Nowak: Am the third generation born in the united states. Trying to find family in Poland.

My mother was polish I know both of her parents paternal names and can get only a small amount of information on both her parents families. My grandfather's name was Chester J. Nowak born October 10, 1913 in Chicago Illinois , his wife my grandmother Irene L. Przygodzinske (Nowak) born November 3, 1921 ( I believe in Toledo Ohio). I am searching for family (even distant) possibly in Poland or USA . I would like to learn more about family and heritage ... I am the oldest remaining member of polish side of my family that I know of and want to know more than I can find in remaining family papers. I do not speak Polish and this is making my search more difficult. Any and all responses are appreciated. Thank you

There is a lot you can do on this side of the "pond" in English. Apparently, you lack knowledge of your great grandparents names, and where they were born in Poland.

If you have a subscription to ancestry.com you can look for your grandparents in the city of their births. Census records may tell you the name of their parents. Or, if you wish to avoid a subscription to ancestry.com, you can go to the Family History Center of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and look at their records. Someone there can help you.

Or, you can write for the birth certificates or death certificates of your grand parents. The birth certificate will name the great grandparents and sometimes where they were born.

A death certificate has an informant who also may know the names of your great grandparents, but sometimes they have no knowledge. So, a birth record would be better.

Once you have the names of your great grandparents, you can look for the ship where they arrived in the USA. Those records sometimes name the village and area of Poland. Once you have that, you can contact the Polish Archives or the church Parish. Or, you can continue to use the Family History Center (Mormons) and see the information on their microfilms.

It would be good to look for the brothers and sisters of your great grandparents. Most people in Poland, like in the USA know who their own grandparents and great grandparents are, but may not recognize yours.

If your grandparents had other brothers and sisters in the USA, you may find American relatives. There are free message boards on ancestry.com where you can post your information and ask if there is anyone who knows more about your family.

Good luck!

P.S. Here is one of the websites made by the Latter Day Saints. You may find what you need here: familysearch.org

Do you have any specifics. Nowak is a popular name . My Nowaks resided in the eastern part of Poland. Gory and areas around Gniezno. Jaworski sends

I actually have Nowak in my line too, and also from Gniezno.

My grandmother's maiden name was Lewandowska. Her parents were Josef Lewandowski and Elżbieta Bubacz. The parents of Elżbieta Bubacz were Josephus Bubacz and Josepha Nowakowska. (Actually from Obora, which is not too far from Gneizno, and where my great grandparents were married.

So, it's a long way back. I believe Polonius3 says that Nowak means new person in town.

I read that Nowak/Nowicki/Nowakowski often meant a convert from Judaism to Catholicism. That's why there are so many..;))

Well, that would certainly add another twist to my mix. One day, I will find her birth certificate, her parents, and go back as far as I am able. Right now all I have is a marriage certificate that lists her as the mother of my great grandmother.

NOWAK and similar (Nowotny, Nowaczek, Nowicki, Nowiński, Nowek, etc.) usually originated to indicate a newcomer to a given village. In some cases they might have had a different origin - toponymic nick to identify an inhabitant of a locality with Now- in its name or an indicator of religious conversion. More typical conversion-indicating tags included Nawrocki, Nawrot, Nawrat and similar.

HI
DID YOUR CHESTER HAVE A BROTHER BY THR NAME OF EDWARD?
DOES THE NAME KLEIN RING A BELL?
JUDY

I was just looking up my uncle Chester Nowak, he had three sisters Rose, Cecilia, & Josie. His mother was Valeria and father Was John Nowak. I know my uncle was never married no children known. He and my mother Cecilia were raised in Chicago ill. Wonder if we are related somehowe?

Gerrie Fuhrman
Feel free to contact me if you would like. 407-962-6999

Merged: Looking to find information on my Grandfather - Jozef Nowak

Hi All,

I'm sure I won't be able to come up with anything here but it's worth a try. My grandfather, Jozef Nowak, was part of the Polish Armed forces in WW2. I don't know too much but from what my father told me, he fought in Poland at a young age and eventually was captured. The story of his capture and eventual release is pretty crazy, if you'd like to hear it let me know. We do have a few medals he received and one came with letter, but it's in Polish and we don't read or speak Polish. He was initially from Belz, which I believe is now a part of Ukraine. Any information on where I could look to find out more information would be fantastic. It's my father's birthday soon and I would love to gather as much information about his father to show him. I can look to scan the letter he received and post it here if it would help.

Thanks!

Hi montreal,


Go ahead, personal stories like that are always interesting :)


Yes, post it if you can.
Also, you could take photos of those medals (unless you already know what medals those are).


But what kind of information are you interested in? His service in the army? You'd like to get to know something about his family? Or what?