Susan, It sounds like you are just starting to do your research. Here are a few suggestions - There are many genealogy sites on the web that give advice on how to do Polish genealogical research. This is a link to the getting started suggestions of the PGSA: http://www.pgsa.org/DearResearcher.htm. While you�re there, you can search the databases that are available. Because history and geography plays such an important role in doing genealogical research in Poland, you can also read up on the history and geography of Poland on various web sites. You won't find everything on the internet and you will not be able to do your family history just using the internet. You should either purchase or borrow from your local library a book titled Polish Roots written by Rosemary Chorzempa. It�s available from any major bookstore. It�s a little dated but is still a valuable reference for learning and knowing how to Polish genealogical research. You will save a lot of time, money and frustration if you learn how to do research correctly from the start. This book will explain how to do research here on this side of the pond in the U.S. (naturalization records, census, LDS Family History Centers, etc.) and Poland (churches and archives). Join at least one Polish genealogy society. If you can, one that is local so you can attend meetings where you can meet others doing research and ask questions and learn. The PGSA is located in Chicago, but has 2,000 members worldwide, so although the meetings and annual conference are in Chicago, the PGSA tries to provide research tools and information that can be available to members through the web site and the quarterly magazine, Rodziny. Membership in societies isn't expensive and besides the benefits to you of things like a newsletter, this provides funds for the societies to maintain web sites and create databases and do other things that can be so helpful in research. It works best if you give us some kind of idea of what level of research you have already done so that those giving advice don�t take the time to tell you to do something when you have already tried that avenue of research. In other words, do you have the birth/marriage/death records, naturalization papers, etc. or is this just information told to you verbally by a great aunt. You should give as much information about your family members that you know in an orderly manner so that it is easy to see what information you have. For example, names, dates of birth/death, where they came from or if this is not know, where they lived in the U.S., etc. Spell very carefully. People tend to be casual (sloppy) with emails, but one letter can be the difference between the name of a person or the name of a village being your family's name or village or not. For example, Rutkowsky versus Rutkowski. Both legitimate names, but entirely different. That should keep you busy! Good luck and have fun! Cynthia PGSA Chicago > From: susanmcdonaldbox@planet-save.com > > I am researching my great-grandfather, Francisczek > Szmala. All I know about his birthplace in Poland is > "Posen." He came to Chicago about 1882. He was first > married to Marta Blok, who died at 24, and then to > Veronica Ukrzewska, my great-grandmother. > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250