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Posts by Peter  

Joined: 31 Mar 2007 / Male ♂
Last Post: 4 Apr 2022
Threads: Total: 3 / In This Archive: 0
Posts: Total: 248 / In This Archive: 132
From: Trinidad & Tobago and Wroclaw
Speaks Polish?: No
Interests: Soccer, Genealogy, Reading, 80's Music, Food and Drink

Displayed posts: 132 / page 3 of 5
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Peter   
27 Oct 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

What I did was bypass writing to the town churches. Instead I used a freelance researcher who (a) visited the Lwow archives and took his own notes (b) made digital photos of various archive pages and (c) visited Sokal and made enquiries and made a video for me.
Peter   
27 Oct 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

When I first started out the only documentatio I had was my father's original birth certificate and a translation of it. I have since been able to trace my family back to approx 1690-1710, all in the same town. My research is concentrated on the town of Sokal which is north of Lwow, just over the border inside the Ukraine.
Peter   
26 Oct 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

It's a long process, costly and very time consuming

So true. In the last 5 years I have used / am using 2 researchers in the US, a research office in Warsaw and a freelance researcher in the Ukraine. I estimate it's cost me in the region of US$ 6,000-10,000 and counting. However I have a pretty impressive body of work to show for it.
Peter   
26 Oct 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

Genealogical research really is a never ending journey. I've just discovered that one of my cousins was a Captain in the infantry. He was taken prisoner as part of the Modlin group in 1939. He died in 1945 days before the war ended after the barn they were sheltering in was shelled by Russian tanks. What a way to go. Another cousin who was also a Captain was shot at Starobielsk.

I'm finding out that there is a history of military service in the family. I am assuming that this is also the case for other families.
Peter   
25 Oct 2007
Genealogy / I have found the place of birth (Chelmek) of my Grandfather, what is the next step. [5]

Agreed, you need to do some more research. What else do you know about your grandfather and your family history? Some documentation with additional relatives (names, dates and places) would be helpful to have just in case.

You can call them but try and have as much info on hand as possible. They may be a relation, they may not. You could also use the services of a researcher based in Poland who aside from checking the parish records to flesh out some more details on your grandfather, etc could also visit Chelmek and dig around the place.
Peter   
22 Oct 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

Anyone else have stories about family jewels?

According to my mother, my family has jewels buried inside the cellar staircase of their home. My grandmother (after she re-married) owned a few houses, some of which she used to rent (pre 1939).
Peter   
20 Oct 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

You have to remember to take verbal stories with a grain of salt. Sometimes they can be wrong or misleading.

For example, my mother related to me that my father had told her about his childhoon when he would ski to and from school and that there would be light from the oil rigs in the area (1920's). This caused a lot of problems because the town where my father was born had no oil or gas fileds anywhere nearby. It was only when I made contact with a cousin who I did not know existed (he is 88) that I discovered that the story is correct but the location was wrong.
Peter   
27 Sep 2007
Life / "Toilet fee" - the only thing i dislike about Poland [17]

It was a surprise for me in 1992 when I had visited for the 1st time since 1974 (when I was 6). It was in a restaurant outside of Walbrzych. My brother and I could not understand why this old guy was sitting inside the toilets.
Peter   
25 Sep 2007
Love / Dating age difference - my 16 yo is dating a 26 yo Polish guy [102]

Quoting: anglo73
Thats what we said! We have a 9 year old son and there has been a girl at school stalking him already!!!!

lol I'm sure that is only harmless kid fun!

Sadly it is a sign of the times. There are reports, here at least, of children aged as young as 8-9 being sexually active.
Peter   
25 Sep 2007
Love / Dating age difference - my 16 yo is dating a 26 yo Polish guy [102]

but I wouldnt say its a good thing.

I am not saying that it is a good thing. Just pointing out that what we may consider to be "undesirable" or outside of our "norms" is a normal fact of life in some parts of the world.
Peter   
22 Sep 2007
USA, Canada / I want to ship Vodka back to the USA...What are the laws? [23]

That's why I packed mine away in my checked baggage.....I knew I couldn't carry any liquids past security

We tried that leaving Wroclaw, they still caught it and pulled us to one side before we boarded the plane and confiscated it.
Peter   
22 Sep 2007
USA, Canada / I want to ship Vodka back to the USA...What are the laws? [23]

Also, as my brother and I discovered the hard way, you are not allowed to carry any "rectified spirits" if you are leaving Poland via aircraft.

"Zubrowka" is a specific category of Polish vodka that is made with the extract of bison grass. Bison Grass Vodka features a singular blade of authentic bison grass, grown in the northeastern region of Poland in Bialowieza, know for its prisitne forests and bison herds. It is a premium potato vodka; its bottle has a distinctive grass-green tine that hints at the refreshing and flavorful experience within. Hundreds of years ago, Polish nobility first began infusing their vodka with bison grass in the belief that it provided virility, stamina and power. Over the years, bison grass has been rumored to be an aphrodisiac and a strong influencer of the affairs of the heart.

The myth and mystery surrounding the power of bison grass did have some basis in fact, as the FDA disallowed bison grass as an added ingredient in the late 1970's. Bison Grass Vodka has successfully created the essence of bison grass without including any of the properties that the FDA had found objectionable.

I do not know if they will allow the "real thing" ie the bison grass into the US.
Peter   
20 Sep 2007
Genealogy / Poles/Ukrainians in Hamtramck, MI [14]

Two branches of my family migrated to Detroit in 1909 and both initially settled in Hamtramck. One branch still lives in the general Detroit area.
Peter   
20 Sep 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

My Grandmother is the only living relative that was actually born in Poland and the only documentation she has is her name in her father's passport when they emigrated.

So your great grandfather waould have also been born in Poland? Have you checked the Ellis Island records? If the record is there then there should also be details of his home town and nearest relative.
Peter   
19 Sep 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

Not trying to be a wet blanket but sometimes there are gaps in the archival records. For Sokal there are quite a few gaps in the parish records. Lost, destroyed, etc. A lot also depends on where your wife was from and the historical "unrest and wars" in the area.

I can see that you've put a lot of effort into your family history.

You've no idea. 5 years of cost and effort and still counting!! The reward of learning about your family's history and even discovering "missing" cousins who you never knew existed....................priceless!
Peter   
19 Sep 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

Are there any church records of your family ?

Tons of them! I have had researchers check (1) the LDS microfilm of the parish records (2) the archives in Warsaw and Krakow and (3) the archives in Lwow. They have been able to find enough parish birth, marraige and death records to trace my family back to approx 1690, all in Sokal.

The Lwow researcher visited Sokal for me and sent photographs and also a video he shot while there. He checked the cemetary and according to him there is no trace of my great grandparents.
Peter   
18 Sep 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

Go to the palace, soak up the atmosphere, take some photos and add your part to the family's history.

As with every thing in life there is a down side. The town my father was born in (in fact sone 9 generations of my family were born in this town) is now in the Ukraine. I had hired a researcher from Lwow to visit and take pictures, etc. He reported that the catholic cemetaries are no more. They were either destroyed in the mid-late 1940's or left untended. I cannot even find the grave stone of my great grandparents.
Peter   
17 Sep 2007
Genealogy / how many know their own family histories? [139]

my family for some reason dont like to talk about the past.....I think my family must of had some horriable things happen since they burned pictures and sold belongings

It does happen. For example, I am also researching Szylkiewicz and was able to get in touch with some persons carrying the same surname in Poland. It turns out that their Szylkiewicz ancestors were from the same town area as mine but the elder members of their family refuse to let anyone see what documentation and pictures they have.