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Archive research in Poland


Prezemysl Archives for Finding Ulanów Records
By Richard Schwartzstein

In the summer, 1995 issue of The Galitzianer  (Vol. 2, No. 4) there was a report on page 8 on the National Archives in Przemysl, particularly the records of notaries from various nearby towns, including Ulanów and Nisko (6.2 miles NW of Ulanów).  The procedure to be followed was given, and I followed it exactly, including sending a letter in Polish, describing the names of my ancestors and dates where they lived in the above towns, and sending a personal check for $30.

Several weeks later, I received a letter, in Polish, from the Archive acknowledging my letter and my check, and indicating that they had spent five hours of research at $15 per hour, and had located several document, consisting of eight pages, that they thought would be of interest to me.  They described the individuals whose names appeared in the documents, and asked for a check of $95, representing their search and a reproduction charge of $5 to $10 per page, less my deposit.

I sent the money by my personal check to the State Bank in Warsaw, and several weeks later the documents arrived by mail.  They were reproduced well, but my friend who translated my correspondence with the Archive, is not experienced in reading handwritten Polish legal documents.  He was able to give me only a gist of the documents and not an exact translation.

The first document was dated in 1892 and was signed by my great great grandfather, Mendel Taub, of Ulanów, as well as other members of the family, and it apparently deals with the transfer of title to the family home within the family after his son, my great grandfather, Jakub Taub, had already departed for the U.S.  My great grandfather, Jakub Taub, was also a witness to a document in 1885, before he left for the U.S., and this was also sent to me.

The second major document was dated in 1886 and involved my great great grandmother, Sara Knopf, who lived in Nisko.  Apparently, her family was involved in a barge business and this business activity was reflected in this document.

I had a good experience with this Archive and I recommend following the procedure that I used.

A Note from Melody Katz, Editor:
The above article appeared in the Galitzianer, Vol. 3, No. 3, Page 13,dated Spring 1996 and was reprinted here with the kind permission of Richard Schwartzstein, author.

Procedure to request research help from the National Archives in Przemysl:

  • Write your requests for research assistance in Polish
  • Obtain a bank check for $30 (or the equivalent of $30 U.S.)
  • Make out the check to:  Naczelna Archiwow Panstwowych.
  • Send request and check to:  Wojewodzkie Archiwum Panstwowe w Przemyslu
  •                                                  37-700 Przemysl
                                                     ul. PCK nr. 4
                                                     POLAND

     


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