Polish Genealogy – Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor in Poland

Once considered the obsession of those trying to link their ancestors to the Mayflower or to famous historical figures, genealogy is now accepted as a tool anyone can use to better understand themselves by uncovering details about their ancestors and how they lived.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2000 report, 9 million Americans (3.2 percent of the U.S. population) report that they have Polish ancestry. If you too have Polish ancestry and are interested in learning more about your family, there are resources available to assist you in finding meaningful information about your Polish ancestors.

Begin by learning more about the ancestor who emigrated from Poland.  It is important that you start gathering information in the United States because it will help you identify the most likely places to look in Poland to find your family.

Begin with your most immediate family. Start by asking your parents, aunts and uncles and grandparents questions. Ask for parents’ and siblings’ names, where they were born, married, died.  Ask everyone you talk to if they have documents for any important events. This can include birth, death and marriage certificates, as well as christening information, Bible pages (people often enter births, deaths and other significant life events into their Bibles), old photographs, letters and military records. 

Gather all the information available to identify the immigrant ancestor.  Any bit of information can possibly provide an important clue, even family stories.  If the family has records related to the crossing, such as travel documents or naturalization records, these may provide important clues as to what town in Poland the immigrant came from.

Search the U S Census records. These are available online and at libraries and historical societies. You will pay a fee to search most census databases online. Call your local library, state library or University library; larger libraries often carry census records on microfilm or they provide free access to census records on the internet. Census information is collected every ten years.

The U. S. Census could prove to be particularly useful if your immigrant ancestor entered the United States or was living in the United States during census years 1900 through 1930. In 1900, Census questionnaires began collecting information regarding immigration and naturalization, including the year the immigrant entered the United States. Once you know your immigrant ancestor’s name and when he moved to the United States, you can move forward to the next step. Remember, you are trying to locate the immigrant ancestor and then connect him to specific family and location in Poland.

Consider your ancestor’s date and port of entry. Search passenger lists for the time period your ancestor entered the United States. Some options include:

EllisIsland.org: If your research suggests that your immigrant ancestor came to the United States between 1892 and 1924, visit the Ellis Island website. According to the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, over 12 million immigrants entered through Ellis Island during these years when it served as an immigrant processing station. Your ancestor might have travelled through this processing station.

CastleGarden.org: If your ancestor entered the United States between 1820 and 1892 through this New York port, you may find information about his origins here.

Moser and Silverman’s “Hamburg Passengers From the Kingdom of Poland and the Russian Empire: Indirect Passage to New York, 1855 - June, 1873” is another resource which may provide the information you need to connect your ancestor to Poland. This is not available online; you will need to obtain access to it through your library or purchase it through a bookseller. Please note that it is out of print and may be difficult to locate.

There are many other immigration directories available in print and online, too many to list individually. Most are general however and can be found on Cyndi’s List or Ancestry.com or located through your local genealogy or family history library.

If you find your ancestor in one of these directories, you may also find other important information such as ethnicity, place of last residence, date of departure, and ship of travel which will help you find your Polish family connection.

Consider hiring a professional genealogist who specializes in Polish ancestry. This will be particularly helpful after you have connected your immigrant ancestor to Poland and are ready to continue your family research in that country. Unless, you speak, read and write Polish, many records will be difficult to obtain and understand without a translator.  Seek a reputable genealogist who specializes in Polish research. You can find one through the Association of Professional Genealogists. Always ask for fees before you commit and ask if the fees will include copies and postage.

Consider the difficulty you would have if you were to attempt to locate a great-grandfather by the name of Bob Willis born in the United States, sometime in the 1800s. You are not likely to accurately locate this person if this is the only information available to you. If you know this is Bob Willis, born in Tennessee in the 1860s you will be much more successful in your attempts to locate this person.

If you are given documents to copy, remember to return them in good condition and in a timely manner. These records are often very precious to those who have kept them.

The census can provide a wealth of information but keep in mind that names can be spelled wrong or transcribed inaccurately altogether. With practice, you will learn to automatically look for alternative spellings. It is also important to know that the 1940 Census information will not be available to the public until April 2012.

Keep in mind that it may be more difficult to obtain information once you have to refer to Polish records to continue your research.  You will need to be patient and understand that progress will take time and, possibly money.

Ancestry: http://www.ancestry.com

Ancestry 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau): http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf

Cyndi’s List (Poland Link): http://www.cyndislist.com/poland.htm#General

Ellis Island Online: http://www.ellisisland.org

Genealogy Software Reviews: http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

PolandGenWeb: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~polwgw/howto.html

Polish Origins: http://polishorigins.com/document/links

Polish State Archives: http://www.archiwa.gov.pl/lang-en/news.html

US Census History: http://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/index_of_questions/