Forum | PolishOrigins :: View topic - Looking for Polish/Austrian Ancestors

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ryannsmall

Joined: 31 Mar 2025
Replies: 1

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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2025 10:30 am Post subject: Looking for Polish/Austrian Ancestors

Hey all, new member here.

I'm looking for my ancestors who lived in the Austro-Hungary empire in the early 1900s. I was always told they were Austrian but from what I understand they were born in Lemberg/Lwow/Lviv which makes them Polish.

Though I've tracked down their general birthplace, I have no clue where they lived up until 1923, nor their citizenship status prior. In Canadian immigration documents, they list their ethnicity as Polish, but as I understand Poland didn't exist until about 1920, so the citizenship they held might have been something else.

I want to find their birth certificates and residency statuses to confirm whether they were Polish or Austrian, and where they actually lived. I'm pretty lost when it comes to searching through European records. Any suggestions?

Here are the ancestors I'm looking for:

Helena Wasser (later Kotler)
Born: 1913 in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Lviv, Ukraine)
Died: 27 Dec 1963, Canada
Emigrated to Canada: 1923
Siblings: Eugania Wasser and Alexandra Wasser
Husband: Albert Kotler
Jewish

Herman Wasser (Also known as Hershel Wasser)
Born: 28 August 1883 in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary
Died: 20 May 1956, Canada
Emigrated to Canada: 1922
Parents: Sanda/Sender/Alessander Wasser and Hesse Wasser
Jewish

Ethel Wasser (née Jost/Just/Donner – Possible Maiden Names)
Born: 28 September 1885 in Klodno, Poland
Died: 25 September 1937, Canada
Emigrated to Canada: 1923
Parents: Solman Jost and Gitel Donner
Jewish

Trish
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Replies: 550

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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2025 10:40 am Post subject: Re: Looking for Polish/Austrian Ancestors

ryannsmall wrote:

Helena Wasser (later Kotler)
Born: 1913 in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Lviv, Ukraine)
Died: 27 Dec 1963, Canada
Emigrated to Canada: 1923
Siblings: Eugania Wasser and Alexandra Wasser
Husband: Albert Kotler
Jewish

Herman Wasser (Also known as Hershel Wasser)
Born: 28 August 1883 in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary
Died: 20 May 1956, Canada
Emigrated to Canada: 1922
Parents: Sanda/Sender/Alessander Wasser and Hesse Wasser
Jewish

Ethel Wasser (née Jost/Just/Donner – Possible Maiden Names)
Born: 28 September 1885 in Klodno, Poland
Died: 25 September 1937, Canada
Emigrated to Canada: 1923
Parents: Solman Jost and Gitel Donner
Jewish

Hi Ryan,

I saw your tree on ancestry.com. I wasn't sure if you saw these records from ancestry.com. Per the Declaration of Passenger to Canada, Herman was going to his brother in Canada. Ethel list her brother who is living in Lwow. I believe that is an address listed also. Maybe someone on the forum could verify that it is an address in Lwow.

Regards,
Trish

Name Herman Wasser
Gender Male
Estimated Birth Year abt 1882
Birth Place Lwów
Age 39
Date of Arrival 24 Sep 1921
Port of Arrival Quebec
Port of Departure Warsaw, Poland
Ship Name Scandanavian

ame Eteia Wasser
Gender Female
Estimated Birth Year abt 1885
Birth Place Klodno
Age 38
Date of Arrival 20 May 1923
Port of Arrival Quebec
Port of Departure Lemberg, Germany
Ship Name Melita

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BarbOslo
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Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1617
Location: Norway
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2025 11:50 am Post subject:

Correct. Ethel's brother lived in Lwów ulica (street) Miodowa 7.

-Barb

Trish
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Replies: 550

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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2025 1:24 pm Post subject:

BarbOslo wrote:

Correct. Ethel's brother lived in Lwów ulica (street) Miodowa 7.

-Barb

Hi Barb,
Thank you for the verification of the street address.

Have a wonderful day!
Warm Regards,
Trish

Sophia
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1534

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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2025 5:37 pm Post subject: Re: Looking for Polish/Austrian Ancestors

ryannsmall wrote:

Hi Ryannsmall,

We recently had another discussion where Kris (user name Iskou) was trying to find records for Jewish ancestors from another part of Poland which is now in Ukraine, Rowne/Rovno. I will give you a link to that conversation. It is a rather long, wide-ranging discussion but in the end, Kris himself found a resource that provided Jewish residents lists for 1881-1919 for Rovno. There may be information there that covers Lwow/Lviv/Lemberg in a similar timeframe, I don't know. Anyway, read through it and maybe you can send a message to Kris (the forum lets you send a private message, to get his attention) and perhaps he can guide you further.

https://forum.polishorigins.com/viewtopic.php?t=23663&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Good luck in your search,
Sophia

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