Hi Dennis Thanks for all of the information. I, too, would describe my grandmother's family as Lemko, although I never heard her use that term. She always referred to herself as being a "Russian from the Carpathian Mountains". I'd love to know why Halbiv no longer exists, why Poles from the East weren't moved into the area. Maybe the land was too poor. I'd seen the two sisters' story before without realizing how close Halbiv and Nieznajowa were. I think it's safe to say that the answer to the two sisters' question as to why Sadie came to America is a simply one. Like the Irish after the Famine, like the Mexicans who today swim across the Rio Grande, Sadie and my grandmother were dirt poor, They came here for a better life. We should give thanks to God every day, they did. David Wargo ---- Dennis Benarz <benarz@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > Hi David > > Again, in this matter of highlander groups locations, I am not certain. I > claim no special knowledge of Polish highlanders or Lemkos. Your > grandmother's family was likely Rusnacy (or "Rusniak") but today we'd simply > identify them as Lemko. > > Halbow was a small village along the Wisloka River about 30 miles south of > Jaslo. In the 19th Century, the village had 220 residents who were nearly > all Greek Catholic and worshipped at Desznica. Halbow was in the territory > of the Roman Catholic parish at nearby Zmigrod. The village is probably most > remembered as the site of the mass grave of 1250 Jews who were executed by > the Nazis there in July, 1942. > > For many of the villages in this highland area, events during and after > World War II caused them to become unpopulated and abandoned. I am not sure > of the fate of Halbow. > > We did a feature article on Nieznajowa a year or two ago. Nieznajowa is also > located on the Wisloka River and is a few miles upstream from Halbow. Our > Polish buddy and collaborator Robert Zasadni followed and photographed two > sisters from Detroit as they visited the ancestral village of their > grandmother. Here's the story: http://spuscizna.org/wisniewski/sadie-0.html > Be forewarned, it is kind of bittersweet. > > I hope this is satisfactory. > > Cheers! > > Dennis > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: <cdawargo@insight.rr.com> > > To: <galicia@rootsweb.com> > > Cc: "Dennis Benarz" <benarz@hotmail.com> > > Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 4:43 PM > > Subject: Re: [GALICIA] Maciejowa > > > > > >> OK, Dennis, so if my grandmother came from Halbow/Halbiv, to which of the > >> highland groups would she have belonged? Her family was Greek Catholic. > >> > >> Thanks, > >> David Wargo > >> > >> > >> ---- Dennis Benarz <benarz@hotmail.com> wrote: > >>> Hi Barbara > >>> > >>> Does the Polish word "gorale" mean anything to you? Well, it means > >>> "highlander" and your ancestor was very likely one. > >>> > >>> In the 19th Century the village of Maciejowa had 416 Greek Catholic > >>> residents who worshipped at the wooden church in Maciejowa, 99 Roman > >>> Catholics who worshipped at Nawojowa, and 51 Jewish residents who > >>> worshipped > >>> at Nowy Sacz. Texts of that period refer to Maciejowa as a "Ruska wies" > >>> or > >>> "Ruthenian village". The earliest known mention of the village was made > >>> in > >>> 1229 AD. > >>> > >>> Neighboring Labowa, a little more than a mile to the east, was a bit > >>> larger > >>> with 783 Greek Catholic residents who worshipped at the masonry church > >>> in > >>> Labowa and 79 Roman Catholic residents who also worshipped at Nawojowa. > >>> > >>> I am not entirely sure, but I believe that this area was populated by > >>> the > >>> Gardloki highlander group. This group was frequently lumped together > >>> with > >>> the Spizacy highlander group for enumeration purposes and the total > >>> population for both groups in 1851 was 20,530. Today, they would > >>> probably be > >>> referred to simply as being "Lemko". Here's some information on the > >>> various > >>> highlander groups that lived in Galicia in the 19th Century: > >>> http://spuscizna.org/spuscizna/highlanders.html > >>> > >>> Because of their relative isolation in the valleys and meadows of the > >>> Tatra > >>> Mountains, the various highlanders groups each developed their own > >>> distinctive style of dress and often had particular peculiarities of > >>> language. Hence, they could be "grouped". Nearly all of the highlanders > >>> were > >>> of either East Slavic or West Slavic origin, but there were a few > >>> pockets of > >>> non-Slavic Cossaks and Wallachians up in the hills as well, usually much > >>> farther to the east.. The West Slavic highlanders tended to be Roman > >>> Catholic while the East Slavic highlanders tended to be Greek Catholic. > >>> > >>> And all of this leads us to the rather famous Gorale's Lament or "Goralu > >>> Czy > >>> Ci Nie Zal": http://spuscizna.org/spuscizna/ezine-3-1.html > >>> > >>> Is that satisfactory for today? > >>> > >>> Cheers! > >>> > >>> Dennis > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> ----- Original Message ----- > >>> From: "Barbara K McLeroy" <bmcleroy@genevaliberty.com> > >>> To: <galicia@rootsweb.com> > >>> Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 9:07 AM > >>> Subject: Re: [GALICIA] REMAK SURNAME > >>> > >>> > >>> > > >>> > Dennis, > >>> > I would like to say thank you for such an informative, and eloquent > >>> > reply. > >>> > The information you provided is useful for all of us researching our > >>> > Galician roots. Would you care to offer some insight into the history > >>> > of > >>> > Maciejowa? Thank you for all the knowledge you share. Regards. Barb > >>> > Starynchak > >>> > > >>> > ********************************* > > > >> > >> > > > > ********************************* > Need to contact the list manager? Write to Marie at GALICIA-admin@rootsweb.com > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GALICIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message