Jim & Sylvia Gidley wrote: > > Hi everybody, > > Maybe someone on this list can help me in my quest. > > I am trying to find out more about my family, but it seems like I am > getting nowhere. > > First let me tell you what I have: > > My grandfather, Adolf B"uttner was born 14 Jun 1901 in Lodz, Poland. I > requested his birthcertificate from Lodz and it listed the birthdate > and place as well as the parents name, Hermann B"uttner & Berta, nee > Bradacz. Hermann, Berta and their children moved to Halle/Saale, > Germany before 1919. > > On Adolf's military pass I found that Berta died in 1939. I wrote to > the Vital Records Office in Halle, but they couldn't help me unless I > know the exact date. I don't know when Hermann died but it must be > after 1940 since my father said there existed a baby picture of him > sitting on his grandpa's lap. My father was born in 1940. > > I guess that Hermann and Berta where born in Lodz, Poland. Family > rumors are that Berta's parents were weavers in Lodz. > > I checked the FHC, but they only have microfilms until 1876. > > I was thinking about writing to the Evangelic Church Archive in Lodz, > Poland to see if I could get Adolf's baptizm record which may have > more info on his parents listed. Does anybody have an address for this > Archive, if there excists one in Lodz, or where I would have to write > to get this. I would also be happy if someone happens to have some > addresses for the Ev. Churches in Lodz, I am sure there are several. > > I would also appreciate any other suggestion you have. > > vielleicht ist jemand unter Euch, der mir einen Rat oder zwei geben > kann. > > Ich versuche nun seit geraumer Zeit etwas ueber meine Familie > herauszufinden, jedoch mit sehr wenig Erfolg. > > Zuerst eine kleine Vorgeschichte und Versuche, die ich unternahm um > weiterzukommen: > > Mein Grossvater, Adolf B"uttner wurde am 14. Jun. 1901 in Lodz, Polen > geboren. Ich habe die Geburtsurkunde aus Polen beantragt und erhielt > diese auch. Aus dieser konnte ich den Geburtstag- und ort, sowie die > Namen der Eltern ersehen, Hermann B"uttner und Berta Bradacz. > Wahrscheinlich wurden Hermann und Berta in Polen geboren. Von > Familienangehoerigen erfuhr ich, das Berta's Eltern Weber waren. > > Beim "Family History Center" der Mormonen schaute ich in deren > Katalog, unter Lodz, Polen nach. Die evangelischen Kirchenbuecher fuer > Lodz, Polen sind bis 1876 verfilmt worden. Jedoch nutzt mir dies zur > Zeit nichts. > > Ich waere fuer jeden Hinweis dankbar. > > Sylvia B"uttner-Gidley > gidleyjs@erols.com > CompuServe: 74220,2734 Hi Sylvia, Angus Baxter's book on "European Roots" is in most libraries and bookstores, and contains archive addresses for the Polish archives, and what they offer (and don't offer) to researchers. Arthur Kurzweil's book, "From Generation to Generation" is one I'm perusing now, and it has alot of unique source suggestions to track people down. Although the book addresses mainly Jewish genealogical issues and Holocaust research, much of it is useful for anyone doing research on Polish ancestors. For example he suggests consulting the New York Public Library Annex on 43rd St. in NYC for pre-Holocaust phone books. They have some Polish ones dating from 1936, as well as current books. Kurzweil also has a section on preparing for a research trip to Poland, as well as what to expect there. Hope some of this helps! Good luck, Bonnie Cieslukowski Weissman