There is a name in Polish Surnames....... by Fred Hoffman. Siemiątkowski. There were 1994 of them in Poland in 1990. However I searched the site http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/siemi%25C4%2585tkowski.html and got the following information. W Polsce są 982 osoby o nazwisku Siemiątkowski. Zamieszkują oni w 137 różnych powiatach i miastach. Najwięcej zameldowanych jest wWarszawa ,a dokładnie 107. Dalsze powiaty/miasta ze szczególnie dużą liczbą osób o tym nazwisku Sierpc (37), m. Płock (37),Lipno (32), m. Toruń (30), zachodni Warszawa (28), Grodzisk Mazowiecki (24), Brodnica(22), Rypin (21) i Płońsk z liczbą wpisów 20. It shows 982 people with that name in Poland. then is shows the distribution by town. i.e. 137 in Warszawa, 37 Sierpc and so on. Kuba On Mar 15, 2010, at 7:56 PM, roberta hall wrote: > Yeah, that is the problem I'm trying to solve. I don't know where in Poland > they came from. I posted a query on a Polish message board and I was given > this information about the name Siemionkowski (I have a 2nd cousin who told > me this is the Polish spelling but I have not seen the headstones so I don't > know this for sure). Any way the respondent to my query wrote to say that > the Polish letter "a" had a tail on it and that the spelling could be > Siemiathowski. He then directed me to a website for Polish surnames where he > typed in the name Siemiatkowski, on this map it has 10 location where in > Poland this name is found. The largest concentration is in 2 towns: Szcytno > (15 people) and Makow Mazowiecki (14 people). I don't known if this is the > right place to look as I can't verify the spelling. Also I don't know if > these town are current day names. I need to find the town names as of 1882. > > I live in a small usually quiet town called Darien. I was born and raised > here. Darien has been in the news lately, the 3 family members shot by a > friend of the daughters x-boy friend. My daughter graduated with the girl > who hid in the closet and is the mother of the child of the now arrested > father. > > What is your family name that you are looking for? > > Roberta > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "D Petraitis" <dorothykp@comcast.net> > To: <polandbordersurnames@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 4:48 PM > Subject: Re: [PBS] trying to figure out who my polish family was > > >> Sounds like you are eligible for the DAR. >> >> I know how frustrating it is to hit that brick wall. Like you I have >> some really great information but it is those dead ends that are so >> hard to get around. For instance, I have a great uncle who was >> hospitalized at a state hospital in New York. I have the family >> "story" about him, I have his various addresses over the years, I >> have letters he wrote while in the institution, I have his social >> security number, I have his immigration records, and I have him and >> his family in 1900 - l940 census records, I even have had contact with >> a distant cousin whose family the great uncle lived with for a time. >> It all stops there. I've written to the records department of the >> state hospital without results. I may have to quite butting my head >> against that brick wall, but . . . >> >> I may have missed it, but it seems that you do not have specific >> information as to where in West Prussia your family comes from so you >> have two problems: an exact location in Poland, and the variability >> of the surname. Two things come to mind: 1)Have you tried National >> Archives online? 2)How about a certified genealogist in Poland? >> >> I have obtained a good bit of Polish information through a genealogist >> located in Torun near Warsaw. Most of my family came from either >> Galicia or Bialystok neither close to where the genealogist is >> located, but it beats beating my head against a wall I cannot knock >> down. And I have a good translator who doesn't charge an arm and a leg. >> >> Where are you located in Chicago? I live in Evanston. If you'd like, >> I'll send you my phone number. Like you, I am the only one in the >> family who has any interest in geneology. They are interested in the >> results but not in the process. >> >> I look forward to hearing from you. >> >> Dorothy >> >> Hi Dorothy, >> I have a membership to Ancestry.com, I don't have the international >> subscription though. I have worked on my fathers line for about 20 >> years, >> fortunately his family line has been here in the states since 1636, I >> have >> had little difficulty tracing his line. There were some slight name >> changes >> over the years but DNA has settled what part of the clan we descend >> from. >> >> Ellis Island will be of no help to me. My family arrived here in 1882 at >> that time Ellis Island was being used as an Ammunition storage facility. >> Ellis Island didn't start receiving immigrants until 1890. >> >> I have census records for the family starting in 1900 thru my >> subscription >> with Ancestry.com. I was able to online locate newspaper obits for >> many of >> my great grandparents immediate family. I however didn't find the obit >> for >> Frank my great grandfather. I was able to obtain a copy of these obits >> thru >> the local libraries in Wis. where my family members lived. I even have a >> funeral card for >> my great grandmother in which a family member saved all these years. I >> have >> located on line a record for my great grandparents marriage license but >> haven't been able to send off for a copy yet. >> >> It sounds like I have a lot to go on but as I have stated not knowing >> the >> actual spelling has caused serious brick walls. I do have an LDS site >> about >> 20 minutes from here but haven't used it in probably 20 years. Unless >> I can >> find clues on line I am unable to move forward. What I mean by that is I >> work for a school dist. and my hours don't allow me to visit the center >> while they are open. I do have time off in the summer but am unable to >> get >> in during that time as that's when everyone else flocks to the center. >> >> You have mentioned a couple of sites I haven't tried. I will look into >> them. >> Thank you for your suggestions and hopefully I will find a clue, no >> matter >> how small a clue is a clue that can only prove or disprove a hunch as >> very >> helpful. >> >> Thank you, >> Roberta Hall >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "D Petraitis" <dorothykp@comcast.net> >> To: <polandbordersurnames@rootsweb.com> >> Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 3:27 PM >> Subject: Re: [PBS] trying to figure out who my polish family was >> >> >>> Roberta, >>> >>> It seems you have much information that could lead to further >>> discoveries. Have you tried Familysearch.org? That is the site of >>> the Latter Day Saints. Try their International Geanealogical Index. >>> >>> Since you have the month, year and port of immigration, google Ellis >>> Island and try a stearch. Search PGSA.org. Lots of information >>> there. Join Polish Genealogical Society of America, attend >>> conferences. They have lots of worhtwhile books listed at their site. >>> >>> Your library may have a subscription to Ancestry.com (limited edition) >>> which you can search from your home computer if you have a library >>> card. Join a couple of genealogy lists (can be found on rootsweb.com, >>> search Polish, Poland, Surnames). Ancestry is a good place to search >>> for census records. >>> >>> You have a wonderful start with your current information. What is >>> the source of your current information? It sounds like starting at >>> Ellis Island would give you lots more information if you can find >>> Arrival and Departure Documents. >>> >>> Google your closest Mormon Family History Library (LDS). There are >>> several in the Metro Chicago area. >>> >>> Happpy Hunting, >>> Dorothy >>> On Mar 15, 2010, at 11:17 AM, roberta hall wrote: >>> >>> Hi my name is Roberta Hall. I am a 5th generation Polish American. I >>> have no Polish heritage left as my family has fully integrated the >>> American way of life. Only Polish I have left is in my blood, only >>> wish I knew how to speak the language. >>> >>> My ancestor's arrived in the States via the Port of New York in >>> December of 1882. Their names have been Americanized and based on >>> documents I have found not one person spelled it the same way. >>> This is want I have: >>> 1) My great great grandparents: Joseph Schemenkowski and Mary >>> Wisnovsky/Wisnewski. >>> >>> 1900 W. Kewaunee, Kewaunee Co., Wis. USA >>> Household # 252 >>> Scimenkufsky, Joseph b. Dec. 1838 in Polish, Rus. (possibly Brevier?) >>> Mary (wife) b. Jan. 1847 in Polish, Ger. >>> Anna (dau.) b. Jun. 1878 in Polish, Ger. >>> Frank (son) b. Oct. 1879 in Polish, Ger. >>> Daniel (son) b. Dec. 1883 in Wis., USA >>> >>> 2) Frank my great grandfather's marriage license is spelled Franz, >>> Sieniskowski. He married in Wisconsin in 1901. >>> >>> 3) Frank believed he was a citizen of the U.S. based on the papers his >>> father showed him. I don't have a copy of those papers but Frank was 3 >>> at the time the family emigrated to the States. As it turned out >>> Frank was not naturalized at the time of emigration so in 1913 he >>> filed papers to naturalize. On those papers Frank spells his name >>> Shenenkowfski. He states he was born in West Prussia, Germany and that >>> he emigrated thru Bremen in November of 1882 arriving in New York in >>> December of that same year. He doesn't know the name of the ship. >>> >>> 4) Generations of the family follow the Catholic religion. >>> buried at St. Hedwig Catholic Cemetery >>> Schemenkowski, Joseph, wife Mary, son Frank his wife Eva, >>> grand son Louis his wife Sophie, and great grand children Louis and >>> Regina. Along with son John Wisnicky. >>> buried in another Catholic cemetery is another of Joseph and >>> Mary's son's Daniel Sheninkosky. >>> >>> The correct spelling of the name is an obvious issue and has made my >>> search difficult. I have no experience researching in Polish archives >>> and language would be a problem and I can't read or speak it. >>> >>> Can anyone help me, I would really appreciate it. My grandmother has >>> since passed but she had 8 children resulting in 27 grand children. I >>> am the only one in the family who is attempting to find our roots. I >>> have many cousins waiting to see what I can learn. >>> >>> Thank you to anyone who can help, >>> Roberta Hall >>> Chicago, Ill. >>> >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------- >>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >>> POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com >>> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and >>> the body of the message >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------- >>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >>> POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' >>> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com >> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and >> the body of the message >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' >> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Kuba Przedzienkowski

Hi, Kuba wrote: > There is a name in Polish Surnames....... by Fred Hoffman. > Siemiątkowski. There were 1994 of them in Poland in 1990. > > However > I searched the site > http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/siemi%25C4%2585tkowski.html > > and got the following information. > > W Polsce są 982 osoby o nazwisku Siemiątkowski. > Zamieszkują oni w 137 różnych powiatach i miastach. Najwięcej > zameldowanych jest wWarszawa ,a dokładnie 107. > Dalsze powiaty/miasta ze szczególnie dużą liczbą osób o tym nazwisku > Sierpc (37), m. Płock (37),Lipno (32), m. Toruń (30), zachodni Warszawa > (28), Grodzisk Mazowiecki (24), Brodnica(22), Rypin (21) i Płońsk z liczbą > wpisów 20. > > It shows 982 people with that name in Poland. > then is shows the distribution by town. i.e. 137 in Warszawa, 37 Sierpc > and so on. Good point! The discrepancy in numbers is easily explained, however. The data I used in my book was from Prof. Rymut's compilation of 1990 PESEL data, the same data you can search at http://www.herby.com.pl/indexslo.html. That data did not separate masculine and feminine forms of surnames, so that all Siemiątkowskis and Siemiątkowskas were grouped together under the form Siemiątkowski. The data used by Moikrewni site is from Rymut's 2002 compilation of PESEL data, which presents masculine and feminine forms separately. So to get the full picture for the name Siemiątkowski, you also have to add in those listed on the page for Siemiątkowska: http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/siemi%25C4%2585tkowska.html Add the 982 Siemiątkowskis and the 1,051 Siemiątkowskas and you get 2,033 people registered under this name's masculine and feminine forms as of 2002, or 39 more than the 1990 database showed. By and large, the 2002 number is somewhat larger than the 1990 number, though there are cases where it's smaller, probably because misspellings have been corrected. The point is, comparing 1990 data to 2002 data is sometimes a matter of comparing apples and oranges (to use a cliche that probably needs to be given a decent burial). If you're interested in why they took this approach, let me explain. The 2002 data is more accurate than the 1990 data was, and is also comprehensive -- it covered essentially 100% of the Polish population, whereas the 1990 data covered only about 93% of all Polish citizens. Rymut realized that linguists -- perhaps not used to computers and their tiresome way of doing exactly what you tell them to do -- made some mistakes compiling the 1990 data in regard to masculine and feminine forms. Some name forms ending in -ska are not actually feminine forms -- for instance, LASKA -- so it was not appropriate to lump them in together with apparently corresponding -ski forms. The 1990 data showed no LASKAs, but 3,354 LASKIs; the more accurately compiled 2002 data shows 65 LASKIs vs. 3,534 LASKAS. As you see, the 1990 data can be very misleading. I think that's because Rymut and his collaborators were mostly linguists, not computer experts. They didn't realize computers are only as smart as their programming, and can make mistakes a human would instantly recognize and correct. I hate to think how horrified Rymut must have been when someone called and said, "Yo, Kazimierz, take a look at your 1990 LASKI/LASKA data. Something ain't right here!" Also, adjectival masculine/feminine forms of some adjectival surnames, such as BURY vs. BURA, had not been recognized as such; so the 1990 data gives them separately, which is inconsistent. In addition, Rymut recognized that there is a small but significant number of Polish women who choose not to go by the distinctive feminine forms; for instance, of the 68,743 KOWALSKIs registered in 2002, 61 were females who, for whatever reason, preferred not to go by KOWALSKA. (With some surnames, the percentage of females using the masculine form is much higher.) My point -- and believe it or not, I do have one -- is that Rymut knew scholars would probably use this data for statistical analysis, and he wanted it to make it as accurate as possible. So he left the data for masculine and feminine forms separate. And the Moikrewni site, which uses that data, also presents them on separate pages. That's why, to get the full picture for the name Siemiątkowski, you also have to add in those listed on the page for Siemiątkowska: I know I took the long way around to explain this, but I thought some of you might like to know the details. The 2002 data is valuable for many purposes, but to use it well, you have to know the ins and outs of the compilation and formatting. The 1990 data on the Herby site lumps masculine and feminine forms together, sometimes incorrectly. The 2002 data on the Moikrewni site separates them. It's kind of a pain in the rear, but there is some justification for that approach. Fred Hoffman