At 7:26 AM -0500 9/26/99, Dieter Taube wrote: >Judy Casper wrote: >> >> I found ancestors on the 1920 census and the parents were listed as coming >> from "German Poland" and the native language was "Polish". Any ideas as to >> what this would mean? They would be from the mid to late 1800's. Thanks Judy > >"German Poland" is an strange notation I never heard. Many people in the >eastern parts >of Germany spoke Polish (East Prussia, Upper Silesia, Posen). But may be >that the expression "German Poland" in the 1920 years refers to those >German provinces, that came to Poland after WW1. > >Dieter Don't be confused about the 1920 reference, we don't know when the ancestors last lived in "German Poland". During the time of peak emigration (late 1800's) "German Poland" would refer to the parts of the former Kingdom of Poland that had been partitioned off and taken by Germany. This generally means the former Prussian provinces of: Pommern (Pomerania), Ostpreu$en (East Prussia), Westpreu$en (West Prussia), Posen and Schlesien (Silesia). There was also: "Russian Poland" and "Austrian Poland". James Birkholz [email protected] Rootsweb supporter