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from Central Connecticut State University
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Media contact: Peter Kilduff, Director of University Relations
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CCSU instructor’s new genealogical source book helps families find Eastern European records

 
NEW BRITAIN -- (December 31, 2007) -- Polish-Americans have a new source to help them trace family roots in Europe, thanks to Central Connecticut State University modern language instructor Jonathan Shea.

An accredited genealogist, Shea is the author of “Going Home: A Guide to Polish-American Family History Research,” which has just been published by Language and Lineage Press in Danbury. 

The 400-page comprehensive reference source is the result of Shea’s three decades of genealogical research experience and his knowledge of several foreign languages.  Shea uses a step-by-step analysis of archival and document sources that will help researchers trace their roots through the time their families spent in the United States, and back to their places of origin in Eastern Europe.

“In most cases, research begins in the home and then progresses through a series of document sources generated locally and by the federal government,” Shea said.

Shea discusses available local and federal records that researchers will need to collect factual information about their families such as birth, marriage and death records, church records, newspaper sources, voting records, probate court records and other documents available at a local city hall or county courthouse. He also notes information-laden records created by the U.S. government such as ship passenger lists that enable “roots” seekers to find their ancestors’ names on manifests of vessels that docked at Ellis Island and other American ports of entry. He also offers instructions on how to effective use the decennial Federal Censuses, as well as information on the availability and content of naturalization and citizenship records.

Shea devoted a chapter of the book to maps, cartographic sources and gazetteers (lists of place names in a given country) that enable the researcher to pinpoint site in Europe where family homesteads were located. He points out:  “Because place names repeat in many nations and national borders changed all too frequently during the course of the many wars fought on European soil, special attention is given to the numerous territorial and administrative changes which took place in Poland over the last few centuries.”

Once the researcher has located the family’s place of origin, the book presents a wide array of documents that can be found in the archives of Poland and neighboring nations such as vital records, tax lists, church censuses and notary records. The book not only shows what these documents look like but provides instructions to understand and translate them. Word lists in Polish, German, Russian and Latin aid in this regard.

Shea notes: "People should not be deterred from doing family history research because they do not know a second language. To do effective research one needs only to know a small sliver of the language required to translate these types of documents. Many of the documents are formulaic, meaning that their contents are in a set order, thus only specific vocabulary needs to be learned as well as a generalized, broad knowledge of how the language functions and its basic structure. Its sounds intimidating, but it is really not difficult at all”

Barbara Proko, a Polish genealogist and editor for “Choice,” the American Library Association’s monthly magazine of academic book reviews, wrote:  “Shea’s ‘Going Home’ is destined to become an instant classic and the standard by which all other books on Polish genealogy will be judged. There is simply no one else who has Jonathan Shea’s range of research experience, degree of insight, or depth of knowledge about this very complex subject. He brings to this book a unique combination of skills -- an extensive background in genealogy itself, as well as academic expertise in the key area of Slavic languages. Shea’s passion for Polish genealogy is evident on every page. His candor about his own family research lends his writing warmth, humor and personality seldom seen in genealogy manuals. ‘Going Home’ is the perfect blend of erudition and enthusiasm, sure to satisfy beginning researchers and longtime genealogists alike.”

Further information may be obtained by contacting pgsctne@yahoo.com

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