Zaszczurynski - information on grandparents from Poland

here is what i know so far:
Grandmather -
Cecelia J.(SZYMCZK) Zaszczurynski
Born: Jan 8th 1904
Place: Ostrowas Poland
Parents: John/Mariana
was a twin, and sibling died shortly after birth.

Grandfather -
Antoni Zaszczurynski
Born: Dec 3rd, 1893
place: Barauniczki Lithuania
Parents: Walter/Antonina
Came to the US April 30, 1916 on the Ship Kronprinz Wilhelm out of Bremen Germany. He came back to poland to serve in Polish Army in WWI. They were married on September 27th, 1926

Any information or help in leading me were or who i should contact would be greatly appreciated.

Mark Z.

WW1?

The grandfather would have been 20 or 21 when WWI began.
Grandmother's name is likely to be SzymczAk.

There was no Poland in 1914. There was no Polish army either.

THeOther, I am sorry to disagree with you on this matter. I do know for a fact that my Grandmother told me he serviced in the Polish Army, and i have found his name and his brothers name listed in Heller's Army index. "The Polish Army in France WW1 - Haller's Army"

They fought for their family. They fought for their freedom. They fought for those who came before them. Most of all - they fought for their beloved homeland - Poland.

Strictly speaking he is right.
There was no Poland in 1914 and no Polish army either.
Hallers army started out as part of the French army.
They were Polish volunteers and fought for the allies in WW1.
After the war,when Poland got it's independence, many of them went to Poland to fight for Poland.

I'm into genealogy and if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that one has to keep politics, patriotic feelings and wishful thinking out of it. Historical accuracy is of utmost importance, or your research will go in a completely wrong direction. To correct these errors can take a very long time. Been there, done that.

Nowadays I only add a person to my family tree if I have 100% proof -- i.e., church books, civil records, tax registers, censuses. For the time before the introduction of church books, it's 80% guess work. You are lucky if you find tax registers or similar documents, and you are even more in luck if you can actually read them.

Agreed.
I have my family tree traced way back thanks to a very distant Polish cousin.
She traced most of it and then searched family members to add more recent stuff.

I'm all the way back to the 1400's with one branch due to some lucky circumstances.

Thank you for the correction, hard to understand who to believe when Polish Websites say one thing and People who have researched say another. One question i do have that you might be able to help with is last names, i have found at least three different spellings of my last name from relatives from other regions. is there a way to truly determine the proper spelling?

There isn't. Until around the mid 1870s, the spelling of family names wasn't regulated by laws. The priest essentially wrote what he heard.

@MarkZasz
IME, only one surname was spelled differently -interestingly enough in the 20th century. My great grandmother's maiden name is spelled differently on records from the 20s, 30s and 80s. Since it's about a pronounciation of a vowel I suspect it's a regional thing.

Now the question is whether the differences in spelling of your family name appear in three regions of Poland or the US?