PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: Looking for Relatives - Tomal, Mejka from Ostrow Wlkp.!

sgostomski — Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:45 pm

Author: sgostomski

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:45 pm

Hello! This is a (VERY) late response, my search came to a stand still for awhile. Got a job opportunity and so on, so I have not yet made it to Poland, but I am organizing a trip in the upcoming months (just to visit).

In response to your questions, hope you or anyone else might see this to help me continue my search:

1. I've only listed Paternal grandmother's information for two reasons, a. I'm 100% sure the cousin came from that side of the family and b. unfortunately my paternal grandfather left his children when they were kids, so I don't know really know anything about him or that side of my family.

2. My Great-grandmother, Charlotte Tamol, is Joseph Mejka's daughter. Charlotte married Edward Tamol.
Also, going on what my Aunt & Uncle have told me, Peter was related to my great-grandfather's (edward tamol) family (perhaps his sister or brother..).

3. My ancestor's immigration story isn't very clear, I know Joseph Mejka was married upon arriving in the States, but was later remarried.

4. I need to do more research of other family members!

5. My father's-mother's-father's side of the family (ha! sorry for that one) and no return address, only the letter itself and only the town was written on it..

6. No photos from Poland, wouldn't even know where to begin looking for that!

And lastly, I've recently learned a name of an aunt who may have more info. Unfortunately a lot of documents were thrown out by accident at some point after my grandmother's death, so birth certificates and such have been lost. Would've been helpful, oy.

Thanks again! I'll keep digging.

Re: Looking for Relatives - Tomal, Mejka from Ostrow Wlkp.!

Shellie — Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:29 pm

Author: Shellie

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:29 pm

Shannon,
How exciting that you are going to live in Poland! On my way home from an incredible visit to Poland this past fall, my cousins and I were talking about how much we'd love to have an opportunity to live there and be near our Polish cousins. How long will you live there? Do you speak Polish? WOW!!!

So the clock is ticking for you to find your family! As Cheri mentioned, you probably want to try a few sources to identify your ancestral village. Cheri mentioned a very useful source of info that many of us have used for clues about our ancestral village. In fact, the Ellis Island database or passenger ship lists at Ancestry.com are one of the first places I look when I get a new surname lead in my family history research.

These are a few questions that came to my mind when I read your posting:

1. Are you only interested in your paternal grandmother's family? Any other parts of your family Polish, besides your paternal grandmother? What were their surnames? Maybe they all came from the same area of Poland...?

2. You wrote that you know the first & last names of your great-great-grandparents who came from Poland in the early 1900's on your maternal grandmother's side of the family. Is this Joseph Mejka? Was Charlotte Tamol the daughter of Joseph Mejka? I'm not sure if I understand this correctly because you refer to them as "possible related family names."

3. What else can you tell us about your family's arrival in the US in the early 1900's.....Did your ancestor come with a wife and children? What town did he emigrate to?

4. Have you sketched out your family tree as much as possible for your family in the US? Tracking down your oldest living US cousins can sometimes lead to some great information. I was amazed at the information my US cousins had - one had old photos from Poland and another actually had a family tree made back in the early 1970s. It was a crucial find that enabled me to locate the cousins I met on my trip to Poland!

5. Do you know if cousin Peter (Piotu) from Ostrow Wlkp is related to your father on his mother's side or father's side of the family? Do you have the envelope with a possible return address?

6. Do you have any family photos from Poland? Even if you don't have names to identify who is in the photo, sometimes posting a photo on the forum can lead to miracle discoveries.

I hope I have not overwhelmed you with all of these questions.
If you could share some further details here on the forum, someone might recognize some of your info and be able to help.

Happy Holidays!
Shellie

Tamol and Mejka surnames

Cheri Vanden Berg — Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:30 pm

Author: Cheri Vanden Berg

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:30 pm

You might already know this, but the town where Peter lived was [from Wikipedia]
Ostrów Wielkopolski (often abbreviated Ostrów Wlkp., formerly called only Ostrów or Ostrowo, Latin: Ostrovia) is a town in central Poland with 72,360 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostrów Wielkopolski County.

Have you found your immigrant ancestors records on a ship manifest, or do you have their naturalization papers so that you could see where they emigrated from in Poland?

Looking for Relatives - Tomal, Mejka from Ostrow Wlkp.!

sgostomski — Mon Dec 26, 2011 5:39 pm

Author: sgostomski

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 5:39 pm

Hello,

I've recently begun trying to figure out my family tree, I'm aware of my great-great grandparents first & last names who came from Poland in the early 1900's on my father's mother's side of the family (a little confusing?). I'm planning to move to Poland in a year and would love to find relatives while I'm there.

I'm aware of one (second) cousin, who had come to visit my father and uncles in the States when they were kids, no contact in at least 30 years. Unfortunately, I only have a first name, and a town which was typed onto a letter he wrote to them in 1977, Ostrow Wlkp.
I'm wondering if anyone has any help or suggestions as I'm kind of at a stand still in my search.
Here's what I have so far:
Name: Peter, (or Piotu)
Town (in 1977): Ostrow Wlkp
A hand-written letter in Polish, dated and signed, but no last name
Possible related family names:
Edward & Charlotte Tamol - Great Grandparents
Joseph Mejka - Great-great Grandfather
Peter, my father's cousin, would be around 48 years, give or take a couple years.

I'm trying to dig some more currently, but could use any tips!

Thank you.

-Shannon Gostomski