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Take Three: "Many of us enjoy learning about our ancestors or other people from years gone by; it's a way to more fully appreciate our heritage as families ..." George H. Ryan
Which came first? The World Book of Gryniewiczes?, or the letter/call from Bob Oldowski? The one is copyrighted 1994; the other is dated February 2, 1994 ... . I paid for the one -- I don't remember what <it was ultimately too much, whatever it was>; I am still paying for the letter from Robert S. Oldowski. The World of Gryniewiczes is printed ... was printed ... by Halbert's Family Heritage. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. It is about 127 pages long. Only 21 -- oh. let's give them the benefit of the doubt; say 27 -- pages are specifically Gryniewicz related. Gryniewicz-specifically- oriented. This publication ... represents a compilation of public information. I missed that. Several of the pages list only a name and an address. More current information I could have culled from the Internet, if the Internet had occurred to me. The 'meat' of the book was very general stuff about the immigrations/emigrations of man, naming conventions, heraldry ... . It wasn't very interesting. Bob's letter, on the other hand was bursting at the seams with information:
"We may be related -- third cousins -- that's why I am writing. My great-grandfather was a Gryniewicz, and I understand some of the family still live in Chicago. I have been preparing some family history and am trying to make it complete. My great-grandfather Andrew had a brother Frank and both migrated from Poland to Chicago around the turn of the century. Frank married and had four children including a Frank Junior. Frank Junior married Helen and they had two children, Harold and Eugene. I understand that Eugene died, so I am guessing that you are his son? Am I correct? If so, I just this month made contact with your uncle Harold, and recently with his cousin Florence. That has prompted me to learn more about our family."
I read it. I was hooked. Genealogy is very much an addiction I have tried to free myself from -- but its mystery roots to the very fibre of my being -- nawh! -- I just like a good mystery. I wanna see who done what to whom --> put the pieces together, once you find them; it's a fine and intricate puzzle. Cool!
About this Website
Along the way, I know I'd like to learn more about this odd lot into which we've fallen. Gryniewiczes. Put some faces to the names. Maybe split a table to a few cups of coffee ... . There are artists here, a couple of photographers, at least, a writer or two, some mill workers, farmers, policement ... Ludwig, Bob Oldowski notes, was a "Soldier of Rank." John Gryniewicz -- one of them -- was born in Lachwa, Poland. And my grandfather may or may not have been a twin, depending on which family tradition you accept; he may, moreover, or may not have been able to fortell the future with playing cards (he may have been playing solitaire over and over and over all those months before he died) ... but he still, invariably, replaced spent fuses with copper pennies, and he taught my dad all he knew about electricity ... like 'never touch these two wires toget --"
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There are, essentially, two directions a family tree can grow -- vertically and
horizontally. Up (and down) and
out. On this website, we're attempting to address both aspects of this ... root
study. We approach the linear progression in