Jim, The Przemys~l Civil Archives and the Sanok Branch of the Rzeszo~w Civil Archives have "movement" records for people involved in Akcja Wisl~a. The Sanok Branch has more but different records than Przemys~l. Both archive offices normally do research for a fee. Two problems: 1. I don't think you will be given copies of the documents even if they are of your family. When there in person I was only allowed to hand copy Akcja Wisl~a records, not photograph or photocopy them. 2. You have to have specific names and villages. If it were me, I'd write to them (English is OK but the response will be in Polish) and see what they have to say. Ask for the moon and maybe you will get a star. In other words ask for photocopies or photographs (then put on CD - yes, they do this) of everything and see what they say. Debbie Jim DeGraff wrote: > Debbie, > > I am almost certain that the family(s) I am seeking did live in Poland as it > was defined between WWI and WWII, but this is inferred from sparse evidence. > I can only guess that they were "moved" against their wishes to Wrocl~aw (at > least one family member to Szczecin) from wherever they previously lived in > Poland, which is probably Lwo~w but could have been farther east in Galicia > from the town of Podwol~oczyska. > > Jim DeGraff > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Debbie Greenlee" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 10:28 AM > Subject: Re: [POLAND] (Poland) access to polish phone book - Other Options? > > >> Jim, >> >> Ah, that's different! >> Do you know if your family lived in "Poland" just before Akcja Wisl~a? >> Do you know if they left Lwo~w on their own accord or as a result of >> Akcja Rzeszo~w? >> >> There are records available _in_ Poland which should track your >> family. More when you answer my questions. >> >> Debbie >> >> Jim DeGraff wrote: >>> Debbie, >>> >>> Thanks for the reply with some good tips that I haven't yet tried. I'll >>> check into those name distribution maps again to see if I can get some >>> additional insight. Maybe I can also get enough information to send >>> letters >>> to a few parishes. >>> >>> One problem is that my ancestors came from a part of former Poland >>> (eastern >>> Galicia) that is now a part of Ukraine. As various armies marched back >>> and >>> forth through the region (we all know that story), my ancestors >>> progressively moved west, the final move for some being Operation >>> Vistula. >>> I know where some of them ended up, but I don't know where exactly they >>> started nor where they were baptized. Some ended up in Wrocl~aw, and >>> there >>> is evidence that they were in L'wow prior to that. I'm hoping to locate >>> documents related to my g-grandmothers U.S. visa application made in >>> Warsaw >>> about 1927, which could help to clear up some of the mystery. In the >>> meantime, if I could just find some descendants in Poland..... I'm >>> currently trying some Google searches and Facebook to see what I can >>> dredge >>> up. >>> >>> Jim DeGraff >>> Houston, TX >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Debbie Greenlee" <[email protected]> >>> To: <[email protected]> >>> Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 9:36 AM >>> Subject: Re: [POLAND] (Poland) access to polish phone book - Other >>> Options? >>> >>> >>>> Jim, >>>> >>>> A suggestion I took from the book _Polish Roots_ by Rosemary Chorzempa >>>> is to write to the parish priest (where your ancestor was baptized), >>>> in Polish, asking if there is anyone in his parish with that surname. >>>> You can include a separate letter for the priest to give those people. >>>> Make sure to ask the priest how you can make a donation to the >>>> parish. This all presumes you know the parish your ancestors lived in. >>>> >>>> Several Polish genealogical societies have Polish telephone books and >>>> charge a small fee to look-up names. The problem with Polish telephone >>>> books is that they include a whole wojewo~dztwo separated by villages >>>> and cities. This means if a person doesn't know the village in which >>>> his ancestor was born (could be different than the parish village) it >>>> could take over an hour to go through every village looking for a >>>> particular surname. If a society charges $5.00 to do one look-up, it's >>>> a bargain. Polish Genealogical Society of America in Chicago and the >>>> Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast both do >>>> look-ups in Polish telephone books. >>>> >>>> I used to do this but ended up sending most of my books to the PGSA. >>>> >>>> Something else you can check is the 2002 edition of Professor Rymut's >>>> data base, titled, "Dictionary of Surnames in Current Use in Poland at >>>> the Beginning of the 21st Century". I think this is online but if not >>>> you can buy it from the PGSA. OR you can check the 1990 edition which >>>> is not as specific as the 2002 version. Also the 1990 edition, which >>>> is online, is best viewed on Internet Explorer. Rymut died a few years >>>> ago and I don't think the site has been upgraded to perform as well on >>>> the newer browsers. >>>> >>>> So, what do you learn from using the above mentioned data bases? You >>>> find out how many people with a particular surname lived in a >>>> particular old wojewo~dztwo (1990 edition) or powiat (2002 edition). >>>> If you have a common name forget the whole thing. However, if you have >>>> an uncommon name then this database can be very helpful. >>>> Example. I searched (1990 edition) on the name Tomalski and found >>>> there were 774 people in Poland with that surname in 1990. In the old >>>> woj. of Bydgoszcz there were 8. (I happen to know three of them and >>>> those three don't know the other 5.) Of course, 774 is too large a >>>> number to do anything with. But, if I knew that "my" Tomalskis lived >>>> in the old woj. of Bial~ystok, then I might try going further with this. >>>> >>>> If you know your ancestor's village (won't work with a city) you can >>>> try something else. You can send a letter to the "family of _____ " >>>> in that village and see what happens. This letter needs to be written >>>> carefully so that the recipient doesn't think this is a scheme from >>>> America. It has to be in Polish and you have to state that you're only >>>> interested in locating family and nothing else (no land grabbing >>>> intentions). It helps to include a family tree (the diagram) and >>>> perhaps copies of old photos of people who came from that village. You >>>> have to make a connection. Include a self-addressed envelope (no >>>> stamps) as well. Then you wait. If there are several families in the >>>> village with your surname, hopefully your letter will get passed >>>> around. You could also ask that the recipient do just that. >>>> >>>> Need a postal code? I happen to have a data base that lists them. It >>>> works best for villages though and not cities. >>>> >>>> That's all I got! >>>> >>>> Debbie >>>> >>>> >>>> Jim DeGraff wrote: >>>>> The recent discussion about using online Polish telephone directories >>>>> to >>>>> locate family in Poland begs a more general question. If one knows the >>>>> name >>>>> of a family member, say a male who's name did not change upon marriage, >>>>> and >>>>> an approximate location, what options are available for tracking down >>>>> such a >>>>> person assuming they are still living in Poland? What have other list >>>>> members tried that works? >>>>> >>>>> Jim DeGraff >>>>> Houston, TX >>>>>