Genealogy research

[chris3jam]

Hello. I'm new here. . .thank you for having me! I am Chris, and I have a renewed interest in my Polish heritage since trying to help my father trace his family tree. If it would be alright, I would like to ask questions here, since I am new to genealogy research. Is that alright to do in this forum?

[piwo]

Certainly. Thats why we have this forum! I'm pretty much a novice.. but ther are some experienced hunters here!

[nancy]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to the forum! Please ask as many questions as you like - we will all do our best to help you.

If you are interested, you can read my process and also John's (Piwo) process in finding our Polish roots:

My story: nancy.polishsite.us/Gen1.html

and Piwo's story: www.nancy.polishsite.us/gen_JJ1fr.htm

[suzanne]

Welcome Chris! Yes, this is certainly the place to ask genealogy questions. I too am just starting to research my Polish roots and I've gotten lots of help here. Good luck!

[chris3jam]

Thank you so much for your warm welcome! Nancy, those are lovely stories! I especially like photographs. . .I love to "see" the people. Thank you for your kind offers of help, also. I am new to this research, and I just haven't quite got the knack for it yet. For instance, I have the *hardest* time even finding anything on the Ellis Island site. It's taking me a very long time to find information. Is there a trick to it?

[nancy]

Chris,

The best way for me to help you is for you to fill me in on what you know about your family so far - names, dates, etc., and what you have tried on the Ellis Island site. Then I can give it a try alongside you, and we can compare results.

Sometimes it takes a lot of searching and patience - I still have not found all the records I am looking for.

If you prefer not to post all of your details in an open forum (although there should be no problem, this is how most of the genealogy help sites and email lists work), you can email me directly at [e-mail]

Nancy

[chris3jam]

Nancy, thank you so much! This is so very nice of you! ;D I do think I have the information I need on our family. . .but I'm not sure. I was looking for Ambrozy Barszcz, and someone kindly helped me out and we found him spelled Barcz. I know that one is correct because of the birthdate. Then I was looking for Markucka, and someone pointed me to a probable Markusaka. How does one tell if it is the one you're looking for? And then I was trying to find Was. . I tried Wash, Wass (which is what it should be), Wase, and a few others and came up empty. A friend asked me to find Grenevitch and Klimovist while I was on the Ellis Island website, and I cannot find them at all, after trying different spellings, too. Klimovist (or Grenevitch) have their names on the wall at Ellis Island -- and I still can't find them! Is there a trick to finding them. . or does one just have to keep trying different spellings? As far as my family, I would be delighted to share what I have. . . I will have to start a new thread, though. I actually have more than I thought!

[nancy]

chris3jam said:

Then I was looking for Markucka, and someone pointed me to a probable Markusaka. How does one tell if it is the one you're looking for?

I think the only way is to find multiple lines of evidence that point you to the same person. Sometimes the birth dates will be off by a year or two, but if locations, relatives, etc. match up , then you are on the right track.

I looked up the manifest for the Julia who arrived in 1900, and noted that her birthdate was 1881, she was from Brzeziny, and was going to a sister(?) in Claridge, PA. Do you have info on this person she was traveling to? Sometimes researching a "collateral" relative can help corroborate the one in whom you are most interested.

And then I was trying to find Was. . I tried Wash, Wass (which is what it should be), Wase, and a few others and came up empty. A friend asked me to find Grenevitch and Klimovist while I was on the Ellis Island website, and I cannot find them at all, after trying different spellings, too. Klimovist (or Grenevitch) have their names on the wall at Ellis Island -- and I still can't find them! Is there a trick to finding them. . or does one just have to keep trying different spellings?

There is a wonderful website you should check out:

stevemorse.org/

Use the white form on this site, and search "new format" - you can specify a great number of parameters, including doing a "sounds like" search or a "soundex" search. This will save you the time of trying to come up with possible spellings.

You can also search the Castle Garden and Baltimore Ports of entry from the Steve Ellis site

I tried a few searches for "Wass" and "Was" but did not come up with anything that looks right - there actually is an "Antoni Was" born in Galicia in 1883 but he did not arrive until 1911.

Regarding the searches for your friends - it is very likely that the names you are searching have been altered in spelling from the original.

"Klimovist" was possibly "Klimowicz" or "Klimovich"

"Grenevitch" - normally "Gre" is not a combination seen in Polish words, unless it is an ę so unless this is a non-Polish name, it probably started with Grze- originally. The ę sounds like "en." Again, the "vitch" ending was most likely "-wicz" or "vich." ...

so maybe "Grzę ... wizc"
(In my Polish surname "bible," I find "Grzenkowicz" )