This week I was checking out the Canadian Passenger Arrival Records that were recently posted on Ancestry.ca in search of some connections to my Hungarian ancestors. As I was looking for information regarding locations, I happened across the newly updated website of the Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies (FEEFHS). If you have ancestors from Eastern Europe, this fantastic website is a must-see.
FEEFHS has had an outstanding presence on the Internet for more than ten years. (I’m not sure of the exact date, but I know they already had a pretty extensive presence when I was compiling the first edition of the Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book back in 1997.) At any rate, I love this newly revised website.
The FEEFHS Map Room alone is worth the visit, but the new layout makes it easier than ever to find the many resources available, by country, region, or religion/ethinicity. You can check it out yourself at www.feefhs.org.
According to spoken tradition in my family, four of my great-grandparents were born in eastern Europe; one, Ludwig Gondek, born in February, 1847 in Vandsburg, West Prussia (now Wiecbork, Kujawsko-Pomarskie, Poland). His wife, Katherine Bethijska, was born in January, 1854, probably in West Prussia. Another, Andrew Kawczynski was born on November 17, 1854 in Monchono Warsawa, Poland. His wife, Antonina Maslowska, was born on January 26, 1859 in Suben, Austria. I have a little schoolboy German but no knowledge of the Polish language. Will the the FEEHFS website assist me in going further?