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Hi, I am new to this forum and was wondering if anyone could help with my research. I have hit a brick wall.

I am looking for information on my great grandfather - "Charles Joseph" Oszczepinski born in Warsaw according to his USA SS-5 form (social security application). His mother is listed as Stella Romenovich and father Joseph Oszczepinski. He listed his birth as March 5, 1881 in Warsaw.

I am also looking for any information on his wife, Alexandra Jackiewicz. Her parents are "William" Jackiewicz and "Mary" Labecki. She was likely born in Pinsk in 1890-1893 time frame. Her brother is Kazimierz Jackiewicz and he was born in Pinsk.

I would be happy to return the favor and look up information in the USA if anyone would be willing to help with my search.

Sincerely,
Amy

Amy,

Is Oszczepiński the correct spelling of your great grandfather's surname? In Poland there are 2 quite similar surnames "Oszczepiński" and "Szczepiński". The first one is very uncommon in the Polish territory, especially in Warsaw's area. You can take a look at the links below to check in which regions we have people bearing such surnames.

Oszczepiński:

http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/ ... 84ski.html

Szczepiński:

http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/ ... 84ski.html

I believe your ggrandfather's surname is more likely to be Szczepiński. Moreover, this surname is very common in Warsaw's area.

There's also another surname which sounds similar "Stępiński", but probably it's not the case.

You mentioned that "Charles Joseph" was born in Warsaw. If it's correct, you'll probably find his birth's act in one of the churches spread all over the city of Warsaw. Please, take in consideration that he could have mentioned Warsaw as the commune where he was born. In such case, you would have to search in other villages that surround Warsaw. His mother's surname is probably Romanowicz.

Where did your great grandparents "Charles Joseph" and "Alexandra" get married? If they officialised their matrimony in the United States, maybe you should pay a visit to the civil registry office or to the church and ask for their marriage certificates. Sometimes we can find precious information in these documents.

Greetings,

Eduardo

Hi Eduardo, thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I was very happy to get your post! I have so little information to go on. I did find a death certificate for Charles and Alexandra's 4 year old daughter and they spell the last name with an 'O' (oszczepinski). That and family word of mouth that the name started with the "Au" sound is what led me to the conclusion of Oszczepinski.

Rumor has it that Charles and Alexandra had an arranged marriage, but I really have no idea if they were married here or in Poland/Russia. I have not been able to find any immigration documents despite hours of searching. They were not naturalized. I believe they came through New York/New Jersey as their first two children have NY & NJ birth places on the Censuses. If you think of any research sites or other information that could help, please let me know. My next step is to travel to Maine (where they ended up living) to see if I can find anything further than what I have found online. I am so greatful for your time and will look further at the Szczepinski surname on immigration records.

Sincerely yours,
Amy

Amy,

There's a site www.szukajwarchiwach.pl, in which we can have access to microfilmed state archives from different regions in Poland. They have the Warsaw area available. Give me some time and I'll try to find your ggrandpa's baptism act. At the time when Charles (Karol) was born, Poland was invaded and divided in 3 parts ruled by Russia, Germany and Austria. Warsaw area was under Russian control and for this reason all the acts were written in Russian. Assuming that you don't speak Russian, I'll do the search for you.

Best regards,

Eduardo

Wow! That is an extremely kind offer...thank you so much! I don't speak or read Russian or Polish - part of the problem in trying to further my research. I use a lot of Google Translator. : ) Is it possible he could also have had the first name Kazimir or Kazimirez? My GG Grandmother (Charles' wife) ...from Pinsk... had a brother Kazimierz who took the name Charles when he immigrated. So I figured Charles Oszczepinski was either Karol or Kazimierz.

I am so grateful for your time and insights!
Amy

Amy,

I've looked for your great grandfather's birth/baptism act at Warsaw's church records (roman catholic 1879-1883) available on www.szukajwarchiwach.pl. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything related to him. Maybe, he was born in one of the villages which surrounds the city of Warsaw.
The English form for Kazimierz is Casimir. But, it's possible that by the time of their immigration to the United States, they adopted similar and easier names.
If you find any other details, just let me know and we'll see what we can do.

Greetings from Poland,

Eduardo