Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

my family is polish and there is definitely a mix. We all have dark hair now, but my dad and his brother were born blond. My grandmother and I both have olive skin. My dad and I also have course, curly hair that nobody else in the family has.

Genealogy / Vintage Photos of Polish ancestors [144]

Here is a picture of my great great grandparents and a niece from around the same time perhaps. My great great grandfather also died in a German camp of some sort. thanks for sharing!

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Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

my last name is Jostenski but we can find no record of anyone else having that name in Poland or in the US. We think they messed it up at Ellis Island. Any ideas about other possible spellings or related names?

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Genealogy / Vintage Photos of Polish ancestors [144]

This is my great great grandfather, great great grandmother, and their niece somewhere in Poland probably around the first world war. My great great grandfather then died later in a German camp during the second world war. It appears as though they were poorer and probably farmers (just guessing based on their clothing).

Their last name was Swiontkowski. I'm not exactly sure where they were from. I think somewhere outside of Warsaw. This is probably the oldest picture we have of our ancestors. We don't have very many links or knowledge beyond this.