Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:06 am
Post subject: Wilczak-help
Hi
I am looking for help in regard to my family name.
The last name is Wilczak but in America was changed to Vilchock
I have a lot of information about my family here but I am having trouble with the Polish side.
My great great grandfather was Jan (John) Wilczak (Vilchock) b. June 24, 1873 or 1879 in Lipinski? died Aug 1, 1945 Old Forge, Pennsylvania USA. No record found on mother, but I have a Michael Wilczak for his father.
His wife was Mary Koziol b. about 1886 Lipinski? died March 3, 1956 Old Forge, PA both parents unknown.
I am looking for help tracking down information about Lipinski, where is it? Who were John and Mary's parents? Did they have brothers and sisters? Did they come to America? Are there living relatives still in Poland?
Someone please help, I've been stuck at this point for years now.
I attached a copy of a naturalization for George Vilchock (my great uncle), born in Poland and first child of John and Mary. It lists the name Lipinski, Poland, Galicia?
| Description: |
|
| Filesize: |
190.35 KB |
| Viewed: |
12561 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
|
| Filesize: |
190.35 KB |
| Viewed: |
12561 Time(s) |
|
|
|
|
Cheri Vanden BergPO Top Contributor & Patron
Joined: 16 Oct 2011
Replies: 504
Back to top |
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:15 pm
Post subject:
Hi
The village was Lipinki. You can find Jan Wilczak coming through Ellis Island on April 25, 1903. His name was spelled correctly in the index. He was going to a brother-in-law's in Ohio. Jan's wife Marya and children Wojciech (George) and Jozef arrived at Ellis Island on June 4, 1904. There name was spelled Wilozak in the index, so that's just how the indexer saw it. There is more than one town name Lipinki in Poland. On George's papers, though it does incorrectly say Lipinski, it does give you a hint as to which Lipinki it might be. After "Lipinski" Gal. is written. In case you don't know, that is Galicia, or the Austrian partition of Poland, which is the political division at the time they emigrated (after WWI it was in Poland again).
Cheri
|
|
|
Cheri Vanden BergPO Top Contributor & Patron
Joined: 16 Oct 2011
Replies: 504
Back to top |
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 5:48 pm
Post subject:
I think I was wrong about there being more than one village Lipinki. There are villages with two names: Lipinki Szlacheckie, Lipinki Królewskie, Lipinki Łużyckie, but on Google maps I only saw one that is just Lipinki. Lipinki is a village in Gorlice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Lipinki. It lies approximately 11 kilometres east of Gorlice and 107 km south-east of the regional capital Kraków.
| Description: |
|
| Filesize: |
73.09 KB |
| Viewed: |
12561 Time(s) |
|
|
|
|
Richard Lubinski
Joined: 05 Nov 2008
Replies: 10
Back to top |
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:53 pm
Post subject:
Cheri, I have a friend in Minneapolis, MN. that is from Poland and spells his last name WALCZAK.
|
|
|
Cheri Vanden BergPO Top Contributor & Patron
Joined: 16 Oct 2011
Replies: 504
Back to top |
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:11 pm
Post subject:
Richard,
You made me curious, so I checked them out on the Polish surname distribution map http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/ The population data there is from 2002. There were 44, 150 with the Walczak surname. There were 3,116 with the Wilczak surname. There were 15 with the Wolczak surname, and 1 Wulczak. Google translates walczak as drum, and translates wilczak as wolfdog.
Cheri
|
|
|
SophiaPO Top Contributor
Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1542
Back to top |
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:34 pm
Post subject:
Hi Cheri,
I agree that you have the right Lipinki. Regardless of what google maps shows, my Polska Atlas Drogowy has 7 towns named Lipinki (in addition to the double-word ones like Lipinki Krolewska). Still, it appears to me that only the one that you pointed out, east of Gorlice, would have been in Galicia.
Best regards,
Sophia
|
|
|
Cheri Vanden BergPO Top Contributor & Patron
Joined: 16 Oct 2011
Replies: 504
Back to top |
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:54 pm
Post subject:
Thank you Sophia! I had a feeling I was wrong about the number of Lipinki villages by using Google maps. Just heard of this source http://mapa.szukacz.pl/ where you could put in a village name and see all the villages with that name in present day Poland.
|
|
|
SophiaPO Top Contributor
Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1542
Back to top |
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:29 am
Post subject:
Hi Cheri,
That is an excellent resource for finding towns in Poland! In the details of each place, it is also showing the number of inhabitants, so for example you have "1929 osób" for the Lipinki we are looking at. That is 1,929 people.
I followed your lead to the ship manifests for Jan and for Marya and the kids. These have to be some of the most clearly written manifests ever. Good thing, too, because it makes it very clear that they came from Lipinki in the Austrian partition. If the only clue one had was the the naturalization document, it would be much harder to be certain where they came from. There is Lipinka, Lipiny, Lipinskie, Lipniki, on and on, more villages than you could ever deal with.
Best,
Sophia
P.S. for Richard: On the ship manifest from 1903, just two lines below Jan Wilczak, is a Wojciech Walczak. Just a fun coincidence!
|
|
|
Cheri Vanden BergPO Top Contributor & Patron
Joined: 16 Oct 2011
Replies: 504
Back to top |
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 9:22 am
Post subject:
Thank you Sophia, that is good to know that it has the population of the towns.
jjbella1,
Family Search has the church records of Lipinki on microfilm:
Kopie księg metrykalnych, 1826-1870
Author: Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja Lipinki (Gorlice)
Unfortunately it does not include the years your Jan Wilczak or Marya Koziol would have been born. If you wrote to the priest, and he was willing to give you the birth records for Jan and Marya, you would be able to take that information and go further back by searching the microfilm. The birth/baptismal records have the children's grandparents names, so when looking for Jan and Marya's parents records, you would know if you had the correct record, because their parents names would have been named in Jan and Marya's records. If you do write to the priest, have it written in Polish. Your other option is to hire a researcher in Poland.
You wondered if John and Mary had any siblings that immigrated. One of them had a sister, whose husband Jan Wilczak was going to when he immigrated. What I have done for my grandfather's siblings (my grandmother's siblings stayed in Poland) is look through all the people that shared his surname from his village. You should look through all the Wilczak and Koziol from Lipinki and check out where they are going to in the U.S. Maybe someone will be going to John and Mary's. In later ship manifests, sometime around 1907, it is helpful because passengers will have a contact back in Poland, and it will name that relationship. If any of John and Mary's siblings, or nieces or nephews, came after that time, you might have more names of interest.
You say that you have records from the U.S. Have you death records from John's siblings that might have named both his parents? I know that sometimes those aren't reliable, but it helps to exhaust all possibilities. If John and Mary had Social Security Applications, their parents names will be on those.
People have had luck on Facebook searching for people with their surname that were born in their ancestral village of Poland. Some people are interested, and write back. People have also had luck with relatives in Poland finding them on a forum here on Polish Origins, so it's good that you are writing about your search.
Best of luck,
Cheri
|
|
|
dnowickiPO Top Contributor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Replies: 2950
Location: Michigan City, IndianaBack to top |
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 11:48 am
Post subject:
Hi jjbella1,
Attached is the contact info for the church of the Assumption BVM in Lipinki.
Just a suggestion...If Jan/John and Mary were married in the USA and were Catholic it would be worthwhile to contact the parish where they were married and request either a photocopy or full transcription of the entry in the marriage register before contacting the parish in Poland. At a bear minimum marriage records usually include the names of the parents of the bride and of the groom. Including this info in your request to the parish in Poland would make it easier for the parish priest to locate records of your ancestors and thus would increase your chances of getting a response from Poland.
Wishing you success in your research,
Dave
| Description: |
|
| Filesize: |
68.65 KB |
| Viewed: |
12561 Time(s) |
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:51 pm
Post subject:
Thank you all so much!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Register