The naming patterns and customs found in eastern European countries are quite different from the naming traditions of western Europe and the British isles. The role of religion and the church often played a central role in naming a Polish newborn.
Rather than being named after someone in the family, a newly born child in Poland would often be named after the saint whose feast day was on or close to his/her date of birth. Parents would sometimes consult their priest during the naming process, looking for the right saint’s name and feast day. The saint whom the child was named after usually had a feast day within three weeks of the date of the child’s birth.
Another Polish naming custom would be to name the child after his/her godparent. This tradition was less common than naming the child after a saint, but could be found in some Polish localities. In Poland, the godfather is called a kumoter and the godmother is called a kumoszka.
Something for the family researcher to remember is that Poles did not acknowledge and celebrate their birthdays as we do, but instead they celebrated the feast day of their namesake or the anniversary of their baptism. So the date of birth that immigrant Poles gave to census takers and other officials may not have been their actual birthday, but the date of their saint’s feast day or their baptism.
For a list of saints’ names in Polish and the dates of their feast days, go to www.rootsweb.com/~polwgw/namelist.
Queries
n I am looking for the parents/siblings of Mary Ann Bishop who married Jonathan Clark on Feb. 26, 1860, in Vermillion County, Ind. They are on the 1860 Clinton, Vermillion County census. Jonathan was age 32 and Mary, 19. Jonathan enrolled on Dec. 11, 1863, at Clinton for three years as a private of Company A, 6th regiment, Indiana Cavalry. Prisoner of war records show him captured at Atlanta, Aug. 3, 1864, after his horse fell on him, injuring his right side. He received no medical treatment and was sent to Andersonville Prison. In 1870, Jonathan and Mary Ann Clark were still living in Clinton, Vermillion County, with their two children Louisa and Grant. The family then moved to Dallas County, Iowa, and appear on the 1880 census there. I have information that Mary Ann Bishop’s father might have been known as Jasper Bishop. I believe Jonathan’s father may have been Artemus Clark, who appears on the 1840 census in Clinton, Vermillion County. I located Jonathan Clark on the 1850 Clinton, Vermillion County census, where he was reported as a farmer and living with his mother, June or Jane, 44, born in Pennsylvania. His siblings were: Louisa, Jane, Israel, and Caroline Clark. Thank you for any information you may have on these families. Contact Kara Lee Stubbert, 1001 S. Chestnut St., No. 1121, Ellensburg, WA 98926, phone (425) 503-1959, e-mail kstubb2@charter.net.
n I am searching for the Daniel Bain family. They were living in Vigo County in the 1829-1839 time period. Some of their children were born in Vigo County. Daniel owned land that he registered in Vincennes, Knox County, Ind. I found them on the 1830 census with several children. The wife’s name was Nancy and one of the children born in 1829 was James Bain. Would love to know more about this family. Thank you for your help. Peggy Jentgens, 12484 Melrose Circle, Fishers, IN 46038, e-mail PPJent@aol.com.
History
Genealogy: Religion, church often played central role in naming newborns
- History
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
When the Constitution was signed in September of 1787 and sent to the Congress that then existed under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was instructed to send that Constitution to the states to be ratified … or not. The message to the states was clear: Accept the Constitution or reject it, but don’t try to change it.
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Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
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GENEALOGY: Virginia Historical Society takes on ambitious project
Over the past few months, the Virginia Historical Society has launched an ambitious project to scrutinize more than 8 million 17th, 18th, and 19th century documents in order to identify the enslaved population of those times.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The Legacy of ‘The Old Silkworm House’
In 1837, and for several years thereafter, a gray sandstone obelisk was installed next to a one-story frame residence at the northwest corner of Sixth and Eagle streets.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A blast from valentines past
Valentine’s Day — it brings to mind simple paper valentines and the elaborate, fancy store-bought cards with multiple verses and glittery covers.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Flu outbreak forces Schulte closed
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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Original copy of 13th Amendment at Lincoln Library & Museum
A fully signed and recently restored copy of the Congressional resolution for a 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the official act that would abolish slavery in the United States, will be on display in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s Treasures Gallery.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Freedom of religion — beliefs and actions
Because religious faith is, arguably, the quintessential example of our right to privacy, to say nothing of its prominent place in our First Amendment, throughout our history court cases involving the free exercise of religion have been handled with great trepidation and with particular care. One of the milestone “free exercise” religion cases, Davis v. Beason, was decided by the Supreme Court this week (Feb. 3) in 1890.
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GENEALOGY: SoCal Genealogical Jamboree coming up in June
The Southern California Genealogical Society announces its 43rd Annual Jamboree, to be staged for three days on June 8-10, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank, Calif.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: Disco Ernie featured on Maury
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Flashing the mayor's badge
This mayoral badge was presented to the Vigo County Historical Society by Elizabeth K. Schultz, the granddaughter of Samuel E. Beecher Sr., who served as mayor of Terre Haute from 1936 to 1940.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Deadly tornado devastates York in 1907
John T. Staff loved water and, particularly, the Wabash River.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Notorious Western desperado Ellsworth Wyatt captured in Clay County
In October 1892, Terre Haute police received a circular from the State of Kansas containing a description of Ellsworth Wyatt and offering a $1,200 reward for his capture.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: ISU students honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: News letter filled with wonderful local news
We recently received five bound volumes of copies of the “Terre Haute Onizette,” the Owen-Illinois Glass Company news letter for the Terre Haute Plant.
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GENEALOGY: Peyton, Downey, Fifer queries and a plea for help from Scotland
This week, we have several queries.
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Extension plans seminar on land use
The Purdue Extension Land Use Team is hosting a video seminar titled “Welcome to the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Kennedy, Camelot, and other myths
This week (Jan. 20) in 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as our 35th president, and his tragic death by assassination notwithstanding, his was a mediocre presidency that, undeservedly, became the stuff of legend — in part because of his assassination.
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Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
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GENEALOGY: Celebrate MLK Day with the Indiana Historical Society
On Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Indiana Historical Society will offer free admission to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Light Guards savor military and social experiences
Never during the Civil War was there a time when the City of Terre Haute was in danger of hosting an armed conflict involving one or more armies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: 87 high school hoops teams compete in 47th annual Wabash Valley Tournament
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A bottle of clove oil at the pharmacy
The Historical Treasure for today is a bottle of Clove Oil.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: St. Mary’s Parish congregation celebrates 150th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Fire up the jukebox for a great night
The jukebox existed long before Glenn Miller’s “Juke Box Saturday Night” swing version.
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GENEALOGY: 1752 is one memorable year for genealogists
The year 1752 is one to remember if you have ancestors who lived in areas controlled by Great Britain; and this includes the American colonies.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Terre Haute teenager arrested in Cincinnati brothel
A newspaper headline in the Terre Haute Gazette on Jan. 3, 1895, grabbed your attention: “A Terre Haute Girl Goes to Cincinnati to Lead a Life of Shame.”
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Ford’s five dollar days increase productivity
This week (Jan. 5) in 1914, Henry Ford, the head of the Ford Motor Company, stunned the business world by announcing that, henceforth, Ford employees would not only share in the car company’s profits, they also would be paid the unheard of sum of $5 a day. That doubled their previous wage.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Some events not given adequate attention
On May 25, 2011, a large white oak tree — one of the 2,000 or so numbered trees on 324 platted lots in “Edgewood Grove Beautiful” subdivision — fell on our residence.
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LOOKING BACK: Carty, Skelly, Oxford celebrate with first baby of the year in 1962, 1987, 2002
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
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