Literaturecat - hope this note still finds you ! I found another post of yours asking about what was likely the village of Brzezówka (outside of Tarnov). My grandmother was a Kupiec from that same village. We're likely related ;)
Also, if your family was Catholic, Szczucin was the nearest town and where everyone went to Church/had their sacraments on record with the Church. It's also where the main cemetery was located and you would likely find gravestones with the Kupiec name. I have pictures packed away somewhere that may have some old headstones (I just don't remember if I was shown the graces from my grandfather or grandmother's side, but I was with extended family from the Kupiec side.
My grandfather came over 1906. Warsaw, educated to age 13 then conscripted to russian army as he was from a fairly well off family and had a horse. He was ordered to kill poles, so guessing he was putting down protests. He went awol and came to america. His wife and kids followed later. He worked in conneticut in a polish foundry then went to new york and became a tuna fisherman. The family lived in the italian part of brooklyn so as not to be recognized by other poles. The family name ( Kosorek) was changed by the school system as a teacher wrote the name as best she could
I love the stories of the families that are being told on this thread. Around 1905 is when my grandfather and his brothers were conscripted into the Russian army. Russia wasn't doing too well internationally and internally. Like mentioned in other posts. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY was the reason for leaving. There was no money and NO OPPORTUNITY to make money. So a few months before WW I he came to America and immediately sent for his girlfriend, my grandmother.
On all the paperwork he is listed as POLISH but country of origin is always listed as RUSSIAN POLAND. In doing research I found he actually came from modern Belarus.
So for anyone doing family history or deep genealogy I strongly recommend knowing about Polish history, especially the period of the great migrations - 1885-1914. Good luck. It can get very convoluted. We're lucky to have this forum. Sometimes questions can be answered easily here. That's a bonus.
Yes, we already know you were born and raised in the sewer system of London. Why you advertise it so vehemently is a mystery to me. It is nothing to boast about. Quite the contrary. hahahaha