PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Polish records translations

Sophia — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:54:20 +0200

Author: Sophia

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2026 5:54 pm

Blue wrote:

I have attached the heading columns - the header for Anna is the clearer and darker grey image, and the header for Jadwiga is the more faded image. Thanks so much of your help.

Thanks for the column headers, Blue.

For Anna, I now read it this way: "Anna urodz Nowak"

I'm not used to seeing maiden names written that way, but that is what I see.

For the column "stan zawód" I am seeing żona... (I actually can't read the ending, but I think it might say żonaty). If you are able to look at other women on this page or other pages, you should be able to see this same word in multiple places, if its purpose is to indicate that she is the wife of the head of household.

Is this a list of people who belonged to a church? Or is it a residence list for a town? If it's for a church, then I would agree with your interpretation that a cross-out means she left this parish. If it's for a town, I would see it slightly differently.

For Jadwiga, I agree with Barb's reading of her occupation as "służąca".

Sophia

Looking for help narrowing down location

ShannonCreedon — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 20:42:34 +0200

Author: ShannonCreedon

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2026 1:42 pm

Trish wrote:

ShannonCreedon wrote:

Hello,

I'm working on trying to identify where my 2x great-grandmother, Stanislawa Smigel (Smígel/Schmigiel/etc) and her family originated.

I wasn't able to find much that pointed to a specific place in Poland that Stanislawa was born. Just the ship manifest that she arrived on. I'm attaching a copy below, she is on line 19. To me, the town appears to be Shdosy or Sholosy?

Her brother, Konstanti, had more information that I was able to find, but there wasn't anything that appeared on multiple sources. His immigration record shows Sczeliezni Russia, and Scelasmietz Russia. His WWI Draft card says Kolna, Lomya, Poland Russia. Lastly, his obituary says Wies Zje [or Wies Zie, there is a smudge at the bottom of the j/i in the second word] Lavna, Poland.

I haven't been able to come up with much googling, so I'm hoping someone here with some more knowledge will be able to help.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Shannon and Sophia,

If we are going by the information on the obituary, then I found a tree on ancestry.com. I don't know if any of the information on the tree is correct. There isn't any source information for the Poland dates and places.

Regards,
Trish

Konstanti "Kostek" Smigiel
Birth 8 May 1893 • Piasutno Zelazne, Lomza, Poland
Death 7 Jan 1952 • New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA

Father: Jozef Szmigiel
Birth 14 Mar 1860 • Katy, Podlaskie, Poland
Death 26 Oct 1920 • Piasutno-Zelazne, Maly Plock, Podlaskie, Poland

Mother: Julianna Piaścik
Birth 1861 • Piasutno-Zelazne, Mały Płock parish, gmina Zbojna, Kolno County, Podlaskie, Poland
Death 12 May 1926 • Katy, Maly Plock, Podlaskie, Poland

Wife's information.
Wiktoryja "Victoria" Wojtuszewska
Birth 4 Mar 1897 • Niebieszczany, Podkarpackie, Poland (Galicia)
Death 19 Apr 1991 • New Bedford, Massachusetts

Sister's Information.
Stanislawa "Stasia" Smigiel
Birth 15 JAN 1885 • Piasutno Zelazne, Zbojna, Lomza, Augustów Governorate, Poland
Death 17 JUN 1972 • New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA

Hi Trish!

Thanks for taking the time to look. I believe I have also found this tree in the past and noticed the same thing. I will say, something that strikes me as interesting, looking at it now though, is that Wiktoryja Wojtuszewska is listed as being born in Niebieszczany. The reason that jumps out at me, is because the Smigels are from my grandmother's side, and I know for a fact that my grandfather's side of the family (Jozefek, Wesoly) is from Niebieszczany.

I know that the Niebieszczany birth records from 1890-1915(ish) are available on https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/, so I'll definitely explore that connection!

***EDIT***

I just looked, and I found her listed there! It's a very interesting discovery, thanks for sharing what you found!

Need Help Deciphering Ancestor's Town Name

Trish — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 19:15:22 +0200

Author: Trish

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2026 12:15 pm

JFalejczyk wrote:

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to thank you for the bottom of my heart for all working together on this, I am absolutely amazed that you guys were able to figure this out. I agree that the coinciding evidence of the places of birth, the parents' names, and Sylvia being there puts a pretty positive ID on this being her family.

My next questions, which I'll be researching and posting updates here on, mostly have to do with what happened to her family after they arrived. The documents indicate they were headed for Illinois, and I have to imagine they got there if Sylvia ended up spending the rest of her life in Chicago. However, the story I was told by multiple family members is that Sylvia was an orphan, it was always just ambiguous if she was orphaned in Poland or the United States. And now based on the evidence shared, we can assume she was orphaned sometime after her family arrived in the US. I've been browsing FamilySearch and FindAGrave for the past few hours and I can't find a single thing on her parents or siblings, every lead has been a false ID thus far. This all really makes me wonder what happened to her family, and if their documents are somewhere out there (perhaps under hard-to-trace names), or if they really kinda disappeared from records and what the reasons of that could be.

I wonder who she might be living with in her 1900 census entry, if it can be found, and I think that's what I'll be hunting for next. I just want to thank you guys again for this discovery though, it's been a dead end for me since I began researching in 2020 and I'm seriously impressed.

Hi Everyone,

Stanislaw Cieslak got remarried in Chicago. I cannot make out the name of the second wife. The parents for Stanislaw match up per Geneteka.

https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&lang=eng&bdm=S&w=05ld&rid=1546&search_lastname=cie%C5%9Blak&search_name=stanis%C5%82aw&search_lastname2=s*&search_name2=ag*&from_date=&to_date=&rpp1=&ordertable=

I am attaching the marriage record for Stanislaw with the transcription from FindMyPast.

Then I found a death record for Agnieszka. I am attaching it. The record and transcription is from FindMyPast. However, the year of birth states 1841, but I think I found Agnieszka’s death on family search. Thd date of death matches the record I am posting.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGNF-PPW2?lang=en

I found this this possible death information for Jozef Cieslak. This could be Ksawera's oldest brother. The year of birth is about right. The parents' names are Stanley (Stanislaw) and Agnes (Agnieszka). Does anyone have an opioion on this being Jozef?

Death Information
Name Joe Cieslak
Birth Date abt 1872
Death Date 3 Feb 1943
Death Place Blairsville, Williamson, Illinois
Death Age 71
Gender Male
Father Name Stanley Cieslak
Spouse Name Agnes Cieslak
FHL Film Number 1983448

This means the family stayed in Illinois.

Regards,
Trish

Witamy Górale!

ShannonCreedon — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 18:31:34 +0200

Author: ShannonCreedon

Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2026 11:31 am

Bill Rushin wrote:

(Please click on the "Yes" bar above if you have Highlander relatives).

Welcome, this forum is only for anyone who has connections with the extreme Southern area of Poland at the foothills the Tatra Mountains. This is the magical land of the Highlanders, the Góral.

Polish: Górale; Slovak: Gorali; Cieszyn Silesian: Gorole; literally "Highlanders"

The Górale are a group of indigenous people found along southern Poland, northern Slovakia, and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic as well as in Chicago, the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.

"The flatland's grow onions, the mountains grow men."

Hi Bill! Nice to "meet" you!

I'm curious how far east this indigenous group goes. My grandfather's family came from Niebieszczany, about 15 km southwest of Sanok in the Subcarpathian Voivodoship. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Shannon

Latin records translations

TedMack — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:41:57 +0200

Author: TedMack

Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2026 6:41 am

dnowicki wrote:

Hi Ted,

The Baptism Record:

The priest baptized many of the children on the pages where your entry is found and his title is written in full in several of the entries, which is a good thing. Otherwise is would not have been possible to determine the title. The Latin is vice custos insignis collegiantae calissiensis, which is translated: “the vice keeper/custodian of the insignia of the collegiate church of Kalisz”.

Knowing the meaning of the words is not terribly enlightening so I did some reading about collegiate churches. As far as I know collegiate churches do not exist in the USA. They are a European institution which originated during the Middle Ages. A collegiate church was sponsored by a well-to-do individual. The priests were all secular/diocesan priests who lived in a community to staff the collegiate church (as opposed to religious order priests who also lived in community). I know quite a bit about secular/diocesan priests since my maternal uncle was one. He came twice a week for dinner and visited during the evening. Since we lived in the same house with my maternal grandparents I saw him twice a week for over 25 years. Also over 90% of the Catholic parishes in Chicago were staffed by secular/diocesan priests. From after the end of WWII through the 1950s & 1960s there were over 400 parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago so secular priests were everywhere. Anyway the priests of a collegiate church were mainly responsible for doing the services at the church and for providing Mass and the Sacraments for members of the parish. His job of vice keeper/custodian of the insignia seems like it would be a real drag—just busy work.

The Death Record:

The info in the margins is a cryptic summary of the entry which gives the place of death, the gender of the deceased, and the kind of death. For Jadwiga the margin summary is Nędzerzew, a female, sudden death.

The Body of the entry: quae* nihil**umbens sine omnibus sacramentis repentina et improvisa morte die 21 Januarij hora 7ma vesperi obiit

Translation: who*nothing** lying down without all the sacraments died of a sudden and unexpected death on the 21st day of January at the 7th hour of the evening.

Notes: *the relative pronoun “who”. The antecedent of the pronoun is Jadwiga.
**nihil/nothing: used with the sense that there was no indication that death was imminent. Everything was normal. She just decided to lie down and she died. The record does not connect her death to childbirth. There are multiple possible medical conditions which could cause a seemingly healthy person to die suddenly.

The vegetable garden is doing well. During August there should be plenty of ripe tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, etc. The large tomatoes which I plant are all heirlooms and are 80 to 90 day varieties. They ripen late but the taste and size is worth the wait. One variety, Polish Giant, lives up to the name and regularly produces 1 to 1.5 pound fruits and some years 3 pound fruits. It is true...gigantes sunt (they are giants).

I hope that you are having an enjoyable winter.

Dave

G'day Dave

Thank you very much for your assistance - that death record had me confused with the lying down and nothing wasn't sure if the sacraments were or were not provided.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for winter to start, it has been weird, May was damp not really wet just rubbish drizzle to stop clothes on the line drying but not cold, June was drier, and even today in mid-winter the temperature was 21⁰C (it should be in the mid teens). Still no sign of getting a frost - coldest morning so far about 5⁰C. I've nearly got the veggie plot ready for planting (brush turkeys keep digging holes), need to plant early here to beat the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, and then the humid and hot weather from mid December. My harvest is for Christmas. My main problems are with environmentalists - no poisons to control fruit fly, they have baited all the foxes and over the last few years we are now being inundated with possums and now brush turkeys - the way it's going I'll need to build a green house to keep the pests at bay. I suppose as we age, we get crankier - or just realistic.

Until next time, thank again.

Cheers
Ted

Could This Be a Village or Town (Popczyki, Galicia)?

Sam — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 21:03:27 +0200

Author: Sam

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2026 2:03 pm

Sophia,

Your guess is as good as mine in regard to how Andrzej and Marya ended up in Luxor, Penn. I never really did find any records of their presence in the U.S. before 1913.

Good Hearted Woman

Sonny Poremba — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:29:15 +0200

Author: Sonny Poremba

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2026 9:29 am

Thanks for giving it a listen!

Seeking Church Records for Grodno (Kadysz, Horaczki Towns)

Trish — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 17:21:42 +0200

Author: Trish

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2026 10:21 am

Hi!

I think it's wonderful that you have so much information on the family. Hopefully you can get records so that you can connect all the people you found.

Regards,
Trish

Katarzyna Niemiec- born in Giedlarowa 12 October 1874

BarbOslo — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 19:23:23 +0200

Author: BarbOslo

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2026 12:23 pm

It is quite easy to check these parish records. I would focus on the birth records. At that time, it was rare for a woman to be a witness at a wedding.
-Barb

Russian records translations p.2

marcelproust — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 22:45:37 +0200

Author: marcelproust

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 3:45 pm

cbsibell@gmail.com wrote:

Hi,

Would you please translate the attached birth record?

Thank you!

Nr 111
Dawid Lichtensztajn

It happened in Michów on May 13th/25th, 1890, at 8 a.m.

There appeared personally: Aron Moszek Lichtensztajn, 37 years old, a carpenter, a permanent resident of Michów, in the presence of witnesses: Srul Lichtensztajn, 38 years old and Szmul Cwajgenbaum, 36 years old, both synagogue servants residing in Michów and presented to Us a newborn male child, declaring that the child was born in Michów on January 8th/20th of the current year, at 5 a.m., to his legal wife, Liba nee Angielczyk, 41 years old.

At circumcision the child was given the name Dawid.

This Act was not drafted in a timely manner because the father of the child did not report the birth within the proper timeframe.

This Act was read to the declarant and the witnesses, and it was signed by Us and witnesses. The father of the child declared that he was illiterate.

Witnesses: Szmul Cwajgenbaum, Srul Lichtensztajn.

Commune clerk, serving as Civil Registrar - illegible signature.

Please translate latin in marriage record for Kowal

galicia seeker — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:20:14 +0200

Author: galicia seeker

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2026 5:20 pm

Dave, your information is always spot on - thank you for this. I am away for the next few days but will respond more fulsomely when I return - following house numbers in a village is usually correct but there are exceptions as I have discovered on my journeys - this query for sure was a nothing burger, but then....

Kind regards, Gail

Help deciphering town name

Trish — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 17:55:47 +0200

Author: Trish

Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2026 10:55 am

Sophia wrote:

Hi Trish,
Nice find!
For Walter Mańkowski the godparents are Ludwik Mańkowski and Jozefa Mańkowska (shown in their Latin forms on this record but I am writing all names in their Polish form).
On Gertrude's record, the godmother is Agnieszka Mańkowska.
Sophia

Hi Sophia,

Thank you for telling us the the names of the sponsors. They have to be related. Ludwik has to be Ludovicus that I posted the marriage record. Ludwik (Ludovicus) has the same names on his death record as Franz Mankowski.

Hopefully Curious comes back to look at the post.

Thanks again for your help.
Trish

Introducing myself

JaegerGenealogy — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 20:08:37 +0200

Author: JaegerGenealogy

Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2026 1:08 pm

Hello everyone,

My name is Tobiasz Jaeger, and I am a historian from Poland.

For many years, I have been passionate about genealogy, archival research, and the history of Polish families. One of the most meaningful moments in my own research was locating the grave of my great-grandfather, a soldier of the 15th Poznań Uhlan Regiment who was killed during the September Campaign of 1939. That journey inspired me to continue exploring family history and historical records.

I joined this forum because I enjoy learning from other researchers and sharing knowledge about Polish genealogy, archives, and local history. I am particularly interested in military history, historical documents, old photographs, family origins, and the history of villages, churches, and cemeteries in Poland.

I hope I can contribute to discussions here and, whenever possible, help other members with questions related to Polish archival research and family history. I also look forward to learning from your knowledge and experience.

Thank you, and I look forward to being part of this community.

Best regards,

Tobiasz Jaeger

Historian | Genealogy Researcher | Poland

Saleski Family from Warschau

Fox — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:21:29 +0200

Author: Fox

Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2026 6:21 am

Karolina Helene Jabs was born in 1827 in Kepa Okrzenska and died in 1865 in Damb, Wielki Gleboczek, Kuyavia-Pomerania. Karl Wilhelm's parents are the schoolteacher Michael Zaleski and Gottliebe Liepke. He may have died in 1836 but it's not certain, and they got married in 1802 in Gollub, Briesen rural community. Karl Wilhelm's known siblings so far are Justina Saleski, who married Karl Baier, and Michael Saleski, who married Regina Rynass, and Friedrich Saleski, 1806-1807. I'm now looking for Michael's and Gottliebe's parents and the parents or grandparents of Karolina.

Villages

Fox — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 15:05:31 +0200

Author: Fox

Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2026 8:05 am

cześć, szukam przodków i wolontariuszy albo możliwości, jak mogę dalej znaleźć moich przodków w tych miejscach, a także potomków rodzeństwa. wysiedlenie Bobrow Strasburg Gocław Dab Niemiecki. wiele pozdrowień, keke

Names of great-great grandparents on documents from 1891

odcecki — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 05:45:55 +0200

Author: odcecki

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2026 10:45 pm

BarbOslo wrote:

Hi,
I have some good news for you and your family. I managed to build a family tree based on the information you gave us. It is possible to find more, but it will take a bit more time. I am also attaching a Word document with explanations/translations of the terms.

Regards,
-Barb

OH MY GOODNESS!! This is INCREDIBLE! Wow, thank you SO much! I can't believe you went to all this work... this is informtation my family has never had access to before, with our limitation with language and handwriting, resources, etc. My family is going to be so blown away when I show them what you've provided me with, it's WAY more than I ever expected. Thanks x a million!!!!

Translating and Transcribing Birth Certificate

marcelproust — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 06:37:29 +0200

Author: marcelproust

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2026 11:37 pm

odcecki wrote:

I found the birth certificate for my great-grandfather, Andrzej Zak. It lists the names of his parents, which I have never found anywhere else, but I can't read his mother's name. If I could figure out her name, I could research them. It says his father's name is Grzegorz Zak, and my best guess for his mother, based on the handwriting, is Marianna L. Nowinskich, but that doesn't sound very Polish. If anyone could help me translate the rest of the document and try to figure out what her name is, I would really appreciate it!

Republic of Poland
Act numer: 129
Year: 1891

Voivodeship: Kielce
County: Olkusz
Parish: Ogrodzieniec

Birth Certificate

Birth place: Ryczów
Full name: Andrzej Żak
Birth date: November 14th, 1891.
Parents' full names: Grzegorz Żak, Marianna nee Nowińska.

Year of birth in words: the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one

Ogrodzieniec, April 11t, 1939.

Parish-priest, serving as Civil Registrar: Jan Podkopał.

This Certificate was issued for presentation at the Commune Office for entry into the register of residents.

Stamp: Registry Office, The parish of Ogrodzieniec.

Transcript:

RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA

Nr Aktu 129
Rok 1891

Województwo: kieleckie
Powiat: okluski
Parafia: Ogrodzieniec

ŚWIADECTWO URODZENIA

Miejsce urodzenia: Ryczów
Imię i nazwisko urodzonego: Andrzej Żak
Data urodzenia: Dzień: 14, Miesiąc: listopada, Rok: 1891.
Imiona i nazwiska rodziców: Grzegorz Żak, Marianna z Nowińskich.

Słownie: Tysiąc osiemset dziewięćdziesiątego pierwszego roku.

Ogrodzieniec, dnia 11 kwietnia 1939 r.

Utrzymujący Akta Stanu Cywilnego, proboszcz ks. Jan Podkopał.

Wydane celem przedstawienia gminie do użytku rejestru mieszkańców.

Stamp: Urząd Stanu Cywilnego Parafii Ogrodzieniec.

Cemetery Records

Sophia — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 04:18:32 +0200

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:18 pm

cmasiak wrote:

Hello,

I am trying to see if I can find cemetery records or images of grave stones for Wyszny Kosciene, I tried searching all of the cites but was unable to find any cemetery from Wyszny Kosciene. Does anyone have any suggestions or guidance? Thank you.

Hi,

I am having the same difficulty that you are having finding any websites that include gravestone photos from the cemetery in Wyszyny Kościelne (note the spelling). You can get a general look at the cemetery by going to google maps and using the "street view" to see it. I am attaching a screenshot of what that looks like. I would guess, however, that you want to see specific graves.

I will point out that the website for the parish has a section for articles, and there is one regarding the renovation of the cemetery chapel back in 2022. It consists of photos rather than text. In the photos you can see that there are names on plaques on the chapel which appear to be WWII era deaths, including one Feliks Masiak that I am also attaching a screenshot of. Is there a Feliks (in English: Felix) Masiak in your tree?

Here is a link to that article on the church website:

https://parafiawyszyny.eu/kaplica-cmentarna-po-remoncie-zdjecia/

Next to each name is the letter L which refers to the person's age (for Feliks it was left blank) and then the year of death.

You may wish to contact the parish to ask whether the gravestone(s) of whomever you are searching for still exist. As you might already know, grave sites are rented and not permanent. It is not uncommon for rentals to last for 20 years and unless the family extends this, the grave site is re-used, so many of the older graves will not be found.

Hope this helps,
Sophia

Help identifying the village of Paszki (Polish-Lithuanian)

Sophia — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 14:54:53 +0200

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2026 7:54 am

The Polona website is taking a "technical break" at the moment, so you will not be able to access the full map at this time. Try again in a day or so and hopefully it will work.

Sophia

Respublica - AI query for polish court records from XVIth C.

michal.werpachowski — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 03:14:59 +0200

Author: michal.werpachowski

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2026 8:14 pm

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Many of these records are difficult to work with due to old handwriting, language barriers, and the sheer volume of documents. By using artificial intelligence, searching and discovering relevant information becomes much faster and easier.

You may uncover references to your ancestors, family relationships, places of origin, or historical events connected to your research.

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I would be delighted to hear your feedback, suggestions, and experiences using the platform.

Wishing you success in your genealogical discoveries!

Best regards

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