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Sherlock's Genealogical Adventures
The Church in Szewna, Poland
I had to go to Szewna, Poland to do some research for a client. The project is filled with many mysteries. I had a short time to at least go through the cemetery before I had to continue my journey to the southeast part of Poland.
There was one mystery that kept bothering me. The name of the parish is św. Mikołaj (St. Nicolas) but the name św. Roch (St. Roch) was remembered by a family member. I was unable to find a parish with this name that was nearby and I was left puzzled.
I finally learned that the parish had two patron saints, those two being St. Nicolas and St. Roch. St. Nicolas is the most known name for this parish.
It may sound like a small thing if you know you have the right church, but since it has been difficult finding records, St. Roch may have been another church where the family records I needed were. That did not turn out to be the case but at least I finally solved that small puzzle.
Space is limited for graves in Poland, so they make use of every bit of space they have. In Szewna, I encountered a cemetery that was packed full and built on a hill. Within European countries in general, a plot is leased for a given number of years, I have heard that normally it is about 40 years, if the lease is not renewed by family, the plot is reused, but not to worry the deceased is not removed, only moved lower into the ground to make room for the new occupants. A new set of stones are then placed there with the names of the new occupants. This can be frustrating to genealogists who are expecting to find the old graves of their ancestors. It is very possible you will not find old graves. I think the oldest grave I saw was from the late 1800s.
I have been to many different cemeteries before in Poland, but I had never encountered one that was so tightly packed. this came as a big surprise to me. I wondered where I should start. Graves were so close together that at some points you had no choice but to walk on gravestones to get anywhere. Another thing that added to the frustration is that the headstones were turned in all different directions and rows did not line up nicely.
I suggest that if you are planning on visiting any cemeteries in Poland that you wear a good pair of shoes, sneakers may be OK, but hiking boots may be better as sometimes you will be stepping on the edges of stones. You must be prepared to TAKE YOUR TIME! Don't rush it and try not to be overwhelmed. There were instances that I took a photo of the same grave stone twice because the rows were not lined up. I figured it was better to have extra photos than to miss something important.
If you are able to speak the language, take the opportunity to talk with anyone in the cemetery. They may provide you with valuable information, that you would not learn anywhere else. I had a list of surnames with me that I was looking for. If I encountered someone, I would show them the list and ask if they knew the family name. Most times they were not familiar with the name, but one never knows. Most everyone I talked with was amazed that I was going through the cemetery looking for graves one by one. They said that is was difficult work, and I could not disagree with them in the least!
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