Smyj family from Banica

[Crawford]

Looking for any information on John Smyj & his wife Tekla or their descendents. They had at least one son Michael in 1872.

Thank you,
Sharon

[Pawłowski_Henryk]

Which Banica?

Near Krywa ( Krzywa) or near Izby?

[Crawford]

Oh dear, didn't know that there were two! The one near Izby is what we have been figuring but I guess anything is possible. Does the Banica near Krzywa still exist or has the name been changed?

[Crawford]

This might shed some light.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i223/ ... 102967.jpg

Where the archives put Zdynia on the back of my Great Grandmothers birth record, indicating where it was found, on my Great Grandfather's it looks to actually be Kirylsej???

[Asia1]

Then it has to be Banica near Krzywa. Today’s Banica exists only on the map. There are only 2 remaining houses, one of them being a guest house.
Banica used to belong to the Greek-Catholic parish Wołowiec and since 1850s – to the Greek-Catholic parish Krzywa. During the years 1928-1933 most of the inhabitants converted to Orthodox and a small chapel was built which became a branch of the Orthodox parish Wołowiec. I’ve seen the ruins many times during my journeys into Beskid Niski.
After the Russians had overtaken the area in 1945, most of the inhabitants decided to run into USSR. They settled down mainly in Lviv Oblast and Ternopil Oblast.
According to the "Słownika Nazwisk Współcześnie w Polsce Używanych", there are currently 22 people with the last name “Smyj” living in Poland. 8 of them resides in Gorlice - Smyj.
Here is a link to the website of Banica. It mentions the name “Smyj”: Banica
Also, if you would like to search the archives, take a look here: Krzywa, Wołowiec.
pozdrawiam
Aśka
______________________________________________________________
W takim razie chodzi o Banicę koło Krzywej. Dzisiejsza Banica jest już tylko miejscem na mapie. Są tu 2 domy, w tym jeden pensjonat. Banica należała do parafii grekokatolickiej Wołowiec, a od połowy XIX w. do parafii Krzywa. W latach 1928-1933 r. większość mieszkańców tego terenu przeszła na prawosławie i wtedy wybudowano w Banicy małą kaplicę, która była filią prawosławnej parafii w Wołowcu. Z moich dawnych wędrówek po Beskidzie Niskim pamiętam jeszcze jej szczątki.
Po wkroczeniu Rosjan w 1945 r. większość mieszkańców zdecydowała się na wyjazd do ZSRR, gdzie osiedlili się przede wszystkim w obłasti lwowskiej i tarnopolskiej
W "Słownika Nazwisk Współcześnie w Polsce Używanych" w Polsce mieszkają obecnie 22 osoby o nazwisku Smyj, z czego 8 w Gorlicach - Smyj.
Podaję Ci link do strony o Banicy. Występuje tam nazwisko Smyj Banica.
Jeśli chcesz szukać w archiwach to popatrz tu –
Krzywa, Wołowiec.

[Pawłowski_Henryk]

This year I was doing restauration of one of the gravestone on the cementery in Banica near Krzywa. The name from the epithaph: Teresa Wislocka-Guresh. There is another one. If You would like to support restauration of another gravestone contact "Stowarzyszenie Rozwoju Sołectwa Krzywa" stowarzyszenie.krzywa@wp.pl [/img]

The president of this society- Anna Dobrowolska collects old photos of people from that area- maybe she would have some materials for You

[Crawford]

Henryk,

Lots of information! Will go through it later when I have time as I'm getting ready for work, How did you know it was this Banica? The name on the document looks to be like Krzywej in the article - the same name as Krzywa? Is this indeed what it says? They both seem to translate to curve in English. Thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction and getting me in the right place! I'm excited to look at all this!

Sharon

[Asia1]

Sharon,
Yes, Krzywej and Krzywa both refer to the same village. There are just two different grammatical cases of one noun. The name indeed translates to "curve".
As a matter of fact, there were two Banicas in Beskid Niski:
1.Banica near Izby - gmina Uście Gorlickie, the former parish Banica? (I'm not sure)
2.Banica near Krzywa – currently nonexistent; gmina Sękowa, the former parish Krzywa
The first one still exists; there was a Greek-Catholic chapel there, which became a church after the war.
In the second Banica, the one near Krzywa, there never was a Greek-Catholic chapel - the parish was located in Krzywa.
After looking at the photo you’ve linked I’m pretty sure the Banica you mean is probably the one near Krzywa.

Best regards
Aśka

[Crawford]

So sorry Aska, looked at this this AM before coffee and totally missed your name...thought both posts were from Henryk. My apologies. It's going to take awhile to look through all this. I've translated the main story and printed that & some maps up. Wow, what a history, heartbreaking...in a place that looks so breathtakingly beautiful! I'm sure this applies to most of Poland though. Will share with Mom now as this has really all been for her...to give her some answers on her Mom's side of the family.

Yes, I believe that this is the correct Banica also!

[Crawford]

Very interesting Henryk! Do you do a lot of these restorations or just in this cemetary? Would love to see pictures if you have them. Unfortunately, I incurred a lot of unforseen bills last year that I am still paying off and can't afford to right now but I will contact Anna Dobrowolska. Is English OK or should I use one of the translation pages first? Thank you for the contact information and your help.

Also if anybody knows any Smyj's in the Gorlice area please mention this post to them if you would, thank you!

[Pawłowski_Henryk]

Hi

Anna Dobrowolska lives there and knows all the people in the area so try to contact her first to ask about Smyjs family..

There is a Lemko comunity in Gorlice- try to find them- I am sure they will help you as well.

Restauration is my profesion- I hope to find some time to send You some photos in the future or when I finish my web site

And the most important - try to go to Banica as quickly as possible- it is beautiful place

[Crawford]

What a great job, so much satisfaction! Would love to see pictures and yes a website too. Would love to see Banica, all the photos I've seen of there and the Carpathian mountains are gorgeous. I have always loved the Mts. grew up on one and live there now but they pale in comparison. Of course short of winning the lottery or something I don't see that happening...

Will try Anna first, and yes I have a few links to Lemko websites since that name keeps coming up so I should be able to find that as well! Again thank you, everybody on this website has always been so helpful, none of what we know now would have been possible without it!