Meet our Members: Tina Kobus

Question

Hi everyone!

It's time to get to know another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is Tina Kobus.

Tina became a Wiki Genealogist in October 2022. She is the Project Coordinator of the Poland Project.

What is your background and when did you get interested in genealogy?

I was born to immigrant parents.  My mother was born and raised in Schwenningen, Germany and my father was born in Borzechowo, Poland but raised by parents who primarily spoke German and identified as German.  My father's father was half German and half Polish and his grandfather's Kobus ancestry was from villages around Czersk, Chojnice, Poland. I was probably around 10 years old when I found my mother's large Maier family tree which my great uncle made for his siblings and their descendants. I was fascinated by it and wanted to know more. I also had lots of questions about my father's ancestry and so did he.

What is your genealogical research focus? 

My genealogical focus is constantly changing. However, my first serious research began in 2018 when I began researching my father's ancestry. My father was a Polish/German refugee/displaced person at the end of WWII. His mother never talked with her children about their grandparents or their ancestry so we had to start from scratch. In 2010 my father contacted the Red Cross for help in identifying where his father died and any additional records they could provide him.  Among the things they did provide was a birth certificate for his father which listed his grandparent's names without any birth dates or locations, so he found it difficult to proceed.

In 2018, I started researching his grandparents who proved to be a difficult brick wall to overcome.  After joining several German and Polish genealogy groups on Facebook, they helped me to realize that the Leipzig birth certificate my father received wasn't the original birth record, just a certificate. So I immediately requested from the Leipzig civil registry office a copy of the original which took around six months to receive.

His Polish ancestry was my primary focus for several years; however, after exhausting the available Polish sources for his Polish ancestry, I moved my focus to his father's mother and her ancestry in Brandenburg, Germany. Recently, Archion has added scans to their Brandenburg collection and I was able to add several generations to this part of my tree. Still more research is needed but a large dent was made. In the future I plan on working on my mother's Schwenningen lines. Several early profiles were individuals that moved to Schwenningen from other villages. I hope to be able to research those ancestors and add additional profiles.

Do you have a brick wall breakthrough story?

My father's grandfather Bronislaw Kobus. While I was waiting for my grandfather's original birth record from Leipzig, I started learning about DNA and how DNA matches could help break down brick walls. I uploaded my father's Ancestry DNA file to MyHeritage in hopes I would get better matches. No immediate Kobus connections stood out. So I messaged every 3rd-5th cousin match he had and asked if they heard of my brick wall Bronislaw Kobus. Some didn't answer, some said no, however one replied:  "Yes, I know who Bronislaw is." I couldn't believe it! 

My father and he are cousins through my great-great-grandfather's wife. He was very generous with information and sources and even visited one of our relatives in the Chojnice area where he was able to obtain photos of Kobus cousins. We are so grateful to him for helping us, his kindness will never be forgotten.

(interview continues in comments)

Comments

What is your toughest brick wall currently?

My great-great-grandmother, Pauline Grobeis, born 3 Jun 1857 in Kaldau, Kreis Schlochau.  She was born to unwed mother Emilie Grobeis. The records for Kaldau are missing/destroyed. I'm hoping a DNA match will show up in the future. Her father-in-law, my third great-grandfather Gottlieb Klatt is also a brick wall. None of his records state his father's name and there are several Gottlieb Klatt's born around the same time period in the general vicinity of his marriage. Unless new information becomes available, a DNA match would be the only way to figure out which Gottlieb is my relative.

 What do you spend the most time doing on WikiTree? 

I have only been on WikiTree since Oct 2022.  I heard about WikiTree from Jillaine Smith who has done a tremendous amount of research and work on Schwenningen profiles. She was kind enough to help me and link my modern Schwenningen family to the profiles she manages. I am in the process of adding my tree to WikiTree, one profile at a time so I can verify my research and sources. It will take me a while, but that is why I chose to join WikiTree so once and for all the sources will be clear and easy to find and any changes to profiles can be monitored and discussed.

I joined the Poland Project shortly after joining WikiTree. Skye Sonczalla and I worked together on the parallel categorization structure for Poland village categories and we are now creating village categories as needed. It was a lot of work cleaning up the existing categories to the new standardized format, but it has made finding village categories so much easier. This is especially true for former Prussian locations in modern Poland. 

Now, we have two search options in the category widget, the Prussian village name (circa 1900) or the modern Polish village name. The German, Polish, and English categories are nested together so only one language village category needs to be selected and the profile will show up in all three. This was something I really wanted because for the most part the parish records for former Prussia in modern Poland use the Prussian village name not the modern Polish name. 

Currently, the Poland Project is currently going through a reorganization and setting up volunteer teams to work on various other areas that need assistance. We are still looking for volunteers and would love to have as many as possible. If you are interested in joining a team, take a look here, Poland, Volunteer Tasks, and message either Skye, Maggie or myself.

Why did you join WikiTree? 

I really appreciate WikiTree expecting profiles to be created with accurate sources that can easily be found by other researchers. So many times on other websites it was clear that profiles were simply a copy of another profile, and so on, and so on, without any sources to back it up. I also appreciate being able to clearly cite and label DNA matches which is something I was already doing in a crude way on another site. WikiTree's DNA Confirmation Citation Maker app is so much easier and nicer. I still have many DNA confirmations to add in the future.

What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?

I work with the local Community Cat program to Trap, Neuter & Release (TNR) feral and stray cats in our community. TNR is a humane and effective way to reduce the feral and stray cat population by preventing reproduction as well as improving the quality of life of the cats. The cats are trapped, taken to a veterinary clinic where both male and females are neutered and vaccinated.  The following morning they are picked up and released back where they were trapped. I personally have trapped 32 cats in the past five years. I also love to spend time with my grandchildren, knit, crochet and spend time outside.

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get more involved in our community?

If you have a need or suggestion, speak up and volunteer, like the Prussian categories was a need for me. Then contact the project and see if it is possible to work on the suggestion and if so, volunteer to help with the process. If you want to see improvements, you will need to help. Every little bit helps make WikiTree better.

Answer 1

Congratulations, Tina, and thank you for all you do for our tree.  As it happens, we're cousins through our Schwennigen ancestors.  I, too, was helped by Jillaine Smith, who traced my 2nd great grandfather's Schlenker family back in Schwennigen and made his tree blossom.  It's great to meet another beneficiary of her research.

Comments

Thank you Mark and it's nice to meet a Schwenningen cousin .  

---

Maybe we should make "Schwenningen Cousin" t-shirts!

---

That's so cool, Mark!

---

T-shirts! am jealous. I want a Schwinningen cousin!

---

We should! 

---

Of course, it turns out that our Weinheimer ancestors hailed from Pfeddersheim, not Weinheim.

---

Love the T-shirts! 

---

That's a happy family reunion pic 

Answer 2

I'm your #1 fan Tina!  I appreciate all that you do and your camaraderie!!!  You're an absolute blessing and asset to Wikitree! :)

Comments

OK, I might be #2 fan.
Tina is certainly a blessing to Wikitree.

---

Thank you Skye and Steve!  

Answer 3

I am in awe of Tina's commitments to the Poland Project. Tina and Skye are dynamic Coordinators and Team leaders.

But Tina, what family research hunts you had to endure to find your roots! Persistence in finding proof and sources in war-torn communities is so hard, frustrating and sad sometimes. What great stories about the details of your Grandfather's family.

Comments

Thank you Maggie My father's life before late teens was an extremely difficult one.  But his mom, my Oma,  was an extremely strong and brave women who fought to keep her children alive.  If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be alive today.  You can read a few of the details of her story here.  

Answer 4

Thank you Tina for sharing! I really enjoyed your genealogy journey!

You are 1 in a million+ (litterally) 

Comments

Thank you David!  

Answer 5

Congratulations, Tina, and thanks for sharing your story!

I'm definitely another fan of yours for your Polish/Prussian categorization work. It's such an improvement. Thanks bunches!

Comments

Thank you Oliver!  

Answer 6

Thanks for your work on Wikitree, Tina, making links among people from parts of the world so far from down under. I see that we have a 29 degree connection through many marriages. Great interview!

Comments

Thank you!  And nice to meet another Schwenningen cousin!  

Answer 7

Highly appreciate all the work that you and Poland Project have been doing, and you haven't even been here a year! Phenomenal!

Comments

Thank you Steven!