2021 Conference, Polish Track
Polish Track – Class Descriptions and Time Schedule (sorted by time slot)
All times are Mountain Daylight Time.
Polish Diaspora Throughout Central Europe and the U.S. (Tadeusz Pilat), Thursday August 12, 8:30 AM, Room 1
[Class description will follow shortly]
Introduction to Polish Research (Taieno K. Cook), Thursday August 12, 11:00 AM, Room 4
A broad overview of basic Polish genealogy, including Polish American genealogy, getting from America to Poland, and beginning research in Poland.
Polish Historical Geography (Daniel Jones), Thursday August 12, 1:30 PM, Room 4
[Description will follow soon]
Finding Polish Records (Greg Nelson), Thursday August 12, 2:45 PM, Room 4
If your family has roots in Poland or what was once considered Polish territory, there are a number of rich resources available for you to consult. This course will cover research in pre-partition Poland, all three partitions (Prussia, Austria, Russia), interwar Poland, and post-war Poland. This course will cover online research, research groups, data privacy restrictions, and strategies for archival visits. The course is intended for the diaspora and not for in-country researchers but will benefit both groups.
Reading Polish Records (Greg Nelson), Thursday August 12, 4:00 PM, Room 4
Poland is an area with many records of different languages. In any one volume you could see Polish, German, Russian, and Latin. How do you interpret the languages of these records? This course will discuss how to read these records by looking for keywords and phrases, using numerous resources and guides, and making sense of things that are a mystery. The course is intended for the diaspora and not for in-country researchers but will benefit both groups.
Polish Online Research Part 1 - Introduction and Russian Partition (Aleksandra Kacprzak), Friday August 13, 8:30 AM, Room 4
Polish Online Research Part 2 - Prussian and Austro-Hungarian Partitions (Aleksandra Kacprzak), Friday August 13, 9:45 AM, Room 4
New times, new possibilities and new challenges! This lecture will help you to not get lost in the net and do effective research on Polish websites. Genealogical research in Poland is extremely interesting because of its complexity. There were three partitions and in each of them the administration system, language, religions and type of available documents are different. It’s important to know how the Polish State Archive and Church Archive systems work. Where to look for on line recourses concerning administration affiliation of your town, family members that fought in wars, indexes of grave stones, maps and much more. Polish genealogical websites are run by State Archives, genealogical societies and private people passionate about genealogy. This lecture will show not only links to specific websites but also explain about all the possibilities that they offer. There are some websites that cover the whole territory of Poland and are useful for all partitions. There are also special on line projects that are dedicated to each partition that are less known but worth exploring. This lecture will cover general on-line resources and Russian partition. The second part of the lecture will concentrate on the Prussian and Austro-Hungarian partitions.
Genealogy Societies - A Survey of Genealogy Societies in North America and Poland (Ceil Jensen), Friday August 13, 11:00 AM, Room 4
Online commercial databases are built using “low hanging fruit” databases that are useful to the largest group of researches. Many unique Polish communities exist in North America. This presentation will identify societies, archives, and libraries that hold useful unique collections for family historians. Most of these societies publish helpful periodicals, transcripts, and compiled genealogies and may have special indexes, collections, and projects. Many publish queries about Polish ancestors or maintain a list of members’ research interests. Some specialize in the immigrants to a specific area. I have either presented to the following societies or used their services during my own research and that of my patrons.
The Blue Army, Grey Samaritans, & the White Cross: Polish-Americans in France, 1917-1920 (Joanne M. Sher), Friday August 13, 1:30 PM, Room 4
More than 20,000 Polish immigrants fought with the Polish Army in France (the Blue Army) for Poland’s independence. Young Polish-American women served with the Grey Samaritans and the White Cross supporting the Blue Army as well providing relief to the people of Poland. This session will provide information about the recruitment, training, and service of those men and women as well as resources for finding records.
Advanced Polish Genealogy - Sto Lat: A Modern Guide to Polish Genealogy (Ceil Jensen), Friday August 13, 2:45 PM, Room 4
Author and researcher Ceil Wendt Jensen, MA presents practical examples from her book on how to use records, databases, and archives to advance your genealogy research. She dispels the myth that records were destroyed during the World Wars and that language barriers make Polish research difficult. A survey of record sets beyond birth, marriage, and death are featured.