PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Polish ancestors in Yonkers, NY

MikeP — Sun Jun 07, 2020 10:10 pm

Author: MikeP

Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 10:10 pm

Baptismal and marriage records from the Archdiocese of NY are available on the subscription-based family history website FindMyPast. The Polish immigrant parishes of St. Casimir (Yonkers) and St. Valentine (Bronx, NY) are included along with many others. I was able to obtain the 1912 church marriage record of my grandparents at St. Casimir’s. Definitely worth a look!

Re: Polish ancestors in Yonkers, NY

thomjank — Tue Jan 23, 2018 7:52 pm

Author: thomjank

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 7:52 pm

My mother was born in Yonkers and I made inquiries from Yonkers and New York state. They both responded that they found no records of her birth. A friend of mine said that at that time (1909) midwives use was common and often no records were kept.

Re: Polish ancestors in Yonkers, NY

PESteeves — Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:09 pm

Author: PESteeves

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:09 pm

I put in a request for a birth certificate for my grandmother who was born in Yonkers in 1905. It has been 2 months and nothing yet. They have cashed my check. Fingers remain crossed. Will call if I do not hear anything by the end of the month.

Good Luck.

Pam

Re: research in USA

BobK — Fri Sep 07, 2012 7:06 pm

Author: BobK

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 7:06 pm

Yonkers is just outside the NYC boundry, just above Manhatten. Easily seen with Google Maps.

The best NYC databank is at The Italian Genealogical group http://italiangen.org/ ..
It has not just Italian names, but (I'd guess) since New York City is such a great melting pot of nationalities -
EVERYONE is Italian!

My Polish and German ancestors births, marriages, deaths, emmigration, naturalizations, etc.. are there.

AND they do have many names and events from surrounding (non- NYC) areas.

Good luck
Bob K.

research in USA

James — Thu Sep 06, 2012 10:25 pm

Author: James

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 10:25 pm

I don't know if Yonkers is part of New York City, but if it is , you can contact the "New York City Dept' of Records and Information Services Municipal Archives ".

**address;
31 Chambers Street
New York, N.Y.
** phone;
212- NEW-YORK
** web site;
www.nyc.gov/records

The archive can search for marriage, birth, and death records. ( for a fee. )
I last contacted them in 2009.

You can also contact the State Archives for the same information. I do not have any info on that

I've done research through the New Jersey State Archives for locations all over N.J., so I would assume that it is the same for N.Y.
Maybe someone here has that info.

Re: Polish ancestors in Yonkers, NY

asteeber — Wed Sep 05, 2012 9:17 am

Author: asteeber

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 9:17 am

Thank you, MaryAnne! Very helpfultips. They didn't stay long enough in Yonkers for those references to be of help, but I could always apply them to where they eventually settled. Thank you!

Polish Ancestor's in Yonker's N.Y.

MDuplaga — Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:44 am

Author: MDuplaga

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:44 am

Hello Lex,

I am not familiar with the New York area, however, I have done a similar search for info in Cleveland, Ohio where my Grandparents settled.

1) Check the County records that cover Yonkers, to see if they make available any of the OLD "Marriage records". These may just be copies of receipts stating the application for a Marriage License and sometimes they are listed as "Banns of marriage". They will often be signed by the priest or reverend or possibly a civil person who performed the marriage. Some of the ones that I found were full of info, including the address of the applicants, their occupations and their parents names with the mother's maiden name listed, as well as the date of the wedding and the place of birth.
Some of the applications were not as informative, but even if it only lists the name of the person who married the couple, that is a geat Clue-you can google that reverend's name and you may find the name of the church that he was at during the date of the marriage. I have just successfully located such a record and church. If nothing shows up by googling the reverends name, you can contact the churches in the area and inquire if they ever had a reverend by such a name. You should have the marriage date from the record and now you can ask the appropriate church, or diocese to find their record for you. The churches do not have regular staff available and these searches take time, so I suggest inquiring what they charge or offer to make a donation. It may take a bit of time for them to get to doing the search.

2) Do some searching to see if anyone has written any books about Yonkers and specifically the Polish population at the turn of the century. You may find some good info online under the City's History pages. I located a historian in Cleveland who had written a book called "West Park Then & Now". West Park was the area where my grandparents lived for many years and when I started telling him about my genealogy project and I gave him the address of where they lived~he immediately said he was sure he knew what house I was describing as he had taken a photo of it for his collection back in "1960"! His photo is the Best photo of a full view of my grandparents house that I have.

3) I don't know about New York~but Cleveland's public Library system has an extensive Genealogy Dept., so you may make inquiries in Yonker's.
If you have some specific info they may be able to assist your search if you are out of town. I had great success after stumbling upon the grave of my Great Uncle's 10 year old son that was killed in an accident in 1918. He was crossing a rural street and was hit by an automobile and the Library was able to locate the actual detailed newspaper article with the info I was able to provide to them.

4) You might check for a Polish National Alliance Lodge in Yonkers. If you find one still open, you may be able to learn that your ancestor's were active at one time. This will require you making inquiries and chatting with anyone still alive from the old days. Using 1925, as a possilbe date when some of these lodges were being formed, may be helpful. I did make some inquiries from the PNA in Chicago-it took a long time and they did not come up with much-I think this is only a viable idea, if you find a Yonker's Lodge that is still in operation and talk to them directly. I know that the PNA still exists, but I do not know If Lodges are still open.
Again, the Cleveland historian provided me with the photo of the building that had been a PNA hall back in 1925+, that my relatives were involved with, although it was currently a small church when the photo was taken after the Lodge closed down.

5) Last but not least-have you tried to locate possible relatives in the Yonker's area? Don't be shy in making calls to people who "may" be related. Photos and info these people hold may be the key to New info in your search.

I hope these suggestions will give you some dfferent options for your search,
MaryAnne

Polish ancestors in Yonkers, NY

asteeber — Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:28 pm

Author: asteeber

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:28 pm

When my family first immigrated to the US in 1904/1905 they settled with a brother in law in Yonkers, NY. I've been trying to find any records of them existing, and besides finding them in a city directory and the 1905 census, I haven't had much luck.
However, I have learned while researching that that part of Yonkers was a bit of a Polish mecca back in the day, with a Polish Catholic church, St Casmir's, and a place called the Polish Center, which was a bit of a Polish Community Center located on Waverly and Maple Streets. I haven't been able to get much info out of either place, except for the fact that the Polish Center has rooms to rent for events, and does authentic Polish catering.
Anyone familiar with Yonkers that has any information about the place? Would it have any records that could be of any genealogical significance?
Thanks in advance!
~Lex