Hi Brian, Dobjins looks like that is the way it was spelled on the Census but the other name looks like Refacus to me. There is a Joseph and Kitty Jacobs 2 pages over on page 5 of the Census and they also listed Dobjins. One thing to note is that Poland didn't exist from 1772 until after WW 1. It was divided into 3 partitions by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. You can find much on the Internet about the partitions. People often cited Poland as the place there were born because their race was Polish. My Polish family actually lived in the partition of Austria in the area known as Galicia during the mid 1800's yet they usually said they were from Poland. The area where they lived in now the Ukraine. Because of all the changes often times the city names were changed completely or more often they were spelled in the new language. I found a reference to Dobjin in a book: The deluge. An historical novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. A sequel to "With fire and sword." (1893, c1891) http://www.archive.org/stream/delugehistorical01sienuoft/delugehistori cal01sienuoft_djvu.txt You can view the text of the book in various formats. It may give you a clue to where this place is located. It starts back in the 13th century and this may or may not be connected but it is the only place I found with the name if it is correct. Val On 29 Nov 2008 at 9:43, Brian Jones <poland-roots@rootsweb.com> wrote: > Hi Val, Tina & Debbie, > > Thank you for the tips. As you have probably realised I am very new > to main land Europe research. > > As regards to these Polish place names of Dobjins and Repton it might > be easier if you could look on the actual 1891 census on > ancestry.co.uk in respect of Davis JACOBS born c 1859 Poland and Leah > JACOBS born c 1862 Poland. The writing is not good for decyphering, > or it could be me. > > Thanks again for your help. > > Brian > ********************************* > Need to contact the list manager? Write to Marie at > Poland-Roots-admin@rootsweb.com ---------------------------------- > Discussion of Polish food, culture, and customs are welcome on the > list as long as the discussion stays pertinent to the topic of this > list: researching our Polish roots. ---------------------------------- > Browse the list's archives here: > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=poland-roots Search the > list's archives here: > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/search?aop=1 > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > POLAND-ROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I would like to elaborate a little bit on the reference that Val found. In the book that Val mentions, Dobjin seems to be a castle, and (may have?) been located somewhere near the district of Leslin near Inovratslav (Inowroclaw). Could Leslin mean Lechlin? I have included the passage from the book where Dobjin was mentioned, and the 2 towns Lechlin and Inovratslav from JewishGen. Ruth Pokorny ------------- http://www.archive.org/stream/delugehistorical01sienuoft/delugehistorical01sienuoft_djvu.txt The new knights were called Brothers of Dobjin, from the castle of Dobjin, which Konrad gave them as a resi- dence, adding the district of Leslin near Inovratslav as a means of support. As soon as the Brothers had settled in their castle, they attacked the Prussians, ruined villages, and brought in plunder. The enraged Prussians collected large forces, and attacked the land of Culm, with the intent to raze Dobjin. On hearing this, Konrad with his own troops and a general levy hastened to the relief of the order. A bloody and stubborn battle of two days' duration was fought with great loss on both sides. Konrad, despairing of victory, left the field, thus causing the complete over-throw of the Poles. The surviving Brothers of Dobjin Vlll INTRODUCTION. took refuge in the castle, which the Prussians were unable to capture. The order, shattered at its very inception, hoped for reinforcements from abroad; but the Pope at that juncture was sending a crusade to Palestine, and would not permit a division in the forces of the West. The Prussians, elated with victory, plundered at pleasure the lands bordering on their own. -------------- http://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/LocTown.asp Location(Native names in BOLD) Feature Type Coordinates (Click for JewishGen Resource Map) Maps Country Distance/Directionfrom reference point 10 mile radius Inovrotslav, Hohensalza, Inowraclaw, Inowroclaw, Irownoclaw populated place 52°48' N 18°16' E E M U G Poland 120.9 miles WNW of Warszawa 52°15' N 21°0' E Location(Native names in BOLD) Feature Type Coordinates (Click for JewishGen Resource Map) Maps Country Distance/Directionfrom reference point 10 mile radius Lechlin populated place 52°43' N 17°09' E E M U G Poland 165.0 miles WNW of Warszawa 52°15' N 21°0' E --------------- > I found a reference to Dobjin in a book: The deluge. An historical > novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. A sequel to "With fire and > sword." (1893, c1891) > > http://www.archive.org/stream/delugehistorical01sienuoft/delugehistori > cal01sienuoft_djvu.txt > > You can view the text of the book in various formats. It may give > you a clue to where this place is located. It starts back in the 13th > century and this may or may not be connected but it is the only place > I found with the name if it is correct. > > Val