Polish Records are Becoming Easier to Find

If you have Polish ancestors, you must try Geneteka

 It’s becoming more and more common to find genealogical records online in the United States thanks to  “free” sites, such as FamilySearch, and paid subscription sites like Ancestry. Now the efforts of various Polish genealogy groups in Poland are making it faster to find your Polish genealogy online.  One of these websites that I have recently used in Geneteka. I found information for the family members of two families that had been difficult to find.

Geneteka is one of several ongoing projects to index and transcribe Polish church records. It is a nationwide database of indexes of vital records. The database was created by the voluteers of the Polish Genealogical Society at the Society’s website. The aim of the project is to build an online database containing the names of those listed  in the church books of the individual parishes . The goal this database is to facilitate the search for Polish genealogical information by pointing to the parish , year, and other information found on the records.

One drawback is that the site is in only in Polish but if you have researched Polish records you should be able to understand how to use Geneteka. Another drawback is that many records have not been indexed yet so your patience will be required until the volunteers can complete their work.

Geneteka is an exciting website because it can point you to the parish where you Polish family records are located. To me this is “magic” and will reduce the time needed to do my Polish research.

The web address is http://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/

New Revised Polish Surnames Book

The Polish Genealogy Society of America (PGSA) has just released the 3^rd edition of their popular Polish surname book. There are two formats available. One format is a two volume publication that expands the 596 pages listed of names in the 2^nd edition to almost 1200 pages. For researchers looking for the correct spelling of their family name, this new publication is a required reference book. It is also available as one volume book and a CD.

The 2 volume softbound set is available at $50.00 and a one volume and CD set at $35.00. It is available from the PGSA at their website PGSA.org.

You may order and pay by credit card at: http://www.pgsa.org/store/cart.php?target=category&category_id=57

To pay by check please download the form at: http://www.pgsa.org/Books/Books.php

I have used the 2^nd edition often and feel it is a requirement for me to help with Polish research.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Talk to Grandma before it’s too late

Saving oral history is a critical early step in your genealogy research. A great deal of family history is passed down orally and the memories of your older relatives are at risk of being lost. It should be a priority to interview your older relatives as early as possible.

Prepare for your interview by developing a list of topics to cover. This will help focus your conversation. Also organize your research by putting your documents and pictures in ring binders or folders to show your relatives. Reviewing your research with your relative will help establish rapport and help them recall the family history that they have in their sub-conscious.

The interviews should be an equal exchange of information. The questions should flow as normal conversation and not as an interrogation. Avoid questions that seek a “Yes” or “No” answer. Try to be a good listener and give your relatives a chance to tell their stories. Don’t talk or interrupt while the person is speaking. Ask your relatives to help identify the people in the pictures. Try to record the conversations to have an accurate record and you will be free to interact with your relative.

Remember that memories often fade and facts get confused with other facts. The information you obtain through oral interviews must be taken at face value. Some of the facts may not seem accurate but remember that some parts are probably true. You should include the entire story and add your concerns. Future researchers may be able to find facts that sort out your concerns and resolve the problem.

Summary

• Interviewing older relatives is a critical early phase
• Organize your documents and photos to show your relative
• Interviews should be an equal exchange of information
• Avoid questions that seek a “Yes” or “No” answer
• Let your relative talk
• Record your interviews

Bring Your Ancestors to Life

Our genealogy research should be more than collecting documents.  Our ancestors were real people and our family histories should try to bring out the human aspects of their lives. Documents and pictures reveal their lives and the events surrounding these events should be explained.

I use summaries of each person to compile all of the facts that I gather. I also mingle pictures with the text to bring the pages alive and to draw interest to the facts. Identifying the people and events in all of the old pictures in the scrapbooks is an important and fun part of your genealogy research. Also the facts listed in the documents that you find should be extracted and analyzed to show another snapshot of your family history.

My summaries start as simple “bullet point” statements and then are expanded to paragraphs as I find more details. I have found using summaries makes my research more efficient because I have one place to look for facts about a person when doing more research on that person. Another important benefit is that the summary gives you a document that is interesting and readable to share with your family.  Letting other members of your family enjoy the information that you find should encourage some of them to search through the photo albums and shoe boxes filled with old papers for things to share and enhance your history.

Once I started my research I became addicted to the hunt for information and when I share what I find I also share my enthusiasm. I know this enthusiasm has been a positive factor for the family and has helped add more information to the family history.

Now get started and enjoy your journey.

Another 1940 Census update – July 13, 2013

Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia are now searchable by name.  Although I have found most of my records, I still need a few from Illinois which is at 72% by the Familysearch.org indexers.

Remember all websites are offering the 1940 Census as a free database, so this is a great opportunity to search for your parents and grnadparents.

Here is the list of searchable states with the websites where they are available.

1. Alabama – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
2. Alaska– Familysearch.org
3. Arizona – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
4. California  – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
5. Colorado – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com, Archives.com
6. DC – Ancestry.com
7. Delaware – Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org & Archives.com
8. Florida – Familysearch.org, Archives.com
9. Georgia – Ancestry.com
10. Hawaii – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
11. Idaho – Familysearch.org
12. Indiana – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
13. Iowa – Familysearch.org
14. Kansas – Familysearch.org, , Ancestry.com, Archives.com
15. Kentucky – Ancestry.com
16. Louisiana – Familysearch.org
17. Maine – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
18. Michigan – Ancestry.com
19. Minnesota – Familysearch.org
20. Mississippi – Familysearch.org
21. Montana – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
22. Nebraska -– Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
23. New Hampshire – Archives.com, Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
24. New Mexico -– Familysearch.org
25. New York – Ancestry.com , MyHeritage.com
26. Nevada – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
27. North Dakota – Familysearch.org
28. Ohio – Ancestry.com
29. Oklahoma – Familysearch.org
30. Oregon – Familysearch.org, Archives.com, Ancestry.com
31. Pennsylvania – Ancestry.com
32. Rhode Island – MyHeritage.com
33. South Dakota – Familysearch.org
34. Tennessee – Ancestry.com
35. Utah – Familysearch.org, Archives.com
36. Vermont – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
37. Virginia – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com, Archives.com
38. Washington – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
39. Wisconsin – Ancestry.com
40. Wyoming – Familysearch.org, Archives.com

1940 Census Update – what states are searchable by name – 6/05/2012

As of Sunday 6/10, the 1940 census records for 22 states are searchable by name. The list below shows the 22 states and the providers where they are available:

• Alaska– Familysearch.org
• Arizona – Familysearch.org
• Colorado – Familysearch.org, Archives.com
• DC – Ancestry.com
• Delaware – Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org, Archives.com
• Florida – Familysearch.org, Archives.com
• Hawaii – Familysearch.org
• Idaho – Familysearch.org
• Kansas – Familysearch.org, Archives.com
• Louisiana – Familysearch.org
• Maine – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
• Mississippi – Familysearch.org
• Montana – Familysearch.org
• New Hampshire – Archives.com, Familysearch.org
• New York – Ancestry.com , MyHeritage.com
• Nevada – Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com
• Oregon – Familysearch.org, Archives.com
• Rhode Island – MyHeritage.com
• Utah – Familysearch.org, Archives.com
• Vermont – Familysearch.org
• Virginia – Familysearch.org, Archives.com
• Wyoming – Familysearch.org, Archives.com

Each provider is releasing the records by state as that state is completed.

Update – How to Find your Ancestors in the 1940 Federal Census

Right now finding your ancestors in the 1940 Federal Census records is a challenge because most are not indexed. Indexing allows you to search the records using the name of the person you want to find. As of April 23 Ancestry.com had only two states indexed – Nevada and Delaware. Myheritage.com has one state indexed – Rhode Island. All of the other states must be searched by using the enumeration district (ED) listed on the census records.

The ED number was assigned to a specific area by the census department and it changes from census year to census year. However, knowing where the person lived in 1940 will allow you to find their 1940 ED number.  I recommend using the website stevemorse.org to find the needed ED number. This website has a utility (1920-1930-1940 finder/converter) that will convert the 1930 ED to the 1940 ED. Another utility on this website (Unified 1940 Census ED Finder ) will allow you to type in the street where your ancestors lived and the allow you to add across street to find the ED number.

If your do not know the exact 1940 address for your ancestors, you will need to find various records with an address listed that were generated about one year before or after 1940. Then browse the census records for the ED that includes this address. This is a method is an educated guess at where they lived and you may find more than one address to use in your search.

Good luck in your search and you should be rewarded with many new interesting facts about your family once you find the 1940 Census records.

Revisit your Sources

It is important to continue to revisit your sources – especially online databases.  As your research progresses you will find new facts to your ancestors that you can add to your search criteria. This should give you search results that did not show up in previous searches. Another reason to revisit sources is that websites are adding new records on a regular basis and the new records added may be for your ancestors or their siblings.

An example of this was when I found a 1935 biography of the brother of an ancestor. This had been added to an online family tree in the previous year. The biography included references to the name of the Catholic Church the family attended and when I called the church I found the marriage record for the ancestor. This record listed where the bride and groom were baptized in Poland and I was again able to extend the family back three more generations.

Also try using a different method when you revisit an old source. Sometimes, I use only the family surname when I return to search previous databases. One example of my success using this technique led to the names of brothers and sisters of one ancestor. I then researched the marriage records for these siblings and I was able to identify their birthplace in Poland. When I searched the Polish records, I was able to extend the family back three more generations.

 These are only a few examples where I was able to find information to breakdown some of my brickwalls.

Learn more about Genealogy – Join one or more Genealogy Societies

Join a genealogy society and get involved. The society will help you expand your genealogical skills. You will be able to meet fellow genealogists and learn more about research methods from conversations with them. Most societies schedule regular programs and conferences that increase genealogy skills of their members. Another opportunity to learn will come from working on service projects, society committees and at conferences. Besides your learning experiences, it should be fun and rewarding.

Attending genealogy programs and conferences in your area is another opportunity to increase your genealogy skills. The programs can be put on by your own society or be put on by nearby societies. Some libraries also schedule genealogy programs regularly. Visit the websites of the genealogy societies in your area and the websites for nearby libraries to see what genealogy programs they have scheduled and then plan to attend.