Memories of Dziadka: Rural life in the Kingdom of Poland 1880-1912 and Immigration to America (Polish Genealogy)

My hope in writing this book is to share the information about the daily lives of the Polish people living in the rural areas of Poland. The book also describes some of the reasons for leaving Poland, the trek across Poland and Germany to the ports, the voyage across the North Atlantic, arrival in America and their life in their new country. I used my grandfather as the central figure in this book but this is not his biography. I used details of my grandfather’s life but added accounts of other people to tell a complete life story. My grandfather was not a person whose accomplishments would be in history books. However, his life is an example of a typical Polish immigrant. I felt that tying the information to one person would make a more interesting story and easier to show the impact of various events had on our ancestor's life. Our immigrant ancestors are the foundation of our roots in the United States. Our lives would be much different if they had not endured the challenges of emigration from Poland. Do not underestimate their contributions. They may have left us some material wealth but the most important contribution they left is their descendants and their role in the factories and farms of the United States. Their lives were building blocks in the growth of their new country.