Post by mhershoc on Mar 3, 2017 12:25:32 GMT -7
Hi All.
Please excuse my broad post but I am hoping that someone here might be able to assist me. For many years I have been struggling to extend my knowledge of my Polish ancestors back across the Atlantic to Europe. Unfortunately, I have had little success to date. I am hoping that someone out there might be able to provide me with some guidance to move my query forward.
My grandfather, John (or Jan), purportedly arrived in the U.S. on May 6, 1901 (there is no official record of his doing so and family lore has it that he was a maritime fireman and jumped ship in New York City). His family name is recorded in various ways. He went by Hershock in the U.S. most of the time but the name Hucak and Hurcak can also be found, the latter in particular as it shows up in his Declaration of Intention documents and that is the spelling that he claims as his baptismal name. He claims to have been born on May 8, 1874 in Strzelce, Galicia, Austria to parents Karel and Anna (last name unknown as she dies when he was an infant). The nearest large city is listed as Stanislaw. He is also said to have had a sister, Karolina (married name Sztewczuk) who was settled in Bayonne, NJ (USA) before he arrived in 1901. He lists his nationality as Polish and spoke Polish as his primary language. It is said that he also spoke German and that he served in the army.
My grandmother, Mary/Marie/Marya Louise Barsz/Barszcz is said to have arrived in the U.S. sometime in 1903. She was born in Krzemienica, Galicia, Poland, on September 8, 1881. I know that she had a number of siblings but the only name I have is for her sister Frances. She and my grandfather married in 1904.
The family first settled in NJ (USA) from 1904-1915, then in PA (USA) from 1915-1918, and then made its way to Detroit.
I would welcome any information that any of you might offer relative to either family or the towns that they came from. Thanks for reading through all of this!
Please excuse my broad post but I am hoping that someone here might be able to assist me. For many years I have been struggling to extend my knowledge of my Polish ancestors back across the Atlantic to Europe. Unfortunately, I have had little success to date. I am hoping that someone out there might be able to provide me with some guidance to move my query forward.
My grandfather, John (or Jan), purportedly arrived in the U.S. on May 6, 1901 (there is no official record of his doing so and family lore has it that he was a maritime fireman and jumped ship in New York City). His family name is recorded in various ways. He went by Hershock in the U.S. most of the time but the name Hucak and Hurcak can also be found, the latter in particular as it shows up in his Declaration of Intention documents and that is the spelling that he claims as his baptismal name. He claims to have been born on May 8, 1874 in Strzelce, Galicia, Austria to parents Karel and Anna (last name unknown as she dies when he was an infant). The nearest large city is listed as Stanislaw. He is also said to have had a sister, Karolina (married name Sztewczuk) who was settled in Bayonne, NJ (USA) before he arrived in 1901. He lists his nationality as Polish and spoke Polish as his primary language. It is said that he also spoke German and that he served in the army.
My grandmother, Mary/Marie/Marya Louise Barsz/Barszcz is said to have arrived in the U.S. sometime in 1903. She was born in Krzemienica, Galicia, Poland, on September 8, 1881. I know that she had a number of siblings but the only name I have is for her sister Frances. She and my grandfather married in 1904.
The family first settled in NJ (USA) from 1904-1915, then in PA (USA) from 1915-1918, and then made its way to Detroit.
I would welcome any information that any of you might offer relative to either family or the towns that they came from. Thanks for reading through all of this!
