Have you ever wondered from which village or town your Ukrainian family came? What was life like in Ukraine and Poland? Why did they leave and what was life like for them when they arrived in their adopted homeland in the United States?
The participants in the Center's Family History Group "Nashi Predky - Our Ancestors" 2015 spring workshop that took place on March 21 received information and research tools to help answer some of those questions. Nearly 40 people took part in this truly international event, with attendees and speakers from Canada, Poland, and Ukraine, as well distant US locations such as central Pennsylvania, Ohio, Chicago, and Minneapolis.
Michael Buryk, a free-lance family history researcher, writer, and speaker on Ukrainian and Lemko genealogy and history gave a presentation on the history of Ukrainians in America. A knowledge of history is critical for helping genealogists more deeply understand their ancestors, and Michael's presentation gave the workshop participants a good overview of when and why Ukrainians came to the US, and the life that they led once they arrived here.
Aleksandra Kacprzak, a professional genealogist from Poland, gave a two-part talk which provided an immense amount of information about genealogical resources in regional Polish archives that are particularly relevant to Ukrainian-Americans with roots in the Lemko region. A surprising amount of these resources has been digitized and are available online, and those that are not can often be searched on the web. Aleksandra showed in detail how to make use of the various archive's search interfaces, which record groups to search under, and other "tricks of the trade". Links to many of these resources can be found on her website: www.genoroots.com/eng.
Mark your calendars!
The full-day Fall 2015 "Nashi Predky" conference will take place on October 24. The final agenda for the event will be available by June, and online registration will begin in early July. For the latest updates, visit www.UkrHEC.org/family-history-group and sign up for our mailing list.