Michaeline NOCHELSKI married Casimir JUSZKEWICZ or JUSKEVICIUS. He always claimed to be from LIthuania. We can't find any record of him coming to this country. Once here changed his name to CHARLES EKEY. Is said to have had a brother. We know alsolutely zip about his family. I would love to hear from anyone with this surname. kariley@bu.edu

Antonius NOCHELSKI married Esther KUROPATWINSKI in 1882 in Poznan. In 1887 they came to NY on the ELBE. They went first to Rochester, NY and then to Gaines Twp. Orleans Co., NY. Their children: Johann Michaelina Hetwicz Jadwiga "Agnes" Michael John CHANGED his name to NOAL Joseph Antonia Louis Ronald Stephanus Franciscus Igantius Wanda Ladislawa Anyone with connections to these folks contact kariley@bu.edu

All of this talk on closemouthed ancestors has encouraged me to post this query. Johann Kuropatwinski was born in Poznan in 1820. He married Katarzyna _____. She was born in Feb. 1830 in Poznan. We dont't know when they came to the US but they settled in Rochester, NY and were there by 1894. They are supposed to have had 5 children but we know of only three of them: Piotr Kuropatwinski aka Peter or John ROSS b. May 23, 1862; Poznan Nastazjas "Anastasia or Esther" Kuropatwinski b. March 30, 1864; Poznan Marianna Kuropatwinski b. Dec. 1864; Poznan This family has been hard to research since many family members have tried to disassociate with it. Also the name Kuropatwinski became ROSS, KIRBY, and KERPOE. Mariaana Married Albert WALCZAK and Esther married Anton NOCHELSKI We do know that the family did not come over all together. Does this look familiar to anyone? kariley@bu.edu

At 12:32 PM 4/9/97 -0400, you wrote: >Hi - Count me in too -- Hi! "Count me in too" -- TOO. My parents were fairly open about discussing family origins, and spent many an evening in the farm kitchen reminiscing about the "old country" and relatives left behind. Unfortunately, I was too young, and uninterested, to ask the questions I am asking today (now that they are gone). BUT! There are many other relatives around whom I could still ask - if they were willing, and informed. For example, I have fairly good information about my great grandparents, but only the names of their parents. Another, distantly related family, whom I can trace back also to about my great grandparents' time on the maternal side, and could possibly go back further if I could do so on the male side, still are around. I asked one elderly gentleman questions about his grandfather. He replied that his parents never discussed such subjects at home, and he did not know, even, his grandfather's name. The irony lies in the fact that a Ukrainian Orthodox funeral often ends with the singing of the song "Eternal Memory (translated, of course)", and Orthodox people (at least in the rural areas where I grew up) spent a full day cleaning and 'prettying up' their family graves every spring. Yet their attitude towards the knowledge of their ancestors was, too often, "they are dead; let them be". Bill W ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "He who cares not about his ancestors, does not deserve to be remembered by his offspring".

Hi - please excuse me, but I don't know where else to post this suggestion. It is wonderful that there is a "table of contents" with each of the entry's topics listed, and numbered, at the beginning of each of these digests, however -- Would it be possible to also provide a corresponding number on the message itself? This is done on another group I receive, and it is VERY helpful when scrolling through the entries to find the ones you are most interested in. Hope this suggestion is not too off topic. Thanks, Jamie Freitas

Hi - Count me in too -- My father's family came from Poland, 1915 --and NONE of the six remaining children (now in their 60's, 70's, and 80's) seem to know who their grandparents were. Not even their names! I assume this is the result of my father's parents not speaking of their life before immigrating. Repressed people often find that keeping silent and keeping secrets are a way to literally survive, as I am sure many had to do in the old country. In the new world, it would continue as mistrust of authority in general, as so many of you have written about, but also as a way to begin fresh, without the stigma and burden of the past. It may also have been a way of protecting their children. And may have been, after so many years, a habit. There are so many of us - this is interesting! I wonder if this type of situation is as common among other ethnic groups, which suffered in similiar ways? Jamie Freitas Searching: Pian, Gallant, Solarz, Schultz, Gordon Poland/Russia

Visit the Genealogy Exchange & Surname Registry to search thousands of surnames and to register yours. < http://www.infi.net/~ajabby/Index_frame.htm >

I'm looking for the origins of the surname Kuhera in Moravia, Czech Republic. If you can help, please E-mail me to: fjbellido@arrakis.es Thanks in advance :-)

I'm looking for a way to locate two cities in the Ukraine. One is my Grandfather's town of origin called (phonetically) Bisnavet or Bisnevet and the other my Grandmother's town of Drasna or Drasnya. I don't know where to find any detailed maps if they exist that might aid in my search. The only clue I have is from my Father, while in Russia a couple of years ago, asked some of his Russian contacts who were familiar with The Ukraine about both towns. According to my Father's contacts it seems Bisnavet may still exist, but Drasna might have been a shtetl which exists no longer. My Grandfather's surname was Latker and was not changed upon arrival to the US based on the assumption that distant relatives who had different patriarchal emigres also have the same name. However, my Grandmother's name appears to have been changed to Sunshine. Unfortunately no one in my family knows her family's original surname. Could anyone give me some advice on how I might trace her name? ----------------- Jeff Latker Falls Church, VA Jlatker@erols.com

Joanne Hollak <joanne@ICO.COM> wrote: >Hi, I am having the same problem. He also said on the census that he was >Naturalized and I can't find records of that either. He didn't tell my >father his village name, only Galicia, A-H Empire. No talking in the family >apparently as we don't know anything at all. jo > > > > >At 12:50 PM 4/8/97 -0400, you wrote: >>I've often jokingly said that it is so hard to find information about my >>immigrant grandfather >>that it was almost as if he deliberately tried to hide. Maybe it's not such a >>joke! >> >> Me too! My grandfather was also a coal-miner in Shamokin Pa. Later he worked for the American Can Company in Harrisburg?. Whenever I asked him about his parents, when they came to America, etc he would just smile. Later when I was an adult he went as far as to say they were from Austria and later still it became a more specific Galicia. Rings a bell huh Joanne. But he never ever even told me my great grandmothers or grandfathers names. My experience agrees with others here. They were secretive about their past. Why I do not know. On the other hand, he loved to tell stories about his life in America. He would show me all the blue flakes under the skin of his hands, which was coal. Mostly though, he talked about American Can. He worshipped them. Always praised them for how well they took care of he and his family as an employee. Hum, I wonder if they still have his employment records. Al Shurgalla

A great story! Most of my grandparents & siblings gave wrong info re age & arrival in US. I can just see my grandmother trying to cook dinner in a cramped apartment with 3 crying babies and this census taker plying her with questions about her arrival, husband's arrival, their birthdays, etc. The most interesting error is my 2 1/2 yr old Uncle Julian who somehow became my sweet little Aunt Lilian....didn't know they could do that sort of operation back then....:^) Joe, western PA armata@vms.cis.pitt.edu - Remember the information on census (and for that matter most documents) is - not to be taken as the whole truth and nothing but the truth! My great - grandfather is listed as the head of household on the 1920 census. What is - so unusual about that you might ask? Well he died in 1916. And I have - proof of that because I contacted the funeral home and they provided me with - a bill for the funeral and the date the grave was dug (there is no tombstone - fo him) in 1916. I just imagine my great grandmother sitting there with the - census taker, herself not speaking English real well, being asked if she was - married. So to her this would be a yes/no question. So as a mother of 10 - children the only possible choice was "yes". So the census taker assumed he - was still alive and when asking questions as to name, age, occupation she - answered them for when he was alive. - - Joanne - Central PA

Frank Milos wrote: > > I have a copy of my grandparents marriage certificate from the church they > were > married in. Since it is in Latin, I can guess at some of the translation. > > Does "Praesentibus testibus" translate to the witnesses? Yes... ie: present and confirming the event Regards Andy Verostko > > Thanks in advance! > > Frank

Al Shurgalla wrote: > My grandfather told me before he died that his family came from > Galicia. So far I have been unable to trace this name. I suspect > the spelling was Americanized and that it was originally something > like perhaps Czabala. Hi Al, I have seen the name Csabala in the Greek Catholic church records for Palota (just east of Medzilaborce and very near to the border, i.e. former Galicia). The LDS film is 1794332. Another variation is the Sztebila family which is referenced to Nagov (Hu. Nyago)and is just south of Medzilaborce. Tom Burcak

So far I've had one good experience with naturalization records. I had a photocopy of my grandfather's naturalization certificate and easily obtained a copy of the declaration from the county clerk. I have just found out that Salt Lake has a hundreds of films of naturalization information and they are, at least for New York, indexed, so I'm going to try there for other lines.

Go to any search engine like Alta Vista or others and type in Galicia and you will be inundated with information. It was an area in the south of Poland and was part of the Austria- Hungary Empire. It was also the home of many Rusyns or Lemkos as they were called in that area. You wrote: > >Al Shurgalla wrote: >> My grandfather told me before he died that his family came from >> Galicia. So far I have been unable to trace this name. I suspect >> the spelling was Americanized and that it was originally something >> like perhaps Czabala. >Hi Al, >I have seen the name Csabala in the Greek Catholic church records for >Palota (just east of Medzilaborce and very near to the border, i.e. >former Galicia). The LDS film is 1794332. Another >variation is the Sztebila family which is referenced to Nagov >(Hu. Nyago)and is just south of Medzilaborce. >Tom Burcak

Remember the information on census (and for that matter most documents) is not to be taken as the whole truth and nothing but the truth! My great grandfather is listed as the head of household on the 1920 census. What is so unusual about that you might ask? Well he died in 1916. And I have proof of that because I contacted the funeral home and they provided me with a bill for the funeral and the date the grave was dug (there is no tombstone fo him) in 1916. I just imagine my great grandmother sitting there with the census taker, herself not speaking English real well, being asked if she was married. So to her this would be a yes/no question. So as a mother of 10 children the only possible choice was "yes". So the census taker assumed he was still alive and when asking questions as to name, age, occupation she answered them for when he was alive. Joanne Central PA >Hi, I am having the same problem. He also said on the census that he was >Naturalized and I can't find records of that either. He didn't tell my >father his village name, only Galicia, A-H Empire. No talking in the family >apparently as we don't know anything at all. jo > > > > >At 12:50 PM 4/8/97 -0400, you wrote: >>I've often jokingly said that it is so hard to find information about my >>immigrant grandfather >>that it was almost as if he deliberately tried to hide. Maybe it's not such a >>joke! >> >> > >

Am seeking information relative to the origin and meaning of my grandfather's surname, CZIZEK, as written on his birth certificate in 1849, Rzipetz, Bohemia. His birth certificate is written in German, hence Czizek may be a Germanized form of the name. I understand that it also may be written as, CIZEK. Irv Poehls ipoehla@wgn.net

Hi, I am having the same problem. He also said on the census that he was Naturalized and I can't find records of that either. He didn't tell my father his village name, only Galicia, A-H Empire. No talking in the family apparently as we don't know anything at all. jo At 12:50 PM 4/8/97 -0400, you wrote: >I've often jokingly said that it is so hard to find information about my >immigrant grandfather >that it was almost as if he deliberately tried to hide. Maybe it's not such a >joke! > >

I've often jokingly said that it is so hard to find information about my immigrant grandfather that it was almost as if he deliberately tried to hide. Maybe it's not such a joke!

Hi Carol, I wrote to the County Clerk of the County where my Grandfather lived most of his life and bingo, got his naturalization papers. Worth a try. Rose Johnson email: johnson@nccn.net