Testimonials

November 2012

All in all it was a spectacular trip. But, clearly the reason for that is Zenon Znamirowski. He is so accomplished at what he does. He is extremely professional and has a wonderful knowledge of the area and historic facts. The data he gives to you at the end of The Forefather’s Tour is very well  organized. I enjoyed his sense of humor and found him to be a very comfortable person with which to travel. So much so that it feels as if he becomes part of your family! And he always has his guests interests at heart. It seems his greatest joy is seeing the joy and smiles on YOUR face. If anyone is contemplating Your Forefather’s Tour you will not be disappointed. I don’t think you will find a better person as your guide. Zenon without doubt exceeded my expectations. Thanks to him this has truly been a trip of a lifetime!

Michelle Piech Hickok
USA

This is an excerpt from Michelle’s blog: Trip of a Lifetime.

August 2011

If you want to travel to Poland to seek your roots and visit the towns of your ancestors, I highly recommend Zenon Znamirowski from PolishOrigins as your personal tour guide. I have just returned from a highly productive and enjoyable two-week stay in Poland with Zenon as my driver/translator/genealogist.

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June 2011

Looking to find family member puzzle pieces in your genealogical tree–Zenon Znamirowski is THE researcher.

Armed with cameras, laptop, people-person mannerisms, and a “can do” attitude, he achieves success.

His “your family is my family” approach leads to fulfillment of the goal.

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March 2011

Back home I am now able to reflect on my research trip and know that I would never have been able to find out all that I did, without the help and experience of Zenon. He was worth every dollar (or zloty) I paid to him. His knowledge of history is fantastic and helped me to understand a lot more, especially the plights of the Polish people during WWII and the Communist regime. His language skills of English, Polish and Russian was brilliant and certainly helped us out when researching parish registers, wills, probates and land records. His past experience in dealing with Priests, Registry and Archive staff proved to be invaluable when approaching these people. My sister and I, together with other family members in Poland, enjoyed his company and found him to be a warm, gentle and patient man who really enjoys helping other people find their family roots.

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September 2009

A scan from Winter 2010 issue of Rodziny, the Journal of Polish Genealogical Society of America, with permission of the editor and the author:

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August 2009

The summer of 2009 my son and I traveled to Poland for the first time and visited my family ancestral towns on the last two days of our trip. We enjoyed the trip but found it difficult navigating the small towns since I do not speak the language. We searched cemeteries, local archive and town churches with no results because I was unprepared. I then realized a guide was a necessity on my next trip. The following year in June 2010 I again traveled to Poland, now with all three of my sons on a seven day guided tour and a second week devoted to genealogy research of my family. This time I found  a professional company PolishOrigins who placed me with Zenon Znamirowski over the Internet. Zenon helped me plan and understand what had to be done to prepare for my trip. We communicated on a regular basis answering all my questions and exchanging information and plans. Prior to my arrival Zenon reviewed my families historical information so he could arrange a itinerary that could be highly productive. Each day Zenon drove us two hours east of Warsaw where we visited my family’s towns, cemeteries and local archives. It was special for me to attend mass with my sons on (Father’s Day) June 19th in the church my grandfather was baptized in 1891 and his future wife in 1867. Zenon provided us this opportunity.

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July 2009

A scan from Winter 2010 issue of Rodziny, the Journal of Polish Genealogical Society of America, with permission of the editor and the author:

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October 2008

Now about the gentlemen I dealt with in Poland, Mr. Michal Marciniak and Mr. Zenon Znamirowski are two of the best researchers/tour guide/translators that anyone could ever ask for. I met Michal Marciniak when I was searching in 2008 for family in Poland, He is the person who found them all. When Michal was not available for our tour he suggested Zenon Znamirowski and all turned out okay.
They are both young men age 38, married and with children. They are loyal to their wives and I am glad for that.I know about Zenon and his eating habits. He eats A LOT. I don’t know how he can put it all away and still stay slim.  I was amazed at how much he could eat at one sitting.
Michal, I do not know much about his habits, but we were treated with respect. They are two great guys. Zenon took Steve under his wing and helped him on the gravel walks and roads also the cobblestone walks.

July 2008

A year ago, I had Zenon from PolishOrigins.com do some research for me as well a Virtual Tour at the recommendation of a friend from my local Genealogy Society and as most pleased.  Following that, an opportunity arose for me to visit Poland this year (2008) with little time for preparation on my part so, of course, I contacted Zenon with the hope that he would be able to escort us and he was.

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October 2006

Zenon’s command of English is very good and was invaluable in communicating with my Polish relatives. He was able to quickly zero in on the Apola’s of Ropica Gorna related on my mother’s side of family, even though they emigrated to the US prior to 1900. He did so with just a few names and references from letters I had from the 1930’s. Coming from a small village himself, made it easy for Zenon to relate to these country folk.

The experience was totally satisfying in large part because of Zenon. Thank you for all your skills!

Tom Hiland
Denver, Colorado
October 2006
tomhiland(at)comcast.net