PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

dnowicki — Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:33 pm

Author: dnowicki

Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:33 pm

Susanne,

What the archive is asking for is a deposit of 25 Polish zloty before they begin the research you requested. You can't mail a check to the archive. Payment has to be made by wire transfer directly to the bank account of the archive. The section which begins "NBP" and ends with a series of numbers is the account information. This information contains a "swift code" which allows a bank or credit union in the USA to transfer the funds from your bank to the account of the archive in Poland. The archivist is asking you to email a copy of the proof of transfer (which you will receive from the bank here) to the archive to speed up the whole process. (Otherwise it seems the archivist would have to wait a considerable time before he would learn of the deposit of your fee. Keep in mind that speeding up the process is a very relative thing. It may still take months before anything happens.) I've dealt with Polish archives (and the Wloclawek branch of the Torun archive in particular) and waiting for results does require a good degree of patience.

The fee of 25 Polish zloty to begin the research is very reasonable---somewhere around $8.00 American, depending on the rate of exchange. However, what is far from reasonable (at least in my opinion) is the fee banks charge here to transfer the funds---about $40.00. It just doesn't seem right that the bank should collect 5 times the amount being transferred as their fee, but there is no choice but to play by their rules. I've found that the price the banks here in Northwest Indiana charge varied between a low of $40.00 and a high of $80.00 so it may pay for you shop around a bit before using any particular bank. I've also found that a locally owned bank generally charges a smaller fee than a big corporate bank.

I've always communicated with the archives in Polish and all the correspondence from the archive included a "Znak sprawy" ---kind of like a work order number---which made the subject matter of the correspondence very clear. Since what you received has no such number, I would recommend that you attach a copy of the original email from the archive, unless when you look at the original, there is a "Znak sprawy" at the top of the page. Anyway, your next step would be to do the wire transfer and then attach a copy of the paperwork from the bank here (and probably a copy of the original Polish email you received to your next email to the archive. If there is a "znak sprawy" number on what you have received, you should use it on all the emails you send to the archive.

Best of luck and if you should have any more questions, please post them and I or someone else who has dealt with the archives will certainly try to answer your questions.

Dave

What to do next and how to proceed?

Squirrel6s — Fri Jan 02, 2015 9:00 pm

Author: Squirrel6s

Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 9:00 pm

I received an email reply back from the archives (Wloclawek branch in Torun) quite some time ago (June). I am just now getting to it again. I am not entirely sure how to proceed from here. It does indicate that an inquiry could be made for the family name I mentioned. There is no reference number back to the email I oroginally sent. I would like to go ahead and have them do the search but I cannot quite understand how to make the deposit. It is difficult to tell where the address ends and the account number begins. I am attaching an image of the translation as done by an acquaintance of mine. Thank you! Susanne

Catholic Diocese Archives in Bialystok

SZABATROOTS — Mon Apr 28, 2014 1:18 pm

Author: SZABATROOTS

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 1:18 pm

I am trying to confirm the birthplace of my mother's paternal side, and after
much triangulation of family ship manifests, and handwriting analysis, believe it
to be the town of Moniuszki in North East Poland. I need now to find some
vital record that would confirm my belief.

Does anyone have any experience in dealing with Catholic Diocese Archives
in Bialystok? Do they offer research assistance? Alternatively, do you know
of any researcher in Bialystok who could help me do local research there?

I have also sent inquiries to the Bialystok State Archives, but as has been pointed out,
it is a slow and unpredictable process!!

Continuously struggling with Szczecin and Inowrocław Archive

jldwrite — Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:22 pm

Author: jldwrite

Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:22 pm

Hoping someone can have some input.

My first problem, I have never received a response, either by email or postal mail from the Inowrocław Archive. I have tried to be respectful, and have only sent 3 emails and 3 postal letters in 2 years, requesting one document I am 100% positive exists--fully documented with names, parents names and exact date, as well as 2 other documents that would require some research in a span of deaths for about 2 years.

I have never received a response to any of my inquiries. I eventually made a donation to the Posen Marriage Database and the owner of the database was able to acquire the one document I was sure existed. While the other documents would be nice, they aren't part of my direct line and were not critical to my research.

The Szczecin archive I have had mixed results. Again, trying to be respectful, and knowing that my request is one of hundreds, I have tried not to send too many messages or complain, but after paying hundreds of dollars for an extensive list of documents, I still have not received the latest documents.

My first request of about 5 records that were specifically documented with full names and dates took 6 months to receive, and only after I had to ask for a status of my request 3 months after it was acknolwedged as received. Money was deposited with wire transfer within 3 business days and submitted all tracking information, after 3 months I had to submit a request for a status, and only after I did this did I receive my documents.

Next request was sent over 9 months ago. I was told I would have a response in a month. 5 months later I had to inquire about the status again. They were obviously confused and resent me the documents (via email) from my first inquiry. Resubmited the second inquiry. 2 months later I received the cost for 1/2 of my request, and a request for additional money for 5 hours of research for the other 1/2 of my request. Again submitted money via wire transfer and tracking information. I included money for additional scans for the remaining 1/2 of my order as well as the additional research fees. It was over $400 in costs.

I was told my documents were mailed to me (was not expecting them to be mailed via postal) 2 months ago, and I still don't have them. I submitted a request for assistance at the month mark, with no response.

There is no doubt as well that I will need to submit at least one, if not more, requests based on the documents in the second inquiry with the Szczecin archive, but at this rate I'll never be done with my research. Again, trying to be respectful and polite, as I need to engage their services in the future, but I am getting frustrated. Unfortunately the documents simply do not exist outside of the archives.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!
Jen

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

James — Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:56 pm

Author: James

Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:56 pm

Shellie,

If you go to the " Menu " on the left hand side of the main page, here on Polish Origins, and place the cursor over " Tips and Resources " , 3 options appear.
Clik on " Polish State Archives" .
On the new page , clik on " Remote Research in Polish State Archives - Practical Hints ", that will bring up a letter all about research via mail, with some examples of letters received from the Polish State Archives.
At the bottom of the page clik on " Useful links, including Polish State Archives " , this will give you a list of all state archives and their address'.
I hope this helps.

James

research in Poland

James — Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:30 pm

Author: James

Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:30 pm

Shellie,

Research at the Polish State Archives ( Archiwum ) has become relatively easier now , then it was 5 - 10 years ago.
The internet has provided a faster means of communicating with the Polish archives. I believe that every state archive has its own web site and email address. In the past, you never knew if your letter made it to the archive, until you received a reply back from them, which could be several months later.
The usual process then was that the archive could perform a search , once you deposited the fee into a Polish bank account, which they provided to you. (I had a friend in Poland who helped me with the deposits ) If the archive found info, it would cost you a certain amount to have copies made and sent to you. The initial search fee was about $ 25.00 US , and the copies varied, but usually only a few dollars each.
With the internet access today, everything is much faster.
You email an archive with your request, and all the info you have, and you will receive an email reply, as to weather they have any info or not, and what it will cost. The time frame for their reply varies greatly. I've heard back in less than 5 days, and as long as 1 month, but it is a lot better today than it used to be.

You can find most of this information , here in Polish Origins, about all of the state archive web sites and email address'.
When I'm writing to an archive, this is my resource for address'.

James

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

Shellie — Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:55 pm

Author: Shellie

Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:55 pm

Hi James,
I am curious about your experience with the Polish State Archives. What was that experience like? When you emailed your request to the archive, did they respond for free, or did they ask you to send money to cover the research fees? If so, how did you get the money to them from the US?

James, you have probably already done this, but I'll mention it for others who might read this:
Since I also live here in the United States, the first place that I look for church records is the LDS family history center.
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp

I use a KEYWORD search, not a place search. I have had better luck finding place information using the KEYWORD search.
The first time that I ordered films, I was a little intimidated by the whole process, but it turned out to be quite easy.

Once I determined that there were some church records for my village at the LDS Family History Library, I printed out the film notes with the details and film numbers. I then searched for my nearest LDS Family history center: http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp

I called my nearest center and spoke the volunteer who instructed me to come in and order my films in person. The fee was about 6 dollars per film. After a few weeks, the films go back, unless you renew them for the same price. After you pay to renew them 2 times, the films become "indefinate" and stay at your local center.

Within a few weeks, the films arrived at the center and I was allowed to view them for free on their microfilm viewer.
My church records were in Latin with some notes in Polish. However, it didn't take long to figure out the basic information. The dates are quite clear and the last names are not hard to find. I also met several nice people there who helped me and shared some valuable hints.

By the way, you do not have to be Morman to visit the LDS Family History Center. Their collection has more than just church records on microfilm.

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

Zenon — Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:55 pm

Author: Zenon

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:55 pm

KKempa wrote:

I thought I asked (but see I didn't) what "Spis Famille" means.

What kind of records have you been looking through? "Spis" means "list" but it can also be a surname. "Famille" is a variation of family. If you wrote about context if this phrase (what kind of records you looked through, where it was - in content of records, records description of column or inside a column) or paste a scan, the advise could be more valuable.

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

KKempa — Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:59 am

Author: KKempa

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:59 am

Thank you so much, Zenon.

I thought I asked (but see I didn't) what "Spis Famille" means. Dark, blurry records on one of the LDS microfilms I'm trying to read. I only glanced at them before I left, had spent the rest of the morning looking at the other film. I couldn't figure out what they were.

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

Zenon — Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:18 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:18 am

KKempa wrote:

What is "dolne" and "gorne"? As in Rozdziele Dolne and Rozdziele Gorne.

"Dolne" - lower, "górne" - upper. This is usually one village divided into two parts situated lower and higher: Lower Rozdziele and Upper Rozdziele. Sometimes you can also find, especially in south-eastern part of Poland, names "niżne" - lower and "wyżne" - upper.

KKempa wrote:

And the Pradziad database link above...how come I end up with no results from entering the town Rozdziele, county Bochnia? What am I doing wrong? And which religion is Roman Catholic (I can't read Polish)? Thank you.

Because there are no records in the State Archives from this village. Rozdziele Dolne and Górne in Bochnia county used to belong to Rzegocin (now Żegocina) parish. It is common for this region for the records to be still kept locally in parishes (Krakow/Małopolska region) and you would have to check either in Żegocina or in Rozdziele parish if there are any records from the years you are interested in.

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

KKempa — Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:46 pm

Author: KKempa

Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:46 pm

What is "dolne" and "gorne"? As in Rozdziele Dolne and Rozdziele Gorne.

And the Pradziad database link above...how come I end up with no results from entering the town Rozdziele, county Bochnia? What am I doing wrong? And which religion is Roman Catholic (I can't read Polish)? Thank you.

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

James — Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:20 am

Author: James

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:20 am

Hi again Shellie,

Did you clik on the " Remote" research in Polish State archives - practical hints, in the first post , at the top of this page. You will find some additional info, and examples of replys there.

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

James — Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:09 am

Author: James

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:09 am

Hi Shellie,
In addition to the info that Zenon gave you, I'll add a few things, based on personal experience writing to Polish archives.

Here's an example of my letters :

Director,

I am interested in obtaining copies of Birth, Marriage, and Death
certificates of ________ , my great grandfather.

He was born _____ , in _________ , Poland.
His parents were _______ and _______ .
He died in _____ , in _______ , Poland.

I would also like to obtain copies of Birth certificates of all children born to him.

Thank you for your assistance.
Gratefully,
_________

This example has worked fine for me, and I've written to 6 - 7 different archives, over the last several years.
If you don't hear back from the archive in a month or two, they probably did not receive your letter, in which case , you can email the archive and ask them if they received your letter, or just write another letter.
Only once have I received a reply in English. , all others are in Polish.
Thankfully , now, most of the replys, and copies of documents, come via email.
After the archive receives your letter, they will inform you of the amount of money due, before they begin to search. They will give you a bank account number, where you should deposit the fee. How you get it there can be a challenge. If they find documents that you requested, they will inform you, and tell you how much it costs for copies, and again they will provide the bank info.

I hope this helps you get started. I would be happy to answer any other questions you may have.
Good luck
James

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

Zenon — Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:24 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:24 am

I think I mentioned it before, but I am sure it is worth repeating... It is not easy to find a predictable rules in contacts with Polish Archives.. Each branch has it owns methods of communicating with inquirers and every time when I send request to them I learn something new . This is my experience (maybe I have a bad luck ). However, what I have to admit is that it is more easier now than it was only a few years ago. Now very often you can contact them and handle almost everything (except for payment) via e-mail. They often even send you digital scans of records, instead of paper xerox copies.

Now replying to your specific questions, Shellie.

Shellie wrote:

Another organization to contact to perform a family search is the National Archive in Warsaw. Its address is:
Naczelnik Wydziahu Wspolpracy z Zagranica
Archiwow Panstwowych
ul. Dluga 6
Skrytka Pocztowa 1005
00-950 Warszawa, Poland
If they can not perform a search for you for what ever reason, they will direct you to the correct archive to write to.

Did I understand the article correctly - that this is the source to consult if the info we seek is over 100yrs old?
Is this Archive for the entire country, or just Warsaw?
Do you send money for the info?

I have never contacted them and on the new website of Archives (updated a few weeks ago) I didn't find any note what are the specific tasks of this department (in fact I didn't find the address mentioned above, only phone no.). If you want to check if there are any records from a given place in Archives resources in the whole Poland go to Pradziad database http://baza.archiwa.gov.pl/sezam/pradziad.php?l=en (you should know name of the parish).

Shellie wrote:

Can the letter be written in English, or must it be in Polish?

As far as I know they sometimes reply to English letters but.... in Polish (like in James' case). Again, it doesn't have to be a rule.

Shellie wrote:

Can someone on this forum suggest some general wording for a first letter of inquiry to this Archive in Warsaw?

Most important is to give as many specifics - names, places, dates spouses, children - as possible. The official form of letter shouldn't be so important.

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

Shellie — Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:54 am

Author: Shellie

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:54 am

I found this helpful, but I was wondering if someone can provide more specific details: This article states that:
Another organization to contact to perform a family search is the National Archive in Warsaw. Its address is:
Naczelnik Wydziahu Wspolpracy z Zagranica
Archiwow Panstwowych
ul. Dluga 6
Skrytka Pocztowa 1005
00-950 Warszawa, Poland
If they can not perform a search for you for what ever reason, they will direct you to the correct archive to write to.

Did I understand the article correctly - that this is the source to consult if the info we seek is over 100yrs old?
Is this Archive for the entire country, or just Warsaw?
Do you send money for the info?
Can the letter be written in English, or must it be in Polish?
Can someone on this forum suggest some general wording for a first letter of inquiry to this Archive in Warsaw?

Thanks!
Shellie

Source of information on Germans from Poland

BobK — Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:54 pm

Author: BobK

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:54 pm

The other day I found http://www.ezab.org/ , a website for information on Lutheran churches throughout Germany and Eastern Europe. The site explained that information from Catholic churches had to be mailed to a different address. All is in either German or English.

One web page allowed a query to be sent. I entered a few names of some of the German ancestors, approx birth years and their town (Klokock, near Lipno, and dates in the 1880's). I didn't add their parents names and many other details as I didn't expect much of an answer.

In less than 24 hours I got back an email confirmation, in English, of not only those names, but several others, with their birth years, the parents marriage year and the mother's family name!

I couldn't believe they would find it all so fast. Obviously, they have all the information in a database. This is in comparison to the frustration of trying to find my mother's information from a Catholic church in Lida, which was Poland but is Belarus today.

They're asking 48 Euros for an estimated hour plus to find the books, also copying and postage costs, for the church records (seems about the same as I've seen on Polish web sites). I'm waiting to find out how I'm to pay.

So, if you have, or think you may have, Lutheran ancestors. Try that website - they operate in the 21st century!..

Bob K.

Polish archive responses

James — Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:05 am

Author: James

Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:05 am

Since my last update, I've had contact with a few more Polish Archives, and wanted to share the latest happenings.

Wloclawek Archiwum responded to me several times via e-mail, which is a great time saver, as they used to always respond by regular mail. The e-mails were still written in Polish. Some of the e-mails contained the info I was asking for, and that allowed me to select what copies I would like to obtain, and then the archive sent them via regular mail. So it seems that more communication will be by e-mails , hopefully.

Torun Archiwum responded to my postal letter with an e-mail, written in English , and even though they didn't have any of the info I asked for , they included an e-mail address to another archive , that they stated should contain the info I was looking for.

I'm currently awaiting a reply from another archive, and will be interested to see how that transpires.

Polish Archive - cover letter

James — Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:34 pm

Author: James

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:34 pm

In a prior post, I had made mention, that when a Polish Archive sends you copies of certificates, there will be a cover letter in Polish , stating what information is on those copies. Well , today I recieved an envelope from the Archwium in Wloclawek, containing copies of certificates I had asked for, and guess what ? The cover letter only stated that my copies were inclosed , but did not explain what they were ! ?
I do not know if this a new policy, or someone slipped up and forgot to include one , or what happened.
The copies I had asked for were in the envelope.

I thought I should post this, just to keep us updated on research through the Polish Archives.

james

Re: Article: "Remote" research in Polish State Archive

Zenon — Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:34 pm

Author: Zenon

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:34 pm

To better illustrate to process of communication with Archives as well as possible rewards for your efforts, we added pictures (Archive's letter and copies of records) to the Article.

famous where ??

James — Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:54 pm

Author: James

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:54 pm

I should have expected it ! That my 15 mins. of " Fame ", would be in a country about as far away from my home as you can get , and one that I most likely will never see. Och dobrze ! ???