Why the escape in the 1800s ? Searching for my family roots.

why did people escape poland in 1800s my last name is not what it really should be, i am 45 now and found out that my family came over to west va to escape from ? what?

Where? Who?
(lol)

You said the 1800"s---Well Here is what happened in Poland in the 1820's--It's the only major war there in this era.---This may help

After the Congress of Vienna, St. Petersburg had organized its Polish lands as the Congress Kingdom of Poland, granting it a quite liberal constitution, its own army, and limited autonomy within the tsarist empire. In the 1820s, however, Russian rule grew more arbitrary, and secret societies were formed by intellectuals in several cities to plot an overthrow. In November 1830, Polish troops in Warsaw rose in revolt. When the government of Congress Poland proclaimed solidarity with the insurrectionists shortly thereafter, a new Polish-Russian war began. The rebels' requests for aid from France were ignored, and their reluctance to abolish serfdom cost them the support of the peasantry. By September 1831, the Russians had subdued Polish resistance and forced 6,000 resistance fighters into exile in France, beginning a time of harsh repression of intellectual and religious activity throughout Poland. At the same time, Congress Poland lost its constitution and its army.

Very interesting period of time; as I am trying to find out why my grandfather had to run for his life over the Carpathian Mountains from Hungary, and settled in south east Poland, near the Russian border in the Village of Nowy Zmigrod.

He would have been about 18-24 years old at that same time period.

So why would this have been a safe area to settle in during the Austro-Hungarian Regieme ?

There was also the little matter of Napoleonic wars, with Napoleon invading Prussia and Russia in the first two decades of that century.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars

Also, the fact Poland was carved up and removed from the map in the mid 1790's might be part of the answer. I imagine a few folk wanted to be elsewhere after that.

Could be many several reasons. War(s), poverty, oppression by the Russians, Prussians or Austrians (depending on what part of Poland your family was from), or maybe better job prospects in the US? West Virgina had many new mines being developed and mining industry was a very old profession in Poland with many experienced miners.

yup.. + uprising, starvations etc. Poles under occupations of the three didn't have it all that good.

Prussia was actually cool to live in...

Anonymus

No occupation. You guys were properly annexed... ;)

According to Göring maybe... LOL

I see your point but the choices were either horrible occupation (Russia), just as horrible occupation (Austria) or less horrible occupation (Prussia).

Sorry, wrong.
Austrian occupation was the least horrible. Poles were allowed to run in elections for MPs in the Austrian Parliament and two Poles even became a Prime Minister, a thing unheard of in other occupation zones.

The pogroms began shortly after 1881, or at least that's when Anti Semitism ticked up. Remember that Poland was divided among Germany (Prussia), Russia (which included the Ukraine and the Polish Ukraine, among Poland other countries), and Austria Hungary. In Russia, Czar Nicholas II had no kawod for the Jews.

I am looking for surnames close to Chociemski (great grandpa) and Milczarck (great grandma). Not sure how correct the spellings are...but they are on the US records I have found. Any help would be awesome...

Try Chocimski and Milczarek.

CHOCIMSKI: toponymic tag from the town of Chocim, now in Ukrainian-occupied SE Poland; Hurko coat of arms..

MILCZAREK or MIELCZAREK: occupational patronymic from mielcarz (malter); mielcarek or mielczarek would be the malter's son or helper; no known coat of arms.

HI I have read your posts and it is very interesting. My great grandfather to cam from Poland. His last name is Witkos. He came over in 1890 according to the census of 1900. I'm trying to figure out what his last mane in polish would be.

WITKOS: This nickname-turned-surname was dervied from Witek, the hypocoristic (pet) name for Witold, once a very popular first name. Witold is the Polish rendering of the Lithuanian first name Vytautas. There is no English equivalent.

For more info please contact me.

Looking for my great grandparents and their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. Names of Michael Amenda and Wilhemine Zaloga, and names Mazuk or Mazuch, Schmidt. I hear they came from Heeselicht, Osterode, East Prussia and Jancovik. Sure could use some help with these, please and thank you in advance.

MAZUCH: Could be derived from Polish words mazać (to smear, lubricate) or maź (ointment, libricant) but also an augementative form of Mazur (Masurian). Mazuk could be a variant spelling.

ZAŁOGA: a Polish word meaning team, task force, garrison or other collective.
SCHMIDT: is obviously German and a variant form of Schmied (smith, blacksmith)
Heeselicht; German name for Masurian locality of Leszcz or Leszcze (in Polish meaning bream, fish of the cyprinoid {carp} family).

correction: lubricant


It could have been shortened from Witkowski. There are somer 40,000 Witkowskis in Poland but fewer than 2 dozen signing themselves Witkos.

@Mauseth60
HI I have family in Hesselicht (Leszcz, Leszcze) and Dąbrówno ( Gilgenburg) they still live there I don't remember any of this surnames who live in Leszcz but in Dąbrówno i know is one family who's name is Schmidt.

This has been a fascinating thread - If anyone could give some assistance it would be appreciated. We have a family mystery that has generated quite a bit of conversation and question marks. My great grandfather Fred F Salewski immigrated from Prussia - within his siblings there are 3 different spellings as well as 3 different spellings within his children. All of his children were born in the US. Spellings are Salewski, Salesky, Salefska, Saleski

Probably originally it was Zalewski

Is Grabowski an correct spelling or was it changed in some way. My mothers maiden name was Grabowski and her Great Grand father immagrated in the 1870's we think from somewhere in Poland.

There are certainly plenty of people in Poland with that surname and that spelling. It isn't an unusual name.

Grabowski comes from grab, a popular tree in Poland.