Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 11:13 pm
Post subject: What to do when Catholic parish in Poland has no info?
Hi there! I have reached a dead-end in the search for the hometown of my great-grandmother, Julia Wrzos. I am looking for your help and your fresh perspective!
Julia was born around 1893 and came to the United States from Poland in 1906. In my quest to find her hometown in Poland, I came across the following clues:
- Her Ellis Island manifest lists her nationality as "Austria" and her race as Polish. I interpreted this to mean she was from Galicia.
- Her marriage file lists Austria as her birthplace.
- Her Ellis Island file also lists her hometown as "Stykow."
- Her SS5 file lists her place of birth as "Glogow Poland"
Connecting these dots, I found the city of Głogów Małopolski. It used to be in Galicia, and one of its villages is Styków. Everything seemed to match up.
I wrote to the local Catholic parish requesting they search for info about Julia in a 2-year period around her birthday. Unfortunately, they wrote back and said they had no information. They also said "Pytalem takze w Urzedzie Miasta i Gminy - tak tez nie znaleziono" - I think that means they asked the local city hall, which had no info either.
My question:
What do I do now? Should I contact the parish again and ask them to expand the timeframe of the search? Is there another resource in Poland that could help? I am at a loss about what to do next.
|
|
|
ZenonPolishOrigins Team Leader
Joined: 28 Apr 2007
Replies: 1515
Location: PolandBack to top |
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 11:55 pm
Post subject:
GinaDana,
In the Rzeszow branch of Polish State Archive they have some records from Glogow Malopolski which was parish seat for Stykow. There are:
births 1862-1883
marriages 1848-1904
deaths 1832-1868
See the search results here: http://goo.gl/K3alf .
Unfortunately, the time frame doesn't include the possible date of birth of your great-grandmother Julia Wrzos in 1893. Do you possibly know Julia's parents names? If yes, you could try to find marriage record of them by sending request to the Rzeszow Archive (or visiting it) .
The other possible source where the records might be found is the Diocese Archive in Przemysl: http://www.przemyska.pl/duszp/start.php?go=diecezja/instytucje . They don't have information about their sources on-line and getting this information would require direct contact with the Archive (by phone, they rather do not respond to emails).
|
|
|
Magroski49PO Top Contributor & Patron
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Replies: 1762
Location: Joao Pessoa - BrazilBack to top |
|
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:17 am
Post subject:
Thank you so much for your advice and research - I really appreciate it!
I do have the names of Julia's parents, but not their dates of birth or when they were married. Is it reasonable to write to the state archive and ask them to do a broad search with just the names? Or would I need to hire a researcher in Poland to do this legwork?
|
|
|
ZenonPolishOrigins Team Leader
Joined: 28 Apr 2007
Replies: 1515
Location: PolandBack to top |
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:54 pm
Post subject:
Most of the branches of Polish State Archive respond to research inquiries and do the research work if you provide them with research goals and facts you know about your family. You should be as much specific as possible. I don't know if they will take broad research but if you tell them names of Julia's parents and ask for searching for marriage records in the years before Julia was born you may be able discover a first clue.
You can contact Rzeszow branch of the State Archive by email: dostep AT rzeszow.ap.gov.pl or sekretariat AT rzeszow.ap.gov.pl (replace AT with @).
Many of our members have used this way to communicate with the State Archives and have been able to move their research forward thanks to findings made by the Archives workers. See for example the article '"Remote" research in Polish State Archive': http://polishorigins.com/document/archives_practical_hints and discussion about this subject: http://polishorigins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23 .
Let us know how it works in case of Rzeszow Archive!
|
|
|
brianminnie
Joined: 25 Sep 2011
Replies: 51
Location: California, USABack to top |
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:32 pm
Post subject:
Gina,
In addition to the suggestions from Zenon and Gilberto, you might try using the available LDS microfilms. Although they don't cover the exact period of your great-grandmother's birth, you might find births of siblings or the parents' marriage record.
Films 766010 and 766011 (1786-1890 Roman Catholic parish register of baptisms, marriages and deaths for Głogów, Galizien, Austria; now Głogów Malopolski (Rzeszów), Rzeszów, Poland.)
Here is the link to the available film: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/348921
-Brian
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 5:50 pm
Post subject:
Many thanks to all of you for your kind and thoughtful responses. You've given me some hope that I may be able to find out some info on Julia's family. I will let you know how it goes!
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 10:46 pm
Post subject:
Frustrating news! I ordered the microfilm from the LDS and have been reviewing them, but I've realized there was an error in the date ranges. The birth/marriage records only go up to 1870, not 1890. I went over both rolls multiple times. The title cards in the microfilm themselves do say 1890, but the person who typed them up must have read them wrong. Argh!
I went through the birth records from 1840-1870, but couldn't find her parents' birth or marriage records. They're probably just outside of the microfilm available.
The good news is that I saw lots of people with my great-grandmother's last name, as well as her mother's maiden name. That means I probably have the village. But until I can find her parent's birth or marriage records, I have no idea how those other folks are related to me.
My next step is to contact the Rzeszow branch of the State Archive. It looks like they have a book of marriages from 1866-1904. Perhaps some info may be in there.
If anyone has other suggestions or thoughts, I would appreciate your input!
|
|
|
Magroski49PO Top Contributor & Patron
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Replies: 1762
Location: Joao Pessoa - BrazilBack to top |
|
Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 9:38 am
Post subject:
Thank you so much for the reminder, Gilberto. I didn't understand what ZOSIA was at first and thought that it was just a listing of what was available at the state archives. But once I realized there were digital copies of the microfilm, I spent many hours combing through them - and found the birth certificate of Julia's father! His birth certificate listed his parents. Armed with that info, I was able to go back to the LDS microfilm and happily continue my research. Thank you thank you!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Register