13 Replies Latest reply on Feb 13, 2020 7:47 AM by Rebecca Collier

Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport

Susan Plawsky Jan 31, 2020 5:23 PM

I've spent hours online, and I still can't figure out how to track down my grandfather's/great-grandmother's Polish passport. They emigrated from Poland in 1922. I found their ship manifest on the Ellis Island website. I have my grandfather's Certificate of Naturalization, and I just requested his other naturalization documents from the Westchester County, NY archives. (They confirmed that they have his Certificate of Arrival, Declaration of Intention, and Petition for Naturalization.) However, they have no record of my great-grandmother's naturalization. It's entirely possible that she never pursued it.

What I'm missing is Polish passport info. My grandfather was a minor (17 yr) upon arrival, so he'd be listed on his mother's passport. How can I find passport documentation: photo of passport including page listing my grandfather; passport number; etc? Should I file form G-639? It doesn't indicate where to postal-mail the form. I can submit it online, but I'd have to provide my grandfather's death certificate; not sure if that can be uploaded. Many thanks!

Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport

joan stachnik Jan 31, 2020 6:06 PM (in response to Susan Plawsky)

HI Susan, I don't have an answer for you, but were passports widely issued in Poland at the time? All of my grandparent's emigrated from Poland to the US around 1910 and eventually became US citiziens. One even traveled back to Poland and then returned to the US before becoming a US citizen, traveling (I'm guessing) without any documentation.

Though I was able to find US naturalization papers for most of them (one did not pursue citizenship), I always assumed there was no documentation for their citizenship in Poland. I'm interested to see what responses you get to your question. joan
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- Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
  
  Susan Plawsky Feb 3, 2020 11:00 PM (in response to joan stachnik)
  
  Thank you, Joan! Based on a quick online search, I understand that Poland began issuing passports in about 1920. My grandmother came to the US in 1929 with a Polish passport. My family still has it. Now I'm starting to wonder about Polish birth certificates . . .
  
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  - Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
    
    joan stachnik Feb 4, 2020 1:19 PM (in response to Susan Plawsky)
    
    Susan, a family member of mine was success in obtaining baptismal certificates for two of my grandparents. Both were born in the late 1800s. I believe she wrote to the parishes in Poland to obtain the certificates. Joan
    
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    - Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
      
      Susan Plawsky Feb 5, 2020 8:46 AM (in response to joan stachnik)
      
      Thanks! I hired a Polish firm to search for birth certificates and any documents they could get their hands on in Poland. They came up dry b/c, they claimed, many archives were destroyed during WWII. Your relative was fortunate to find the baptismal certificates.
      
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Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport

Lisha Penn Feb 5, 2020 10:43 AM (in response to Susan Plawsky)

Dear Ms. Plawsky,

We recommend that you contact the National Digital Archives of Poland through its Strona główna website for information and/or resources to obtain the Polish passport of your great grandmother.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!

1 person found this helpful
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- Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
  
  Susan Plawsky Feb 5, 2020 1:24 PM (in response to Lisha Penn)
  
  Great idea! I hired a Polish firm to search various Polish archives for me. I'll ask the firm whether they've consulted that resource. Thanks!
  
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  - Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
    
    joan stachnik Feb 8, 2020 9:32 AM (in response to Susan Plawsky)
    
    HI Susan, I contacted the National Digital Archives mentioned above (via their Facebook page), asking about birth records or any similar information for my grandparents. The response I received is below. Hope this is of some help. joan
    
    Dear Joan, National Digital Archive is dedicated for collecting photography, audio recordings and films, therefore we do not store documents such as birth or marriage certificates that may be helpful in your research. We suggest you to contact National Archive in Kraków [Archiwum Narodowe w Krakowie] or National Archive of Modern Records in Warsaw [Archiwum Akt Nowych]. With kind regards, NAC team
    
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    - Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
      
      Susan Plawsky Feb 10, 2020 8:43 AM (in response to joan stachnik)
      
      Hi, Joan,
      
      Thanks so much. I just emailed them and almost immediately received a similar (though briefer) reply: "We do not have any personal materials in the National Digital Archives."
      
      Please let me know if you make any headway with the other archives they suggested.
      
      Thanks!
      
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      - Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
        
        joan stachnik Feb 10, 2020 4:22 PM (in response to Susan Plawsky)
        
        Hi Susan, not being able to read Polish is a bit of a problem (I cannot either). And Google translate is not the best. My thought is to email the churches directly, but I'm having trouble identifying which church I need for my grandparents. I doubt records from small towns were transferred to any type of national archives. Much of the birth/death information (at least for the time period I'm looking for...late 1800s) was only recorded by churches. And I fairly certain many of the records from Jewish synagogues, cemeteries, etc., in these small towns were destroyed during WWII. joan
        
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        Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
        
        Susan Plawsky Feb 11, 2020 10:27 PM (in response to joan stachnik)
        
        Hi, Joan, I did a quick online search--"Polish church records 1800s"--and fell down the rabbit hole. You can spend every waking hour doing genealogical research! Yes, I've heard the same about small towns, and their records, being destroyed during the war. It's tragic, and I may very well be chasing a phantom.
        Someone made a suggestion to me, and I'll pass it along: If you or a sibling had your DNA tested, you most likely were given a list of relatives. Perhaps they can be of help?
        
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        Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
        
        joan stachnik Feb 12, 2020 5:34 PM (in response to Susan Plawsky)
        
        HI Susan, thanks for the suggestion. I have talked with my older cousins and gotten some information from them. And my mom spoke frequently of her parents (my grandparents). But finding documentation is the difficult part. Thank, joan
        
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- Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
  
  Susan Plawsky Feb 10, 2020 10:15 AM (in response to Lisha Penn)
  
  I asked the Polish firm whether they had searched the Polish online archives, and they didn't directly answer my question.
  
  This search link www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl looks like it could be very helpful, but I don't know Polish. Or do you recommend that I skip the search and simply send an email to an address nac@nac.gov.pl or sekretariat@nac.gov.pl on the Contact page? Thanks!
  
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  - Re: Seeking immigrant relatives' Polish passport
    
    Rebecca Collier Feb 13, 2020 7:47 AM (in response to Susan Plawsky)
    
    Dear Ms. Plawsky,
    
    Thank you for posting your follow-up request on History Hub!
    
    We suggest that you follow all three possibilities.
    
    We hope this is helpful.
    
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