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T A T R A A R E A
R E S E A R C H
G R O U P
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© TARG All rights reserved.
Newsletter for April & May 2008
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Ahojte (welcome) TARG members!
There is sooooo much to cover in this e-newsletter. I also
want to get to your e-mails as promised last time. So let's just
get to it!
- Paul Bingham, TARG Founder
WEBSITES____________
1. TARG's official website: www.e-TARG.org!
2. TARG's message posting pages: www.e-targ.org/Resources/GB_archive/index.html
3. Helene B. Cincebeaux's 2008 Treasure Tours site.
(Still time to sign up! Visit: www.Our-Slovakia.com.)
4. Michal Razus website: www.slovak-ancestry.com.
5. Archdiocese of Tarnow (Archidiecezji Tarnowskiej)
website: http://www.diecezja.tarnow.pl/
6. Genealodzy.pl Site in English: http://www.genealodzy.pl/index.php?&newlang=eng
7. Index of Polish Church Books & Parishes (lists
10,479 parishes): http://www.genealodzy.pl/name-katalog.phtml
8. Lacko information: http://www.genealodzy.pl/modules.php?op=modload&name=Katalog&file=index&req=search&search=Lacko
9. Lacko parish information: http://www.parafia.elacko.pl/
YOUR LETTERS___________
***Hi Nancy, Thanks for the e-mail.
Monthly newsletters are posted on the TARG website. Too many
people's spam filters block them, so I've gone to just posting,
not trying to e-mail all 600+ each month. This let's me add graphics
and links, too, so it's actually been a good thing. Sorry you
didn't know. Would love to hear/see more about your trip when
you have time. - Paul
---Thanks Paul for the update. I had been checking every so often
but must have missed the post about checking the website for
update. But it does make sense. I do hope you will have your
own trip back to the TARG area at some point. We went back and
here's just a little of what we experienced…How to put in
words the trip of a lifetime? It was magical, fantastic; everything
went so much better than expected. It was great to experience
this trip with my husband Larry, two daughters and various other
relatives. We started in Krakow learning about Polish history,
seeing castles, art museums, and visiting many churches. Our
Canadian cousin Joe and his wife and daughter came, too, and
all speak English and Polish. The last night we had dinner with
one of the Bishop's of Krakow, a friend of Joe's. Then we were
off to Jablonka to meet Joe's family and see my grandfather's
house which is next door. I have much to tell about our looking
for Kapustiak's in Podsarnie. It was Kapustiak central. Right
at the beginning of this tiny village road, across from the cemetery
was a roadside shrine with the name Jan Kapustiak on it, which
was my great, great grandfather's name. There were many Kapustiak's
in the cemetery and we spent hours at St. Martin in Podwilk looking
at the Church records. We would talk to the people wherever we
were asking about any relatives that went to Chicago. Everyone
had stories and Chicago connections but the elderly people who
knew the stories have all passed away so we only had glimpses
of information, photo's of unknown men taken in Chicago, etc.
We enjoyed seeing how the generations still live in the same
house, or the house in the back, etc. Two days were spent in
Harkabuz home of our Smich (or Smiech) ancestors. It was as if
time stood still, seeing the little old Grandma's wearing their
flowered dresses and scarves walking down the road. Aunt Ann
Pozdol came with us and then passed away in November 2007 so
I am very glad we got to experience this trip back to her roots
with her. She never knew that her father was one of seven and
thought he was an only child. If I can help you further with
any villages in this region of Polish Orawa, let me know. And,
yes, I have many pictures and lots of videos. We never knew when
we would meet a long lost relative, or find the "Holy Grail"
so we tried to document everything. People kept on asking why
are we trying to find these people? Never in their wildest dreams
would they have imagined anyone from Chicago would come to their
village and ask about someone with the same surname. Keep up
the great work, I really enjoy learning about this area. - Nancy
U.
---Hi Paul, You have a very good website. My ancestors were from
Lacko, Poland which is south of Nowy Sacz. How can I find the
name of the Catholic church and cemetery in Lacko? I'm researching
the surnames Pyrdol and Kwit there and also Wojciechowski in
nearby Zarzecze. Thank you -Stefan Albertus (MI)
***Hi Stefan, Thanks for writing. Lacko, Poland is indeed within
our TARG sphere. The parish there dates back to at least 1252.
The original church burned and the present one built in 1818
is named after Sw. Jana Chrzcicela or St. John the Baptist. The
local cemetery is likely not far from the church location. It
is now part of the Tarnow diocese. Records for Lacko will be
found in the village church with copies (i.e.; second writings)
in the Tarnow Church archives. Here's the Tarnow and Lacko links
(see 5. thru 9. in "WEBSITES" above). I trust these
will help you get a little further. NOTE: If you use Google,
you can now have it translate a good part of these Polish pages
into English. This feature is very helpful if you do not speak
the language. To use this feature, you will need to take apart
the URL. For example, from www.diecezja.tarnow.pl put "diecezja"
and "tarnow" in Google's search box then hit "translate
this page" next to the right page when it comes up in the
listing of sites. Good luck to you in your research! - Paul
--- Hi Paul, I have someone going on one of our Treasures Tour
this summer who has Hutnik and Csupka ancestry from Richvald.
But the Hutnik line was from "Sromecz" or it might
be "Fromecz." I looked in the book of Slovak surnames
and nothing was remotely close. Not too long now before we travel.
Can you give us a hand with this one? - Helene Cincebeaux
***Hi Helene, A good rule of thumb is to always look close by.
Our ancestors a century or more ago rarely traveled any farther
than their feet or a horse-drawn cart could carry them in a day,
unless a shipping agent sold them a ticket to America. In this
case I think "Sromecz" is referring to Sromowce, a
village named for Sromowka swamp along the Dunajec and just across
the river from Cerveny Klastor. This is north not far from Richvald
(known as Velka Lesna now) where you said they also have ancestry.
You can see some of Sromowce's village houses from the Dunajec
river rafts, and with a backdrop of Pieniny Park the scene is
lovely! There are two villages there now: Sromowce Wyzne and
Sromowce Nizne. Flooding in 1334 divided the village into the
two halves seen today. Like Velka Lesna, this was a Goral village.
The old records will likely be in the Polish churches there with
copies in the central Roman Catholic archives in Krakow. - Paul
---Hi Paul, I am trying to locate relatives that may be in the
area. My great grandfather and grandfather on my father's side
were born in Nowy Targ. Can you provide me with any references
contacts to help in my research? I will be travelling to Poland
in June. Thanks for your help. - Ken
***Hello Ken. Because of privacy laws, online and printed contact
information for people living in Poland is getting harder to
come by. But looking in a phonebook I brought back from the region
in 1998, I do see three listings for your surname in Now Targ.
Some of their addresses are almost certainly still valid. These
you will find attached. I hope this helps you on your upcoming
trip. Please let us know how it went when you return! - Paul
---Dear Paul, Helene Cincebeaux sent me your email address. I
recently discovered that my father's grandfather, Vojtech Vojensky
(and his grandmother, Maria Kalafut), came from Repisko, Spis,
in the Tatras mountains. I am quite interested in hearing any
information that you have. I would be glad to send you what little
I have on my family at this time. All the best, - Denise G.
***Hi Denise, A pleasure to make your acquaintance! I also have
ancestry from Repisko. It is just inside the Polish border and
the village name has been respelled as "Rzepiska" (Polish
spelling). Repisko is a type of potato grown in the foothills
of the Tatras and there is also a large peak nearby named Repisko
from which I believe the village takes its name. This is a very
small village which just got its own parish church only a few
years ago. Before that is was part of the Jurgow parish, where
I also have ancestry. I see in the phonebook that two Wojenskis
(again, Polish spelling) are listed. There are no Kalafuts listed,
but this is a very common name in this region of Polish Spisz.
Please share any more information that you have and perhaps I
can find more connections for you. Have you ever visited over
there? I know Helene's tour groups go to the area almost every
year. - Paul
---Paul, Ten years has brought your website to a super level!
I did not have time to keep up with all your progress until today
when one lady living in my area of NE Ohio (Lakewood) asked me
once more about TARG, she had put aside what I gave her about
you much earlier. Do you know much about CGSI of St.Paul MN?
In 2009 they will host a three-day conference at a hotel in Independence
Ohio. This is the city where I have been living since 1965. I
have been linked with CGSI since 1997 and for this 2009 Conference
I am co-chairman. Most sincerely, Joe Hornack (SLRP Founder/Director)
Slovak Institute & Reference Library, Assistant Director
***Hello Joe, Good to hear from you again. Yes, Tatra Area Research
Group has grown over the last ten years, and I have learned so
much about our roots there from everyone who has contributed
to TARG. It looks like we both joined CGSI about the same time.
I was privileged to be one of the speakers (on TARG villages
and people, of course) at a Symposium they had here in Southern
California back in 2005. I was also asked to write an article
on the Tatra Highlanders which appeared in the March 2007 issue
of Nase rodina. Please give me more details on the event in Independence
in 2009 and I will promote it in our e-newsletter. My Slovak
ancestors first settled outside Akron and I would love an excuse
to visit there, which I have never done before. Thanks! - Paul
(Even more of your mail next time!)
SLOVAK GENEALOGICAL RESEARCHER___________
In March I published a letter I had received
from a Michal Razus stating he was a genealogical researcher.
I had no confirmation of this at the time, so added some caution.
I have since received a letter from Joe Hornack, SLRP Founder/Director
regarding Mr. Razus. He writes: "Attached is the bio and
proposal from Michal Razus, who lives in Presov. The proposal
was for the CGSI Conference in 2009, in Cleveland area, to which
I am co-chair. I am still trying to raise enough money to bring
two Slovak speakers from Presov. The
other Slovak is Milan Belej who has been working at the Saris
Archive located just outside the city limits of Presov. I have
known Michal Razus for quite awhile, I have recommended his help
to others and endorse his work 100%." I trust Joe's judgement,
so pass on Mr. Razus name as another resource for you to consider.
If you need more information, please visit his website at: www.slovak-ancestry.com
or contact him directly via this email address: michal.razus@gmail.com.
I would be interested in feedback from any TARG members who use
his services.
TATRA MOUNTAINS BOOK - PART 15____________
Chapter 7 "The White Room and the Black Room" continues:
In the center of the house there is a spacious
door, adorned with a pattern of wooden pegs. It opens into a
hall with a staircase or - more modestly - a ladder leading to
the garret (hayloft) where hay, tools, reserve garments and suchlike
are stored and where in rainy weather the gazda's wife hangs
her washing. The hall itself is not inhabited, but it has two
doors. The right door opens in to the 'black room' and the left
into the 'white room'.
The difference between the two rooms, which
are of equal size, is that the 'black' one is the living room
proper. Here the whole family spend most of their time in winter,
sleep and have their meals. In one corner - the inside left -
is a kitchen stove with an oven where bread is baked. A long
bench goes all round the wall; and parallel to it at a man's
height runs a shelf. Below the back wall are the beds and above
those - on a shelf, holy pictures painted on glass and others
representing dancing robbers and similar conventional scenes.
Nowadays these pictures are often replaced by cheap lithographs.
The furniture consists of a table, some chairs and stools and
a heavy ornamental chest with clothing and other important possessions.
Dressers with plates, cups, a few jars, etc., and spoon-racks
with spoons, complete the traditional picture.
The 'white room' is used only on solemn occasions
or by guests. It has no stove, but its furniture is similar to
that of the 'black room', though of finer finish. The ceiling,
made of clean-polished wooden boards, rests on two, three or
more tranversal beams and these in turn are supported by one
big beam, running the length of the room. This beam, called the
'sosreb' (pronounced sosremb), is marked in the middle with a
cross and the year of construction, two figures on each side
of the cross. It is also richly decorated with carvings.
In old times the fireplace in the 'black room'
had no chimney and the smoke escaped through an opening in the
ceiling to the garret where cheeses, meat and, occasionally,
sausages were smoked. After a few years the walls and the ceiling
above the stove would become completely black, which has given
the 'black room' its name.
(Chapter 7 "The White Room and the Black
Room" of Firsoff's 1946 book will continue in our next issue.)
CONTACTING TARG_____________________
To contact the TARG Editor, the new e-mail
address is: TatraAreaResearchGroup
gmail
. Our "snail"
mailing address is still TARG, P.O. Box 3533, Escondido, CA 92033.
Use it for sending in orders or photos and anything else you
want to share with the group. (If for some reason you are unable
to contact us at the new address above, go ahead and use the
old address targ_nethotmail.)
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