Chicago has been home to Polish immigrants and their descendant since the 1830s. Even today, there remains a large Polish population. Becoming an avid genealogist after the passing of a great aunt, Jason Kruski developed an interest in combining the knowledge he developed from other books and from his own studies on the topics of Polish-American ancestry and Midwestern genealogical research. The result is a very specific Guide to Chicago and Midwestern Polish-American Genealogy.
This book even more specifically, focuses on Catholic Poles. Kruski felt that trying to include research guides for other dominate Polish religious and ethnic groups would not allow him to focus on his core search area of Catholics. He feels such groups as Jewish, Lithuanian, and Ruthenian Poles deserve the full attention that can only be given with their own research guides. This book centers on the years 1860 to 1945. Since many Germans lived in Polish lands during those years, some German descendants may find this guide useful to their German research. However, the author notes this is only true if the German’s were Catholic.
Since most church records were kept in Latin, learning Polish will not be required to study from this guide. For those records kept in Polish, the author covers the few basic words in a chapter dedicated to the Polish language in Polish research. Each chapter focuses on a specific research area or type of records.
Contents
Chapter One: The First Steps
Chapter Two: U.S. Census Records
Chapter Three: U.S. Vital Records
Chapter Four: Naturalization Records
Chapter Five: U.S. Military Records
Chapter Six: Cemeteries, Burials, Funerals, and Related Death Records
Chapter Seven: Chicago and Midwestern Records and Resources
Chapter Eight: Miscellaneous Records
Chapter Nine: Determining the Polish village of Origin
Chapter Ten: Polish Language and Genealogy
Chapter Eleven: Polish Church and Vital Records
Chapter Twelve: Polish Research and Beyond
Chapter Thirteen: DNA and Genetic Genealogy
Chapter Fourteen: Living Relatives
Chapter Fifteen: Research Tips
Appendices
Appendix A: Websites of Interest to Chicago Polish
Appendix B: Tips for Searching Internet Database
Appendix C: Locations of Interest to Chicago Research
Appendix D: Recommended Readings
Appendix E: My Genealogy
Appendix F: Bibliography and Note on Sources
For more information or to order a copy of Guide to Chicago and Midwestern Polish-American Genealogy, visit Family Roots Publishing; Item #: CF8315, Price: $16.61.