the Old Country
All of Lena and Lawrence's ancestors came from Poland, or at least what we refer to today as Poland. Poland has had a tumultuous past, and her borders have changed numerous times over the years as various countries split her apart and ruled over her. For a period of over 120 years, Poland did not even exist at all as a country. Additionally, provinces, districts, and communities within Poland also changed borders and were renamed according to the whims of the ruling country at the time. All of this makes researching Polish ancestry rather difficult. Depending on the locality, records might be found written in Polish, German, Latin, or even Russian.
Poland's border changes in maps
Poland Today
So, just where in Poland did our ancestors come from?
The chart below breaks it down by branch giving the geographical names from today and from the 1880's, which is around the time they began emigrating from Poland to the United States. The village listed is the last residence in Poland of that branch of the family before emigrating.
| Jankowski | Lewandowski | Zielinski | Brodzinski | |||||
| 1880's | Today | 1880's | Today | 1880's | Today | 1880's | Today | |
| Village (gmina) | Charlub Hauland | Charlub | Nikolaiken | Mikolajki Pomorskie | Gross Waplitz | Waplewo Wielkie | Szucie | Szucie |
| Catholic Parish | Emchen | Mchy | Schonweise | Krasna Laka | Altmark | Stary Targ | Skrwilno | Skrwilno |
| County (powiat) | Schrimm | Srem | Marienwerder | Stuhm | Marienwerder | Stuhm | Rypin | Rypin |
| Province (voivodeship) | Posen | Wielkopolskie | West Prussia | Pomorskie | West Prussia | Pomorskie | Polen | Kujawsko Pomorskie |
| Country | Germany | Poland | Germany | Poland | Germany | Poland | Russia | Poland |
The map below shows where each branch of our ancestors resided in relation to each other. Note that the Zielinski's and Lewandowski's resided in very close proximity to each other. It is not known if the families knew each other in Poland. This map is from Gray's Atlas and it depicts Prussia (Germany) as it looked in 1873. Note that at this time in Poland's history, The Jankowski's, Zielinski's, and Lewandowski's were actually subjects of Prussia (Germany), while the Brodzinski's were subjects of Russia. Even though "Poland" is depicted on the map, during this time it was ruled by Russia. These borders were in affect when our ancestors emigrated, and would remain basically unchanged until after World War I.
Click on the family name on the map to go to a family-specific page for more information on that family.
You can also click here to see a larger version of the map.
