PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

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

Sam — Mon Jun 29, 2026 1:28 pm

Author: Sam

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2026 1:28 pm

Trish,

I've always found names listed on death certificates to be one of the more mystifying sources in genealogy.

I did see Laurentius' records on Geneteka. Born Wawrzyniec at House No. 7, Lubasz, 14 July 1887, died in infancy, 16 March 1889. Another son, Wojciech, died in infancy in 1902.

Furthermore, it would seem the father, Jan Piątkowski, was born 29 May 1863 to Łukasz and Katarzyna, at Lubasz. He became a widower and remarried in 1921.

Edit: I didn't see the Geneteka link before I posted, my mistake!

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

Trish — Mon Jun 29, 2026 12:52 pm

Author: Trish

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2026 12:52 pm

Quote:

Marya's father on her death certificate is named Stanley (Stanisław, Stan-Jan?), and the mother Agnieszka. My great-aunt Blanche gave the information; she died in 2011, and I never had the pleasure of knowing her personally, although I imagine she knew her mother about as well as anyone.

Hi Sam and Sophia,

Sam, I believe Marya (Maria/Marianna) Piatkowska's parents are Jan and Agnes. I searched the Tarnow Roman Catholic Diocese Church Books, 1612-1900 which are on ancestry.com. I could not find any children being born to a Stanislaw and Agnieszka. I'm still wondering if the death record for Marya Piatkowska should of been Jan instead of Stan? (Note: My mother’s grandmother has the wrong name for her father listed. It should have been James, but the hospital put Russell down. I don’t think anyone back then knew how to get a death record corrected.)

I found a brother to Marya with the same parents names on the record Sophia provided for Marya. The birth information is only indexes.

Name Laurentius Piatkowski
Gender Male
Baptism Date 17 lip 1887 (17 Jul 1887)
Baptism Place Lubasz, Lubasz, Kraków, Poland
House Number 7
Page number 221
Entry Number 24
Father Joannes Piatkowski
Mother Agnes Romanowski
FHL Film Number 1898357

On Geneteka, there are several children of Jan Piatkowski and Agnieszka Romanowska who died.

https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&lang=pol&bdm=D&w=06mp&rid=D&search_lastname=piatkowski&search_name=&search_lastname2=romanowska&search_name2=&from_date=1889&to_date=1902

Regards
Trish

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

Sam — Mon Jun 29, 2026 12:17 pm

Author: Sam

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2026 12:17 pm

Trish and Sophia,

I probably won't renew my Ancestry subscription until later this year. And I don't mind Sophia, if you are as interested in solving these questions as I am. A note I have gives her first name as "Marya," which seems distinct from the usual Marianna.

I think I've found a hit for Marya Bielaszka in terms of immigration. She's on line 4 of the manifest, born at Wójcina (west of Lubasz), joining an uncle at Three Rivers, Mass. Coincidentally, my grandfather (Marya P.'s son) was discharged from the USAAF at Westover base not far from the former place after WWII.

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

Trish — Mon Jun 29, 2026 11:10 am

Author: Trish

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2026 11:10 am

Sophia wrote:

Trish wrote:

Hi Sam and Sophia,

Sam, it sounds like you do not have a subscription to ancestry.com. I do so I'm posting the manifest that I found for Marya. It's a two page manifest. Marya is on line #9. If I'm not mistaken there are two other people coming from Lubasz also traveling with Marya. I need Sophia's eyes to verify this information.

Regards,
Trish

Hi Trish,

You're quite right. Marya travelled with two other Marya's from Lubasz. Line 7 is Marya Nowak (daughter of Stanislaw Nowak) and line 8 is Marya Kotton who lists her brother Jan as her nearest relative back in Lubas. Both of these other two Marya's are headed to Adams, Massachusetts, whereas our Marya Piatkowska is headed for Utica. Or was she? The next few people on the line beneath her were all headed to Utica, and in fact for both Marya Piatkowska and that next group the manifest goes on to state that they are headed to New York Mills which is near Utica. Since this group are not from Lubasz, I am wondering if the manifest writer just added that Utica notation a bit higher in the column than he intended and that Marya Piatkowska was actually going to Adams, MA with her two friends.

At any rate, our Marya Piatkowska (Sam, do you like how we treat her as family now??) was going to her cousin Marya Bielaszka so if one was able to find where Marya Bielaszka was living, it would be clearer as to which city Marya Piatkowska was going. This Marya Bielaszka shows up in the baptism records that I gave you the link to the other day. She was born in 1886. I am including here a screenshot of her baptism because it has a very interesting note on it. You will see that when she married in the U.S., the priest who married her did follow the requirement of notifying her home parish about the marriage (this was not always done). You see by Maria Bielaszka's name the notation that she married ("cop. in America 1911").

Sophia

Hi Sophia,

I believe I found the manifest for Marya Bielaszka. I believe it says Lubasz on the manifest. Marya is on line #22. Does this help firgure out where Marya Piatkowska was going?

Regards,
Trish

Name Marya Bielaska
Gender Female
Ethnicity/ Nationality Polish
Marital Status Married
Age 20
Birth Date abt 1886
Last Known Residence Lubbock, Apaliey
Departure Port Bremen
Arrival Date 17 May 1906
Arrival Port New York, New York, USA
Residence Place Galicy, Poland
Final Destination New York City
Money in Possession 11
Person in US Andrey Bielaska
Person in US Relationship Cousin
Ship Name Prinzess Alice

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

Sophia — Mon Jun 29, 2026 10:31 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2026 10:31 am

Trish wrote:

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

Trish — Sun Jun 28, 2026 1:06 pm

Author: Trish

Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2026 1:06 pm

Sam wrote:

Sophia and Trish,

Marya's father on her death certificate is named Stanley (Stanisław, Stan-Jan?), and the mother Agnieszka. My great-aunt Blanche gave the information; she died in 2011, and I never had the pleasure of knowing her personally, although I imagine she knew her mother about as well as anyone.

Three of Andrzej's adult children lived in Union City, N.J., in 1940. The address on the Alien Registration belongs to my great-aunt Charlotte (Mrs. Joseph Sammataro). What frustrates me is that I cannot find them on the 1940 census. But Andrzej is back in Pa. by 1942 according to WWII draft registration and would remain a Bentleyville resident for the rest of his life.

The manifest is indeed interesting. I believe I saw it some time ago while researching on Ancestry. Of course the village Lubasz meant nothing to me then, although DNA evidence does point in its direction.

I find the dates interesting too. For birth we have 10 September on the baptismal record and 8 September on the American records. For immigration we have a 1 August date on the alien registration and a 2 August for the 1907 manifest. On the 1920 census Marya gives 1908 as her arrival year.

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

Sam — Sun Jun 28, 2026 11:58 am

Author: Sam

Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2026 11:58 am

Sophia and Trish,

Marya's father on her death certificate is named Stanley (Stanisław, Stan-Jan?), and the mother Agnieszka. My great-aunt Blanche gave the information; she died in 2011, and I never had the pleasure of knowing her personally, although I imagine she knew her mother about as well as anyone.

Three of Andrzej's adult children lived in Union City, N.J., in 1940. The address on the Alien Registration belongs to my great-aunt Charlotte (Mrs. Joseph Sammataro). What frustrates me is that I cannot find them on the 1940 census. But Andrzej is back in Pa. by 1942 according to WWII draft registration and would remain a Bentleyville resident for the rest of his life.

The manifest is indeed interesting. I believe I saw it some time ago while researching on Ancestry. Of course the village Lubasz meant nothing to me then, although DNA evidence does point in its direction.

I find the dates interesting too. For birth we have 10 September on the baptismal record and 8 September on the American records. For immigration we have a 1 August date on the alien registration and a 2 August for the 1907 manifest. On the 1920 census Marya gives 1908 as her arrival year.

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

Sophia — Sun Jun 28, 2026 11:14 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2026 11:14 am

Trish wrote:

Hi Sam and Sophia,

This is the information about the manifest I saw for Marya Piatkowska coming from Lubasz. Her father is Jan. She is going to Utica, New York.

I am not posting the image for I do not know if this the Marya that married Andrzej.

Regards,
Trish

Name Marya Piatkowska [Marya Piatkowski]
Gender Female
Ethnicity/ Nationality Polish
Marital Status Single
Age 18
Birth Date abt 1889
Birth Place Galicia
Other Birth Place Lubacz
Last Known Residence Lubasz, Galicy
Departure Port Bremen
Arrival Date 2 Aug 1907
Arrival Port New York, New York, USA
Residence Place Galicia
Final Destination Utica, New York
Height 5 Feet
Hair Color Blonde
Eye Color Gray
Complexion Fair
Money in Possession $12
Person in Old Country Jan Piatkowski
Person in Old Country Relationship Father
Person in Old Country Residence Lubasz Szczncin Galicy
Person in US Florence Piatk
Person in US Relationship Cousin
Father Jan Piatkowski
Ship Name Bremen

Hi Trish and Sam,

Trish, in my opinion this manifest showing a Marya Piatkowska born in 1889 in Lubasz is most definitely the same as the Marya Piatkowska whose birth/baptism record I found, also from Lubasz, in 1889. Lubasz was such a small place.

Sophia

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

Trish — Sun Jun 28, 2026 10:29 am

Author: Trish

Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2026 10:29 am

Hi Sam and Sophia,

This is the information about the manifest I saw for Marya Piatkowska coming from Lubasz. Her father is Jan. She is going to Utica, New York.

I am not posting the image for I do not know if this the Marya that married Andrzej.

Regards,
Trish

Name Marya Piatkowska [Marya Piatkowski]
Gender Female
Ethnicity/ Nationality Polish
Marital Status Single
Age 18
Birth Date abt 1889
Birth Place Galicia
Other Birth Place Lubacz
Last Known Residence Lubasz, Galicy
Departure Port Bremen
Arrival Date 2 Aug 1907
Arrival Port New York, New York, USA
Residence Place Galicia
Final Destination Utica, New York
Height 5 Feet
Hair Color Blonde
Eye Color Gray
Complexion Fair
Money in Possession $12
Person in Old Country Jan Piatkowski
Person in Old Country Relationship Father
Person in Old Country Residence Lubasz Szczncin Galicy
Person in US Florence Piatk
Person in US Relationship Cousin
Father Jan Piatkowski
Ship Name Bremen

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

Trish — Sun Jun 28, 2026 9:27 am

Author: Trish

Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2026 9:27 am

Sam wrote:

Dear Trish and Sophia,

I did consider contacting St. Bartholomew's over in Crabtree, Pa., to see if they have anything relevant.

I do believe my great-grandmother is older than most records show after she remarried. The 1913 marriage record and 1920 census suggests she was born in 1891. Her mother's name being Agnieszka sounds right.

Many thanks for your continued interest and help,
Sam

Hi Sophhia and Sam,

Sophia, thank you for the information about the town and possible records for it.

The birth record is interesting! I would keep the record and put it in the "possibility" folder. Sam, do you know the informant that gave the information for Marya Piatkowski when she died? Was this informant accurate with the information?

Sam, I do have more questions for you. Who did Andrzej know in North Bergen, New Jersey when he filled out his Alien Registration form? Did he have family there? It's interesting for then Andrzej goes back to Pennsylvania where he later dies. (Tidbit: My Broda family went to Trenton, New Jersey to visit someone in 1900. Had my Great-Aunt while they were there. Then the family returned back to Swedesboro, Pennsylvania where they lived before and after the Trenton, NJ trip. I still cannot figure out who they went to go visit.)

Regards,
Trish

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

Sam — Sat Jun 27, 2026 8:35 pm

Author: Sam

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2026 8:35 pm

Dear Trish and Sophia,

I did consider contacting St. Bartholomew's over in Crabtree, Pa., to see if they have anything relevant.

I do believe my great-grandmother is older than most records show after she remarried. The 1913 marriage record and 1920 census suggests she was born in 1891. Her mother's name being Agnieszka sounds right.

Many thanks for your continued interest and help,
Sam

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

Sophia — Sat Jun 27, 2026 12:07 pm

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2026 12:07 pm

Hi Sam and Trish,

There are minimal available records online for Lubasz, Szczucin. You can see that Skanoteka has them here, but only for the years 1880-1889:
https://skanoteka.genealodzy.pl/id3649-sy3505

I went through them anyway, just to see if the Piatkowski family shows up. Interestingly, there is one baptism for a Piatkowski child. It happens to be in September, and it happens to be a Maria, but it is 1889 and we were expecting her to be born in 1895. Sam, is there any chance that your great-grandmother was a bit older than her U.S. records show?

https://skanoteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=pg&id=3649&se=&sy=3505&kt=1&plik=015.jpg&zoom=6.41 look on the left page at baptism #20. Her father is Jan and her mother is Agnieszka. Trish, would this fit with the manifest you found?

Sophia

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

Trish — Sat Jun 27, 2026 8:46 am

Author: Trish

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2026 8:46 am

Sam wrote:

The following image is gleaned from my great-grandfather's 1918 draft card, and may be the only lead I readily possess regarding an exact place in Austrian Galicia (DNA appears to suggest modern-day Lesser Poland in particular) he may have resided/been born in before emigrating. The registrant (a Mr. Ryan) seems to have wrote village/town names on my ancestor's card and others he recorded on the foreign citizenship line, even though such a thing was not explicitly called-for, so it may be a stroke of fortune for me, considering my ancestor never filed for naturalization nor am I certain of any immigration/manifest record.

Hi Sam and Sophia,

Sam, don't you just love pictures? They bring the person to life. I think the pictures are so interesting. Thank you for sharing them with us.

I'm still having trouble finding the manifests for your ancestors. I did find a Marya Piatkowska coming into the USA from Lubasz, but her father was Jan.

By any chance did you try to obtain the church marriage record for Andrzej and Marya? It might have some clues on the record. I would ask the church for the record with any notations on it like place of origin and parents' name. The church record could list the witnesses' names which also might be helpful. You can also try to get the baptismal records of the children. Their could be clues on those records also.

Name Andrej Szewczyk
Gender Male
Marriage Date 22 Oct 1913
Marriage Place Greensberg, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, USA
Spouse Mary Anna Piotkonoska
Film Number 001316396

I am not familiar with the towns mentioned on the Alien Registration. Maybe someone on the forum would know if there is any microfilm online for these towns. Also, maybe you can write to the town and ask for the birth records for Andrzej and Marya.

Regards,
Trish

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

Sophia — Wed Jun 24, 2026 7:26 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2026 7:26 am

Hi Sam,

Thanks for uploading the portraits! These colorized photos were so popular in the 1910s and 1920s. I had a chance to see a set which had been removed from their frames. It was rather interesting. They are actual black-and-white photos onto which color had been added. On the back of each picture were some notes from the photographer to the color artist, telling them for example what color eyes the person had, what color the necktie should be, etc.

Thanks again,
Sophia

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

Sam — Sat Jun 20, 2026 6:44 pm

Author: Sam

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2026 6:44 pm

Sophia,

My mistake! But Trish's manifest makes me wish the AR-2 asked if the registrant had any living siblings in the U.S.

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

Sophia — Sat Jun 20, 2026 7:56 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2026 7:56 am

Hi Sam,

Actually it was Trish who pointed out the difference between birthplace and residence on the manifest. Just giving credit where credit is due!

I'd be interested to see the crayon portraits!

Sophia

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

Sam — Fri Jun 19, 2026 9:54 pm

Author: Sam

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2026 9:54 pm

Sophia and Trish,

I have been looking through FamilySearch manifests. Unfortunately I have seen nothing really substantial, although one can't shake the feeling they might've missed something, although the 13 July date seems specific now that a ship name has been revealed. I did investigate the Kaiser Wilhelm II's manifest, as it was at New York in July as well.

Trish, you are right about birthplace vs. residence.

And I did find two "crayon portraits" alongside a note identifying them as Andrzej and his wife, Marianna. If there is interest in seeing them I'd post them. I do wonder if the original photos the crayon enlargements are based on are still out there somewhere.

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

Trish — Fri Jun 19, 2026 12:50 pm

Author: Trish

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2026 12:50 pm

Sophia wrote:

Sam wrote:

Sophia,

I did consider the 18 May manifest the most sensible possibility for Andrzej (of those I could readily find) if a 1904 arrival was indeed correct. Sadly I failed to pursue the lead of a brother while my paid membership on Ancestry was active.

What put me off somewhat was the apparent age of the individual (eighteen), which seems rather low, considering Andrzej only ever gave his birth years as between 1880-1882. The residence place, (also featuring a castle and lake à la Dobczyce), also seemed too far south to me, although I did see Slovak results in some of my DNA matches.

Hi Sam,

Thanks for that. It's hard to retain details like this when I am looking at so many requests from so many people.

I am providing here a link to the first page of the manifest for the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse's arrival at Ellis Island on July 13, 1904:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-816Y-94M4?view=index&cc=1368704&lang=en&groupId=M9P8-Z2W

You will notice that the first pages are for passengers who embarked in Cherbourg. You have to continue paging through the images until you reach those who sailed from Bremen.

I know it will be tedious because this ship begins on image 176 and ends on image 258, but I say you should go for it!

Good luck,
Sophia

Hi Sophia and Sam,

I still trying to see if I can find any other manifest for Andrzej. However, I do want to bring to your attention one detail about the 1904 manitest I had posted. The town listed is the "last known residence" not the "town of birth". I'm trying to keep an open mind here. However, I'll keep searching.

I did find a few people named Jozef Szewczyk in Pennsylvania. There were many. Their years of birth ranged between 1870-1890. None of them listed a father as Jakub or no father was listed at all.

Regards,
Trish

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

Sophia — Fri Jun 19, 2026 10:44 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2026 10:44 am

Sam wrote:

Sophia,

I did consider the 18 May manifest the most sensible possibility for Andrzej (of those I could readily find) if a 1904 arrival was indeed correct. Sadly I failed to pursue the lead of a brother while my paid membership on Ancestry was active.

What put me off somewhat was the apparent age of the individual (eighteen), which seems rather low, considering Andrzej only ever gave his birth years as between 1880-1882. The residence place, Czorsztyn (also featuring a castle and lake à la Dobczyce), also seemed too far south to me, although I did see Slovak results in some of my DNA matches.

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

Sam — Fri Jun 19, 2026 8:33 am

Author: Sam

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2026 8:33 am

Sophia,

I did consider the 18 May manifest the most sensible possibility for Andrzej (of those I could readily find) if a 1904 arrival was indeed correct. Sadly I failed to pursue the lead of a brother while my paid membership on Ancestry was active.

What put me off somewhat was the apparent age of the individual (eighteen), which seems rather low, considering Andrzej only ever gave his birth years as between 1880-1882. The residence place, Czorsztyn (also featuring a castle and lake à la Dobczyce), also seemed too far south to me, although I did see Slovak results in some of my DNA matches.