Steve's Genealogy Blog

On about 25 Mar 1757, Wiktoria Niedziałkowska, daughter of Ignacy Niedziałkowski and Zofia Kamińska, was born in Klonowo, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She was baptized in the parish church in Pałuki, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on 25 Mar 1757.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Wiktoria Niedziałkowska – 1757

SOURCE: Parafia pw. św. Gotarda (Pałuki, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Baptisatorum ab Anno 1740 ad 1754, Księga III, Wiktoria Niedziałkowski baptism (1757) folio 16 recto; FHL microfilm 1496612.

Click on the image above to enlarge it. Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Wiktoria Niedziałkowska – 1757. Translated from the Latin the record reads:

Klonowo

On 29 [March 1757] I who am named above [Grzegorz Kruszewski] baptized a female child by the name of Wiktoria, daughter of the nobles Ignaty Niedziałkowski and Zofia Kamińska, a legally married couple. The Godparents in the Sacred Font were the nobles [first name?] Długołęcki and Konstancja Kamińska.

As with most other Polish records from this time period, this record does not specifically state all the details of the baptism. The record refers to a previous entry for the year (1757) and the name of the priest (Grzegorz Kruszewski).

I could not read the first name of the Godfather.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

On about 20 Sep 1755, Józefata Katarzyna Niedziałkowska, daughter of Ignacy Niedziałkowski and Zofia Kaminska, was born in Klonowo, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She was baptized in the parish church in Pałuki, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on 20 Sep 1755.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Józefata Katarzyna Niedziałkowska – 1755

SOURCE: Parafia pw. św. Gotarda (Pałuki, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Baptisatorum ab Anno 1754 ad 1776, Księga IV, Józefata Katarzyna Niedziałkowski baptism (1755) folio 4 verso; FHL microfilm 1496612.

Click on the image above to enlarge it. Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Józefata Katarzyna Niedziałkowska – 1755. Translated from the Latin the record reads:

Klonowo

On 20 the same as above [September 1755, I Adam Chmielewski] baptized a female by the name Józefata Katarzyna, daughter of the nobles Ignacy Niedziałkowski and Zofia Kamińska, legally married. The Godparents in the Sacred Font were the nobles Józef Niedziałkowski and Katarzyna Kamińska.

As with most other Polish records from this time period, this record does not specifically state all the details of the baptism. The record refers to a previous entry for the year (1755) and the name of the priest (Adam Chmielewski).

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

On about 29 Sep 1748, Andrzej Niedziałkowski, son of Ignacy Niedziałkowski and Zofia Kamińska, was born in Klonowo, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was baptized in the parish church in Pałuki, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on 29 Sep 1748.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Andrzej Niedziałkowski – 1748

SOURCE: Parafia pw. św. Gotarda (Pałuki, ziemia ciechanowska, województwo mazowieckie, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Baptisatorum ab Anno 1740 ad 1754, Księga III, Andrzej Niedziałkowski baptism (1748) folio 39 verso; FHL microfilm 1496612.

Click on the image above to enlarge it. Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Andrzej Niedziałkowski – 1748. Translated from the Latin the record reads:

Klonowo

On 29 September [1748], I the above [Adam Chmielewski] baptized an infant named Andrzej, son of the nobles Ignacy Niedziałkowski and Zofia Kamińska, a legally married couple. Godparents in the Font were Baltazar Pajewski and Agnieszka Mossakowska.

As with most other Polish records from this time period, this record does not specifically state all the details of the baptism. The record refers to a previous entry for the year (1748) and the name of the priest (Adam Chmielewski).

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

When I first dove into genealogy research, I thought that I could find information about my grandparents and their descendants. In my naiveté, I assumed there was little hope for discovering anything about my ancestors before my grandparents. After all, my grandparents were all immigrants, they were all deceased, and no one in my family had ever discussed anything about the lives of my grandparents before they arrived in America.

What a difference the past ten years has made! During the past decade, I have learned about some of my ancestral lines all the way back into the 17th century or earlier . While I, myself, have devoted many, many hours to genealogy research, my genealogical success has been due largely to the assistance of others who have directly provided me with information, written excellent books on genealogy, presented seminars, prepared online information sources, or provided me with assistance in numerous other ways.

Any attempt to list all the people, organizations, institutions, and resources for which I am thankful would be an onerous task and one that would suffer badly from its omissions. Suffice to say that the names of numerous relatives, repositories, and websites would be on the list.

I can, however, enumerate a few resources that were seminal in my early research in Polish genealogy and that I still use on a continuing basis:

The Polish Genealogical Society of America

I have been a member of the Polish Genealogical Society of America for many years, but I made my biggest research breakthrough after I attended an annual conference of the society for the first time. I learned so much during that first conference – information about Polish history, church records, and geography – that has proven to be indispensable in my research. Three resources (two books and one CD) provided by the Polish Genealogical Society of America have proven to be very important in my research:

• Hoffman, William F. 1998. Polish surnames: origins and meanings. Chicago: Polish Genealogical Society of America.
• Hoffman, William F., and George W. Helon. 1998. First names of the Polish commonwealth: origins & meanings. Chicago: Polish Genealogical Society of America.
• Sulimierski, Filip, Bronisława Chlebowski, and Władysław Walewski. 1880-1902. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich. Warszawa: Filipa Sulimierskiego i Władsława Walewskiewgo.

The Family History Library

As many people know, I travel to Salt Lake City twice a year to research in the venerable Family History Library there. The microfilmed records there have provided me with most of the information I have on my maternal grandfather’s family, and the staff and volunteers at the FHL have, over the years, provided much needed assistance and advice. Although I now spend more time each year at my local Family History Center, renting films from the FHL and viewing them at the FHC, I find the opportunity to spend a concentrated period of time conducting research at the FHL very exhilarating.

In Their Words

I have attended lectures by both Fred Hoffman and Jonathan Shea and have learned a lot from both of them. The two of them have, however, made their greatest impact on my own research through two publications:

• Shea, Jonathan D., and William F. Hoffman. 2000. In their words: a genealogist’s translation guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian documents. Volume one, Polish. New Britain, CT: Language & Lineage Press.
• Shea, Jonathan D., and William F. Hoffman. 2002. In their words: a genealogist’s translation guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian documents. Volume two, Russian. New Britain, CT: Language & Lineage Press.

I keep these two books near my desk at home, and I consult them frequently as I conduct research in Polish records. I’m eagerly awaiting the publication of the next two volumes in the series: German and Latin.

For these resources and for all those who have assisted me in my research, I am eternally thankful.

Written for the Carnival of Eastern and Central European Genealogy.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

On 09 Aug 1724, Marie Marthe Gamache, daughter of Nicolas Gamache and Marie Dion, was born. She was baptized in Notre Dame de Bonsecours de l’Islet, L’Islet sur Mer, Québec, New France on 13 Aug 1724.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Marthe Gamache – 1724

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Notre Dame de Bonsecours de l’Islet, L’Islet sur Mer, Québec, New France, 1724. Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Marthe Gamache, folio 29 verso.

Click on the image above to enlarge it. Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Marthe Gamache – 1724. Translated from the French the record reads:

B[aptism of] Marie Marthe Gamache

In the year one-thousand seven-hundred twenty-four on the thirteenth day of August was baptized by me, the undersigned priest, Marie Marthe Gamache born on the ninth of this same month, daughter of Nicolas Gamache and Marie Gyon, the father and mother. The Godfather and Godmother were Jean Gamache and Marie Marthe Belanger, who has signed with me.
[signed] Marie Marthe Belanger     [signed] C.J. LeBerre, priest

In this record, the date of baptism appears to be “treizií¨me aout” or “the thirteenth of August”. The date of birth is “neuf du míªme mois” or “the ninth of the same month”. This information led me to conclude that the birth occurred on 09 Aug 1724 and the baptism was 13 Aug 1724. The PRDH, however, states that Marie Marthe’s birth was 09 Jul 1724 and her baptism was 03 Aug 1724.

I believe the PRDH incorrectly transcribed the date of baptism as “troisií¨me aout” or “the third of August” and ascribed the birth to the previous month (instead of the same month as clearly stated in the record) since 09 Aug does not precede 03 Aug. Thus, by incorrectly transcribing the day of baptism as troisií¨me instead of treizií¨me led the PRDH to err on both the date of birth and the date of baptism.

This record can be found as image 30/149 in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com as part of the records for L’Islet-sur-mer 1683-1762. The record appears on folio 29 verso (the back of folio 29).

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko