Help with my Polish Names... Nickowol, Olszowy, Smagacz

I have been using ancestry.com to help trace my Polish roots, but its been tough because my Great Grandmothers maiden name seems to change every census. Other than some polish traditions and family recipes nobody in the family speaks polish. If anyone can help with just the proper spelling of the names I would be very grateful.

Jan Nickowol and Sophia Olszowy immigrated to New Bedford, Massachusetts in the United States right around 1900. A few family obituaries state they both came from Kamien Poland, although early census records state their birth place as Austria? but their language is listed as Polish though?

The name Nickowol changes over the years, I have seen it Nickowol, Nickowal, Niekowal, even Jancorla. the Jancorla threw me for a loop at first and makes no sense, but it is in deed my great grandfather when he first arrived.

Also my great grand fathers name goes from Jan, to jacob, to John.

I also have a Sophia Olswszy that starts out as Zofia Alazawa and have a favorite great uncle that was a Smagacz.

Without knowing Polish its hard to know how to keep going if I can't confirm the names. Nicokowol from Jancorla totally threw me for a loop.

Any help would be appreciated....

We've got more than 30 villages/small towns called "Kamień" (it means "Stone"). Around 1900 there was no Poland or Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth because of the partitions in XVIII century. If birth place is Austria it means that was in the southern part of Poland.

Sophia Olszowy = Zofia Olszowy (Ol-sho-vy)

Here is a marriage record for Jan Nickowal and Zofia Olazawa in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Not sure if it is the right one, but other names are included which may be of interest to you.

familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N4QB-2SN

Back then names were often incorrectly spelled especially ones which were hard to pronounce, so I'm not surprised that you have seen different spellings of names.


English spelling of Jan.

My grandfather (Francis Olszowy) was also showing as coming from Austria and he came to the US to NYC with his wife Rosalia (Sakowski). Not sure when but it was way before I was born (1952) and my father Joseph was also born in the US so they were here for a while. Anyone know anything about the Olszowy's from Austria? I understand I also had some cousins in New Jersey (I think Paramus.

moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/olszowy.html

@Maczko
As you can see in the link above people named Olszowy live all over Poland. Your grandfather must have been born before Poland regained independence (1918) in a place that was under the Austrian occupation. See the partitions of Poland for more information.