Renee, It sounds like you are just starting to do your research. Here are some 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. While there's a lot of info about genealogy on the internet, you're not going to be able to do all of your research that way. To learn how to do research, 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 an invaluable reference for learning and knowing how to 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. When posting to a list like this one, it works best if you give us some kind of idea of what research you have already done or what specifically you are looking for (for example a particular document). This is 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. 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. The Polish language has diacritial marks that English language keyboards don't have. Since these diacritical marks can be very important, the accepted practice is to use the tilde, ~, to represent the letter. For example, in the correct spelling of Wagrowiec there is a little hook under the 'a'. When posting to a list the way to show the name of this village is Wa~growiec. But that is only when posting to a list. If you are doing a search, then don't use the tilde. Now a little more specific help for you. Wa~growiec is the name of both a town and also a former district in Poland - kind of like a county. The district of Wa~growiec was located within another district of Poland called Poznan - kind of like a state. Here is a link to some information about Poznan in which the districtu Wa~growiec was located - http://www.pgsa.org/Towns/poznan.htm One of the topics that will be covered in the book, Polish Roots, is research at the Family History Centers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The web site is www.family search.org. The LDS have a library of films of records and books and all kinds of things from all over the world related to genealogical research. In the online catalogue, I found that within the the district of Wa~growiec were a number of villages - http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=localityhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&PLACE=Wagrowiec&PARTOF=&prePLACE=Wagrowiec&prePARTOF= In the district of Wa~growiec was a town also named Wa~growiec. If your family is actually from the village of Wa~growiec, then here is a link to the church records for Wa~growiec which the LDS has microfilms of - http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=topicdetails&subject=564443&subject_disp=Poland%2C+Pozna%C5%84%2C+W%C4%85growiec+%28W%C4%85growiec%29+%2D+Church+records&columns=*,0,0 If you are not sure if they were from the village of W~agrowiec or a different village in the district of that name, you can either continue to obtain other documents that could give you more information, such as marriage records or naturalization papers. Or, you can take a change and order the film for the village and see if your ancestors are there. Look around the familysearch web site so you can learn more about the LDS Family History Centers (FHC). You should be able to locate one where you live. Call them or visit when they are open, and they will assist you in ordering films. Whoever you talk to at the FHC probably won't be able to give you any guidance or help with Polish research unless they themselve are doing Polish research, and most aren't. But you can post additional qustions to this list. That should keep you busy! Good luck and have fun! Cynthia PGSA Chicago > I am looking for relatives. My Ggrather and > Ggmother emmigrated from Poland in about 1870. They > were Stephen (Stefan or Szczepan) and > Analea(Aniela). Some of there children were born in > Poland.. Peter(Piotr) b.June 1865; Michael(Michal) > b. September 1861; and > Frank(Franciszek) b. September 1867. They settled > in Duluth, MN and then moved to Perham, MN. Michael > became a priest in Minnesota and his records show he > was born in Wagrowiec, Posen Poland I just can't > seem to get started with the search in Poland, so > any help is appreciated. Renee > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Make Yahoo! your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs