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Sherlock's Genealogical Adventures

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Żarnówka Parish near Maków Podhalański

Poland Traditions & Interest

Tim Firkowski

Saturday, 20 August 2016

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3 Comments

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, if you are going to do research in the churches in Poland you have to allow extra time in case

you are not able to find what you are looking for and have use another avenue of research. I have a perfect example of this from my research here in Poland this year. I had discovered that some of the family I was searching for did belong to this church, but books were kept for each of the nearby villages. One of those villages were where the ancestors were from. About 10 years ago, a new church was built in the village of Żarnówka & all the associated books were move to the new parish.

I needed time to also go visit that parish. As it turned out, the priest was out of town for a few days, but would be back the day I had planned to leave. Arrangements were made for a visit to look up records I needed. This was outside of normal church office hours, so he was doing me a big favor. The priest did not seem too excited about genealogists, so I knew had to make a good impression with him, so that others that followed may have an easier time. I was well prepared with dates I had gotten from other documents and the indexes in Maków Podhalański. After I was finished I left a generous donation and his demeanor changed & he even thanked me in English & used a few other short simple phrases in English. This just shows how if you are doing research in a church, a nice donation can go a long way in helping the next person looking to do research in a parish.

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About the author

Tim Firkowski

I have been doing genealogy research since 2002 & have worked full time as a Professional Genealogist since 2008. I specialize in Polish and American-Canadian Genealogy. As a member of APG, I was the 2010/2011 President of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG). I have Certificates of Completion for studies in "Foundations of Forensic Genealogy" and "Advanced Forensic Genealogy Techniques". I have been a volunteer librarian at the local Family History Center, and a genealogy research consultant at “Ask the Expert” Ancestry Road Shows. I have traveled to Poland numerous times & researched in churches and archives. At conferences and special events, you may find me dressed up in my Sherlock Holmes outfit, or my Kujawy (the folk costume from the region in Poland where my ancestors came from).

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Comments 3

Guest - Leon Konieczny on Saturday, 20 August 2016 11:49

I guess I am curious as to what a parish priest would consider as a "nice donation," in PL. I just don't have any clue if you're talking 20 PL or 200 PL or ?? I'd like some reference so that when I next visit Poland, if I ever come to such situation, I know what is customary.

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Tim Firkowski on Sunday, 21 August 2016 01:15

OK, here is what I did in this case. Because I spent so much time in the church in Maków Podhalański & the nun was so wonderful and helpful, I left her a $100 bill (about 400zl). There are many Kantors (money exchanges) in Poland so it is easy for them to exchange the money. In the case of the church in Żarnówka, I was well prepared so I only spent a relatively short amount of time there, so I left him with 100zl. I kind of gauge the helpfulness of the priest along with the time I spent as to how much I leave. Personally, I think if you are going to do some substantial research, I would be prepared for about $100. They have managed to pass these records from priest to priest over the centuries & in some cases priests may have risked their lives to save records during times of war.

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Guest - Leon Konieczny on Sunday, 21 August 2016 06:25

Thanks for the information. I agree that keeping these records for so many years and at times at such great risk is well worthy of a healthy reward in the form of a donation.

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