We are looking for data on Chmielnicki and Garstka relatives from Gombin (Gabin, south of the Vistula, west of Warsaw). Our grandfather Aleksy was born in the 1880's there. His father was Tomas, mother Maria, sisters Kristina and Maria, brothers Franek, Ludwik, and Stanley. We are told those who didn't immigrate to the US died in Poland in WW2. We have searched the Gombin Shtetl site, which lists some WW2 dead, and also are aware of the Cossack warrior Bohdan (Bogdan) Chmielnicki, who was a distant ancestor. Any information will be very much appreciated.
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In my husbands family tree, we have a Stanley Garstka from Poland who was married to Eleanore. They had at least one daughter, Bertha(Blanche). Could this be the Stanley you are referring to? I am trying to find any information to go further back on the tree. They were in the US in the '30s Census.
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It could be - where in the US was your Stanley? Ours was in the NYC and later Philadelphia/NJ area. He had at least one daughter - whose married name may be Malone. If it's the same Stanley, he had brothers Teddy and Aleksy who also came to the US, and family left behind in Poland that was all killed during WW1 (parents, sisters, and maybe another brother or two.)
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Yes, sounds like the same one. Ours was born abt 1869 and was in Trenton, NJ for the 1930 census. Do you have much information about the family left behind in Poland? I have found (I think) 2 sisters and 3 brothers, and I have parents Thomas and Maria. I am new to genealogy and if you have any tips on how to find the European ancestors would be greatly appreciated!
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Sorry it has taken so long to get back on this. I am aware of 3 brothers who came over to US - Stanley (B. about 1870), Aleksy (B. 1878), and Luwik (b. 1886). I'm told the siblings left behind were Maria, Kristina, Franek, Andrzy, and possibly another. Family stories are that they were all killed (Russians get blamed for most things in our family anecdotes) along with their parents and most of their town or area in/near Warsaw (Gombin is a location name that comes up). I know of only one living child of the immigrant generation. Depending on the faith practiced by your family, any remaining church records may be the way to track things back. My understanding is that gravesites from 1900-1947 may be difficult to locate or gone, if they were ever marked for these kinds of events. Do you have someone who can write in Polish? Some websites have sample documents for writing for information.
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If you have foound evidence that the brothers and sisters in Poland were not killed during one of the world wars, that would be amazing. I have photos of Stanley and his brothers... how about you?
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