>>>>>>>>>> POLISH GENEALOGY <<<<<<<<<< ******************************************* This document is a collection of postings to the Polish Genealogy Echo on FidoNET. My interests include tracing someone's Polish ancestry. As I have found a dearth of Polish information in Melbourne, I reason that others may also have difficulties. I pass the following e-mail postings on in good faith. I have not changed the information content in any way. I have edited layout, mainly to remove the e-mail routing and header information. Collation does not follow any planned order. Of regretful necessity I must include a disclaimer: > I disclaim expertise on the matters presented herein. > I do not warrant that any of the material within this file is accurate or correct. Indeed it is possible that some or all of the information and statements herein are false or inaccurate. > I do not warrant the authenticity of claimed authorship. The attached names are as represented when the various communications were received, typographical errors (if any) excepted. > Use of the information contained herein is at users sole discretion, and intending users should independently verify any and all statements before incuring cost or liability based on use of information. As this material is drawn from the Polish Genealogy echo of FidoNET, it is subject to the rules of that medium. Those rules are posted to the Polish Genealogy Echo by the moderator from time to time. Briefly, rules include copyright remaining with authors of individual works; and the prohibition on commercial use of information passing through FidoNET. If you are one of those conscientious people who like to make payment for services rendered, consider making a donation to the Bulletin Board Service where you obtained this file. The BBS sysop incurred expenses in getting it to you. (No, I am not a sysop.) Nick Lock Melbourne, Australia January 1995 |* GENEALOGICAL SERVICES IN POLAND *| ************************************ by Bobbi Zee There is probably no place in the world, where you couldn't find someone of Polish ancestry. For centuries Polish people have emigrated to the other countries, often leaving their descendants puzzled about family origins The search for one's roots, the identification of ancestral towns and family trees are difficult, but not impossible tasks. And while it is easier to trace the history of wealthy and prominent families, especially of noble origin, much can also be discovered about middle-class and peasant family lines. The main help comes form the science of genealogy, a branch of history now regaining popularity in Poland. Actually, Polish genealogy was in quite good shape until World War II. Many books and publications on the subject, such as "The Polish Crown 1728 - 1744", an 18th century armorial by Kasper Nisiecki, and "Polish Armorial" by Adam Boniecki were well known and respected all over Europe. The beginning of the 20th century marks the establishment of the first genealogical associations in Poland. The best known among them was The Polish Heraldic Society founded in Lvov in 1908, which published The Heraldic Monthly magazine and the Annals of The Polish Heraldic Society. While most books published on genealogical subjects prior to 1939 contain reliable information, it must be noted that there were also some that purposely falsified historical data just so as to fulfill the fashionable public trend toward claiming noble heritage. The twelve-volume "Encyclopedia of Polish Nobility''written by Stanislaw Starykon-Kasprzycki and published in Warsaw between 1935 and 1938 is one such example. After World War II, genealogy in Poland was in a state of decline, having received little support from the communist government. Only the academic research was continued, resulting in important publications by Prof. Wlodzimierz Dworzaczek. The turning point occurred in the late 1980s. In 1987, a Genealogical-Heraldic Society was established in Poznan, and a year later The Polish Heraldic Society once again started operating in Warsaw, with the goal of continuing its prewar traditions. The two societies publish scientific periodicals: "Gens" quarterly in Poznan, and "Scientific Bulletins" in Warsaw. A more accessible publication is "Heraldic Magazine", the first mass-market periodical in Poland devoted to heraldry, genealogy and cultural traditions. Its bilingual, Polish - English editions may be obtained from the publisher, ul. Wiolinowa 7/23, 02-789 Warsaw, tel. (2) 643-64-99. In discussing the various ways of tracing genealogical roots in Poland, one must not overlook the great role played by International Genealogical Societies and Polish Genealogical Societies abroad. In the United States alone, Polish Genealogical Societies operate in places as diverse as Illinois, New York, Texas and California. The largest genealogical archive and library in the world have been established by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are located in Salt Lake City and among their vast holding contain microfilmed copies of a large portions of the Polish National Archives. For those, who wish to undertake their genealogical search directly in Poland, a few preliminary observations might prove helpful. First, it must be noted that, in accordance with a 1983 Act on Archives, all foreigners seeking archival information are required to obtain permission from the Head Office of National Archives in Warsaw. Address: P.O. Box 1005, tel: (22) 31-9222 ul Dluga 6, 00-950 Warszawa, Because of the time-consuming nature of a genealogical search, all subsequent inquiries are best made by correspondence, either in English or in Polish. In order to begin a search in the public registry, one must know the place of birth, the name of the parish or the location of the registry office, and the rite of the baptismal ceremony. All available documents should be submitted, along with additional family information. Given the frequent administrative changes in Poland, even small details may prove essential. The Head Office on National Archives supervises the work of all archives in Poland. Among its resources are public registries and some Church registry records, including the registry of the Evangelical church, and a thorough collection of public registries from the Prussian sector of partitioned Poland. It must be noted that the national archives do not receive registry records until 100 years after their creation. The most recent records held in the archives today date therefore to 1890-1892. There are three central national archives in Poland: The Main Archive of Old Records, The Archive of New Records, and The Archive of Mechanical Documentation, all located in Warsaw. For the purposes of genealogical research, the most important among them is The Main Archive of Old Records, which contains some of the registries from the lands east of the Bug River, today mostly Ukrainian. The fate of most of the registries from the former Eastern Poland is unknown. According to archivists, some are located in the Central Warsaw Public Registry Office, some at the Catholic University in Lublin, others in the diocesan archives in Belarus and Lithuania. Another organization that may be of help in the search of family roots is the Center for Documentation of Polish Emigration at the Polonia House in Pultusk, established in 1992. The center is in the process of collecting a wide range of documents and artifacts pertaining to the lives of Poles in exile. It offers genealogical research free of charge, but limited in scope to materials available at the center's library. There is a comprehensive list of Poles who emigrated to the United States since 1918, and a list of draftees from the United States to Gen. Haller's Polish army units. The center's address: Osrodek Dokumentacji Wychodzstwa Polskiego przy Domu Polonii w Pultusku 06-100 Pultusk - Zamek, Poland, tel. 238 2031, fax 238 4137. Genealogical research is also done by private companies. One such company is "Piast' of Warsaw. Address: P.O. Box 9, 00-957 Warszawa, Poland. Another private company is headed by Andrzej and Jan Onisko, ul. Bednarska 25, 00321 Warsaw, tel. (22) 26 8371. It specializes in engraving services of coats of arms on any material, but one may also order there a decorative painting of one's genealogical tree. Genealogy is becoming more and more popular in Poland, and the services offered by the various Polish companies - more professional and more complete. While the first stages of a genealogical inquiry can be best completed by correspondence, a trip to Poland often proves useful. For one thing, some of the details of the search may be better supervised in person; for another, the opportunity of visiting one's ancestral towns is likely to turn into a unique experience that will be remembered forever, captured in one's memory, on photographs or on video. There are many travel agencies in Poland that will help you arrange the entire itinerary of such a trip. Further information may be also obtained from the two centers of the Polish National Tourist Office in The United States: Polish National Tourist Office in Chicago tel: (312) 236-9013 333 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 224 fax: (312) 236-1125 Chicago, IL 60601 Polish National Tourist Office in New York tel: (212) 338-9412 275 Madison Ave., Suite 1711 tel: (212) 338-9283 New York, NY 10016 |* The ARCHIVES of POLAND *| **************************** by Bobbi Zee November 1994 STATE ARCHIVE SYSTEM Archival Repositories Administered by the Central Administration of the State Archive System. Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwqow Panstwowych (Administrative Offices of the State Archive System) 00-238 WARSZAWA, ul. Dluga 6 Archiwum Glowne Akt Dawnych 00-263 WARSZAWA, ul. Dluga 7 (National repository for documents produced prior to 1945) Archiwum Akt Nowych 02-554 WARSZAWA, Al. Niepodleglosci 162 (National repository for contemporary records) Archiwum Dokumentacji Mechanicznej 00-202 WARSZAWA, ul. Swietojerska 24 (Film, tape archive) REGIONAL ARCHIVES Archiwum Panstwowe w Bialymstoku 15-950 BIALYSTOK, Rynek T. Kosciuszki 4 Branch: 18-400 LOMZA, ul. Swierczewskiego 36 Archiwum Panstwowe w Bydgoszczy 85-009 BYDGOSZCZ, ul. Dworcowa 65 Branch: 88-100 INOWROCLAW, ul. Narutowicza 58 Archiwum Panstwowe w Czestochowie 42-200 CZESTOCHOWA, ul. Warszawska 172 Archiwum Panstwowe w Elblagu 82-200 MALBORK, Zamek Archiwum Panstwowe w Gdansku 80-958 GDANSK, ul. Waly Piastowskie 5 Archiwum Panstwowe w Jeleniej Gorze 58-500 JELENIA GORA, ul. Podwale 27 Archiwum Panstwowe w Kaliszu 62-800 KALISZ, ul. Kolegialna 4 Archiwum Panstwowe w Katowicach 40-950 KATOWICE, ul. Jagiellonska 25 Branches: 42-500 BEDZIN ul. Sienkiewicza 33 43-300 BIELSKO-BIALA, ul. Slowackiego 80 41-902 BYTOM, Pl. Thalmanna 2 32-500 CHRZANOW, ul. Krakowska 21a 43-400 CIESZYN, ul. Regera 6 44-100 GLIWICE, ul. Zygmunta Starego 8 32-603 OSWIECIM, Muzeum Blok 1 43-200 PSZCZYNA, ul. Brama Wybrancow 2 47-400 RACIBORZ, ul. Zamkowa 2 44-200 RYBNIK, ul. Rynek 18 42-600 TARNOWSKIE GORY, ul. Gliwicka 5 34-300 ZYWIEC, ul. Marchlewskiego 2 Archiwum Panstwowe w Kielcach 25-953 KIELCE, ul. Rewolucji Pazdziernikowej 17 Branches: 28-300 JEDRZEJOW, ul. Wl. Rejmonta 21a 28-400 PINCZOW, ul. Batalinow Chlopskich 42 27-600 SANDOMIERZ, ul. Basztowa 4 27-210 STARACHOWICE, ul. Spoldzielcza 2 Archiwum Panstwowe Koszalinie 75-601 KOSZALIN, ul. Zwyciestwa 117 Branch: 78-400 SZCZECINEK, ul. Parkowa 3 Anchiwum Panstwowe Krakowie 31-041 KRAKOW, ul. Sienna 16 Branches: 32-700 BOCHNIA, ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego 31 33-300 NOWY SACZ, ul. Szwedzka 2 34-400 NOWY TARG, ul. Krolowej Jadwigi 10 33-100 TARNOW, ul. Kniewskiego 24 Archiwum Panstwowe w Lesznie 65-100 LESZNO, ul. Boleslawa Chrobrego 32 Archiwum Panstwowe Lublinie 20-950 LUBLIN, ul. Trybunalska 13 Branches; 22-300 KRASNYSTAW, Plac 1 Maja 1 23-210 KRASNIK, ul. Dzierzynskiego 2 21-300 RADZYN PODLASKI, ul. Miedzyrzeczka 2 Archiwum Panstwowe w Lodzi 91-415 LOdZ, Plac Wolnosci 1 Branches: 95-200 PABIANICE, ul. Wandy Wasilewskiej 6 98-200 SIERADZ, ul. 15 Grudnia 5 Archiwum Panstwowe w Olsztynie 10-074 OLSZTYN, ul. Zamkowa 3 Branches: 14-300 MORAG, ul. Hanki Sawickiej 4 11-700 MRAGOWO, ul. Armii Czerwonej 55 12-100 SZCZYTNO, ul. Polska 35 Archiwum Panstwowe w Opolu 45-016 OPOLE, ul. Zamkowa 2 Branches: 49-300 BRZEG, ul. Boleslawa Chrobrego 17 48-300 NYSA, ul. Kolejowa 15 Archiwum Panstwowe w Piotrkowie Trybunalskim 97-300 PIOTRKOW TRYBUNALSKI, ul. Torunska 4 Branch: 97-200 TOMASZOW MAZOWIECKI, ul. Tkacka 2 Archiwum Panstwowe w Plocku 09-402 PLOCK, ul. 1 Maja 1 Archiwum Panstwowe w Poznaniu 61-744 POZNAN, ul. 23 Lutego 41/43 Branches: 62-500 KONIN, ul. Wojska Polskiego 18 64-920 PILA, ul. Kilinskiego 12 Archiwum Panstwowe w Przemyslu 37-700 PRZEMYSL ul. Polskiego Czerwonego Krzyza 4 Branch: 37-200 PRZEWORSK, ul. Rynek 1 Archiwum Panstwowe w Radomiu 26-600 RADOM, Rynek 1 Archiwum Panstwowe w Rzeszowie 35-064 RZESZOW, ul. Boznicza 4 Branch: 38-200 JASLO ul. Lenartowicza 9 Archiwum Panstwowe w Siedlcach 08-100 SIEDLCE ul. 1 Maja 2 Archiwum Panstwowe w Slupsku 76-200 SLUPSK, ul. M. Buczka 17 Branches: 77-200 MIASTKO, ul. Grunwaldzka 1 76-100 SLAWNO, ul. M. Curie Sklodowskiej 1 Archiwum Panstwowe w Suwalkach 16-400 SUWALKI, ul. Kosciuszki 69 Branch: 19-300 ELK, ul. Kapielowa 1 Archciwum Panstwowe w Szczecinie 70-410 SZCZECIN, ul. Sw. Wojciecha 13 Branches: 66-450 LUBCZYNO, Bogdaniec 73-310 PLOTY ul. Zamkowa 2 73-110 STARGARD SZCZECINSKI, ul. Basztowa 2 Archiwum Panstwowe w Toruniu 87-100 TORUN, Plac Rapackiego 4 Branches: 86-300 GRUDZIADZ, ul. Mickiewicza 26 87-100 WLOCLAWEK, ul. Kosciuszki 13 Archiwum Panstwowe Miasta Stolecznego Warszawy 00-270 WARSZAWA, ul. Krzywe Kolo 7 Branches: 13-200 DZIALDOWO, ul. Wl. Jagielly 31 05-530 GORA KALWARIA, ul. Ks. Sajny 1 99-400 LOWICZ, ul. Swierczewskiego 1 06-500 MLAWA, ul. Nowotki 3 05-100 NOWY DWOR MAZOWIECKI, ul. Kosciuszki 1 05-400 OTWOCK, ul. Gorna 7 06-100 PULTUSK, ul. Zaulek 2 96-200 RAWA MAZOWIECKA, ul. Kosciuszki 5 05-730 ZYRARDOW, Plac Wolnosci 2 Archiwum Panstwowe w Wroclawiu 50-215 WROCLAW, ul. Pomorska 2 Branches: 58-370 BOGUSZOW, ul. Poniatowskiego 57 59-220 LEGNICA, ul.Piastowska 22 Archiwum Panstwowe z Zamosciu 22-400 ZAMOSC, ul. Moranda 4 Archiwum Panstwowe w Starym Kisielinie 66-002 STARY KISIELIN 31 Branches: 66-200 WILKOW SWIEBODZIN, Palac 68--200 ZARY, Plac Kardynala Wyszynskiego 2 ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHIVES Archiwum Archidieczjalne w Bialymstoku 15-087 BIALYSTOK, ul. Koscielna 1 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Czestochcowie 42-200 CZESTOCHOWA, Al. Najs. Maryi Panny 54 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Gdansku 80-300 GDANSK, ul. Opacka 5 Archiwum Archidiecezjalne w Gnieznie 62-200 GNIEZNO - katedra Archiwum Diecezjalne w Katowicach 40-053 KATOWICE, ul. Jordana 39 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Kielcach 25-013 KIELCE, ul. Swierczewskiego 23 Archiwum Kurii Metropolitalnej w Krakowie 31-004 KRAKOW , ul. Franciszkanska 3 Archiwum Archidiecezjalne w Lubaczowie 37-600 LUBACZOW, ul. Adama Mickiewicza 77 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Lublinie 20-105 LUBLIN, ul. Mariana Buczka 2 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Lomzy 18-400 LOMZA, ul. Sadowa 3 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Lodzi 90-458 LODZ, ul. Worcella 1 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Olsztynie 10-020 OLSZTYN, ul. Staszica 2 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Pelplinie 83-130 PELPLIN, Ogrod Biskupi 1 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Plocku 09-900 PLOCK, ul Wolnej Afryki 2 Archiwum Archidiecezjalne W Poznaniu 61-108 POZNAN, ul. Lubranskiego 1 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Przemyslu 37-700 PRZEMYSL, ul. Sanocka 20a Archiwum Diecezjalne w Sandomierzu 27-600 SANDOMIERZ, ul. Sciegiennego 2 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Siedlcach 08-110 SIEDLCE, ul. Swierczewskiego 60 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Tarnowie 33-100 TARNOW, Pl. Sw. Kazimierza 3 Archiwum Archidieczjalne w Warsawie 00-288 WARSZAWA, ul. Swietojanska 8 Archiwum Diecezjalne w Wloclawku 87-800 WLOCLAWEK, ul. Mariana Buczka 9 Archiwum Archidiecezjalne w Wroclawiu 50-328 WROCLAW, ul. Kanonia 12 |* POLISH CHURCH CENSUS BOOKS *| |* A Rich and Valuable Source *| ********************************** by Bobbi Zee November 1994 In the mid-sixteenth century, the Catholic Church decreed that all pastors were to become acquainted with their parishioners on a personal level. This pronouncement was no doubt linked to the humanistic movement of the era which placed emphasis on the individual and the family. The trend, actively supported by the Jesuits, also had as its goal that the priest be better informed as to the demographic and social structure of his parish. For this reason it was mandated that the pastor make annual visits to all parishioners and record the information on the family in registers of Status Animarum, or, more simply put, census books. Church documents mention this requirement in Italy and Austria in 1569. In 1614 Pope Paul IV issued a bull regarding the keeping of all types of parish documentation, including these registers, which are known in Polish as "Ksiegi Status Animarum." Compliance to these regulations was slow in all of Europe. In Poland various references were made to the books in the early 1600s. In 1601, for example, Cardinal Bernard Maciejewski of Krakow during a synod in Krakow issued precise instructions as to the method by which the information was to be gathered and recorded. In general the priests were required to list the names of the villages in the parish, how many households were located in each village, and the names, ages, and relationships of the individuals residing in each household. Individual diocesan synods in Poland as late as 1643 were still discussing and debating the issue, indicating that compliance was still not total. As time went on, more information was required to be recorded in these registers. The type and quality of the information varied from diocese to diocese. By 1850, for example, the registers in the Nowy Sacz region required information not only on the Catholic population but on individuals of other religions as well. Information on civil status, as well as receiving the sacraments, were some of the added features as well as dates of birth, death, and marriage in the family unit. Some of these registers went as far as indicating who had been vaccinated against smallpox and providing data on military service. The most complete and varied information was kept in the territory under Austrian rule. The opposite is true for the territory under Russia. Many of the early registers have not survived to modern times. Only four parishes have registers from the 1700s or earlier. Two are in the Archdiocese of Gniezno (Szubin -1766 and Pepowo -1777), one in the Diocese of Kielce (Daleszyce -1797) and one in the Diocese of Warmia (Dobre Miasto -1695). Later registers of this type, if extant, are still for the most part in parish archives. Very few have been centralized in diocesan repositories. |* EASTERN EUROPEAN "-ULA" NAMES *| ************************************* Andrew G. Fabula, 5497 Coral Reef Ave., La Jolla, CA 92037 United States of America Strangers will often remark to me that my surname "Fabula" must be of Italian or Spanish origin, etc. I explain that the name came from Slovakia, that "fabula" means "story, fable," etc. in Latin and other languages (but not Italian), that Latin was the common language throughout most of Europe for a long, long time, so that apparently my surname is a Latin name of Slovak ethnic origin. But I've never been fully satisfied by that explanation. And when I came upon many other -ula names from Eastern Europe that weren't Latin words, I began to look further into how these -ula names originated. I'm still looking; perhaps what I've found so far will interest others. According to studies on surnames and their evolutional forms, they can be classified in four categories based on: locality, kinship, nicknames, and occupation. Usually the endings that appear with many surnames are those for kinship and locality. I haven't found any discussion of the -ula ending, perhaps because it is not very common. But once one looks for them, -ula names from Eastern Europe are fairly numerous. Here are those that I've found for which ethnic origin is fairly certain: Polish: Ankula, Babula, Cebula, Deptula, Dzula, Fudula, Gdula, Gula, Jaskula, Jula, Karkula, Kukula, Kula, Mamula, Matula, Midgula, Mikula, Nocula, Orszula, Pamula, Patykula, Padygula, Pukula, Sawula, Sutula, Swiergula, Szychula, Wargula Slovak or Carpatho-Rusyn: Cerula, Cirula, Csula, Fabula, Fagula, Fatula, Fekula, Gradula, Grula, Gula, Hanula, Jancula, Krasula, Mandula, Mikula, Pikula, Pribula, Shypulla, Sula, Tekula, Vacula Ukrainian: Bula, Kawula, Mula, Pakula, Pitsula, Smakula Hungarian: Bobula, Szedula I've collected these names from T. J. Obal's volumes on Polish surnames, Joseph J. Hornack's directory of names from Slovakia, and other publications in which ethnic origin was explicit. So far, the only case of duplication is Mikula, which is both Polish and Slovak. I've ignored cases of spelling variations of the -ula ending, such as ulja, ulla, ulya, and uqla, because they were few in number, and becausethe -ula spelling was found also for each name. However, such spelling variations are considered later in some cases. We can use this collection of -ula names to try to learn about their origins. First, it is notable that some of the names have meaning in local languages. For example, "bobul'a" = berry (Slovak), "cebula" = onion (Polish), "fabula" = story (Slovak), "fabuqla" = fable (Polish), "gula" = knob (Polish), and "gul'a" = ball (Slovak). (Some of these meanings are found only in older dictionaries). Thus, some -ula names seem to have originated as nicknames or occupational names. (One theory for the origin of my own name is therefore that an ancestor was a village story-teller). However, most -ula names do not have dictionary meanings. The stem parts of the -ula names usually consist of just one syllable. Those stems also appear in other names, which suggests that -ula was added to a word that already was a name. For example, Patyk in Patykula might come from the Polish word for "stick," and Kras in Krasula might come from the Slovensky Kras region of Slovakia. And there are many towns in Poland, such as Babin, Gulin, Jastkow, Karkowo, etc., whose names seem related to the stem parts of many Polish -ula names. Thus, it seems possible that such -ula names were created by adding the Latin diminutive ending -ula to words from the local language. Perhaps the -ula gave the name a desirable Latin look, i. e., made the name a "Latinism." Many stems were often used with other Latin-form endings, as in Babus, Babian, Fabus, Fabian, Mikus, etc., and those stems also appear with Slavic endings, as in Babik, Babicky, Fabich, etc. Thus, Fabula might have come from the stem Fab plus -ula, rather than from the Latin/Slovak word fabula. Perhaps the -ula ending was used in some cases with a diminutive sense in mind, indicating small size or, by extension, a kinship relation. One documented case of the latter might seem to be the name Dracula! No, not that of the vampire, but that of the real Dracula, a Romanian prince and tyrant of the 15th century. His name did mean "son of the devil" or "son of the dragon," but the original spelling was Draculea, and his father's name was Dracul. In Romanian, the -ul suffix is the definite article, and the -ea indicates "son of." Thus, the -ula in Dracula is not a case of the Latin -ula ending. Speaking of old names, if we include names ending in -ula, the oldest use of an -ula name that I've found so far is in the Polish coat of arms Bodu`a, dating to the 13th century (Polish Genealogical Society Newsletter, Spring 1987). It seems clear that its -ula ending is from the Latin, despite the diacritic, as in the case of the Polish word fabu`a, mentioned earlier. Some Slavic names seem to have evolved from -ula names; for example, I've seen Babulik, Fabulewicz, Matulevich, Prztulski, etc. Presumably these came later; perhaps they reflect the loss of popularity of Latin-look names with the rise of European nationalism. These speculations don't touch on some interesting questions. For example, is the Latinized name Vistula for the Polish Wisla (River) relevant to the -ula names? The -ula ending in Latin is feminine; why is the masculine ending, -ulus, relatively uncommon? Is there a connection between the Slovak diminutive ending -ulka and the Latin -ula suffix? I would appreciate comments and suggestions to aid this research on -ula names from Eastern Europe, especially any information on the meaning or origin of any -ula name.] *| DETAILED MAPS OF POLAND |* ***************************** Daniel M. Schlyter, Family History Library, 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA The Family History Library has acquired a very valuable set of maps of Poland. It is available on a set of over 500 microfiche. The microfiche number for the set is 6,312,622. This set of maps covers the areas that were part of Poland between the first and second World Wars, from 1918 to 1939. Thus it includes detailed maps of the areas of Poland which were ceded to the Soviet Union in 1945. But it does not include maps of the areas of western Poland which belonged to Germany before 1945. Detailed maps of the former German Empire are found on Family History Library microfilm number 68,814. Tactical maps of the Old Polish Republic Scale 1: 100,000 Published between 1926 and 1938 by the Wojskowy Institut Geograficzny (Military Geographical Institute) in Warsaw. These maps were originally created for tactical military purposes, but they are of great value to historical and genealogical research. The great detail of these maps makes it possible to find even the smallest localities. The details shown include fields, streams, manor estates, churches, and even tiny settlements of two or three buildings. Features Relief (hills and valleys) is shown by contour lines and shading. The elevation is given (in meters) for some specific spots. Some of the maps were compiled from Russian sources and these show place names in Polish and in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. Cultural features are shown by symbols. A key to these symbols is found on many of the individual maps and on the third microfiche of the set. How to Use the Polish Maps This map set includes a "Skorowidz Map" (Index Map). It is the second microfiche in the set. This index map is marked off into grid squares. Each square is labeled with the name of a major city in the square and with two numbers separated by a hyphen (-). These numbers refer to the "Pas" (row) and "Slup" (column). There is a separate microfiche for each map. The maps are filed in numerical order. Look for the Pas number and then the Slup number. EXAMPLE: To find a locality near Ostrow Mazowiecka in east central Poland: Step 1 -- Start with the Skorowidz (Index) Map. Step 2 -- Find the square grid that includes the desired area: Ostrow Mazowiecka. Step 3 -- Note the Pas-Slup numbers: 37-34 Step 4 -- Microfiche are shelved in Pas-Slup number order. Pick out the fiche for 37-34 and insert it into the fiche reader. Step 5 -- Copies can be made from the fiche with a microfiche copier. A Polish-Russian Name Index for the 1870 Census in New York City Marlene Silverman, 3701 Connecticut Ave., Apt. 228, Washington, DC 20008 USA Marlene Silverman is employed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She has a Ph.D. in Psychology and is a member of the Washington, D.C. Jewish Genealogical Society. Over the past year I have developed a new research aid related to persons of Polish-Russian nativity in the 1870 Census for New York City (Second Enumeration). It evolved from a much more limited effort years ago to identify certain Jewish families from Suwalki in the Seventh and Tenth Wards. The project seemed to take on a life of its own as I read further in the historical literature and the logic of limiting the scope to Lower Manhattan, as originally intended, began to break down. By 1870 a considerable number of Polish and Russian Jews had moved Uptown, along with the German-Jewish majority. Consequently, "Houston Street and no further north" gave way to "Fourteenth Street, and that's it," until I found myself covering all 40 rolls of microfilm for the 22 wards in the Old City of New York. Because of complaints from New York and Philadelphia that the 1870 summer enumeration resulted in population undercounts, a re-enumeration was held in those cities in December and the following January. It was no doubt due to these sensitivities that census takers for the re-enumeration in both cities, contrary to the general format of the 1870 Census, carefully recorded a street address for each dwelling. Unlike New York, however, the re-enumeration in Philadelphia omitted place of birth and occupation. As a result, the final enumeration for New York City may be unique among all jurisdictions in the 1870 Census. The 1870 Census lists the head of the household first, followed by spouse, children, and any other persons of the same or different surname living with them. The final product now taking shape is an alphabetical index by surname of all Polish- and Russian-born "heads of households" with first name, age, and place of birth for those persons and others of the same surname 15 years of age and older who appear to have been with them. Also included for each entry are names of minors, listed from the oldest to the youngest, the street address, and a census code identifying the ward, election district, and page number. There are about 1,850 "households" in the index with an estimated total of 7,500-8,000 persons, at least 85% of whom appear to be Jewish. Many of the Polish immigrants in the first half of the 19th century came from the Prussian-occupied province of Posen; a steady stream of migration from the more Eastern territories that later formed the Pale of Settlement began after 1845. During the late 1860's in particular there was a fairly large wave of Jewish immigration from the provinces of Suwalki and Kovno and other parts of Great Poland, spurred by the lure of skilled employment opportunities in New York's garment industry as well as reaction to years of famine and a cholera epidemic in 1868. The historical accounts in the "Memorial Book for Suwalki and Vicinity," (N.Y.C., 1961), which probably have their parallels in other Polish provinces, portray rather organized and planful Jewish communities sending their advance agents across the sea long before 1881 -- sometimes at the community's expense -- to establish hospitable "colonies" (as they called them) which would meet the religious requirements of the Landsmen who later poured in. In a letter of December 15, 1881 quoted in the "Jewish Community Book for Suwalk and Vicinity" (Tel Aviv, 1989) a community leader in Suwalk wrote: "The emigration to the United States has grown perceptibly in the last decades. There is no family in our area which does not have a brother, an uncle or a friend in America who have made great progress and growth there." As is true of the post-1880 period, intelligent use of the older American records in researching East European families is hampered by the frequency of name changing. The most common specific surname in my index is Levy, followed by Cohen, both with minor alternate spellings. Most common among general name forms are those which are patronymic (variants of Abram, Jacob, etc.) and the typically Jewish flowery ones (there are over 20 separate entries for Rosenthal alone). Only a small number of surnames indicating Polish place of origin will be found in this index, and with a few exceptions, those appear to be non- Jewish families, judging by first names. Yet, I would estimate that about 50% of the surnames in the Polish-Jewish records for dozens of localities in the Suwalki area which I have seen for the 1808-1865 period are of that type. Of the 12 known surnames on my paternal side, six were derived from the names of villages in Suwalki or places nearby: Nowowiesky (Nowiej), Karashevsky/ Karashinsky (Karascewe), Wilensky, Grodzinsky, and two lines of descent from one patriarch named Golumbieski. Conspicuously absent too are the many Polish surnames derived from occupations, which are also quite common in the Polish-Jewish records: Pickarski, Mlynarski, Kowalsky, Piwowarski, Zelazniki -- these and others like them seem to have been magicked away. Some names may have been changed by immigration officials. But it is easy to believe that being a people historically equipped with good adaptive instincts, and knowing how they felt about their former host country, they needed little prompting to shed "Beryszysznski" in favor of "Levy" (from "the Levite" or perhaps "son of Leyb"). On a more hopeful note, it is known that far less name-changing occurred among those with Germanic surnames, and numerous such families are also found in the Polish-Jewish records. Some, of course, brought those names East from Germany or Austria, but often they were simply adopted out of an affiliation with the German-Jewish culture and a desire to be distinguished from the Slavic peasantry. So while I do not plan to chase after Nowowieskys and Karashinskys on this side of the ocean -- Thaddeus Nowowieski, the fruit seller I once found in an old City Directory, is not my kin -- at least there may be clues to be found in old American archives pertaining to those among our East European ancestors who never used Slavic-sounding names. Some Suwalker descendants laugh off the "Germany" nativity with the comment, "That's how they thought of themselves." My father first told me he came from "a small city in Poland, but we thought of it as Germany because it was near the border." Personal affiliations, though, do not always dispose people to respond incorrectly in a census. As the inconsistencies over months in N.Y.C. suggest, there are other explanations. A lot of erroneous information was no doubt supplied by landlords and neighbors. But another factor is the failure of the Census to address Polish origin effectively until 1910, leaving enumerators largely on their own to apply some criterion. In 1910 enumerators were told to designate Poles as either Poland-Russia, Poland-Germany, or Poland-Austria, depending on the current sovereignty of their birthplace. But this policy was slow to evolve. Although Poland was introduced as a place of origin in 1870, the whole of the instruction on nativity for the foreign-born in 1870 and 1880 was: "If of foreign birth, the country will be named as specifically as possible. Instead of `Great Britain'...give the particular country, as England, Scotland, Wales. Instead of `Germany' specifiy the State, as Prussia, Baden, ... etc." Most of the enumerators in N.Y.C. tried to do this. Still, of the 151,216 Germans counted there, "Germany" was the origin for 54% (with 20% Prussian and 26% from the other 13 States). In many cases "Germany" may have been the best information available, but no doubt included in that category were a significant number from the German-occupied Polish territories. And bearing in mind that the Yiddish of Suwalki sounded so much like German that some Jews could not tell the difference, we will never know how many of those "Poles" were also placed there based on language. In 1900 one instruction on Poland was (regrettably) provided: "In case the person speaks POLISH [emphasis added], as Poland is not now a country, inquire whether the birthplace was... German Poland, or Austrian Poland, or Russian Poland...." By 1880 the Jews were already using the Russia-Poland distinction when referring to themselves in their own literature, and it was widely used in the 1880 and 1900 Censuses in N.Y.C., if not elsewhere. This is clearly one of those cases where policy evolved from practice, not the other way around. The primary audience for this article is the 27 U.S. Jewish Genealogical Societies, and selected others with a presumed interest. Reproduction of any parts of it or mention of the contents in quarterly newsletters or elsewhere would be very much appreciated. A copy of the full article is available from me. I hope to have available by December a hard-bound volume priced under $38, which will be advertised in "Avotaynu." Upon the sale of a minimum number of copies to cover expenses, it will be provided at no cost to the Federal government for use in the Washington, DC facilities of the National Archives. Early indications of interest would help to establish publication costs and will not be construed as a commitment to purchase. Tracing Emigrants through Hamburg Police Records ************************* Martin A. Diestler This previously unknown source was revealed at the Polish Genealogical Society's Tenth Annual Fall Workshop, held on October 21, 1989 at the Chicago Public Library, Culture Center. Martin A. A. Diestler is an attorney with the Chicago-based law firm of Rooks, Pitts, and Poust. He was educated at Victoria University and California State University, where he received his bachelor's degree with high honors. He earned his Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Law School in 1981. He is the current director of the Naperville branch of the LDS Family History Center and has served as chairman of the Council of Northeastern Illinois Genealogical Societies. Most German researchers with modest experience are familiar with the existence of the Einwohnermeldeamt. This is an office of local government (amt) concerned with the movement (melde) of inhabitants (Einwohner). In typical German cities it is administered by the police department, and has the responsibility of keeping track of those who live in the city, where they live, when they arrived, and from where. Of particular interest to American descendants of German emigrants are the records kept by the police department in the port city of Hamburg. The Hamburg records have particular appeal for several reasons: 1) They pre-date the Hamburg passenger lists. 2) They may provide information on an ancestor thought to have sailed from Hamburg who does not appear on the passenger lists. 3) They may provide a more accurate and traceable place of origin than the passenger list, since the passenger may have given to the shipping company as his former place of residence (bisheriger Wohnort) either (a) his place of birth, (b) the place he lived longest, (c) the place he lived last, (d) the nearest large town to one of the above, or (e) none of the above. 4) They may provide information not shown on the passenger list, e.g., date and place of birth. 5) They may identify emigrants who emigrated as crew members and "jumped ship" in the U.S.A. 6) They are available on microfilm in Salt Lake City or at branches of the LDS Family History Center. 7) Most of them are indexed. There are, of course, drawbacks, the greatest being that they may not be as comprehensive as the passenger lists since not everyone was registered. The advantages far outweigh the drawbacks, however. Emigrants traveling to Hamburg frequently exhausted their funds by the time they reached the port; or discovered on arrival that the ticket they had purchased was for a non-existent ship or company; or perhaps that the fare was higher than they had been told; or that the weather would not permit sailing; or that the ship was not yet back from the United States; or that the ship did not have a crew. The list goes on almost without end. The result was commonly a stay in Hamburg either to wait, to make new arrangements, to work, or all of the above. Many of those delayed in Hamburg, and indeed many who were not significantly delayed, appear in the records kept by the Police General Office of Relocation (Allgemeines Polizeiliches Meldeamt). The records available from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City occupy 941 rolls of film, cover the period between 1834 and 1929, and come in various forms, as follows: > Passport Records (Reisepassprotokolle) 1852-1929, 323 rolls of film. > General out-of-town arrivals (Allgemeine Fremden Meldeprotokolle), 2 series. > Male and Female Laborers and Servants, 1843-1890, 256 rolls of film. > Male and Female Transients, 1868-1899, 289 rolls of film. Specific Groups > Journeymen (Gesellenprotokolle), 1850-1867, 24 rolls of film. > Farm Laborers and Domestics (Meldeprotokolle fur Gesinde), 1834-1867, 32 rolls of film. > Male and Female Servants (Fremdenmeldeprotokolle) 1834-1840, 17 rolls of film. As an example of the type of information available in these records, examination of the 256 film series above provides the following information for almost every entry. a) Registration number b) Full name c) Place of birth d) Age or date of birth e) Occupation or status (Stand) f) Last place of residence (Letzter Aufenthalt) g) Proof of identity (Legitimation), some issued in Hamburg, many elsewhere with place and date of issue. h) Place of residence/employment in Hamburg with date. Thus this record provides another means of tracking the immigrant ancestor back to his place of birth, via the place from which he emigrated. It also takes the researcher directly to birth records, and from there to the next generation. The specific microfilm needed can be identified in the LDS Family History Center locality file under the captions: "Germany, Hamburg, Emigration and Immigration" "Germany, Hamburg, Occupations" "Germany, Hamburg, Population." Parenthetically, it is well to note that many emigrants were in Hamburg long enough to get married or to have children. Salt Lake has hundreds of rolls of film of Hamburg civil and church records evidencing births and marriages, as well as guardianship records for children whose parents may have died on the journey and military records for those who served in the local armed forces to raise money for the trip to America. Passport Records **************** original author not identified Posted to the Echo by Bobbi Zee November 1994 The following information is a guide to a little known source of genealogical information. Except for a short time during the Civil War, passports were not required of U.S. citizens traveling abroad before World War I. They were frequently obtained when not required, however, because of the added protection they might afford. The National Archives has passport applications received by the Department of State, with related records, 1791-1925. The records are in Record Group 59 or Record Group 84. Passport applications less than 75 years old may not be used without permission. A passport application varies in content, the information being ordinarily less detailed before the Civil War than afterward. It usually contains the name, signature, place of residence, age, and personal description of the applicant; names or number of persons in the family intending on travel; the date; and, where appropriate, the date and court of naturalization. It sometimes contains the exact date and place of birth of the applicant and of spouse and minor children, if any, accompanying the applicant, and, if the applicant was a naturalized citizen, the date and port of arrival in the United States, name of vessel on which the applicant arrived, and date and court of naturalization. For the period 1906-25, each application includes name of applicant, date and place of birth, name and date and place of birth of spouse or children (when applicable), residence and occupation at time of application, immediate travel plans, physical description, and photograph. Often accompanying applications are transmittal letters and letters from employers, relatives, and others attesting to the applicants purpose for travel abroad. Passport applications are arranged chronologically, and the main series, 1830-1925, is in bound volumes. There are various finding aids to facilitate a search for a particular application including indexes that sometimes contain helpful genealogical information. Emergency passport applications, 1877-1905, are also in bound volumes. These applications for passports or renewals of passports were made at U.S. Foreign Service posts abroad. They are arranged by name of post, and thereunder chronologically, but an index to applicants cites the name of the post. Emergency passport applications, 1906-25, are in varying arrangements; there is an index for 1906-18, with entries arranged alphabetically as far as the first two letters of the surname. For some periods during the years 1907-25, there are separate applications for U.S. Foreign Service personnel and their dependents, military personnel and civilian government employees and their dependents, residents of Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands, aliens who had applied for citizenship, and persons who intended to visit China. The applications are covered by the indexes for the main series. Other series include a register of passports issued, 1817-34; a register of passports issued to persons destined for Santo Domingo Island, 1799-1801; applications and certificates, 1907-25, filed at U.S. Foreign Service posts by persons who intended to stay in a particular country for an extended period, and an index for the years 1907-21; and post-World War I applications for certificates of identity filed by wives of members of the American Expeditionary Forces and U.S. citizens who were residents of Germany. In addition, there are passports records in the National Archives that are maintained by diplomatic and consular posts abroad. Those records before 1874 were not always duplicated in the Department's own files. For the most part, they are scattered and contain relatively little information. Passport records after 1906, write to: Passport Office Department of State 1425 K St. N.W. Washington, D.C. Passport records after 1906, Write to: Diplomatic Records Branch of the National Archives Room 5 E Washington, D.C. 20408 There is a service charge. A NOTE ON THE SCOTS IN POLAND 1550-1800 *************************************** by Anna Bieganska Excerpted from "Scotland and Europe, 1220-1850," ed. T. C. Smout, John Donald Publishers, Ltd., Edinburgh Scots in the early modern period were particularly drawn to Poland, due to certain factors that distinguished that country from others which they also found attractive such as France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia; firstly, although Poland was Catholic, she readily offered shelter to those of other persuasions, and was equally hospitable to Calvinist and to Catholic Scots; secondly, because in Poland participation in trade was regarded as degrading for a gentlemen, there was an obvious opening for immigrants with a flair for peddling; thirdly, the Polish army consisted mainly of cavalry, so Scottish foot soldiers, who had an unrivalled reputation, were highly valued. Commercial relations between Scotland and Poland went back as far as the end of the fourteenth century. The inflow increased in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, reaching its peak in the second half of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth centuries. As far as can be ascertained, the Scots emigrating to Poland originated from over 140 localities situated chiefly in the east and northeast of Scotland. They arrived mainly by sea at Gdansk (Danzig) and the other Baltic ports, though some came by land from Germany or Bohemia. They moved southwards from the coast, initially to localities situated on the main roads and rivers. They showed preference for settling in private towns, in `latifundia' of the aristocracy, in gentry or monastic properties within the royal towns, and in the country estates of the nobility, but were also more generally residents in the royal towns. They have been found in over 420 localities in Poland. The vast majority of the immigrants were peddlers and small itinerant tradesmen, particularly weavers, cutlers, and shoemakers. Those of some financial standing even became merchants, or established artisans. The mercenaries were either directly transported from Scotland or recruited in Poland from the peddlers and itinerant tradesmen. Spytek Wawrzyniec Jordan, a well-known captain in Stefan Batory's army, stressed that when need arose peddlers put aside their baskets and girded on their swords. He highly praised their qualities as foot soldiers, saying that 2,000 Scots were better by far than 6,000 Polish infantry. There were also a few immigrant clergy, both Reformed (e. g., J. Drury) and Catholic (e. g., R. Abercrombie), and some erudite scholars, such as the physician W. Davidson and the lawyer W. Bruce, but these were infrequent. The peddlers refrained from paying taxes and remained outside the bounds of guild organization, carrying out their business illegally as they sold goods `ulna et libra,' gained direct access to customers' homes both in town and country, and provided goods on credit or in direct barter for agricultural products and raw materials. They were thus serious rivals to those who had to bear municipal and guild burdens: the latter therefore objected to the illegal ways by which the Scots earned their bread. National and municipal authorities promulgated a series of edicts against the vagrant Scots. As early as 1562 and 1565 the Seym (Diet) enacted laws against the Scottish peddlers, and in granting privileges to towns the kings frequently forbade them to admit Scots to municipal rights unless they also had domicile. Casimir Jagiellonczyk did so in respect of Gdansk in 1457; Sigismond August, following a writ of the Prussian estates dated 1537, issued a general edict in 1551, and one respecting Miedzyrzecz in 1556; Stefan Batory issued an edit in respect to Poznan in 1576, and a manifesto in 1580; Sigismond III one in respect to Kcynia in 1594, and a manifesto in 1600 that differentiated two categories of Scots -- peddlers and traders -- of whom only the latter might be granted municipal rights under certain safeguards. In 1616 the same king promulgated a decree against Scottish peddlers. The problem was also raised several times by the Prussian estates. Various municipal instructions and resolutions also aimed at eliminating vagrant Scottish peddlers and itinerant tradesmen, forbidding purchase of goods or offers of hospitality to them, limiting their sojourn in the town after the end of fairs, interdicting them from organizing illegal societies, ordering them to remove their signboards, and restricting the number of craftsman- tailors residing within a cloister to one. The same policy is revealed in statutes of the small traders' guilds, for example in Bydgoszcz in 1568, 1581, 1622 and 1635, though here four resident Scots were granted fellowship. The regulations of several crafts protected their members against Scottish peddlers, viz. shoemakers, bellowsmakers, harnessmakers, glovers, tailors, cutlers, smiths, pewterers, and linen drapers. Nonetheless, the country was swarming with immigrants. Their number was estimated in an intuitive and subjective way by contemporaries at from 15,000 to 40,000 people or even 30,000 families. Placenames such as Nowa Szkocja, Skotna Gora, Szkockie Wzgorza, Sckotowo, Sckotowka, Szkoty, Szkotniki, Szoty, and in Gdansk, Szkocka Grobla (Scottish Jetty), Pasaz Szkocki (Scottish Passage), Brama Douglasa (Douglas' Gate) and others embodying a family name, like Ramzy, also bear witness to the important inflow of the newcomers. How many Scots actually lived in Poland, and when did they arrive? There is no way of computing the number accurately, but some impression may be gained from careful investigation of the sources of the scale, and more especially of the timing, of the movement. If one regards a Scot as having "arrived" when his name was entered for the first time in the documents, the largest numbers of names from 1550 onwards are concentrated in the period 1570-1690, but because there is no way of distinguishing between an immigrant and his descendant, many, especially at the end of the period and in the eighteenth century, must be regarded as second- or third-generation Scottish immigrants, not genuine newcomers to Polish society. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the main arrival of Scots occurred in the last three decades of the sixteenth century (especially the 1580s) and the first half of the seventeenth century (especially in the 1610s). The figures themselves, however, should not mislead us. On the one hand, the sources generally relate to adult males: we do not know what families they brought with them, or acquired in Poland. On the other hand, only a fraction of the names actually appear in the sources. The "vagrant" Scots were generally untraceable, as were many settled immigrants. Well-to-do citizens formed so-called "silent societies," concealing several countrymen as pseudo-factors so that neither their names nor number can be precisely discovered. Attempts to solve the problem are not fully satisfactory. For instance, at first sight the most comprehensive list of Scots in Poland is contained in the subsidy list of those ordered to contribute to the cause of Charles II in 1651, giving 461 names, but other sources give the names of another 141 Scots who must have been in Poland in that year. And how many were there who escaped entry both in the subsidy list and in the other sources? The Scots' full assimilation into Polish society generally occurred in the second or third generations, although this did not mean that the offspring of the immigrants were not aware of their origin; they often knew and used the language of their fathers both in speech and writing. On the whole, the immigrants were loyal toward their new country, though under the stress of war some of them regarded it as more advantageous to support Poland's invaders and others returned to Scotland, mostly to invest money they had earned in Poland such as John Turner and Robert Brown. More enterprising individuals, like the wine monopolist Robert-Wojciech Portius, the corn merchant Daniel Davidson, the baker Peter Tepper, and the manufacturer Thomas Dangel, became very rich people and contributed to the economic life of the country of their choice. By the end of the eighteenth century the process of polonization was complete. Several descendants of the Scots were completely devoted to the Polish cause, some participating in risings against the partitioners of Poland and thereby proving their patriotic devotion to the country where their ancestors had settled. Nowadays a number of people with Scottish names take an active part in Polish social, economic, cultural, religious, and political life. Scottish immigration to Poland differed from that of the Italians in the first half of the sixteenth century, of the Armenians in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, of the Saxons at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and from that of the English as well. The Italians arrived in Poland in Bona's suite, to the number of about 350 persons; they appeared predominantly at the royal court in a large range of occupations from dignitaries to servants, and had among them outstanding representatives of intellectual life and artisans of high skill. The Italians contributed to closer relations between Italy and Poland and transmitted the art and spirit of the Renaissance. The Armenians resembled the Scots in that they too were mainly peddlers, tradesmen, and craftsmen, but the territory where they settled was limited to the southeast of Poland, and the number far smaller than that of the Scots. The Saxon immigration was largely military, related to the policies of August II Wettin as Polish king and Saxon elector; and that of the English was largely restricted to the representative of rich merchants and their companies. The Scots, however, had few advantages. There were not, like the Italians, bound to the throne, and they had therefore to make a special effort to penetrate Polish society, particularly in the economic field. Their trade differed from that carried on by the English in being small-scale and without the backing of extensive capital. It must be stressed again that the Scots were in the majority peddlers who obtained direct access both to producers and customers, buying and selling quantities of cheap goods of low quality. Regardless of their financial status they were engaged in credit transactions. One feature above all characterized the Scots: they were readily responsive to market needs and knew how to make the best of any situation. PROTESTANT CHURCH RECORDS IN SILESIA, GRUNBERG AND VICINITY ********************************* Werner Freiherr von Eichenau, Am Dietrichsberg 45, 6620 Volklingen 7 Germany The research goal of my trip to Silesia was Wenig Lessen in the Liegnitz administrative district, today Lesniow Maly, Zielona Gora county, in Grunberg province. The parson in Grunberg, who now also looks after the branches of Crossen (once Crossen [Oder] county, Frankfurt/Oder district, Brandenburg province, Krosno Odrzanskie, pow. Ziemia Lubuska, woj. Zielonogorskie), Lippen (Lipno) and Wenig Lessen (Lesniow Maly), did not know what had happened to the pre-war church records. Now I began to search for the registry records for Laesgen (Laski Odrzanskie), to which administrative district Lessen had belonged. At the registry office in Rothenburg (Czerwiensk) I was told that after the war the old records for the whole region had been assembled and sent to the State Archives in Grunberg. They are stored there among the registry records from Laesgen and Gross Lessen (Lesniow Wielki). In 1874-1879 Wenig Lessen belonged to Laesgen registry office, and from 1880 on to the Gross Lessen registry office. In the Grunberg State Archives there are no church records from Lippen and Logau (Lagow), but the church records from Crossen are there: marriage records 1765-1778; baptismal records 1766-1777 and 1880-1944; death records 1777-1778. All other books were destroyed during the war. In the second half of the 19th century the village of Laesgen belonged to Polnisch Nettkow parish (Nietkow). In the State Archives there are church records from this parish; they cover only the years 1813-1860. In view of the fact that Polnisch Nettkow is a branch church of Rothenburg, it occurred to me that it might have been so in the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries also. So I also succeeded in finding the Protestant church records of Rothenburg. They survived the war, cover the years 1655-1899, and are located in the Central Archives of the Protestant Church in West Berlin, Jebenstrasse 3. BISKUPIN THE BEGINNINGS OF THE POLISH CULTURE ************************************ Researched and prepared by Leonard B. Cieslak Looking at a map of Eastern Europe one gets a glimpse of four distinctive physical views of this area. On the North, one sees a huge plain which forms the Southern coast of the Baltic Sea. It is approximately 250 to 350 miles in depth and is open on both the Western and Eastern ends of this area. To the South, the perimeter of the Plain is closed by the Northern extension of the Carpathian Mountains. These mountains are like a huge serpentine chain which stretches across the central part of Eastern Europe, from the North to the South in an eastern sweeping curve. On the West of these mountains begins the large Danubian River Valley with its river tributaries and many plains, which first run North and South and then East, cutting through the mountains to enter the Black Sea. In the final view one finds the rugged landscape of the Balkan Peninsula on the North, The Danubian Valley on the West and South, the Adriatic and Aegean Seas on the East, and the Black Sea. This is the basin into which poured the Nomadic Tribes from all directions. In order to focus in on any one of the Prehistoric Settlements of the Danubian Basin, it must be visualized that the beginnings of human settlement in the Valleys of the Odra and Vistula began in the Two Hundredth Millennium B.C. There is evidence to indicate that Primitive Man made his appearance on this Territory well before the last Ice Age. Traces of permanent settlements of hunters and food gatherers dating back to approximately 38,000 - 32,000 B.C. have been found in caves in the Cracow Region. This was the Age of the Paleolithic Era from Archaeological evidence found at the sites of Ojcow and Swidry. Moving into the Stone Age or the onset of the Neolithic Period around 4,400 B.C. permanent Agricultural Settlements began to appear. A gradual arrival of relatively advanced tribes of Mediterranean stock via the Middle Danube Basin was evident. The predominant features found from Archaeological sites was the pottery of these cultures. Here are included the Funnel Beaker Culture, the Corded Ware Culture, the Bell Beaker Culture and in the North-East the Pit-Comb Culture. The principle sites are located at Rzucewo, near Gdansk, at Sarnowo near Bydgoszcz, at Jordanow near Wroclaw and at Krzemionka, Chmielow and Zlota near Kielce. Another important feature of this period was the use of Flint Tools. The largest and best preserved flint mine has been discovered at Krzemionki Opatowskie. "Neolithic means New Stone". The Bronze Age reached the Danubian Basin around 1800 B.C. and each Age Culture is thus classified by the location of their initial find. The Unetice People (circa 1800 - 1400 B.C.) were first identified in Moravia, were Pastoralists who worked both in Bronze and Gold. The Trzciniec People (circa 1500 - 100 B.C.) came from the Lublin Area, were like the Iwno People of the Lower Vistula. They were Patriarchal Sunworshipers who practiced cremation. From this point in time we can focus in on the Lausitz or Lusatian People (circa 1300 - 400 B.C.) who were first identified in the Lusatian District of East Germany. This was the beginning of the Lusatian Culture, a name given to various farming and stock breeding tribes which initially inhabited great areas of the basin and adjacent regions of the Danubian Basin. The long centuries of peaceful development from about 1300 B.C. to 400 B.C., years untroubled, it seems by alien incursions, promoted a considerable uniformity in the features of the material culture. They built wooden fortresses, among them the famous island stronghold at BISKUPIN in Eastern POSNANIA, with its elaborate timber breakwater and high rampart. BISKUPIN was a fortified island settlement established around 550 B.C. by the representatives of the so called Lusatian Culture, which was probably the main component of later Slav Civilization. Entrance to the settlement, which was oval shaped and surrounded by a palisade, was by means of a gate at the end of a causeway some 120 meters long. The settlement was further protected by a breakwater composed of an estimated 35,000 stakes, which would have repelled invaders and reduced the thrust of ice pressing against the banks of the island. Inside, there were more than a hundred huts arranged side by side along twelve parallel streets, all ending in one street that inscribed a surrounding oval line. It has been possible to study the cultural achievements of these people in this large fortified settlement from about 400 B.C., which has been excavated at BISKUPIN and Bydgoszcz Voivodship. The principle features were; primitive farming methods and animal husbandry, a high skill of carpentry and pottery, and the use of iron forge weapons and some of the tools. It may be assumed that fortified settlements of this type were the seats of the wealthier Patriarchal Families who protected their growing wealth from greedy neighbors. Evidence of attacks on the settlements by nomadic Scythians was uncovered with skeletons of mutilated men, women and children and bone arrowheads embedded in charred gateposts located at the archaeological site. During the Iron Age various peoples, Scynthians, Celts and numerous Germanic Tribes invaded, and in many cases settled in the Danubian Basin, thereby contributing to the early racial mixture. The ethnic affiliation of the people, known as the Lusatian Culture, was completely absorbed by the Slavs. It is no accident that this change coincided with economic changes related on the one hand to the development of iron metallurgy with ore mined locally. Biskupin was located near the Luxury Trade Route or as is also known as the Amber Route, which ran from the countries of the Roman Empire of Rhineland and Aquileia through the Danubian Basin Territories to the Baltic Seaboard. This Settlement existed for approximately 150 years, due to climatic weather changes, the rising lake levels forced the inhabitants to abandon the site. Thus, BISKUPIN was submerged into the lake depths. In 1934 this site was discovered once again and Archaeological excavations have been performed. It was noted that the specific chemical properties of the water and soil, "the foundations - buildings of wood have been substantially preserved". Archaeologists have reconstructed part of the settlement, including pavements, several huts, the entrance gate and some of the palisade, and much of the original breakwater.