Posted: 4 Days ago at 11:29 pm
Post subject:
Dear Trish and Sophia,
I finally went ahead and ordered the AR-2 forms, which, after more than a year of wrangling with the question of just where in Galicia my great-grandparents came from, I can say was worth it.
For my g-grandfather Andrew, he names "Dobcszese," Austria, as his place of birth, but no particular province, but I feel confident enough to say that such a place is in fact the town of Dobczyce, formerly part of Bezirk Wieliczka, Austria.
I was even more surprised to learn from a Histmag article by Catherine Dominik that when Andrzej was born in the 1880s, Dobczyce's revitalization as a settlement "was fueled, among other things, by the shoemaking craft, which by the end of the 19th century numbered approximately 170 workshops..."
So, it seems fitting that a man surnamed Szewczyk came from a town with a prominent Shoemakers' Guild and robust trade in footwear.
The form states that Andrzej emigrated (during a period when Dobczyce was beset with troubles) in July 1904 as a passenger on the S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm (der Grosse), departing Bremen July 5 and arriving at N.Y. July 13. Unfortunately I have not had much success with manifests as of yet. Unfortunately it seems Steve Morse's site has suffered from expired certification or whatnot.
For my g-grandmother, Andrew's wife, the form, which is a bit more confusing in terms of the exact accuracy of the information, states that she was born in the village of Lubasz near the town of Szczucin, which corroborates a relative's note that she was born on the Austro-Russian frontier.
It also states she emigrated as a passenger on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in August 1909, arriving probably on the 17th. Again, manifests seem hard to come by.
Many thanks for the advice and assistance thus far,
Sam
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TrishPO Top Contributor
Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Replies: 552
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2026 9:19 am
Post subject:
| Sam wrote: | Dear Trish and Sophia,
I finally went ahead and ordered the AR-2 forms, which, after more than a year of wrangling with the question of just where in Galicia my great-grandparents came from, I can say was worth it.
For my g-grandfather Andrew, he names "Dobcszese," Austria, as his place of birth, but no particular province, but I feel confident enough to say that such a place is in fact the town of Dobczyce, formerly part of Bezirk Wieliczka, Austria.
I was even more surprised to learn from a Histmag article by Catherine Dominik that when Andrzej was born in the 1880s, Dobczyce's revitalization as a settlement "was fueled, among other things, by the shoemaking craft, which by the end of the 19th century numbered approximately 170 workshops..."
So, it seems fitting that a man surnamed Szewczyk came from a town with a prominent Shoemakers' Guild and robust trade in footwear.
The form states that Andrzej emigrated (during a period when Dobczyce was beset with troubles) in July 1904 as a passenger on the S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm (der Grosse), departing Bremen July 5 and arriving at N.Y. July 13. Unfortunately I have not had much success with manifests as of yet. Unfortunately it seems Steve Morse's site has suffered from expired certification or whatnot.
For my g-grandmother, Andrew's wife, the form, which is a bit more confusing in terms of the exact accuracy of the information, states that she was born in the village of Lubasz near the town of Szczucin, which corroborates a relative's note that she was born on the Austro-Russian frontier.
It also states she emigrated as a passenger on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in August 1909, arriving probably on the 17th. Again, manifests seem hard to come by.
Many thanks for the advice and assistance thus far,
Sam |
Hi Sam,
So happy to hear you got information from the Alien Registration records. Thank you for sharing it with the forum. Hopefully now we can try to find a manifest for Andrzej.
Have a great day!
Trish
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2026 9:36 pm
Post subject:
I take back what I said. The 17 August 1909 manifest for the Kaiser Wilhelm is available.
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SophiaPO Top Contributor
Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1542
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2026 4:37 am
Post subject:
| Sam wrote: |
The form states that Andrzej emigrated (during a period when Dobczyce was beset with troubles) in July 1904 as a passenger on the S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm (der Grosse), departing Bremen July 5 and arriving at N.Y. July 13.
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Hi Sam,
Back on Apr 22, 2025 Trish posted a manifest for Andrzej arriving May 18th, 1904 on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Can you remind me why you don't think that is him?
Sophia
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Posted: Yesterday at 8:33 am
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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.
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SophiaPO Top Contributor
Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1542
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Posted: Yesterday at 10:44 am
Post subject:
| 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. |
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
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TrishPO Top Contributor
Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Replies: 552
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Posted: Yesterday at 12:50 pm
Post subject:
| 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
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Posted: Yesterday at 9:54 pm
Post subject:
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.
Last edited by Sam on 11 hours ago at 6:03 pm; edited 1 time in total
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SophiaPO Top Contributor
Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1542
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Posted: 21 hours ago at 7:56 am
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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
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Posted: 11 hours ago at 6:44 pm
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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.
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