Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

Well I sure have trouble finding much for Stolarz if it's really common. Half the time when I look at different surname lists, it never shows up.

My grandma told me it was spelled "Banash", but anything I've found for her was spelled Banas...it very well could've been Banach at some point, I wouldn't know.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

Alright I'll see what I can come up with, thanks for the link. Somehow I'll just have to bride the language barrier haha. What is the best way to use the website? Being that it looks like a social networking site...not exactly somewhere I would find anything about old relatives.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

Alright I see where you're coming from, thanks for the help :)

Thread attached on merging:
Four Dead Ends?

I posted here awhile back with some of my information, and asking for some assistance. I have slightly more information now, but it's mostly things I've found out through other family members and such. The internet really hasn't been very good to me when it comes to helping me find additional information on my genealogy.

From my fathers side of the family, I basically have information on all four of my great grandparents, all of which came from Poland.

Walenty Stolarz born 1879 in Biadoliny Poland. Died in 1939 in Hammond Indiana
Married to:
Anna Banash (Banach/Banas?) born 1879 in Biadoliny Poland. Died 1967 in Hammond Indiana

Jacob Mastej born 1888 in Zawadka Poland. Died 1936 in Hammond Indiana
Married to:
Franciska Bil born in 1893 in Zarzecze Poland. Died 1979 in Hammond Indiana

I've had pretty much no luck finding any information on Franciska, or Anna...and can't figure out anything regarding their maiden names. I have a feeling there is a spelling variation that I'm missing. I admit I've devoted the most time to trying to find out information on Walenty, as well as spending some time trying to find out information on Jacob. Everybody listed above immigrated from Poland, and I can't seem to get any generations further into Poland. The closest lead I have in Poland is that Walenty had a cousin named Jozef Stolarz who also came to the United States (He died without being married or having any children). Jozef and Walenty's fathers would be brothers, and I found Jozef's fathers name in Jozef's work book...and his fathers name was Wawrzyniec Stolarz. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find out any information on him either. My hope was that since he would be Walenty's father's brother, that I could find out some more direct information through that route...unfortunately it's proven to be another brick wall. People in my family seem to not come up in most online searches no matter what website I try.

Since I've been trying to work on this for a couple years now, I have to admit I'm getting kind of frustrated and a little desperate for any ounce of information. I've drilled my poor grandmother (My last living grandparent) for information so many times, I'm sure she's sick of hearing about it haha. So by this point, any information would be helpful, and I'm really open to suggestions. I should also point out that I don't know any Polish, which probably also isn't helping my situation.

Regards,
Josh

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

So far I've mainly been using family search, rootsweb, and ancestry.com...with little results. At least nothing (As I said before) that that takes me further back than my great grandparents. I did find the ship records for Jacob Mastej, and I'm pretty confident I found the ship records for Walenty. Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of information from it.

What do you mean there are many places with the same name in Poland? As far as Biadoliny, Zawadka, or Zarzecze is concerned? I've mainly concentrated on Biadoliny since it relates to the Stolarz side.

Alright, now that I've taken a look at the documents I do have copies of, it looks like I haven't in fact found Walenty Stolarz on a passenger list. I have Jozef Stolarz, and Jacob Mastej both coming from Hamburg. Not much information provided by Jacob Mastej other than saying that he's from Zawadka, and on Jozef Stolarz's immigration papers, he again lists Wawrzyniec Stolarz as his father. As well as his last residence being Hamburg, his race being Polish, and his nationality/country he's from as being Austria.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

What about a town like Biadoliny? It seems to be listed at times as "Biadoliny, Galicia". What exactly is Galicia? Is it like a county, or province?

Alright so I have confirmed records of Walenty Stolarz in the 1910, 1920, and 1930 census

In 1910 he's listed as Walenty Stolarz

In 1920 he's listed as Walter Stolarz

In 1930 he's listed as Valentine Stolarz

It doesn't give the names of his parents, but in the 1910, and 1920 census he has their nationality as Austrian, race as Polish.

I also have a digital copy of "Walter Stolarz" draft card. Unfortunately it's a bit difficult to read.

In spite of the little first name changes, I can confirm it's the same person because the dates line up...as well as his occupation, and he his spouse is always named Anna.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

Alright so it looks like Galicia was a region that was part of Austria during the time period of my great grandparents, but no longer exists? So now the real question is, should I be trying to find records in Austria instead of the area around Biadoliny and Tarnow Poland? It seems like a lot of Polish records ended up in Berlin, but it seems my family came from a region of Poland that was controlled by Austria, not Germany.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

If "Galicia" no longer exists then where would I find records for it? Where in Austria should I try looking if Vienna is unlikely?

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]


Oh wow, that is so much help I can't even tell you. I didn't even realize there was a second page to that. I remember finding this in years past, but blew it off because I know she originally immigrated before 1913, so I didn't even enlarge it to see that she was married to Walenty and such. Wow, thanks so much for pointing that out...not to mention teaching me a lesson haha.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

Also very helpful. I'll be bookmarking that link. Thanks once again!

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

I did find the naturalization document, but it seemed to have minimal information filled out. It seems when it came to Walenty, that's the common trend haha.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

I've been trying to go through the three census records that I've found the two of them on to try and determine at what point they immigrated, and what year they got married so as to see if I should be looking in the United States or Poland. Unfortunately each census basically gives me different results when it comes to that question. Being that I've been unable to find anything so far looking in the United States, I assume they were probably married in Poland. I know they came from somewhere near Tarnow.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

Excellent, thank you again for the information, I really do appreciate it. Would it be best to email them at first, or write them a proper letter? I suppose I should contact them in Polish as well?

Anybody?

USA, Canada / CULTURE SHOCK! (of my Polish finance who visited the US) [210]

Hahahahaha. I suppose each person takes his own culture for granted and doesn't realize how strange little things like that can be to somebody from another country.

Genealogy / Is tallness common among Polish people? [201]

I'm 6'5, and all the men in my family are at least 6'3 and up. That being said our Polish grandparents (My cousins and I) were both quite short.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

Could I get some suggestions on what I should be asking, and how?

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]

That's the general attitude I'm picking up on ;)

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]


The 46 marker test on ancestry.com is $179. It isn't too over the top in my opinion as far as cost goes.

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]

Well you'd have to probably have a pretty good interest in history, genealogy, family, and such to want to spend the time or money on it.

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]

Well if you trace back far enough, every person in Poland has roots in some other country, region, or continent. It starts to depend on where you really want to draw the line and say "My ancestors were from (Fill in the blank)".

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]

Well part of the problem is that sooner or later somebody in our ancestry was probably not of legitimate birth, or possibly even the result of a rape, or who knows what else. Nobody has pure and perfect genetic lines going back hundreds of years. There's always skeletons in the closet which can cause your ancestry to take a complete turn you didn't expect.

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]

Except that some of us have actual proof of our European ancestry ;). I can prove that I'm half Polish, and that I have French, and Irish, and English on my mothers side. We're not all in a little fantasy world as you make it sound. We all came from somewhere, and it's interesting to find out where exactly that was.

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]


I can't prove it with DNA testing because I don't have ANY matches haha. Some of you Poles should start getting tested so I can prove it with DNA ;).

I do have Birth records on the other hand that can get my back to my great grandparents on my grandfathers paternal, and maternal side...both of which trace back to Poland. As far as the paper trail, and word of mouth can prove...I have about as much proof as a person can get to say that I am at least half Polish.


I think it'd be very interesting to get back to the 11th century, and why stop there? You have to remember that I'm one of those people who will, by his own choosing, sit down and read a history book...especially if it has to do with European history. It's not just about finding my 30th great grandfather, it's about learning the stories that go along with the names. Every person has contributed to the world in some form or another...some have left a larger mark than others, but none the less, they've all left a mark of some kind. The paper history of census records, birth records, marriage records, as well as the written stories about the people are just part of genealogy and history. You also have the history that runs through every persons own body. We all have DNA that can date back thousands of years so some man or woman who had their own unique story. Then you also have the visual art of history in heraldry. The coats of arms that were passed down from father to son, and were either kept the same, changed slightly, or even quartered to include the mothers paternal heraldic device. There are many elements of history, and I think they're all interesting.

DNA doesn't stamp out my family tree out for me. I still have to do some work to figure that out, but none the less it will give me genetic cousins and that's how you get your answers. It's a team effort for sure to use DNA to your advantage, but when done right it can make connections that you would never find, or take a very long time to locate.

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]


I never said that it did say anything about the stories. There's a lot of tools used in genealogy, and DNA testing is just one those. But simply but, it's only a tool, not the key to the mint. You have to utilize the DNA as best you can to find the information in the paper records. It's an assistant, not the answer.

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]


Just another tool, as I said before. A lot of us are fortunate enough to have a family Bible sitting in our grandma's house haha

Life / Polish history questions on the streets; Poles are not doing great. [37]

Trust me it's not just Poland. Americans are just as bad with their own history.

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]

There isn't an exact Polish gene, but I would say some genes are more common than others, so one could argue it's a gene with Polish tendency.

Genealogy / DNA Testing in Poland. Is it popular? [81]

Except a lot of us are so mixed it doesn't even matter. I look like my mom, which means I don't even look Polish. Chances are I look French.

Genealogy / Valentine Stolarz, Anna Banas, Jacob Mastej, Francis Bil [30]

What would be the best way to demonstrate I'm related to Walenty? A copy of my family tree and maybe a scan of my drivers license to prove my identity?

Alright so I'm prepared to write an email to the parishes in Biadoliny. I now have my own birth certificate, my father's, and my grandfathers. So I now have documents that prove I'm the great grandson of Walenty Stolarz. Now what I need to some assistance in composing a letter to them, as well as suggestions on what I should be asking them for. I would appreciate any help I can get.

Through microfilms of birth and marriage records, and tracking down family stories, I've pieced together at the very least that Valentine (Walenty) Stolarz, and Laurence (Wawrzniec) Stolarz, were the sons of Andrew (Andrzej) Stolarz, and Marianna Chrapusta. I know that Laurence had a son named Joseph Stolarz, who was born 15 Mar. 1889 in Biadoliny Radlowskie. I also know he had a daughter by the name of Karolina Stolarz. I found out about her due to a letter I found in an old cigar box, that she wrote to Joseph Stolarz. It was written in 1924, and explained that she would more than likely be getting married after the harvest, and that she needed money for a dowry. She also mentioned that her fiance had been away, due to him being in the army. Unfortunately no name is mentioned, and so far I haven't been able to find out who she married.

As far as the Chrapusta's go, it showed that Marianna was the mother of Valentine Stolarz. When I brought the maiden name to my grandmother, she also remembered a John Krapusta, who used to pick mushrooms across the street from her house. She couldn't remember exactly how he was related to Marianna, but she remembered that he was. It appears his parents names were Joseph and Mary, and they lived on Dearborn Ave. Hammond Indiana, according to the 1920 census.

I'm posting this information mainly in the hope that something will jog another researchers memory. Possibly being a descendant of Karolina Stolarz. Or somehow being related to John Chrapusta, and knowing more about his ancestry.

Another reason I'm posting this is that I've attached a scanned copy of the workbook I found for Joseph Stolarz. it shows is father as Laurence on the lower right side of the page. However something that was also pointed out to me was that on the lower left part of the page, it is signed by a Chrapusta. What may the significance of that be?