tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.comments2023-07-20T23:31:02.190-04:00<p>Basia's Polish Family: <p>From Wilno to Worcester</p></p>Basiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-42733730419375061492013-03-17T17:11:24.133-04:002013-03-17T17:11:24.133-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06534206466618367486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-65016238101555018032012-12-29T10:50:53.233-05:002012-12-29T10:50:53.233-05:00Hi Basia, I've just found this site while sear...Hi Basia, I've just found this site while searching for my mum's home village which was in Wilno Province (Wilenszynie), have you found any trace of a place called Klonowej Ostrow. This was her home until being exiled to Siberia by the Soviets. She was called Szyszko. I have tried combinations of the place name + Poland, Lithuania,Bielorus. Hope you can help.<br />Wieslaw MusialAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-26798723866400978452012-11-10T00:43:33.959-05:002012-11-10T00:43:33.959-05:00I just wanted to thank you for your attention to d...I just wanted to thank you for your attention to detail and share some of my own family story, which tangentially ties in. You credited my great grandfather who founded that photography studio in Maynard MA. I was looking for something mostly unrelated, and the tag, with my grandmother's maiden name, on your ancestors wedding photo, caught my eye. I will have to check with my dad, but I think his grandfathers full name was Geoffrey Tomas Elson. He was a British immigrant, who had married his 2nd cousin and moved to the U.S. because the family in England did not approve. (or so the family myth goes) They had 9 children in Maynard. Unfortunately, he became an alcoholic in his middle to old age, and the photography studio had a bad fire, and I don't know much eles about them, both of them and most of their children having passed decades before I was born. <br /><br />However, I too have looked at photos with the same "Geo. T. Elson Studio, Maynad Mass." stamped on the back edge. When my grandmother passed away, a few slightly illicit photos she had kept hidden away, which she must have produced at his studio in her late teens or early 20's, were found. I've toyed with putting them on the web someplace, as much as she kept them hidden away, her younger self was at least a closet exhibitionist, by early 20th century standards. I'll try and remember to drop you a link if I ever make them public. Swan_writeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06385875945249518431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-63992084031340614452012-07-22T21:40:05.076-04:002012-07-22T21:40:05.076-04:00Fabulous detective work! Congratulations on untang...Fabulous detective work! Congratulations on untangling part of your past.D Goskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09353495585591945881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-75036733587942317752012-03-02T21:17:34.839-05:002012-03-02T21:17:34.839-05:00Thank you for your post. I just saw this through ...Thank you for your post. I just saw this through Geneabloggers. I've been trying to reconnnect with family members back in Ireland. Perhaps some of these sites might be very helpful with that.<br /><br />Regards, Jim<br /><a href="http://www.hiddengenealogynuggets.com" rel="nofollow"> Hidden Genealogy Nuggets </a>Jim (Hidden Genealogy Nuggets Blog)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15493118494172970052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-57032134809190444912012-01-28T14:15:27.821-05:002012-01-28T14:15:27.821-05:00Donna, it's nice to meet another Doda! And ver...Donna, it's nice to meet another Doda! And very interesting about that surname being common in Romania. That is also true of the Blaszko surname. I've wondered many times when and how both of those tribes (in my paternal grandmother's ancestry) ended up in Lida. They've been there since at least the late 1700s, per church records, but I wouldn't be surprised if they migrated from Romania/Hungary in the 1500s-1600s. Those surnames are centered in a very small area within the Lida region—just a few small villages east of Radun. Also interestingly, my own and my paternal relatives' DNA testing has turned up a number of Romanians as distant cousins. Maybe you and I are cousins too :) — BasiaBasiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-82336399811852728942012-01-26T05:07:21.539-05:002012-01-26T05:07:21.539-05:00Basia, I just stumbled on your blog while doing on...Basia, I just stumbled on your blog while doing one of my perpetual searches on my "unusual" Polish maiden name: Doda. In my endless searches, I have discovered that Doda is a common surname in Albania! (A former finance minister was Viktor Doda.) And it's a common surname in the Punjab (also spelled "Dodda"), where Dodas are a clan in the Arora subcaste (Vaishyas); Dodas (and Doddas) are also prevalent in Karnataka, in and around Bangalore! And there are lots of Dodas in Romania, too. That big Polish census, done in 1990 or 1991, lists about 250 Dodas in all of Poland, but there are tens of thousands of Dudas. My late dad, Kasmir, was born in Bydgoszcz (1922), but his family moved to that town, they weren't from there, and the history on my Doda side is completely thin, whereas my mother's side, Zwolak and Tomaszek, have deep roots in the Lublin area.<br />Well, it's the tiny wee hours so I must sign off here, Basia. Geneological searching on the Web can be addictive.<br />My best regards, Basia — your roots work is so impressive and enlightening!<br />Dziekuje bardzo!<br />Donna C. (née Doda — "Danuta" to my late Babcia)<br />Canadian in Silicon Valley, CA <br />*saultxyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15374787097308733680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-15448747504644537012011-10-16T17:45:45.255-04:002011-10-16T17:45:45.255-04:00Hi Ginny,
If you are Bronislawa's great-great-...Hi Ginny,<br />If you are Bronislawa's great-great-granddaughter, then we are cousins :) I know only one of Broncia's daughters and one grandson. I've done some research on the family, and would be interested in learning more. If you'd like to connect further, please e-mail me at lida_ancestors@yahoo.com. Thanks for writing! -- BarbaraBarbara Prokohttp://www.wilnoworcester.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-66322761905011416952011-10-16T16:54:25.260-04:002011-10-16T16:54:25.260-04:00Hello Basi!
I have been trying to find informatio...Hello Basi!<br /><br />I have been trying to find information about my family roots and low in behold my great-great grandma was Bronislawa Nowicki! Thank you so much for this useful information, I hope that I can piece together my heritage too!<br />GinnyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-64231576895981031882011-01-23T18:39:33.855-05:002011-01-23T18:39:33.855-05:00To anonymous: My Mother's maiden name is Loyko...To anonymous: My Mother's maiden name is Loyko (Lojko). She had many brothers, no sisters. We lived in Worcester, Ma. Maybe we're realtives?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-48032155126434001612011-01-08T22:45:27.041-05:002011-01-08T22:45:27.041-05:00I'll ask my Aunt if she remembers any of the P...I'll ask my Aunt if she remembers any of the Prokopowiczs. She attended Our Lady of Czestochowa for many years. She has an incredible memory. She is Italian, and married my dads brother (who passed away in the 80s), yet she remembers so much about how the Polish side of the family is connected.<br /><br />Thank you for the suggestions. I would look through those links.designhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09130357336342501247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-20747930085905654322011-01-08T13:39:48.217-05:002011-01-08T13:39:48.217-05:00Oops! I have to retract the suggestion for Ancestr...Oops! I have to retract the suggestion for Ancestry. I just read the description, and their UK database is for "ships arriving in the United Kingdom from foreign ports outside of Europe and the Mediterranean." <br /><br />Find My Past has the passenger lists for departures from ports like Liverpool. On the manifest, the last two columns on the right report the person's arrival in the UK by port (e.g., Libau to Hull) and steamship line, which would have been a small "feeder" line. Camille, search for your grandfather on this site. The search is free. E-mail me privately if you find him and need the image.Basiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-47865263827010345562011-01-08T13:26:27.690-05:002011-01-08T13:26:27.690-05:00Camille,
Wow, the Bellflower connection is amazi...Camille,<br /> <br />Wow, the Bellflower connection is amazing. I am very curious about Stanley P.; now I'm motivated to request his naturalization papers. I'd love to see a photo of him.<br /><br />To get a general idea of how he got from Poland to Liverpool, you might read my September 4, 2009 post, "Ports of Departure: Hamburg, Liverpool, Libau." <br /><br />To find specific info on his journey to Liverpool, you can search two different websites, which I think use more or less the same database. On Ancestry.com, it's "UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960." On Find My Past (http://www.findmypast.co.uk/migration.jsp), it's "Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960."<br /><br />Don't be surprised if his name is spelled slightly differently than on the passenger list for his arrival in the U.S. Good luck with the search!Basiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-84774814594176064282011-01-08T12:43:39.482-05:002011-01-08T12:43:39.482-05:00It is a small world. My grandfather lived a 6 Bell...It is a small world. My grandfather lived a 6 Bellflower, and they lived a 4 Bellflower. I'm sure my aunt would remember the name. She married my uncle and lived on Bellflower for quite a while.<br /><br />My grandfather came to the US through via the White Star Line out of Liverpool. Can you direct me to the right places to find out how he got from Poland to Hamburg, and from Hamburg to Liverpool?designhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09130357336342501247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-40898804140109120142011-01-07T18:19:02.455-05:002011-01-07T18:19:02.455-05:00Cynthia, dziekuje bardzo! I'm honored to recei...Cynthia, dziekuje bardzo! I'm honored to receive the Ancestor Approved award and pass it on. Coming from you, it's especially meaningful because of our shared Polish Worcester heritage. And the idea of passing it along is wonderful. I'll post about this soon.Basiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-2421067742627199092011-01-07T16:38:06.996-05:002011-01-07T16:38:06.996-05:00Thank you! I appreciate your feedback, and I'm...Thank you! I appreciate your feedback, and I'm happy my blog is helpful to you. If you have even a few documents, you are on your way to learning a lot about your family. I kind of think the less you know at the outset, the more exciting each new discovery is. And about Stanley Prokopowicz—small world! I have no idea whether my grandfather Julian had contact with him in their early years in the U.S., but I've been collecting documents about Stanley (I collect Prokopowiczes!). His World War I draft registration lists his birthplace as Poleckiszki, which is the village Julian's family lived in since the 1700s. So they must have been cousins. Thanks for mentioning him!Basiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-9112352600837135512011-01-07T15:35:16.924-05:002011-01-07T15:35:16.924-05:00I really appreciate that you have taken the time t...I really appreciate that you have taken the time to put all your information in a blog form. This gives me a really great starting point in collecting all of my relatives lost documents. I'm struggling with finding out who my grandparents were, since my father never talked of them and now is deceased. I've discovered several important documents to start with. One simple one was the 1930s Census with my grandparents names. Stanley Prokopowicz was listed as their neighbor in Dorchester. Would this be a relative of yours?designhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09130357336342501247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-44116117756829837862011-01-06T21:35:57.023-05:002011-01-06T21:35:57.023-05:00Pat, thank you! This DNA research is so fascinatin...Pat, thank you! This DNA research is so fascinating. Did you do your tests through 23andMe? They seem to be really active in genetic issues. I think it's really cool that you and your cousin are exploring this together. That is awesome!Basiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-76705494915391149572011-01-06T21:14:28.933-05:002011-01-06T21:14:28.933-05:00Thank you so much for mentioning DNA-NEWBIE! I jus...Thank you so much for mentioning DNA-NEWBIE! I just received some DNA results from a cousin who, by a quirk of genetics, has the same mitochondrial DNA as me. He and I are trying to use the information to trace the progress of lipedema, a hereditary disorder shared by several women in my family including me. You rock! -- Pat Washburn, who worked with you long ago in a newsroom far away.Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00668466586821696716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-54134609845313774342011-01-05T17:50:40.696-05:002011-01-05T17:50:40.696-05:00Barbara,
I'm happy you are back blogging. I ...Barbara,<br /><br />I'm happy you are back blogging. I respect your work so much and look forward to reading (and learning from) the results of your research. <br /><br />I received the Ancestor Approved award in December and would like to pass it on to you. You may pick up the award at http://heritagezen.blogspot.com/2011/01/ancestor-approved-award.html. <br /><br />I am not worthy... ;)<br /><br />Regards, <br /><br />CynthiaCynthia Shenettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07089125778529696076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-27534945227625197392010-12-28T23:30:51.019-05:002010-12-28T23:30:51.019-05:00Its really nice to read your thoughts on this. My ...Its really nice to read your thoughts on this. My great-grandmother, grandmother and grandfather all left Vilna, Poland in the 1900s to come to Boston. My father never talked much about this, and I've always wondered the same things.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-14396258066746896262010-12-24T20:17:04.750-05:002010-12-24T20:17:04.750-05:00Happy to have you back!
We can't do it all,...Happy to have you back! <br /><br />We can't do it all, so I say do what you love. I'm looking forward to reading the results of your research.Cynthia Shenettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07089125778529696076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-70925884716464314492010-12-24T19:50:44.496-05:002010-12-24T19:50:44.496-05:00Right at the top, Sara! We are so long overdue it&...Right at the top, Sara! We are so long overdue it's just plain silly!Basiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-12805675909547516402010-12-24T19:41:39.936-05:002010-12-24T19:41:39.936-05:00Oh! The cliffhangers!
Can you put "hang out w...Oh! The cliffhangers!<br />Can you put "hang out with Sara" on the To Do list?Sara E. Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17225335295996071660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984552444221553799.post-82456849671419884102010-11-23T13:06:07.210-05:002010-11-23T13:06:07.210-05:00Roman, dziekuje! A recording error is certainly po...Roman, dziekuje! A recording error is certainly possible. Or Chadysz might have been Rozalia's mother's maiden name. Or maybe Rozalia Janonis died and Martin married another woman named Rozalia Chadysz? In one or two earlier Polish-language records for this Prokopowicz family, I came across the surname spelled Kadysz among witnesses at events. I'll have to check my database this evening. Thank you again!Basiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420809103804345831noreply@blogger.com