A Deep Dive into Polish Research

This has been an exciting and productive week!  I began a new project that involves two new-to-me areas of genealogical research – Poland and DNA.  I have begun a project in which the objective is to extend the ancestry of a client whose paternal grandparents are Polish immigrants.  I spent the first part of the week reviewing  their U.S. records with the objective of finding clues to their places of origin.  In order to be able to find records for them in their home country, I need to know the names of the villages where they were born.  My first breakthrough came when I discovered a WWI Draft Registration Card that lists the husband’s village, province, and country of birth.  I was then able to find his declaration of intention for naturalization, which confirms his birthplace and lists, among other things, his arrival date and ship.  That led to finding his name on the ship manifest.  I now have what I need to start researching his origins in Poland!  I also reviewed his wife’s immigration records and determined her village of origin.  With the key pieces of information needed to begin research in Poland, I began doing some locality research on the province of Galicia, where they were both born.  I was able to find some repositories that have digitized records and hope to have more breakthroughs this next week.

All of this research is part of my preparation for a study group I am registered for – the Research Like a Pro With DNA study group with Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer of Family Locket and genetic genealogist Robin Wirthlin.  I’m looking forward to learning more about using DNA to confirm documentary evidence in my research!

Another part of my preparation has been contacting some of the client’s DNA matches.  This has been such a great experience!  I have found two cousins that have done extensive research in the area of Poland I am researching, and they have been a valuable source of information!  I love collaborating with other genealogists as I am pursuing a research objective.

One of the prerequisites for the Research Like a Pro With DNA Study Group is to read Genetic Genealogy in Practice by Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne.  I ordered my copy and as I’ve been studying it, I have discovered that it’s packed with great information! I love that it has exercises at the end of each chapter so I can practice and solidify the concepts presented in each section.  It’s been really good for me to strengthen my background in DNA prior to beginning the study group.  One of my favorite quotes from the book so far is on page 13: “By itself DNA evidence can give a clear indication of a parent-child or sibling relationship.  For all other relationships, DNA evidence must be correlated with documentary evidence to reach a credible conclusion.”

I also published two blog posts this week .  The first is called “Family History Miracles,” in which I share how I received help from some of my ancestors as I researched their family.  The other is Part 2 in my “Family History On-the-Go” series.  It’s all about using FamilySearch’s Family Tree app to do family history anytime, anywhere.

Finally, I took some time over the last couple of days to re-read stories about two of my ancestors, Laura Clark Phelps and her daughter Paulina Eliza Phelps Lyman.  It’s always good to think about and remember people you admire.  These two women are certainly role models for me.

I hope you are making great discoveries and enjoying learning more about your ancestors!  How have you worked on gathering your tribe this week?