Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2025 5:11 pm
Post subject: Please Help- Galicia Grandparents
I posted about my paternal line and received SO much help (Thank you!). I'm hoping someone can help find my maternal line, as I'm at a standstill on that as well. I have spent about 50 hours, searching all the forums I can (JewishGen, FamilyAncestry, Gesher Galicia, Lebgens, Geneteka) with no luck.
I am trying to find my great great grandfather (Jan Olender) and great great grandmother (Katarzyna Bąk). Here is what I know:
Great Great Grandfather: Jan Olender
Great Great Grandmother: Katarzyna Bąk
Their daughter (my Great Grandmother): Aniela Olender
(newer American records have her first name as Amela, Elsie, Alicia, and Ellen)
DOB: October 9, 1891 (some records say 1893)
Birthplace: Milno or Podkamien, Galicia, Austria
Immigration: NY, USA, via Hamburg, on October 31, 1909
Travelers: Her niece (Stefania Maciejko, 8 yo) & nephew (Bronislaw Maciejko, 9 yo). They were going to stay with "Adam Maciejko," who was described as her brother in law and father of her niece and nephew.
Residence: On Ellis Island log, she said it was "Podkamien, Galicia" where her father ("Jan Olender") remained.
Died: November 8, 1959 (USA)
ANY help with tracing Jon Olender & Katarzyna Bąk would be greatly appreciated. The family history is that one of them was Jewish, but I know Aniela was practicing Catholic. I have found no record of Aniela's parents immigrating to USA.
Thank you greatly.
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 12:21 pm
Post subject:
Hi,
I have looked for the Olender /Bąk / Maciejko names while working on your paternal line. Neither of them were born in Milno until 1900.The surname Olender I have seen a few times. Bąk and Maciejko not at all. Most of the Olender names I have seen in the villages of Ratyszcze and Trościaniec. Both belong to the parish of Załoźce (like Milno).
I would like to have seen the Manifest from 1909. Could you share this document with us?
-Barb
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dnowickiPO Top Contributor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Replies: 2950
Location: Michigan City, IndianaBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 12:46 pm
Post subject: Re: Please Help- Galicia Grandparents
| Amajkut wrote: | I posted about my paternal line and received SO much help (Thank you!). I'm hoping someone can help find my maternal line, as I'm at a standstill on that as well. I have spent about 50 hours, searching all the forums I can (JewishGen, FamilyAncestry, Gesher Galicia, Lebgens, Geneteka) with no luck.
I am trying to find my great great grandfather (Jan Olender) and great great grandmother (Katarzyna Bąk). Here is what I know:
Great Great Grandfather: Jan Olender
Great Great Grandmother: Katarzyna Bąk
Their daughter (my Great Grandmother): Aniela Olender
(newer American records have her first name as Amela, Elsie, Alicia, and Ellen)
DOB: October 9, 1891 (some records say 1893)
Birthplace: Milno or Podkamien, Galicia, Austria
Immigration: NY, USA, via Hamburg, on October 31, 1909
Travelers: Her niece (Stefania Maciejko, 8 yo) & nephew (Bronislaw Maciejko, 9 yo). They were going to stay with "Adam Maciejko," who was described as her brother in law and father of her niece and nephew.
Residence: On Ellis Island log, she said it was "Podkamien, Galicia" where her father ("Jan Olender") remained.
Died: November 8, 1959 (USA)
ANY help with tracing Jon Olender & Katarzyna Bąk would be greatly appreciated. The family history is that one of them was Jewish, but I know Aniela was practicing Catholic. I have found no record of Aniela's parents immigrating to USA.
Thank you greatly. |
Hi Audrey,
A few ideas for your Olender line…
1) If Aniela was born in Milno in the parish of Załoźce in either 1891 or 1893 and since the Geneteka index only covers the years 1867-1890 you could look for her birth on Family Search at your local library. If her parents were married prior to 1867 and she was born late in their marriage the same would hold true for them. Family Search images have several advantages—the images which were originally microfilmed have been digitized which allows for the clearest possible images and they are images from records housed at two archives, one in Poland and the other in Ukraine. Although they cannot be accessed from the comfort of home, can be viewed at your local affiliated library. When the Genealogical Society of Utah (affiliated with the Church of Latter-Day Saints sought permission to film the records the Society entered into a contract with each archive and most likely that contract requires that the images be viewed at a Family History Center or an Affiliated Library.
2) If she was born in Podkamien, there are several parishes with that name within a 25km radius of Załoźce. In order to determine which one is the correct parish my First recommendation would be to contact St. Hedwig Parish in Wilmington and requesting a photocopy of Aniela & Jan’s marriage entry in the parish marriage register, which should include the name of the parish/parishes where they were baptized. As migration both both within Europe and to America increased during the third quarter of the 19th century be Catholic Church required the priest who witnessed and blessed a marriage to send notification to the parishes where the parties had been baptized and thus, in order to do so, he usually entered that information in the marriage register. In theory notifications were sent to Europe and the information entered into the proper baptismal register but in reality the notifications were seldom sent. However, priests who were detail oriented were diligent about entering the baptismal information in the Parish Marriage Register.
Attached is a copy of the civil registration of Jan and Aniela’s marriage. The entry in the return which gives their place of origin as Austria would be of absolutely no help. However, the ecclesiastical entry in the marriage register should be much more specific. I’ve made the suggestion fairly often in the past and more times than not the strategy proved successful. Unfortunately there are no guarantees but it is certainly worth a try. You already have Jan’s birth & baptism record but the register should contain the same info for Aniela, which should lead you to the desired information. There were two Polish Catholic parishes in Wilmington, St. Hedwig and St. Stanislaus but St. Stanislaus was not founded until after the year of their marriage. If you go the above route please be sure to request a copy of the entry in the register and not a certificate.
Here is the contact information for St. Hedwig’s:
St. Hedwig Church
408 S. Harrison Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 19805
Parish Office
Telephone: 302-594-1400, ext. 1
Fax: 302-594-1415
Email: [email protected]
www.sthedwigde.org
sthedwigde sthedwigdelaware
Parish Office Business Hours
Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday Evening
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Another option would be to use Family Search which has the filmed sacramental registers for St. Hedwig parish but only some are digitized and the marriage register is not one of them. It is still on a 35 mm microfilm reel. It is possible to request a lookup of the record from Family Search but I’m not familiar with the process of doing that since I’ve never done it myself.
Here is the link to the catalog for St. Hedwig parish https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog/626281
Also, since some of the records which have not been digitized may be helpful in your research you may consider requesting that the records which have not been digitized be put on the list of films to be digitized.
Here is a link to a detailed map of Galicia which you may find helpful: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CarteNouvelledesRoyaumesdeGalizieetLodomerie_large.jpg
Wishing you continued success,
Dave
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 1:19 pm
Post subject:
| BarbOslo wrote: | Hi,
I have looked for the Olender /Bąk / Maciejko names while working on your paternal line. Neither of them were born in Milno until 1900.The surname Olender I have seen a few times. Bąk and Maciejko not at all. Most of the Olender names I have seen in the villages of Ratyszcze and Trościaniec. Both belong to the parish of Załoźce (like Milno).
I would like to have seen the Manifest from 1909. Could you share this document with us?
-Barb |
Thank you, Barb! Attached are the 1909 manifests for Aniela from Hamburg & Ellis Island (highlighted her and her niece/nephew)
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 1:24 pm
Post subject:
| BarbOslo wrote: | Hi,
I have looked for the Olender /Bąk / Maciejko names while working on your paternal line. Neither of them were born in Milno until 1900.The surname Olender I have seen a few times. Bąk and Maciejko not at all. Most of the Olender names I have seen in the villages of Ratyszcze and Trościaniec. Both belong to the parish of Załoźce (like Milno).
I would like to have seen the Manifest from 1909. Could you share this document with us?
-Barb |
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looking for cluesPO Top Contributor
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1615
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 2:37 pm
Post subject:
Hi,
The family lived in Podkamien. I have now found Angela's brother, Kazimierz Olander born August 1st, 1889 and sister Jozefa born March 23rd, 1893. Parents: Jan Olander and Katarzyna Bock. Hoping to find Angela as well.
-Barb
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1615
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 3:39 pm
Post subject:
Here is Angela's (Aniela's) birth record. She was born on March 5th, 1885 in Podkamień. Parents: Jan and Katarzyna nee Bock.
Jan's parents: Paweł Olender and Marianna nee Sterhaluk.
Katarzyna's parents: Antoni Bock and Katarzyna nee Kieffman.
-Barb
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 4:49 pm
Post subject:
| BarbOslo wrote: | Here is Angela's (Aniela's) birth record. She was born on March 5th, 1885 in Podkamień. Parents: Jan and Katarzyna nee Bock.
Jan's parents: Paweł Olender and Marianna nee Sterhaluk.
Katarzyna's parents: Antoni Bock and Katarzyna nee Kieffman.
-Barb |
Wow! I know you're still working, but I am curious as to where this was found and how you were able to link it to the same Aniela (mostly curious about the birthdate, since Jan Majkut's naturalization records have her birthday as 9 October 1891, the 1920s census has it as 1891, and her Ellis Island entry has her birth year as ~1889).
Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH for doing this!!! I'm learning so much from you!
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looking for cluesPO Top Contributor
Joined: 04 Apr 2015
Replies: 146
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 5:08 pm
Post subject:
Amajkut, you might find this site about Podkamien interesting. Lots of good links. https://www.podkamien.pl/news.php You need to sign in to see some of the areas.
Diane
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1615
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 5:24 pm
Post subject:
| Amajkut wrote: | | BarbOslo wrote: | Here is Angela's (Aniela's) birth record. She was born on March 5th, 1885 in Podkamień. Parents: Jan and Katarzyna nee Bock.
Jan's parents: Paweł Olender and Marianna nee Sterhaluk.
Katarzyna's parents: Antoni Bock and Katarzyna nee Kieffman.
-Barb |
Wow! I know you're still working, but I am curious as to where this was found and how you were able to link it to the same Aniela (mostly curious about the birthdate, since Jan Majkut's naturalization records have her birthday as 9 October 1891, the 1920s census has it as 1891, and her Ellis Island entry has her birth year as ~1889).
Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH for doing this!!! I'm learning so much from you! |
Hello,
When you didn't find anything in Milno, it was a sign that she was born somewhere else. That's why I wanted to see Manifest. This stated that she came from Podkamien. Then I tried to look for church records from this place or area. I saw that the surnames Olender, Maciejko exist in Podkamien. Then I checked page by page. I have learned that American documents often have incorrect and different dates in Manifest, census, naturalization registers... Angela is an example. I had not thought that the gap would be so big, but the findings of Kazimierz (1889) and Jozefa (1893) indicated that Angela was older than her siblings. The most important thing is that there are documents and access to them. And some experience helps too.
-Barb
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1615
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 3:54 am
Post subject:
Hi,
Here is information about Angela's younger brother, Kazimierz. I found his grave in the town of Serby (dolnoslaskie). It seems that he/the family moved to Poland. I believe it was due to the repatriation of Poles from the east (from Ukraine to Poland) after the end of World War II.
https://grobonet.com/p/glogow/404/kazimierz-olender-1889-glogow-gmina
-Barb
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1615
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 2:40 pm
Post subject:
Hi,
I emailed the birth records of all of Angela Olender's siblings, and the marriage records of their parents.
-Barb
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looking for cluesPO Top Contributor
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1615
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 5:33 pm
Post subject:
Hi Diane,
Alphabetical indexes are helpful, but only partially. Especially when it comes to death records. Easier for marriage indexes that contain 2 surnames, or birth indexes that may contain parents' first names. Birth indexes are mostly dates of baptism.
Many books are preserved in Podkamien parish. Fantastic opportunities to find ancestors.
As for the date of death mentioned by you for Jan Olender, it is not the correct Jan. This Jan was only 1.5 years old. But Jan who died in 1928 could fit.
-Barb
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