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TATRA AREA RESEARCH GROUP
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© TARG All rights reserved.
Newsletter for May 2002
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Hello and happy Memorial Day to all of our TARG members. And a special
welcome to all of the new members this month. May has turned out to be a
busy one as my family and I are moving to a different home in the city. Here
we will have more room for the kids, the furnishings AND dad's TARG
library. We should be in by June 1st...as for when we are finally settled is
anyone's guess!
Many of you have noticed that our TARG website (at:
www.ancestral.net/Home.html ) has not been available for a couple of weeks.
As it turns out, my family is not the only one moving this month. Our
website host is moving all of its files over to newer and faster servers, so
the site at that URL address is not available right now.
But GOOD NEWS! You can temporarily access the TARG site (including all
of the maps, etc.) here: http://www.2msrv7.com/~ancestra/Home.html.
The old TARG webpage is also still active at:
http://ns1.iols.net/users/bingham/, but it does not have nearly as much
information on it. (I believe all of our other past sites on Delphi, Xoom
and FreePages have all been removed now.)
For those of you wanting a peek at some Spisz photos, there is a new
album of fresh spring photos taken by my cousin Lucjan in Jurgow with the
digital camera (just provided to him by TARG) at:
http://www.izoo.krakow.pl/~lsoltys/album/. These are more or less test
shots, but it's great to see the surroundings of spring in the Tatras. Go
have a look!
Lucjan is finishing up his spring semester at the University of
Krakow, but will soon have lots more free time at home in the Tatras to
photograph the region and post those photos for us on the web. Thanks,
Lucjan!
To all of you who still want to send photos of your villages for the
TARG webpages, please do! I will be posting the best ones soon. You can send
them either in an e-mail or by snail mail. (See contact info at the end of
the newsletter).
-- Paul K. Bingham
TARG Founder

WEBSITES__________
1) The new "one-step" Ellis Island search site by Stephen P. Morse is at:
http://home.pacbell.net/spmorse/ellis/ellis.html
2) Temporary URL for the new TARG website:
http://www.2msrv7.com/~ancestra/Home.html.
3) The old TARG webpage (still active) is at:
http://ns1.iols.net/users/bingham/.
4) For the latest photos taken with the new TARG digital camera visit:
http://www.izoo.krakow.pl/~lsoltys/album/.

LETTERS_______________
---Dear Paul, I receive your newsletter via family members. I am in the
process of tracking down ancestry from Hungary, a Prussian Calvery Officer.
When I find his records, I would be interested in getting a Family Crest
researched and reproduced. Do you recommend any particular method of
reliably doing this? -- Steve Ratey
***Steve, practically all of our ancestors from this area did not have
Family Crests because they were not from royalty but from serf families.
Places abound on both sides of the ocean who will take your money and supply
you with a phony crest. I suggest that you find out which village in Poland
or Slovakia the ancestor came from. After finding it, you can then try to
get a copy of the village flag or shield -- almost every village has or has
had one. Many are beautifully ornate and often descriptive of the area. And
since most everyone in a small village is related by blood or by marriage,
these tokens will have a more personal meaning, not to mention that they are
real, not fabricated by a scam artist. - Paul
---Dear Paul, I was forwarded the address to your website and a copy of your
monthly newsletter by another individual. Could you confirm whether the TARG
website is still working? I would also like to request a subscription to
your newsletter. My family are from Niedzica and the area around there. I
look forward to hearing from you. -- David Chmiel
***Hello David, and welcome to the group. The TARG website is available at
the temporary URL of: http://www.2msrv7.com/~ancestra/Home.html.
---Dear Paul, Never heard anything back from the Priest from Bukowina
Tatranska. Disappointing as I left him money... no response. No response
either from a March letter to Spisska Kapitula regarding a critical missing
marriage record for a Jan Lopata and Anna Swiety. They married in those few
missing years of 1844-49 of the Niedzica records under Hungarian rule. --
Karen Melis
***Hi Karen, Nice to hear from you. I would guess the archives might hold
keys to what you need...and since the records there are almost always easier
to read, the information is more reliable, I think, for making connections.
I have two things to say about your "no response" from the priest in
Bukowina (and the archives in Spisska Kapitula). 1) I have had a letter NOT
make it from the States to Jurgow in the last year. No idea where they went
to...had the right postage, the right address and no money inside. Mailing
postcards from Slovakia to the States also took over a month, although they
did all eventually make it. I have heard horror stories about letters and
especially packages, though. So my thoughts on mail to and from both
countries is, well, not terribly good. 2) Many people have told me their
response from a relative took six months to a year...especially when they
had it forwarded from the mayor or the priest. As far as finding living
relatives...have you ever thought of just sending postcards directly to
everyone with your surname in the phonebook's Bukowina listings? We've had
the text in the newsletter for basic contact. -- Paul

JUST BACK FROM THE OLD COUNTRY______________
Richard Brozenec, the TARG member who took the digital camera to Lucjan
Soltys, just checked in with a report on he and his wife's April trip to
Poland. It was their first time, but they loved it. Here's excerpts from
what he wrote:
---Hello All, Our recent trip to Poland was a success by every measurement.
Out of all my travels, I must say that the people of Poland were the
kindest, friendliest and most generous. Likewise, each of the many people
who helped me in my quest to find my ancestral roots proved to be the most
helpful I've met. We left by train for Zakopane from Krakow (approximately
4.5 hours) and met an interesting, English-speaking Pole who we conversed
with the entire trip. Our first guide drove us to Nowa Biala where we
visited the church while mass was in session. Afterward, the townsfolk
stopped by a long, open wagon carrying 30-40 milk cans, each with a painted
address. The filled cans were picked up and taken home. Talk about "fresh"
milk! Two elder residents do recall a Brozenecz house, however the original
house no longer stands. At the turn of the century, all the male Brozenecs
left town and did not return. Apparently, they also did not keep in touch by
letter. My Grandfather's sister, Maria, remained and married. Her
Granddaughter remains in town and we met. She showed us an unnamed grave in
the cemetery, saying it was that of Maria. No other grave was marked
"Brozenec". The town priest was very generous and allowed us access to the
record. We spent the better part of the day walking the two main streets
through the town. The land immediately surrounding the town is flat
farmland, divided into strips leading away from the town's houses. There is
little doubt that, while the homes we visited were clean and tidy, the town
is poor. In the distance you could easily see the snow covered, majestic
peaks of the mountains. The contrast between the poor people toiling in the
fields against the spectacular mountain background was ironic, considering
the price you'd pay in the states for such a view. We arranged to have an
appropriate name plate made for Maria's grave. We will also exhaust the
Brozenec ancestral records and expand the family tree. Overall, Poland
remains the most "reasonable" country of my travels. The rooms, the food,
the prices were all reasonable. A $1 glass of beer in Zakopane was $4 in
Frankfurt. The wood workmanship in the Polish homes was beautiful and the
countryside was majestic, but I do not envy their per capita income.
However, if it were not for these very harsh, financial conditions, my
grandfather would have stayed in Nowa Biala and I would be a different
person. I'd love to return and walk more of the town and delve into its
culture and history. I will forward pictures later. -- Rich Brozenec(z)

SPECIAL TARG TRIP IN 2003!!!____________
Now that Helene B. Cincebeaux has left for this summer's tours in
Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic (and even the Ukraine this year), it is
time to announce that we will be planning a NEW TARG tour to the Tatras in
summer of 2003! This tour will be similar to those in 1999 and 2001, but we
are determined to have it be the best ever in 2003!
Helene and I are in contact by e-mail throughout the summer while she is
there. She will be checking out new destinations for us to visit and new
places to stay in the Tatra region both in Slovakia and Poland. There are
many new historical, genealogical and cultural locations we want to look
into. If you know of something we should check out, or if you are
contemplating going with us and have a "request", I'd like to hear it!
Please let me know by contacting me personally at bingham@iols.net.

A NEW ELLIS ISLAND SEARCH TOOL____________
We talked about Stephen P. Morse's "One Step" website that lets you dig
into the Ellis Island data like never before in the last newsletter issue
(April 2002). His website is at:
http://home.pacbell.net/spmorse/ellis/ellis.html.
On it I did a search last issue and found many of the different misspellings
of the Spisz village of Czarna Gora.
I did a few more searches and found these other 20 TARG village
variations and misspellings from the Ellis Island records:
Here's more samples:
1) "Nowitarg", "Neumarkt, Galicia", "Nonzfarg" -- Nowy Targ, Poland
2) "Raluloz, Galicia Province", "Rakelow, Galicy" -- Ratulow, Poland
3) "Namisto" -- Namistovo, Slovakia
4) "S Rurom Carok, Czech." -- Ruzomberok, Slovakia
5) "Hocholow", "Chochohew", "Chorzelow", "Chizontow", "Cocholow" --
Chocholow, Poland
6) "Wilow, Galicia", "Witowa", "Wetow" -- Witow, Poland
7) "Felsolipnicza", "Feliolipuicza, Hungary", "Lipurica" -- Lipnica Wielka,
Poland
8) "Dzianis", "Dzian...z", "Dianisz", "Gyanis", "Gzianisz", "Dzianish,
Galicia", "Dziamsz, Austria", "Dzramisz" & "Dzuanisz" -- Dzianisz, Poland
9) "Cichs", "Crche, Russia", "Cicley", "Cihe, Galicia", "Cziche, Galicy
Province", "Cichl, Galicia", "...iche, Galicia" -- Ciche, Poland
10) "Manowe, Galicia", "Maniow, Galicia" -- Maniowy, Poland
11) "Podoilk, Hungary" -- Podwilk, Poland
12) "Czarny Gunajes, Galicia", "Czarnydemajeo", "Czarny Dunazec" -- Czarny
Dunajec, Poland
13) "Pein", "Ceim", "Peim, Austria" -- Pcim, Poland
14) "Nodecz", "Nedecz", "Nedrice", "Vedecz, Hungary", "Nedlecz, Hungary",
"Nedec", "Neilecz", "Nedsoz", "Neders", "Niedkice" -- Niedzica, Poland
15) "Repisa, Hungary", "Rzepicz, Austria", "Reriszko, Hungary", "Repiscko,
Hungary" -- Rzepiska, Poland
16) "Fsdar, Hungary", "Zsdjar", "Idziary, Hungary", "Jsdjar", "Zsajar",
"Zdzory" -- Zdiar, Slovakia
17) "Kislopos", "Kis Lapos", "Ris Lapos", "K. Lapos", "Rishapos", "N. Kis
Lapos, Hungaryary", "N. Lapse, Cz. Slov.", "Kis Lapoez, Hungary" -- Lapsze
Nizne, Poland
18) "Yablonco, Slovakia", "Joblonko, Hungary" -- Jablonka, Poland
19) "Bozegi, Galicia" -- Brzegi, Poland
20) "Zubenche, Aust", "Zabsinche" -- Zubsuche, Poland

NEW POLISH LAW REMOVING PHONEBOOK INFO___________
A new Polish law will now make it harder for citizens there and
relatives here to contact other Polish residents. The law will strip all
address information from future phonebooks. They will now only list the
service subscriber's name and phone number.
Without the Polish whitepages online like Slovakia and the Czech
Republic, the only alternative has been to actually look through a paper
version of their whitepages. Now those will have only names and phone
numbers. So current phonebooks from Poland will become like gold!
I brought back three of them with me last Fall and have since sold two
of those. If there is anyone who would like to get a Xeroxed version
covering most all of the TARG area in Poland, I will look into the cost of
doing that. It's close to 300 pages, I believe. If anyone has an interest in
obtaining a copy, please let me know.
This is a troubling development, and I hope it does not catch on in
Slovakia. With the cell phone industry replacing published land-line phones
there in rapid fashion with non-published cell numbers, that resource for
our research is in serious decline.

CONTACTING TARG_____________________
To contact TARG the e-mail address is: TARG_NET@hotmail.com. Our mailing
address is: TARG, P.O. Box 3533, Escondido, CA 92033. Our new website is at:
www.ancestral.net/Home.html. Thanks for participating!
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

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