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surname Bawolek
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jebawolek
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Post Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 7:37 am      Post subject: Surname
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I am trying to find out any information regarding the surname "Bawolek." Location or area in Poland where the family is/was located.
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Cheri Vanden Berg
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Post Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 9:34 pm      Post subject:
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Hi jebawolek,
In 2002 there were 186 people with the surname Bawołek in Poland. You can see where they lived here: https://nazwiska-polskie.pl/Bawo%C5%82ek
Note that Bawolek did not show up on the map, this spelling has the letter ł not l. To find out where your Bawolek/Bawołek family was from, you will probably need to do research in the United States first. If your ancestors married in a Polish Catholic church, that is usually a reliable place to find the village where they were baptized. If they became a citizen, you will want to look for Naturalization records. Many people try to find their ancestors on a ship manifest. If you do, you might need help deciphering the village name if you are not familiar with it (or if the person indexing the record was not familiar with it).
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jebawolek
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Post Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 7:14 am      Post subject:
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Thank you very much. I have been working with or using Ancestry.com and found records that show my grandfather was from either Grebów, Podkarpackie, Poland or Siedliska, Poland. It appears that there are many Siedliska locations which is confusing to me. I was hoping to some day visit the town and area where my grandparents came from and possibly find more information about my heritage.
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Cheri Vanden Berg
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Post Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 6:32 pm      Post subject:
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Oh, my, did you count something like 29 villages with the name Siedliska? Siedliska means habitat in Polish. So if you translate this page https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siedliska it would say Habitat instead of Siedliska. Next to each village Siedliska is the political divisions that they are in. The woj. is the larger divisions such as Podkarpackie. Pow. is powiat kind of like a county, and Gmina, I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's a slightly larger village/town that Siedliska would be a part of. I believe civil records from Siedliska would be kept there. So IF your grandfather was from Siedliska, you would need to find something further to identify which one he was from. For instance, I have seen Świlcza, Rzeszów on records for my grandfather's village, because it's in Rzeszów powiat. There is only one village named Świlcza, but often Rzeszów may be added anyway.

Are you saying that you have seen two different villages that your grandfather was from, on records that are his for sure, or are you saying that you have seen your grandfather's name on these records and wonder which one could be where he was from? Many of us have been there in the beginning of our search, so we understand.
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jebawolek
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Post Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 9:29 pm      Post subject:
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Thanks again for your help. I am new to this and kind of stumbling along. Yes, Siedliska came up with a long list. What you say makes a lot of sense now. I'm sure these Polish immigrants that were struggling with the new language and new country had many problems communicating accurately. I'm also sure the people taking the information tried to do their best but also found it to be a struggle.

I did find a WWII Draft Registration document that lists my grandfather's birthplace as Greboff, Poland. However, when I Google the name Greboff nothing comes up. There is a Grebow, Poland and I believe that the person taking the draft information from my grandfather probably did not spell his birthplace correctly. My grandfather never spoke very good English and it is entirely possible that his pronunciation sounded like Greboff when actually he meant Grebow. I hope this makes sense.

Do you know of a town named Grebow in Poland?
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Cheri Vanden Berg
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Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 1:28 am      Post subject:
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My grandfather didn't speak English well either. On his Social Security application it said his mother's maiden name was Bortsky. It was Boczkaj. He had signed the application, but the rest of it wasn't his handwriting. Yes, there is a village and Gmina named Grębów. I do understand what you're saying, and it's entirely possible that Greboff is Grębów. I would feel more comfortable if it was written correctly on a document.

I found your grandparents' marriage record at St. Hedwig on July 2, 1907. Unfortunately it does not give their birth places. Priests did collect the information on where they were baptized. I was told that if it isn't in the marriage record book, that it may be in a wedding banns book, so you could ask the parish office of St. Hedwig if they have that information.

Here is the link to their marriage record at Family Search, it's on the top right:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6XPS-KSW?i=121&wc=M66P-NZ9%3A39965201%2C39692901%3Fcc%3D1452409&cc=1452409

The marriage record does have your great grandparents' names. First I wanted to note the line above the l in Bawołek. That is the equivalent of the typed ł. The first names are in Latin, Joannes is Jan/John. His father Adalbertus is Wojciech, his mother Sophia is Zofia. Catharina is Katarzyna. Her father Joseph is Józef, her mother Anna's name is the same in Polish.
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jebawolek
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Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 11:10 am      Post subject:
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This is so interesting. Now I know the names of my great grandparents.

My grandmother’s maiden name was Janus. It looks like the Polish spelling would have been Janusz and they just dropped the z after a while in the USA. It looks like there were two witnesses possibly best man and maid of honor (?). One was Joannes (John) Ratzka and the other was Franciscus (Frances ?) Janusz. Would that be correct?

Thank you very much for your time and effort. This is really a great learning experience.
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Cheri Vanden Berg
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Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 12:53 pm      Post subject:
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Janus is also a Polish surname (also Janas and Janos). Maybe Janusz was the way Katarzyna's name was spelled in Poland, and maybe it was spelled both ways in records.

The witnesses weren't always 1 male and 1 female. Your are correct about the witness names, except that Franciscus would be Francis or Frank in the U.S. during this time period. In Poland the name would be Franciszek.

It says that John Bawolek was naturalized (Na) in the 1940 census, but so far I can't find him in a naturalization index. I did find Catherine Bawolek (Janus), who became a citizen in 1942. I had entered information about how I got my grandfather's records here: http://polishorigins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657&highlight=Ins Shellie has some interesting information too. You could find what I wrote by scrolling down to the end of page 1. Dave also has some interesting comments on page 2.

You could get Catherine's naturalization number by searching for her name at Ancestry (where I saw it) or Family Search. My grandfather's record did name my grandmother's village too. The naturalization records don't always have accurate spelling either, and sometimes unlucky people will just get "Poland" for place of birth, but I think they are worth getting. The most accurate spelling would come from a Polish priest in church records...
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dnowicki
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Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 12:59 pm      Post subject: Franciscus = Francis/Frank
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Hi,

The two witnesses are both men---John/Jan Ratzka and Francis(Frank)/Franciszek Janusz. The custom for centuries was that the two witnesses were both men. That started to change in the early 20th Century with a switch to one male and one female witness. In Latin records the terms "best man" and "maid/matron of honor" never appear. Their function was to witness the couple's exchange of vows and thus they are listed as "testes/witnesses". It is significant that the switch to a male and a female witness began in the early 20th Century, the time of the final push for a woman's right to vote in the USA. The entry in the notations section should be ignored. It is an entry for the marriage of another couple. Evidently the two marriages listed in that column had not been entered in sequence in the proper location and the priest was making an attempt to keep things in sequence. There is a good possibility that Frank/Francis/Franciszek Janusz was related to Catherine/Katarzyna.

Wishing you success in your research,

Dave
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Cheri Vanden Berg
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Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 8:24 pm      Post subject:
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I just remembered the Cook County Circuit Court Declarations of Intentions site: http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/nr/default.aspx
Declarations of Intentions are considered 1st papers. Naturalizations are final papers. People had just so many years in between both, so it looks like your grandfather had to start the process over, because his name is on this list twice:

NAME BIRTH DATE BIRTH TOWN BIRTH COUNTRY OCCUPATION
BAWOLEK, ANTONINA 3/11/1897 TARNOV POLAND - AUSTRIA CATHOLIC NUN
BAWOLEK, JAN 1/19/1878 SIEGLESKA HUNGARY BUTCHER
BAWOLEK, JAN 4/28/1886 SIEDLISKA AUSTRIA PRESSER
BAWOLEK, KAZIMIERZ 9/4/1882 SIEDLISHA AUSTRIA LABORER
BAWOLEK, MICHAL 5/15/1889 SIEDLISKO AUSTRIA LABORER
BAWOLEK, MIKE 5/15/1889 SHIECLLISKA AUSTRIA LABORER
BAWOLEK, STANISLAW 1/16/1884 SIEDLISKA POLAND NOT GIVEN
BAWOLEK [BAWALET], JOHN 4/28/1886 SIEDLISKA POLAND - AUSTRIA TAILOR

First Declaration:
Record Details for Volume 51
Page Number: 289
Declaration Number: 25289

FIRST NAME LAST NAME OCCUPATION
JAN BAWOLEK PRESSER
BIRTH CITY BIRTH COUNTRY BIRTH DATE
SIEDLISKA AUSTRIA 4/28/1886
CURRENT ADDRESS CURRENT CITY
1940 GIRARD ST. CHICAGO
DEPARTURE LOCATION ARRIVAL DATE DECLARATION DATE
BREMEN, GERMANY 11/5/1903 2/26/1913

Second Declaration:
Record Details for Volume 268
Page Number: 91
Declaration Number: 131991

FIRST NAME LAST NAME OCCUPATION
JOHN BAWOLEK [BAWALET] TAILOR
BIRTH CITY BIRTH COUNTRY BIRTH DATE
SIEDLISKA POLAND - AUSTRIA 4/28/1886
CURRENT ADDRESS CURRENT CITY
2214 LYNDALE ST. CHICAGO
DEPARTURE LOCATION ARRIVAL DATE DECLARATION DATE
BREMEN, GERMANY 11/5/1903 5/28/1921

I also found your grandfather in a Naturalization Index at Ancestry. His name was spelled Jan Bawolik. He was born 4/28/1886
Certificate no. -60914 Date of Naturalization Dec. 5, 1924.
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dnowicki
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Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 8:27 pm      Post subject: Catherine Janus Petition for Naturalization
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Hi again,

Attached are Catherine's immigration index cards, her petition for naturalization and a map showing the two locations given in the petition, the town of Grybow and the village of Polna. She states that she was born in Grybow and lived in Polna before immigrating. This info should give a good idea of where to look for her birth record.

Cheri,

For future reference...Naturalization petitions from Chicago are online but it is a two step process to locate them since the petition images are not indexed. Step one in the process is to find the naturalization index card (which is indexed). Then search records on Family Search by location---Illinois image only records using the petition number found on the index card to find the image of the petition of interest.

Dave



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Cheri Vanden Berg
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Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 9:06 pm      Post subject:
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Thanks, Dave! I didn't know the petitions were on Family Search.

I saw Siedliska on the map you gave that has Grybów and Polna. Siedliska is at the top near Biesna. I couldn't get this Siedliska to show up on Google maps until I put Biesna in. Maybe this is the Siediska that John Bawolek is from. Maybe the Greboff that he has on his WWII draft registration is Grybów, and maybe he just gave that town, as some people do, because it was the largest town around his village.

From the list of 29 villages named Siedliska, this is the one that is 11 or 12 miles from Grybów:
Siedliska - wieś w woj. małopolskim [Małopolska] w pow. gorlickim [Gorlice], w gminie Bobowa

Cheri



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jebawolek
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Post Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 7:19 am      Post subject:
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Thank you Cheri and Dave. I found out more in the last two days than the last couple years. Your knowledge and expertise is amazing.

Thanks again.

Joe Bawolek
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Cheri Vanden Berg
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Post Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 10:55 pm      Post subject:
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Dave,
Is this where you found Catherine Janus Bawolek's Petition?
https://familysearch.org/search/image/index?owc=Q4K7-W38%3A1010138201%3Fcc%3D2212212
I had tried to find the Volume numbers, dates, and petition numbers that I saw on the Cook County Circuit Court Declarations of Intentions site (that I mentioned above), and nothing seems to match. Would the petition number found on the index card at Family Search be different?


Joe,
Happy to help. I just want to make sure you've got the right Siedliska. When my sister was doing a high school genealogy project, she asked my grandmother where she was from and she said Nowy Targ. Actually my sister wrote down Novy Tark. When I found Nowy Targ it seemed to be too big of a town to be the village my grandmother described. It turns out she was from Załuczne, which is about 12 miles from the larger town of Nowy Targ. So you see, she did what I THINK your grandfather did when he said "Greboff".

I also wondered if maybe Grybów was once a powiat, and it turned out that it was until 1932. I don't know that it was the powiat for Siedliska though. It seems that the villages I was able to find in the powiat of Grybów were south of Grybów and they are now in the powiat of Nowy Sacz.

I learned that my grandmother was born in Załuczne from very helpful people that responded at Polish Origins. I had photos that were sent to my grandmother from Poland. One was in front of the Odrowąż church where my grandmother was baptized (Załuczne didn't have a church then). Do you or any of your relatives have any photos or letters from Poland that might help further in identifying the correct Siedliska?

I found John's brother Kazimierz Bawolek's marriage record at Family Search on the top left: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6SQ3-9GN?i=36&wc=M66L-TWG%3A39539701%2C39805401%3Fcc%3D1452409&cc=1452409
It didn't have the village where he was baptized in the marriage record either. He also has passports at Ancestry from 1922 and 1925, and he was going to visit family in Siedliska, but it didn't name the Gmina or Powiat.

If you Google Siedliska Bobowa Bawołek you will get many hits. I think it's likely you have family there. I'm hoping that one of them will read this and get in touch with you.

Cheri
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Post Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 10:55 pm      Post subject:
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Dave,
Is this where you found Catherine Janus Bawolek's Petition?
https://familysearch.org/search/image/index?owc=Q4K7-W38%3A1010138201%3Fcc%3D2212212
I had tried to find the Volume numbers, dates, and petition numbers that I saw on the Cook County Circuit Court Declarations of Intentions site (that I mentioned above), and nothing seems to match. Would the petition number found on the index card at Family Search be different?


Joe,
Happy to help. I just want to make sure you've got the right Siedliska. When my sister was doing a high school genealogy project, she asked my grandmother where she was from and she said Nowy Targ. Actually my sister wrote down Novy Tark. When I found Nowy Targ it seemed to be too big of a town to be the village my grandmother described. It turns out she was from Załuczne, which is about 12 miles from the larger town of Nowy Targ. So you see, she did what I THINK your grandfather did when he said "Greboff".

I also wondered if maybe Grybów was once a powiat, and it turned out that it was until 1932. I don't know that it was the powiat for Siedliska though. It seems that the villages I was able to find in the powiat of Grybów were south of Grybów and they are now in the powiat of Nowy Sacz.

I learned that my grandmother was born in Załuczne from very helpful people that responded at Polish Origins. I had photos that were sent to my grandmother from Poland. One was in front of the Odrowąż church where my grandmother was baptized (Załuczne didn't have a church then). Do you or any of your relatives have any photos or letters from Poland that might help further in identifying the correct Siedliska?

I found John's brother Kazimierz Bawolek's marriage record at Family Search on the top left: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6SQ3-9GN?i=36&wc=M66L-TWG%3A39539701%2C39805401%3Fcc%3D1452409&cc=1452409
It didn't have the village where he was baptized in the marriage record either. He also has passports at Ancestry from 1922 and 1925, and he was going to visit family in Siedliska, but it didn't name the Gmina or Powiat.

If you Google Siedliska Bobowa Bawołek you will get many hits. I think it's likely you have family there. I'm hoping that one of them will read this and get in touch with you.

Cheri
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