Author Topic: Szewczak/witowski  (Read 1356 times)

Offline angelai

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Szewczak/witowski
« on: Thursday 19 August 10 11:25 BST (UK) »
Can Polish surnames be regionalised, like, are certain surnames common to a particular area of Germany?
IThis is my brickwall I am looking for any information
My mothers maiden name was Lillian Witkowski  on my birth certificate it is Lillian Wathowski. Her death certificate states her fathers name was Joseph Witkowski and her mothers name was Victoria Szewczak.  Lillian married JoHN Peter McGillivaray.
My Grandmother Victoria came from Poland and settled in Wilmington Delaware. Any information on these people would be great
Thanks Angela

Offline jorose

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Re: Szewczak/witowski
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 19 August 10 15:21 BST (UK) »
Do you have some dates for your folks, and have you found them in any US censuses?
If you can find Victoria's entry into the US, that might give quite a lot of info on where she came from (depending on dates).

Dictionary of American Family Names gives:
Szewczyk (Polish: patronymic or diminutive from szewc ‘shoemaker’)
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Offline angelai

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Re: Szewczak/witowski
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 19 August 10 20:59 BST (UK) »
Lillian was born in1914 in Delaware she died in detroit in 1970. She married John Peter Mac Gillivary in detroit I think 1930s
Her mother Victoria was born in 1871 in poland thats all the information that i have on her.

Offline Bluebird Research

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Re: Szewczak/witowski
« Reply #3 on: Saturday 21 August 10 16:19 BST (UK) »
Szewczak is a fairly common Polish name - there were 3,029 bearers of this surname in 1990. Witowski less common - 1,569 were counted in 1990.

Both are widespread. Szewczak was particularly frequent in Warsaw, lubelskie and siedleckie. Witowski was especially common in Warsaw, nowosądeckie and siedleckie. Of course, much may have changed since your ancestors emigrated (and they may have come from the kresy borderlands now outside Poland (lying in Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine) but the current distribution of the name points to the capital or to the Siedlce area immediately to its east.

If an ancestor was naturalised as a US citizen, the papers should point to a place of origin. Also, incoming passenger lists sometimes give the next of kin back in the country of origin, so it is worth double-checking these (if you haven't already).
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Offline angelai

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Re: Szewczak/witowski
« Reply #4 on: Saturday 21 August 10 17:31 BST (UK) »
I think this may be her. I cannot make out the mothers name on the original document. Was it common for the females to keep using there maiden name?
Name: Victoria Szewczyk
Arrival Date: 4 Aug 1913
Birth Year: abt 1891
Birth Location: Russia
Birth Location Other: durhas
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Polish
Port of Departure: Rotterdam
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Rotterdam