This is great info!!! :-) It has to be my Dziadek; how many Sofroni Szandruks from Borsuki can there be. Also, I know he went to Waterbury - that's where he met Babcia when she had gone there from Farnumsville, MA looking for work. They later moved to Farnumsville. He had said he worked in foundry in Waterbury, consistent with the passenger list statement he was a "smith". I have been unable to locate Dziadziu in the SSDI; though somewhere in Mom's papers there must be a record of his death. VitalChek seems to want exact dates, including day and month. I know he died 1961or 1962 in Worcester County - that I can track down. I'll try CT-DPH Monday for marriage record. Thanks so very much. You've been a great help in clearing questionable material in Mom's notes and in providing leads. John ----- Original Message ----- From: Tazia@aol.com To: jmatuszek@verizon.net Sent: Friday, October 23, 2009 5:05 PM Subject: Szandruk Hello Again John, This is Terre Watt. Just on a hunch I went to my Ancestry.com site and put in your grandfather's name on the Immigration and Emigration part of their website. This is what came up in the NY Passenger Lists 1820-1957: Szandruk, Sofrony, age: 28, occupation: smith, Race/People: Russian, Last Permanent Residence: Russia, City or Town: Borsuki, Final Destination: Waterbury, CT. The ship was the S.S. Atlanta sailing from Trieste, 3 Sept 1910. Although some of the information I've listed doesn't reflect what you have, it is still possible that this might be your Dziadek. Depending on when, how and from whom your mom got her information it may have been just a matter of someone trying to remember something that happened a long time ago or someone who wasn't involved with the event trying to record it from pieces of information they got. Also, looking at what Connecticut has in the way of vital records, you might be able to get a copy of your Dziadek's marriage record by contacting: Department of Public Health 410 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06134 Phone: (860) 509-8000 or you can go to: _VitalChek_ (http://www.vitalchek.com/) . I use VitalChek frequently and have never had a problem with them. The request forms are user friendly and the service is quick and reliable. Thanks, Terre In a message dated 10/23/2009 12:38:01 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, jmatuszek@verizon.net writes: I am trying to determine my grandfather's birthplace from a collection of papers and photos saved by my mother. The info I have so far has been gleaned largely from a set of 1925 photos sent to grandfather SAFRONI SZANDRUK (SOFRONI SHANDRUK). The first spelling was written by his brother on the envelope in which the photos were mailed and the second on Dziadziu's Naturalization and Social Security papers. I assume the first spelling is the correct Polish form, although his birth may have been recoded as the second, because that part of Poland was under Russian rule the year of his birth, 1882. His siblings (Samuel, Pavel, Ivan, Philomon, Ksenie, Maria, Fatinia, and Kapatalina) were variously living in 1925 in the villages of Borsuki, Lanowce, or Vishnavuya in then Wolynia Province, Poland (now Borsuky, Lanivtsi and Vishnevets, Ternepil Province, Ukraine). Although Wolynia was part of Poland in 1925, the names of the subjects and the towns on the backs of the photos are ! old-Russian script and all spelling is the Russian form. A photo of another brother, Eleazor, is on a picture postcard enscribed with the name of an Ottawa, Canada photogapher - I am not sure that it was originally part of the same set, but saved by my mother in the same envelope with the others. A Russian friend tried his best at deciphering the old script, but there are som inconsistencies. I would appreciate having someone familiar with old-Russian writing review the backs of the photos. Also, if anyone can provide ties to any Szandruk or Shandruk in Canada, I would appreciate their note. Also among the collection of Dziadziu's papers is a portion of his passport; approximately the upper left corner. Although I can very crudely decipher a little of the printed material, the handwritten material in old-Russian script is beyond my capability. Would someone please help with translation of the segment I have? Other scraps in my mother's handwriting indicate that Dziadziu's parents were Yeleazer and Maria Shandruk and that Dziadziu came to the U.S. on the Patricia, March 20, 1907. The Cimorelli Directory indicates that the Patricia did arrive March 17, 1907 in New York from Hamburg. Since these handwritten notes must have come from Mom's conversation with either Dziadziu or Babcia, I am searching for a way to confirm them. Babcia and Dziadziu were married in Waterbury, Connecticut, parish unknown. Where should I turn to confirm Mom's notes? I note from www.moikrewn.pl that there is a concentration of SZANDRUK in Gryfino Powiat(?), Poland, with a few others in Warsaw, Lublin and Wroclaw. However, it is not clear to me what the numerical values reflect. For example what is the difference between the "Relative Distribution" and the "Complete Distribution"? Are there only 22 people with the surname SZANDRUK in all of Poland? Might any of these be Dziadziu's grandnieces or grand nephews; i.e. my cousins a few times removed? Since the SZANDRUK population in Poland seems very small (there are none with Shandruk surname), how would I try to follow this line into the Ukraine? Note Dziadziu was strongly Polish and Roman Catholic. I have corresponded with a Shandruk in the U.S., but his father was a Ukrainian national and of the Russian Orthodox faith. Although from a nearby village, the father stated that the Polish and Ukrainian SZANDRUK/SHANDRUK families in that region at that time, "Did not speak to each other." Thanks for bearing with a legnthy note. John Matuszek