[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Integration of Germans with Polish ethnicity

[Rose Ingram]

In my opinion the changed names where written at the whim of the pastor or 
recorder.  We could go on and on about the switching of names from Polish 
version to German version and vise versa - my Gruening family name for one = 
Zielinski.  I haven't done enough research back to the 1700's to determine 
what the original name is.

My paternal grandmother was a Michalski with a German mother.  Her parents 
married Lutheran, the marriage record clearly states that her father 
Gottlieb/Bogumil was Catholic!  Obviously he did not convert to Lutheran, 
but all his children were baptised Lutheran.
Gottlieb's father was Catholic Franciszek Michalski and mother a German 
Lutheran girl. Franciszek's second marriage to a German Lutheran lady 
indicated he also was Catholic!!  Four of their children were baptised in 
Lutheran churches and two of their children, my ancestor Gottlieb and a 
sister were baptised in a Catholic church.   Obviously Gottlieb did not wish 
to convert.

Rolling through miles and miles of filmed records from 4 or 5 different 
parishes (Lutheran and Catholic)  produced this story.   Isn't this fun..

Rose Ingram

From: "Jerry Frank"

>>>One indicator (it is not proof) might be if the family with the assumed 
>>>Polish surname is Catholic.  You might assume true Polish ethnicity with 
>>>such info.  This would be especially true in Russian Poland where there 
>>>were few German Catholics.  However, there were some so one must not 
>>>consider such a situation as proof of anything.

> Jerry