LostChild
19 Nov 2010
Genealogy / Olkowski, Rombkowski - Finding my Polish Roots [10]
One set of paternal great-grandparents has the name Olkowski. Information is very limited. The NY/Hamburg Passenger Lists indicate Thorn WestPrussen as the home residence, but US census records indicate Posen is the home residence. My mother never allowed me to have any contact with my Polish relatives but as an adult I contacted and met some of them.
The other set of paternal great-grandparents is a bit more complicated. I remember my grandmother telling me about a name change and something about the Czar's army. Both families settled in Buffalo, NY in mid-late 1800s. It's been a real project tracking down this side of my Dad's family. His mother's maiden name was Rombkowski according to her Social Security application form. Just out of sheer luck and first name only searching I found one US census showing "Rorstrowski" and another US census showing "Rumbkouski." Castle Garden website shows immigration info as "Rembetzk;" Hamburg Lists show "Rembetzky" and US List shows "Rombetzky." One passenger list gave home residence as "Polish/Russian." From pieces of info I've gained over many years, I have been able to connect all these spellings with first names and birthdates. I don't know if this great-grandfather had reason to "hide" himself in his new country or what. In the 1930 US census he and my great-grandmother totally disappear, but the two youngest boys are shown living with a married older sister - again using first name searches.
My Polish family seemed to always be so secretive about everything and I don't know if it is just a Polish trait to be secretive or whether they were well acquainted with my mother and didn't trust my suddenly showing up in their lives. To make things even harder there is apparently nobody else on the planet doing any research on "Olkowski" or "Rombkowski" (in any of its forms) so I have no way to make contacts with others regarding my family.
Is there anyone who might know anything about any of these names who might be able to give me any kind of information on these names or history? I have always had such a strong sense of my Polish roots and very frankly don't put much consideration to my mother's family history.
One set of paternal great-grandparents has the name Olkowski. Information is very limited. The NY/Hamburg Passenger Lists indicate Thorn WestPrussen as the home residence, but US census records indicate Posen is the home residence. My mother never allowed me to have any contact with my Polish relatives but as an adult I contacted and met some of them.
The other set of paternal great-grandparents is a bit more complicated. I remember my grandmother telling me about a name change and something about the Czar's army. Both families settled in Buffalo, NY in mid-late 1800s. It's been a real project tracking down this side of my Dad's family. His mother's maiden name was Rombkowski according to her Social Security application form. Just out of sheer luck and first name only searching I found one US census showing "Rorstrowski" and another US census showing "Rumbkouski." Castle Garden website shows immigration info as "Rembetzk;" Hamburg Lists show "Rembetzky" and US List shows "Rombetzky." One passenger list gave home residence as "Polish/Russian." From pieces of info I've gained over many years, I have been able to connect all these spellings with first names and birthdates. I don't know if this great-grandfather had reason to "hide" himself in his new country or what. In the 1930 US census he and my great-grandmother totally disappear, but the two youngest boys are shown living with a married older sister - again using first name searches.
My Polish family seemed to always be so secretive about everything and I don't know if it is just a Polish trait to be secretive or whether they were well acquainted with my mother and didn't trust my suddenly showing up in their lives. To make things even harder there is apparently nobody else on the planet doing any research on "Olkowski" or "Rombkowski" (in any of its forms) so I have no way to make contacts with others regarding my family.
Is there anyone who might know anything about any of these names who might be able to give me any kind of information on these names or history? I have always had such a strong sense of my Polish roots and very frankly don't put much consideration to my mother's family history.