Hi there,
There is a good possibility that we are related. I went to Dzikowiec in 1995 and met my family. It is a small village outside of Rzeszow and Kolbuszowa. I met w/2 Zuba families b/c when I got to the village, I got dropped off at the local church by the taxi cab driver and just sat there for a few hours not knowing what to do. A strange American kid in a baseball cap in the village caused a stir and people came by and asked me who I was in Polish. I used to know the language fairly well but in 1995, my memory of Polish was declining but I communicated w/them fairly well. I told them that my great-grandmother left Dzikowiec w/her sister and headed to Jersey City, NJ. I came armed w/a latin copy of her baptismal certificate made in the 1940s and it had her parents' names and grandparents' names.
They took me to the church (right across the dirt road) and I met w/the local priest. He showed me the baptismal abstract book which would contain your Weronika Zuba as well. Then, someone brought out 2 bicycles and we drove up the dirt path to each Zuba house. I went to the first house and mentioned my grandmother's maiden name, Stachelski, and no one recognized it. The 2nd house was a direct hit. I spent the day w/them and they rolled out the red carpet...I felt guilty b/c I didn't anticipate anything but the people at the bench where the taxi dropped me off insisted that I go find Zubas. They were pretty adamant about it as a matter of fact. The family took me to the cemetery and I saw my great-great grandmother's stone. She was named Weronika Zuba, too. Her maiden name was Kosek (if I remember right) and she died in 1947 in Stary Dzikowiec. I have pictures of all of this, including the village if you are interested in seeing what it looks like. I could scan/make copies of pictures for you in August b/c I am sitting for the bar exam now & trying to study...emphasis on trying.
At best, we would have to be 3rd cousins. The woman I met over there was the daughter of a man named Jan Zuba and he was my grandmother's uncle. She and my grandmother are 1st cousins. Assuming that my great-grandmother and your Weronika Zuba were first cousins, then that would make us at least 3rd. If you wrote a letter to the church in Dzikowiec or the Civil Registry there I know for a fact that they would get back to you. Faster, still if you include money. If you cannot write polish, there is a good book out there by a woman named Chorzempa & if that isn't an option let me know & I can have my grandmother write a short letter for you.
Hope that you find this interesting,
Take care...
Ryan McGonigle
P.S.: Respond to my e-mail account which is:
rmcgonig@astro.temple.edu