with the Wardynskis,Rodziny, Spring 2008 21

My Gr e a t-Gr e a t-Gr a n d m o t h e r Wa s a n En e m y Al i e n!!where she helped Agnes with the familychores in a household that seemed never tostop growing. On February 8,1923, at theage of 53, Agnes died at home after sufferinga cerebral hemorrhage several daysbefore. Her mother, Michalina, died of astroke on August 7, 1925, in the LaSalleCounty Home where she was then living.She was 83 years old.Of all the information I received fromMary, the greatest surprise came in aphoto taken of Michalina Skrzypczak. The76-year-old woman looked as if she hadbeen backed up against the wall of a policestation. Beneath the picture was herthumb print. The photo was part of an alienregistration card issued on July 8, 1918,when she was living with John and AgnesWardynski. And to top it off, the card wassigned by the Peru Chief of Police. In the 16years he lived in the United States, JohnSkrzypczak had most likely never appliedfor citizenship, and no one could ever havepredicted the consequences his wife wouldhave to face owing to this seemingly insignificantinaction.It was only then I realized that whilethe First World War was raging throughoutEurope and young men in this country,many of them the sons of immigrant parents,were preparing for battle to ensurethat our foreign allies would not lose theirfight against the invading German forces,the United States of America had declaredthat my great-great-grandmother was anenemy alien.[Article to be continued if Homeland Securityprovides original documents.]What does the -wicz mean in Polish Surnames?The title of this article is an onomatologicalquestion which I am often askedin Polonia. The answer requires a littleexplaining and is far more complex thanmost people realize. Rather than reply tonumerous people on an individual basis, itis better to utilize the medium of a newsletterreaching thousands of people simultaneously.It is also important to render myhypotheses in writing for future onomatologistswho may be able to augment myresearch.The suffix in question is not necessarily-wicz, as is so often erroneously assumed,but is rather the compound suffix -owicz(or -ewicz). Naturally, there are instancesin which surnames have been abbreviated(along with surnames formed fromtoponyms that have been abbreviated),perhaps partly because of which syllableis accented, and the preceding vowel o ore has dropped out, leaving only -wicz aftera consonant or vowel other than the aforementioned.Another exception is surnamesin which the final consonant was w beforethe patronymic suffix -icz was added to it(e.g., Borowicz [from Borowy + icz and/orBor + -owicz ], Kawicz [from Kawa + icz ],etc.).As a matter of clarification, the wordpatronymic is derived from the Greek πατήρ[patēr], “father” + όνομα [ónoma], “name”by Keith Kaszubik22 Rodziny, Spring 2008and denotes hereditary descent from a parentor ancestor. Patronymic and metronymicsurnames are generally polygenetic.The compound suffix -owicz (or -ewicz )denoting “son of ” is composed of the possessivesuffix -ów (or -ew ) and the patronymicsuffix -icz (or -ycz ). Modern Polishorthography dictates that the vowel i isrendered as y after the digraphs cz, rz (ż)and sz. Comapratively few Polish surnamesterminate with the suffix -ów (or -ew ),although many East Slavic surnames do,especially Russian.According to several scholars, the suffix-icz is said to be ultimately of Russianorigins and was first used, around the timeof the 11th century, by the Polish minor nobilityin the eastern borderlands. The suffixwas originally -ic (or -yc ) and was expandedover time to the modern -icz generally beginningin the 15th century (see Rospond,Stanisław, Gramatyka historyczna językapolskiego [Grammatical History of the PolishLanguage], Warszawa, 1971, p. 209).Aleksander Brückner (1856-1939) alsomentions the suffix -ic as having been usedas a diminutive.Because the patronymic suffix originallywas -ic, and taking into considerationthat toponyms are generally much older information than surnames, it is no wonderthat many toponyms formed in Poland, and

Wh a t Do e s t h e -Wi c z Me a n in Po l i s h Su r n a m e s?other Slavic territories, bear the characteristicplural patronymic suffix -ice (e.g.,Czapiewice [“place of the sons/children ofCzapa”], Kiedrowice [“place of the sons/children of Kieder” (Kieder = Teodor)], etc.).Toponyms today also bear the modernplural patronymic suffix -icze (cf. Katowice,which was documented as Kątowicze in theyear 1598).Found in numerous toponyms informerly Slavic territories, which have beenGermanized and/or Germanicized over thecenturies, and also in numerous formerGerman forms of toponyms in Poland andother Slavic countries, is the characteristicspelling -itz (also -itze, -itsch, -itzsch, -ize[cf. Germ. Horovitz versus Czech Hořovice,Germ. Kattowitz vs. Pol. Katowice, etc.]).Numerous surnames have developeddirectly from these toponyms (indicativeof an ancestor’s place of habitation), butthey do not have the usual adjectivalsuffix -ski denoting “from or of ” as is oftenfound in Polish toponymic surnames(e.g., the surname Urbanowitz instead ofUrbanowski).In surnames, the suffix -itz is also aGerman and/or Germanic transliteration ofthe archaic -ic (and often -icz ), although atransliteration of the modern -icz would bemore properly represented today with theGerman combination -itsch (phoneticallyrendered in English as -ich or -ych ). The latteris not so frequently found in surnamesbut apparently is better known in surnamesoriginating in Saxony. The diminishednumbers may be partially attributedto a German (and by later extension to oursomewhat similar English) subconscioushabit of continuously rendering surnameswith -itz over the centuries. It may also beattributed to the Germans’ long contactwith the numerous Slavic tribes located tothe west of the Poles, many of which werequite absorbed or obliterated by the 15thcentury, before the advent of the expansionto the modern -icz.It also must be taken into considerationthat certainly some perfectly orthographicallyacceptable Polish surnames such asŁukaszowic (“son of Łukasz”) were in turnmodernized, sometime after their initialformation, to Łukaszowicz, and sometimesfurther changed to Łukaszewicz. Therealso are surnames that still survive amongthe Poles today that continue to bear thearchaic suffix -ic. Perhaps some historicaleloquence is found or assumed in the antiquatedspelling.Before names became fixed hereditarysurnames, it was also possible for eachgenerational branch of a particular familyto bear a different name. For example, ifŁukasz had a son named Daniel, he mightbe known as Daniel Łukaszewicz (“Daniel,son of Łukasz”). If that Daniel in turn hada son named Michał, he might be known asMichał Daniełowicz (“Michał, son of Daniel”),and so on. This was especially trueamong those of Jewish extraction.In the past, there has been a vacillationbetween the patronymic suffix -icz and theadjectival suffix -ski in Polish surnames (cf.Łukaszewicz versus Łukaszewski ) with oneform winning out over the other, perhapspartly because of harmonious pronunciation.This vacillation renders the apparentpatronymic polygenetic origins of a particularhereditary surname quite ambiguous,the suffix -icz having been indiscriminatelyadded to surnames formed from toponymsin place of the suffix -ski. In this way, andalso on its own merit, the suffix -icz maybe indicative of a former ancestral place ofhabitation. The linguistic route of a surnameis not always self-evident.The phonetic similarity between theAnglo-Norman French patronymic prefixfitz- (e.g., Fitzsimmons [“son of Simon”]) andthe element -wicz in the Slavic compoundsuffix -owicz (e.g., Szymonowicz [“son ofSimon”]) appears to be nothing more than apeculiar linguistic anomaly.In conclusion, patronymic surnamesamong the Poles throughout the world existin great abundance. The traditional spellingof a surname ending in -wicz is easilyrecognizable to all Poles as a member of ourbrethren, someone with whom we acknowledgekinship, a fellow Pole.Watch the PGSA Website for changes andimprovements!http:///www.pgsa.orgRodziny, Spring 2008 23

From the Słownik GeograficznyThis translation, by William F. Hoffman,was requested by PGSA member ChristineBucko. Members are welcome to requesttranslations of Słownik entries to be printedin Rodziny at no charge, but they shouldprovide information specifying exactly whichplace is meant.Tarnowiec, a village in Jasło county,on a hill 268 meters above sea level, in thebasin of the river Jasiołka, by the railroadbetween the stations of Jasło (9 km)and Jedlicze space (6 km). It has a RomanCatholic parish, an elementary school, arailroad station, a postal and telegraphoffice, a poorhouse, and a gmina loan associationwith capital of 54 Rhenish złotys.In the district are 84 houses, 6 manorial,with 553 inhabitants, 534 Roman Catholicand 19 Jewish. The major estate* (owned byKonst. Piliński) has a distillery and an inn,459 mórgs* of farmland, 104 of meadows,7 of gardens, 17 of pastures, 82 of forests,two unused, and three with buildings, for atotal of 675; the minor estate [land ownedby peasants] has 209 mórgs of farmland, 71of meadows and gardens, 24 of pastures,and 6 of forests. The current church, ofbrick and stone, was built in 1804 by Rev.Wal. Rawicz Karwowski on the site of theold one. The document of its creation by PiotrRokosz, Knight of Malta, in 1313, whichis preserved as a transcript in the parishrecords, is a forgery; a parish in “Tharnowyecz”existed as early as the 15th century(Długosz, Liber beneficiorum, II, 286 and III,42). In Długosz’s day, the hereditary ownerof the village was Kruszyna of the Mądrostkicoat of arms. The peasants paid a tithe valuedat 4 pence to the dean of St. Florian’sin Kleparz. In 1581 (Pawiński, Małopolska,120), Tarnowiec was the property of PawełSkotnicki, Halicz standard bearer; rentswere paid on 6 peasant łans*, 2 croftswithout land, 1 tenant farmer with cattle, 3tenant farmers with no cattle, 1 craftsman,and an inn with a quarter łan. The followingbelonged to the parish: Brzezówka,Potakowa (today Potakówka), Glinnik (Gliniczek),Wrocanka, Tarnóweczek, and Unieszcz(today Umieszcz). We see Dobrucowamentioned in a list from 1665 (Pawiński,Ibid.); Gosówka and Sadkowa were createdlater. The shelter for four poor people,foundation unknown, has a house of brickand stone and a meadow. Each year themanor contributes 9 kopas [1 kopa = 60sheaves] of grain, a wagonload of hay, 10wagonloads of wood, a field of cabbage, and24 Rhenish złotys. Tarnowiec is borderedon the south by Umieszcz and Potakówka,on the west by Czeluśnica and Gliniczek,on the north by Sadkowa and Dobrucowa,and on the east by Brzezówka. It was herethat on August 14, 1610, Stanisław Stadnicki,called Dyabł [the devil], with a gangof thugs and ruffians of various tribes,fought a battle with the people of his enemies,Łukasz Opaliński, Crown Marshal,and Anna, princess Ostrogska. About 6,000people were involved in the battle. Stadnickiwas killed along with 500 people, and therest scattered. — Mac. [Dr. Maurycy Maciszewski],Vol. 12, pp. 206-207.This is a segment of a map of the area east of Jasło in southeastern Poland, showing Tarnowiec and other villagesmentioned in the text. The map is from the Web site www.mapywig.org. The scale is roughly 1 inch = 2 km.24 Rodziny, Spring 2008

Fr o m t h e Sł o w n i k Ge o g r a f i c z n yEXPLANATION OF UNFAMILIAR TERMSłan—a unit of land measurement usedin Poland since the 13th century, originallyused as a description of a full-sized farm apeasant received from his lord, in return forwork on the lord’s land. In Małopolska, theFranconian łan was used, 23-28 hectares;in Mazovia and Podlasie the Chełmno łanwas 16.8-17.0 hectares; and in the Kingdomof Poland, the New Polish włóka wasabout 16.8 hectares.major estate—Polish posesja większaor posiadłość większa refers to land ownedby nobles, whereas “minor estate,” whereasposesja (or posiadłość ) mniejsza, is a collectiveterm for land owned by peasants.mórg or morga—unit of land measurement;according to Gerald Ortell’s book onPolish parish records, in the Russian partition1 mórg = 1.388 acres, in the Prussian1 mórg = 0.631 acres, in Galicia 1 mórg =1.422 acres.From the Library:BOOK REVIEWVirginia Witucke Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained:Citing History Sources fromArtifacts to Cyberspace. GenealogicalPublishing Company, 2007. ISBN978-0-8063-1781-6. $49.95.This book may be most appreciated byexperienced genealogists, but its basic messageis one we should all be heeding: “Wecannot judge the reliability of any informationunless we know• exactly where the information camefrom; and• the strengths and weaknesses ofthat source.”Genealogists need to learn how to weighAunt Kasia’s memories against censusrecords against historical letters, etc. Thefirst section of Evidence Explained, “Fundamentalsof Evidence Analysis,” explores thenature of research and the use of sources.The 25-page text is readable but requiresconcentration. The bulk of the book (and itis bulky) examines types of sources, organizedby chapters:• Archives and artifacts• Business and institutional records• Cemetery records• Census records• Church records• Local and state records: courts andgovernance• Local and state records: licenses,registrations, rolls and vital records• Local and state records: propertyand probates• National government records• Publications: books, CDs, maps,leaflets, and videos• Publications: legal works and governmentdocuments• Publications: periodicals, broadcastsand Web miscellaneaThe first contribution of Evidence Explainedmay be to expand the concept ofwhat sources can be used in family andhistorical research.Mills describes the content andorganization of sources and gives a formfor citing them. As an example, the chapteron cemetery records starts with pagesnoting how to list a cemetery, then the fullrecords description for the cemetery, andsubsequent shortened references. Theseexamples are printed on gray pages, makingit easy to turn directly to them. Thesegray pages are followed by a section onguidelines and examples—cite the cemeteryas the author equivalent, rather than thegravestone or record book. When identifyinga grave by means of a letter received fromthe cemetery reference, the source in sucha way that it is clear that you don’t havefirst-hand knowledge.Mills’ manual on how to cite myriadsources may sometimes seem too specificfor your needs; even so, it broadens andinforms our typical approach to sources.It is an expansion of an earlier work, Evidence!:Citation and Analysis for the FamilyHistorian; updated with a laminated guideentitled QuickSheet: Citing Online HistoricalResources Evidence Style.Apart from the first section, EvidenceExplained is for reference rather than coverto-coverreading. For most of us, access toa library copy would be sufficient. For themost serious researchers/writers, the vastamount of information is worth the price.Rodziny, Spring 2008 25

PGSA FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR 2007submitted by Joy Mortell, PGSA Treasurer In February 2007, the PGSA Board ofDirectors voted to publish the PGSA’s financialstatements in the Rodziny in the firstissue after the close of each calendar year.The first and most important reason theBoard wanted to do this is because this isthe members’ money and you should knowwhat you have. Also, the Board is responsibleto the members for what it does withyour money and you should know whatyour money is spent on. Lastly, and frankly,the PGSA lost a little money eachyear for a few years, and we felt thatif we knew that the financial informationwas going to be published we’dbe a lot more careful. The goal was toat least break even in 2007. Well, itworked better than we expected. ThePGSA ended up with a net profit for2007.The most important reason wasthat the conference made a profit thisyear compared to losses for the pastfew years. Vice President and ConferenceChair Linda Ulanski deserves allof the credit, because she was able tofind corporate support for the annualconference. Also, Linda decided toforgo having a speaker from Polandbecause of the weak dollar and thecost of travel. Although there was asmall net loss from the costs associatedwith Membership, primarily becauseof increased postage expenses,the increase in membership fees startingin 2008 should offset that and, wehope, whatever postage increase goesinto effect later this year.Now that we are certain that thePGSA is in a good financial position,we are making plans to expend thefunds that we have on projects tobenefit PGSA members. The first itemthat will be implemented in 2008 isan updated web site. The PGSA Boardof Directors decided that the Web siteneeded to be updated and online functionsincorporated into the site. Thisproject would be too complicated andtime-consuming for the volunteersthat the PGSA has always relied onfor running the Web site, so the PGSAhas engaged a professional Web site26 Rodziny, Spring 2008development company. The new site will bemuch easier to navigate and a lot more funto use. Details about the new site will bemade available when it is ready to launch.We hope that you think this will be a worthwhileinvestment of your money.If you have any questions or commentsabout the financial statements, please contactTreasurer Joy Mortell at . Thank you.Balance SheetAs of December 31, 2007AssetsChecking and Savings $58,247Inventory 13,643Total Assets 71,890Liabilities and EquityRetained Earnings 65,319Net Income 6,571Total Equity 71,890Total Liabilities and Equity $71,890Income StatementFor Year Ended December 31, 2007IncomeMembership $36,955Book and CD Sales 11,133Library and Research 5,852Conference 17,295Other 2,186Total Income $73,421ExpensesMembership 37,888Cost of Book and CDs Sold 6,349Library and Research 2,346Conference 14,559Other 5,647Total Expenses 66,849Net Income $6,571

Articles of InterestHere is a listing of selected articles fromother societies’ publications that may interestthe Polish genealogical researcher.Avotaynu, Winter 2007, Vol. XXIII, No.4, Avotaynu, Inc., 155 N. Washington Ave.,Bergenfield, NJ 07621, www.avotaynu.com.• Report on a Research Trip to the InternationalTracing Service, Sallyann AmdurSack• Did They Really Meet on the Boat?,Kathy Sefton• Age Makes a Difference, Rabbi ShalomBronsteinEast European Genealogist, Fall 2007,Vol. 16, No. 1, East European GenealogicalSociety, P. O. Box 2536, Winnipeg MB R3C4A7, Canada, www.eegsociety.org.• Canadian Immigration Policy TowardsPoles and Ukrainians, 1836-1939, Part I,Joanna Matejko• The Roman Catholic Collection in theCentral State Historical Archive in L’viv,Ukraine and the LDS Microfilm Project, BrianJ. LeniusLandsmen, December 2007, Vol. 17, No.3-4, Suwalk-Lomza Interest Group for JewishGenealogists, Box 228, 3701 Connecticut Ave.NW, Washington, D.C. 20008.• Special Section on Rajgrod• My Father’s Town of Vishtinetz, ArthurFriedmanLithuanian Heritage, November/December2007, Vol. 14, No. 6, Baltech Publishing,P.O. Box 225, Lemont IL 60439-0225, www.lithuanianheritage.com.• He Fought for the Freedom of ThreeCountries [article on Kościuszko]PGS of California, Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 1,January 2008, P. O. Box 307, Buena ParkCA 90621-0307, www.pgsca.org.• Kielno, translated from the Słownikgeograficzny by Helen Bienick• Surnames from Marriage Records ofKielno Parish, compiled by Karen Chorney• Serfs of Poland and Russia, Part IV,Robert S. Sherins, M.D.• Celebrating Poland at the Table—Cuisine,Culture and Diversity at the Wisła River,Kazimierz KrzysztofekNote: The PGS-CA honors requests forreprints at a minimum charge of $3.00 perarticle.PGS of Connecticut and the Northeast,Pathways & Passages, Vol. 24, No. 1,Winter 2007, 8 Lyle Rd., New Britain CT06053-2104, www.pgsctne.org.• Finding Little-Known Pieces of the GenealogyPuzzle, Jean Nudd• Ask Aleksandra: The History and CurrentState of the Polish Archive System, AleksandraKacprzak• The Hunt for Obituaries, Barbara GancarzPGS of Minnesota, Newsletter, Vol. 15, No.4, Winter 2007-08, 5768 Olson MemorialHwy., Golden Valley MN 55422-5014, www.rootsweb.com/~mnpolgs/pgs-mn.html.• Drobne Echa, Installment #13, DatelineBowlus, Greg Kishel• Beginning Polish Genealogy: Techniquesand Tips, Greg Kishel• SS. Peter and Paul Church Records fromLipinki, PolandPolish Nobility Association Foundation,White Eagle, Fall/Winter 2007, VillaAnneslie, 529 Dunkirk Rd., Anneslie MD21212-2014, http://pnaf.us/.• The Katyn Massacres: Class Genocideand International Cover-up• In Memoriam: Elfi von Dassanowsky• Polish-Americans’ Family History Slandered,by Judge Theodore P. Jakubowski(Retired)FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ENGLISH!!An English translation of Kaszëbëpod Widnem, Kaszubes at Vienna,is now available. Written by HieronimJarosz Derdowski “on the Occasion ofthe 200th Anniversary of the Liberationof Germans and Christianity fromthe Turkish Yoke in AD 1683,” it hasbeen translated into English by BlancheKrbechek and Stanisław Frymark. Theprice is $6.00 US per book plus $2.00shipping and handling per book. Makecheck payable to Blanche Krbechek.Mail to: 2041 Orkla Drive, MinneapolisMN 55427.Rodziny, Spring 2008 27

PGS of Texas, Polish Footprints, Vol. XXIV,No. 3, Fall 2007, P. O. Box 820386, HoustonTX 77282, www.pgst.org.• History of PGST, 1982-2007, TeanaSechelski• Footprints in Time [a photo retrospectiveof PGST’s 25-year history]• Melchior Kowalik: An Original SilesianImmigrant to Texas, Janet Dawson EbromAr t i c l e s o f In t e r e s tPrzyjaciel ludu Kaszubskiego (Przëjòcéllëdu kaszëbsczégò), Vol. XI, No. 4, Winter2007, Kashubian Association of NorthAmerica, P. O. Box 27732, Minneapolis MN55427-0732, www.KA-NA.org.• The Village of Lipusz, Peter von PazatkaLipinsky• A Visit to Gmina Sierakowice, Home ofMy Paternal Ancestors, Richard WarmowskiIndex to Surnames Mentioned in This IssueBasir 14Bienick 27Bissage 12Bodanowicz 12Borowicz 22Bronstein 27Brückner 22Bucko 24Chorney 27Czopor 8Dakiniewicz 3, 12Daniełowicz 23Dassanowsky 27Derdowski 27Długosz 24Ebrom 28Friedman 27Frymark 27Gancarz 27Gębicki 13Gembicki 13Glynn 13Gniewkiewski 20Golsdorf 12Hoffman 1, 3, 24Iwanski 1Jakubowski 27Jasiek 21Kacprzak 27Karwowski 24Kaszubik 22Kawicz 22Kędzierski 10Kempa 21Kishel 27Kobylarz-Hughes 12Kościuszko 27Kowalik 28Krbechek 27Kruszyna 24Krzysztofek 27Kulikowski 18Lenius 27Licht 12Lipinsky 28Łukaszewicz 23Łukaszewski 23Łukaszowic 23Łukaszowicz 23Maciejewski 19, 20, 21Maciszewski 24Majerczyk 11Matejko 27Mills 25Mortell 26Nemec 11Noramczyk 21Nowakowski 17Nudd 27Opaliński 24Ordyk front coverOrtell 25Osantowski 1, 2Osentowski 1, 2Osetoski 1Osetowski 2Ostrogski 24Pawiński 24Piliński 24Półtorak 9, 10Rodgers 13Rokosz 24Rospond 22Rychlewski 9Rymut 8Sack 27Sajwaj front coverSanecki 16Sechelski 28Sefton 27Sherins 27Sienkiewicz 5Skotnicki 24Skrzypczak 18–22Skszypczak 19Sliwinski (Sliwiński,Śliwinski) 6Śliwiński 6, 7Sliwinski-König 7Socash 2Stadnicki 24Stanowski 15Sternemann 9Sullivan 16Szerlag 12Szymonowicz 23Tomaszewski 20Ulanski 26Urbanowitz 23Urbanowski 18, 23Wardenski 17Wardyński 17–22Warmowski 28Wierzbicki 12Witucke 25Wolan 16Woroniecki 12Wozniak 19, 20Wyciskalla 19Zadrozny 12Zukowski 19, 20, 2128 Rodziny, Spring 2008

For a complete listing of books and CDs and a convenient order form, visit www.pgsa.org.1. Ro m a n Cat h o l i c Pa r i s h e s in t h e Po l i s h Pe o p l e’s Re p u b l i c in 1984 by Lidia Müllerowa (Englishversion edited by Stanley R. Schmidt and William F. Hoffman)This book helps you locate parishes in modern Poland by diocese and deanery. There are 58 b&w maps, an88-page index of towns and villages shown on the maps, and a guide to the names of Polish parishes. Published1995, xi + 157 pp., 8½ x 11”.2. Th e Lat i n Ch u r c h in t h e Po l i s h Co m m o n w e a lt h in 1772 by Stanisław LitakThe maps and index of this book identify approximately 6,500 parishes and branch churches of the Latin ritein Poland before the first partition in 1772. It also encompasses Silesia, Moldavia, and the Duchy of Courland.Published 1990, 48 pages (8½ x 11”) along with 24 foldout maps (11 x 16”).3. Po l i s h Su r n a m e s: Or i g i n s a n d Me a n i n g s, Se c o n d Edition by William F. HoffmanTwelve chapters explaining the origins and meanings of Polish surnames are followed by an index of some30,000 common surnames, organized by the roots they came from, with indication of how many Polish citizensbore each name as of 1990. Published 1997, 592 typeset pp. (xii + 580), paperback, 6 x 9”.4. Fi r s t Na m e s o f t h e Po l i s h Co m m o n w e a lt h : Or i g i n s & Me a n i n g s by W. Hoffman and G. HelonAn introduction and three chapters of historical and linguistic background are followed by a 300-page list ofnames used in the old Polish Commonwealth. Published 1998, vi + 426 pages, paperback, 6 x 9”.5. Po l i s h Pa r i s h Re c o r d s o f t h e Ro m a n Cat h o l i c Ch u r c h: Th e i r Use a n d Un d e r s ta n d i n g inGe n e a l o g i c a l Re s e a r c h (n e w e d i t i o n) by Gerald A. OrtellThis expanded and updated version of one of the most widely praised references for Polish genealogical researchdiscusses baptismal, marriage, and death records in detail, and lists names, occupations, causes of death, Polishsaints’ days, and much more. Published 1996, 112 typeset pp., perfect bound softcover, 8½ x 11”.6. Sł o w n i k Ge o g r a f i c z n y Kr ó l e s t wa Po l s k i e g o [Ge o g r a p h i c a l Di c t i o n a ry o f t h eKi n g d o m o f Po l a n d], edited by Sulimierski, Chlebowski, and Walewski, CD version conceived andedited by Rafał T. Prinke — CD-ROMThis CD contains compressed graphic images of every page of this 15-volume, Polish-language gazetteerpublished 1880-1902. Published 2003, runs on most platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.). Note: $35.00for nonmembers of PGSA living in the U. S.; $28.00 for members ($38.00 for nonmembers) living in Canada;$30.00 for members ($40.00 for nonmembers) living outside North America. These prices include postage andhandling.7. In Th e i r Wo r d s ... Vo l u m e 1: Po l i s h, by Jonathan D. Shea and William F. Hoffman8. In Th e i r Wo r d s ... Vo l u m e 2: Ru s s i a n, by Jonathan D. Shea and William F. HoffmanPGSA is now selling these acclaimed translation guides. Written with the Polish genealogist in mind, theyreproduce and analyze in detail dozens of documents in Polish and Russian. These are the kinds of documentsyour research is likely to turn up—and not just birth, marriage, and death records but also passports, obituaries,population registers, military service records, and so on. In addition, each book gives information on thelanguage’s alphabet, spelling, pronounciation, and standard handwriting; lists thousands of of the terms mostoften encountered in documents; provides information on how to locate records in America and Europe; offers aseries of maps illustrating the history of Poland; and includes a whole chapter on using gazetteers to locate yourancestral villages and thus determine which archives are likely to have documents relating to your family, alongwith contact information for those archives and help writing letters to them.$20.00$17.00$25.00$20.00$12.00$25.00$35.00$35.00Or d e r i n g In f o r m at i o n:• List by item number and name. All prices are in U.S. dollars. PGSA members should discount the BOOK total by10%.• Residents of Illinois, please add 9.25% sales tax to the price of the book(s).• Add postage and handling for one book to a U.S. address – $3.50 ($4.50 to Canada, $6.00 overseas) – for eachadditional book add $1.25. (Note: for item #6, postage and handling are included in the price.)• Please send check or money order, made payable to “Polish Genealogical Society of America,” to:Media Orders c/o PGSA, 984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago IL 60622.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR—PGSA’s CONFERENCEBe sure to mark September 19th and20th, 2008, on your calender as PGSAcelebrates our 30th conference, “HonoringOur Ancestors.”The conference will be held at theMeadows Club, 2950 West Golf Road,Rolling Meadows IL 60008. We alsohave arranged blocks of rooms at TheDoubletree Hotel and Extended StayAmerica.This year the conference will be twodays, Friday and Saturday, with a special,optional dinner on Friday night.Guest speakers include Jonathan Shea, Beau Sharbrough, Orvill Paller, RobertSliwinski, and more!!!Check our Web site, www.pgsa.org, for upcoming conference details and hotelrates.Po l i s h Ge n e a l o g i c a l So c i e t y o f Am e r i c a984 No r t h Mi l w a u k e e Av e n u eCh i c a g o , IL 60622 USACHANGE SERVICE REQUESTEDNON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGEPAIDSPRING, TXPERMIT NO. 398THIRD CLASS PRINTED MATERIAL