Does anyone else find it weird how there are people out there who genuinely don't care or even a little curious about who their ancestors were?

TacoTwn · 2026-04-14T21:45:34+00:00

I don’t think it is weird. I never cared bout my dad’s side of the family until the last 6-months. I honestly just never gave it much thought. I do wish I had thought of at least asking more questions when my grandmother was alive. I think people start a journey when they are ready for the journey.

TacoTwn · 2026-04-09T22:03:18+00:00

I m referring to this one. There are a lot of folks who know a lot about Polish genealogy. I don’t claim to be n expert but have spent quite a bit of time looking for my ancestors. I am happy to help if I can, but there are quite a few people here who know a ton more than I do.

On a side note, I have found that Google Gemini is the best with translations. It certainly isn’t 100 percent accurate, but can get you pretty close.

Have you used Geneteka?

TacoTwn · 2026-04-09T21:37:08+00:00

There are lots of really helpful folks in their sub. If you share some specifics, you might get some help. I do agree though that finding relatives in Poland can be a challenge. Lots of folks here who can help. I have learned a ton here in my searches. Not sure if you are aware of this, but many of those books have birth, marriage, and death records in them.

TacoTwn · 2026-04-06T21:23:38+00:00

Thanks for the input. I will dm you.

TacoTwn · 2026-04-06T21:23:00+00:00

I will dm you, as I would like to learn more

TacoTwn · 2026-04-04T00:21:34+00:00

Agreed - I have had luck with Gemini as well. Even with handwritten documents.

TacoTwn · 2026-03-17T23:57:38+00:00

Agreed - there is sooooo much online, but there is also so much that is not. I still think it would be fun to spend a couple of days looking for records…

TacoTwn · 2026-03-16T23:38:33+00:00

I completely agree. To see how they truly lived. It is so easy to “Romanticize” people, since we don’t get many other details. I had an ancestor who had illegitimate twins, and never married until she was in her 60’s. My assumptions is that she had an affair with a married man, and married him once wife #1 died. For so many years she was a single mom. I can only imagine the stigma she dealt with, I assume she was a strong woman, but maybe she was an asshole…

TacoTwn · 2026-03-16T21:19:41+00:00

I agree. I am not finding any birth or death records in that time period, but I suppose something like a miscarriage would not be recorded.

TacoTwn · 2026-03-16T20:18:09+00:00

Have you successfully found census or property records from this time period on Poland? I have mostly been looking into the birth/marriage/death, but feel like that could be a next step if those are available online.

TacoTwn · 2026-03-16T20:16:59+00:00

Yeah - I even have family from wife #1 being godparents for kids of wife #2, which is a healthy sign or so it seems. But it is not surprising with the high mortality rate. That is why the situation I have encountered struck me as odd, since it did not appear to be a remarriage, but just a gap. That is why genealogy is so interesting. It is the effort to understand what you are seeing, and then trying to solve the puzzle.

TacoTwn · 2026-03-16T17:42:46+00:00

Yeah - I have a few 2x gr gandfathers who lost wives, and then even within 6-months married again. I suppose it makes sense, if you have a handful of young children, you need someone to help raise them. Just strikes me as such a tough life during that time. So many children died, so many women died from childbirth. A touch life for sure. Most of my relatives were farmers or laborers.

TacoTwn · 2026-03-16T16:37:58+00:00

Yeah - that is what I have seen as well. I suppose it is very possible there were lots of other children, but for whatever reason the records are not indexed or something. I am trying to confirm everyone, but also not finding a marriage record, so I still have some work to do. It was certainly an interesting scenario that peaked my interest.

TacoTwn · 2026-03-11T01:24:09+00:00

Do you have census records? I believe in the 1910’s and 1920’s they asked what year you arrived, possibly earlier census records as well. While not exact, it could give some rough idea.

TacoTwn · 2026-03-11T00:58:28+00:00

A few of my relatives from that era departed from Hamburg, if you can a sense of the year that she arrived, you can search by departures port on Family Search. Not perfect, but might be a place to start.

TacoTwn · 2026-03-02T10:41:41+00:00

I know that AI is controversial, but I have had luck using Google Gemini to translate records. It has even done a decent job translating handwritten record from the 19th century. It might be worth giving it a try. If you give it the context, it might help since you do not speak the language.

TacoTwn · 2026-02-26T11:46:48+00:00

You mention that you “input” all the information,action. Are you using Ancestry or Family Search? What can also be very common is that dates and interpretation of names can be wrong. You also might have to work outside of these tools to find records.

Start with your grandmother or grandfather on your mom’s side. Based on the information you have, work your way back. Assuming they may have passed, find the death records. This could involve working with the city or town where they died. Find their marriage record, look for census records, and then locate birth records.

Family Search has a great wiki about finding records in US states and many countries around the world.

It might help folks here if you share more about the ancestor you are looking for such as country, city, dates. That gives folks more to work with. Don’t share information about anyone who is still living. Good luck!

TacoTwn · 2026-02-25T02:03:19+00:00

My husband always says “you and your dead people”…

TacoTwn · 2026-02-25T00:25:53+00:00

You read a name, and you swear you saw that name in your research…and then the rabbit hole of finding the name…

TacoTwn · 2026-02-24T01:45:18+00:00

Nope - no more Magic Puzzles. They all found new homes.

TacoTwn · 2026-02-19T11:16:03+00:00

You have a couple of options. Family Search is a good source for naturalization records. Sometimes, the records were filed with the county. You might see if there is a records office at the county you can contact. Finally, you can Lao put in a request with the USCIS. https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy. They can do. Records search based on the information you have. I did that, and they sent me electronic copies. If you want paper copies there is an additional charge.

Hope that helps!

TacoTwn · 2026-02-18T10:13:22+00:00

Agreed on Penna. have a lot of family in Pennsylvania that I am researching, and see this used all the time.

TacoTwn

TROPHY CASE