[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Re: Ger-Poland-Volhynia digest, Vol 1 #56 - 5 msgs

[Don Kronenberger]

Paul - I was fascinated to read your message and recall that you were making 
this trip.  By chance did you come across the name KRONENBERGER among the 
early settlers of Schroettersdorf?  I am also very interested in your 
LEHMANN information.  Also just general information dealing with the 
founding of the colony would be of great interest to me. Please keep me in 
mind when you receive this information.  Thanks.

Don Kronenberger

>Message: 5
>From: PnSWork at aol.com
>Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 14:48:35 EST
>To: ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org
>Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Genealogy trip to Poland
>
>Hello all,
>
>     Last month, I spent five days in Poland, trying to research the 
>origins
>of some of my German ancestors.  As a background, my grandmother's parents
>emigrated to Ohio (Cleveland area) around 1900, and they both came from the
>village of Powsin (near Plock).  My mother and I had traced their
>predecessors back to around 1800 when the Prussians tried to colonize the
>area with German settlers.  We had successfully traced four of the families
>back to Germany proper, but we were stuck on the others.
>
>     In preparation, I wrote to the Prussian archives in Berlin (Geheimes
>Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz) requesting information on the
>founding of these colonies, and asking if they had any records which might
>list the original settlers and their origins.  In reply, the Prussian
>archives stated that the original documents regarding the founding of the
>colonies in question (Schroettersdorf, Bulkowo, and Boguszyn) had been 
>turned
>over to the main Polish archive in Warsaw (Archiwum Glowne Akt Dawnych) 
>some
>years ago, but they did give me the exact names and reference numbers for 
>the
>documents.  Each colony had at least one volume of documents associated 
>with
>it.  Schroettersdorf (later divided into Powsin, Chelpowo, Biala, and
>Maszewo) had three volumes, while Bulkowo and Boguszyn had one volume each.
>
>     I spent two days at the Polish archives in Warsaw, looking over the
>documents.  At first, I was a little disappointed, because they couldn't 
>find
>the third volume for Schroettersdorf (1803-1806), but they did have the 
>first
>two (1796-1801, and 1801-1803).  The index they made available also didn't
>list the volumes for Bulkowo and Boguszyn.  However, I was successful in
>ordering those volumes using the reference numbers given in the letter from
>the Prussian archives.  The Schroettersdorf volumes were quite large, with
>each volume containing over 200 pages.  The Bulkowo volume was quite small,
>less than 20 pages, and the Boguszyn volume contained about 100 pages.
>
>     These documents were all written in German using the old German
>handwriting, and none of the librarians could read it.  I found several 
>hints
>as to the origins of several of the settlers, including documents 
>authorizing
>the payment of travel money to individual colonists according to how far 
>they
>had traveled.  I ordered about 60 pages worth of copies (relatively 
>expensive
>at $1 per page), and plan to study them thoroughly when they arrive (takes
>about one to two months to process a request for copies).  One such 
>document
>gave the place of origin of the settler and how far he had traveled to get
>there.
>
>     I have yet to receive the copies I ordered, but I have no doubt that 
>they
>will be invaluable in tracing some of my German ancestors back to their
>hometowns.  Of particular interest was one document which listed four
>brothers by the name of Lehmann, who then settled in the Schroettersdorf
>colony.  The document is rather long, and I only noted that they were 
>listed,
>but I did include it in the list of documents ordered.  I am anxious to see
>what it says.
>
>     To my knowledge, none of these documents have been micofilmed, and are
>thus only available at the Polish archive in Warsaw.  Presumably this 
>archive
>also has the corresponding volumes for all the Prussian colonies that were
>founded around 1800 in present-day Poland.  If anyone wants to visit the
>archive, be warned that the librarians do not speak English or German.  You
>will need to request permission ahead of time by writing to them.  They do
>have a web site (www.agad.hg.pl), but everything is in Polish.  For my 
>visit,
>I engaged the services of a student at the University of Warsaw who spoke
>German.  He was instrumental in getting questions answered in a timely
>fashion.  If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.  Good luck in your
>research!
>
>     -Paul
>
>Paul R Work
>pnswork at aol.com
>Researching Erbacher, Wolf, Haefke, Lehmann, Burgstahler, Schmidt, Dreher,
>Kretke, Fetzner, Weber, Herrmann in the area around Plock and Plonsk, 
>Poland
>
>
>--__--__--
>
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>
>End of Ger-Poland-Volhynia Digest


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