Photos and Letters and Certificates – Oh My!

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Our Lineage

I have been at this a while now.  This thing they call genealogy.  In addition, I LOVE photos.  They are my weak spot.  Always have been.  After looking at the mound of family photos that my grandmother has taken/saved, I know it must be in the DNA somewhere!

I went to Ohio to visit my cousin and celebrate her daughter’s graduation from High School. Where does the time go?  I’m at the stage in life where I am amazed how quickly time is passing and that everyone seems to be aging, but I feel the same.  Anyway, I digress…

My grandmother, whom I have blogged about, in my Confessions, passed away 2 years ago.  When I went to Ohio over the last weekend, my cousin told me that she had a few things for me since I am the one most interested in our family’s history.

I must say, I wasn’t quite expecting this –

Photos 

The binders are the family history that my aunt had been working on – each side of the family has a binder as well has her ex-husband’s side of the family.

There are two boxes, as you can see, and a briefcase.  There are all kinds of good things inside!  The lady on top is my great-grandmother, Frances Stefanska Zielinska.

Inside Box

Inside Briefcase

Now, the work begins.  In order to do this collection justice, I need to do an inventory as well as get a plan together on how to organize the photos, certificates, and other items.

Once I have everything separated out, I will be putting them in archival albums and the like.  I will also be the ‘mad scanner’ as I scan each item and catalog it.

It sounds like a chore to some, but to me it is very exciting to see what new treasures I will find each day!

I will do separate blog posts during the coming weeks for all the things that I find and how I am scanning and organizing items, so be on the lookout for updates and/or tips!

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Does Lightning Really Strike Twice?

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Our Lineage

I say yes.

In my last post, I told you about the fact that I had made contact with my family in Sanok, Poland.  Doing things the ‘Old Fashioned’ way may just be the best method sometimes.

Don’t get me wrong – Almost everyone that I talk to has a Facebook account – but what do you do when Social Media doesn’t give you any leads?  I think that in today’s environment, e-mails or Friend Requests stating that you are someone’s third cousin twice removed may just come across as spam (or completely crazy).  People are more cautious than ever.  With going ‘old school’, you can present evidence to the recipient on their terms, not yours.

Let me explain.

Walter and Franciszek Wawszkiewicz - Austrian Army

My great-grandfather, Franciszek Wawszkiewicz (on the right in the picture – his cousin Władysław is on the left), was born in Łańcut, Poland.  They made cart type wagons and their wheels.  I find this very interesting as Łańcut has a Carriage Museum.  Could they have also made wheels for them?

I had a Polish colleague   His cousin lived in Poland.  My colleague e-mailed both his brother and cousin to see if he could find out more information from Łańcut.  OK, not quite ‘old school’, but close.

After about a week, my friend received an e-mail from his cousin.  He asked me to sit down.  I could hardly contain myself.  What did he find?  Come on – tell me.  Don’t make me wait.  {Ring, Ring}  What do you mean you have to take this phone call?  Ahh!  He was KILLING ME.  I couldn’t stand it.  He had me wait 30 minutes while he kept smiling and telling me it was good news.  This type of abuse should not be allowed!!

His cousin wrote back stating that there was a local writier/historian who wrote a book on the town – and included genealogies of many of the people.

Wlodarze Przedmiejskich Lanow

Good news – my family is in the book and the writer has confirmed, that although my great grandfather isn’t listed (in the book), his family is and that the writer confirmed (by my great grandfather’s baptismal record) that it was the same family.

The bad news – the gentleman only had a phone and a computer, but no e-mail, no nothing. WHAT?  Can we get him an online subscription?  Does the library have a computer that’s online?  I have recently checked and he has written several more books, so he probably has e-mail by now.

The man was so impressed that someone from the U.S. was interested in the town and in his book that he sent me a signed copy of it!

Since that time, I have been able to connect with my great grandfather’s sister’s family.  While communication has still been limited, it has still been communication!

As I said in my previous post, Leave No Stone Unturned.  You’ll be glad that you didn’t!

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