I have hit a brick wall trying to find my paternal grandmother Julianna Ligon

Question

I have hit a brick wall trying to find information about my paternal grandmother. I am not sure how accurate it is but the spelling of her name on my father's birth certificate is Julianna Ligon.  As far as I know she was born in the Silesian Voivodeship, Poland around 1890. She was married to Jozef Smolka who was born on the 18th June 1885 in Dabrowa, Poland. Jozef's parents were Stanislaw Smolka and Joanna Kolakowska

Answer 1

Her daughter Angela Smolka findagrave ID 152446046

Husband findagrave ID 152467345

Comments

Hello Chris,

Thank you so very much for the information about the grave sites and also for doing the biographies.  I just need to mention that Aniela (Angela) was Julianna's son's wife and not her daughter.

Regards,

Gienowefa

Answer 2

William Hoffman's study of Polish surnames indicates that 55 Polish citizens were counted as having the surname Ligoń in 2002.

That isn't many people so I looked up people in Poland with that surname.  Many were in Katowice, Silesia.

The surname Ligoń is a descriptive surname meaning "one who likes to lie around".  So this implies that back in the 1500s you had a lazy ancestor.

I have an ancestor named Mierzwa.  My ancestor was probably a stablehand because Mierzwa means a "mixture of excrement and straw".

This probably doesn't help your search.  But it is a likely rough location.  I would look for a immigration and marriage records of paternal cousins who may have also immigrated.

I see the son emigrated to Australia (from Germany) in 1950.  There are several records related to this family (including a picture of the son) in the National Archives of Australia.  Several of those records can be requested, but do not currently have a digital image online (and some others do).  Name search the family name there, SMOLKA for ALL RECORDS.

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx

Good luck.

Comments

I read through all of the online digital records in the National Archives of Australia for Julianna's son's family.

It appears they were WWII refugees departed from Bremen, Germany who came to South Australia in 1950 to work on the railroad and were originally housed in Camp Woodside.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodside_Barracks

As eastern Europeans that survived Nazi Germany and didn't end up behind the iron curtain, they have a compelling WWII story.

I don't know the family members well enough to know if other refugees to Australia named SMOLKA were relatives but I suspect they were not.  So my guess is there are not any cousin records that might contain clues.

Aniela, according to the archives was Roman Catholic.  So my suggestion is to begin searching through parish records for Juliana Ligoń in and around Katowice (start with whichever parishes control records for Dąbrowa Górnicza, Będzin, Katowice, Poland).  Parish birth records for Eugeniusz in 1923 can yield important info.  Also check for years before and after for siblings (watch house numbers if you have them).  I am not familiar with Silesian records.  Maybe Skye or Maggie can point you to a resource.  If you do find helpful resources to navigate these parish records, contribute your knowledge to the Silesian space page.

At the time of the partition the population of this village was 184.  With the discovery and exploitation of coal, the population exploded to 40,000 at the time of Eugeniusz' birth.  This growth wasn't organic, people moved into the area for economic opportunity.  So the parish record hunt may not be easy.  Górnicza translates to "Mining".

I think you should also get the Australian naturalization records for Eugeniusz and Aniela in 1957.  Their 1956 application digital image isn't on the NAA site, but they have a process to request a copy if you haven't already done so.

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Hello Jim.

Thank you so very much for your most informative response to my "brick wall" problem. One of your suggestions was to look for immigration records of paternal cousins who may have immigrated. Unfortunately I have no knowledge of any paternal cousins. My father did have a sister and the only mention of her was that she was taken by his mother when she left her husband and my father when he was very young. I suppose she is my other Brick Wall.

I have obtained some records from the National Archives of Australia. There is a photo of my father and my mother on their Incoming Passenger Forms...I presume that that is the picture of my father that you mentioned.

Yes my parents were Displaced Persons who arrived in Australia in 1950. They were both taken from their homes in 1941...both at a very young age. My mother came from Pierzchnica and my father came from Dabrowa Gornicza. They spent over 4 years as forced labourers on a farm in Woltzeten, Germany. Then another 5 years as Displaced Persons in Haren Ems,Germany until they emigrated to Australia.

Thank you for your suggestion to do some searching for Julianna around the Katowice area. I have my fathers birth certificate and his mother's maiden name is spelt Ligoniow however all other documents I have it is spelt Ligon. I have done searches for both surnames on Geneteka and nothing has come up with those names.

I also have the Naturalization certificates for both my parents.

Once again I cannot  THANK YOU enogh for all your information that you have sent through.

Warmest Regards,

Gienowefa

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Yes those were the pictures I saw.  Search that website I previously provided with the terms I specified.  There is about 16 records or so there.  One of them is for the son's naturalization record which is NOT online.  That's the one I would try to get.  It may have a specific village.

Regarding her name, it appears to me her father's surname would be Ligoń.  Note the diacriticial mark.  As his daughter, her name was likely Ligońowa.  This feminine form started falling out of favor after WWI.  So she may have used both forms.  Some people to this day use that convention but it is getting rarer.  Tennis player Martina Navratilova uses the feminine form of her stepfather's name Navratil for example.  

The Polish pronunciation of "Ligońowa" sounds like Ligońiova.  So I think you should search Polish records for Ligoń and Ligońowa.

You can listen to it at this link.  Try the speaker icon at the bottom.

https://translate.google.pl/?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&text=Ligo%C5%84owa&op=translate

In case it wasn't obvious in my previous comment, Katowice is not just a City but is rather also a county.  Dąbrowa Górnicza is in Katowice county.

Their "displaced persons" story is an interesting story.  You should add it to their profiles.

Good luck and happy hunting.

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Hello Jim,

Thank you so very much for the information about my grandmother's likely surname being Ligonowa. It will give me perhaps more chances of trying to find her. I need to refamiliarize myself with some of these Polish databases...it's been awhile since I have done any searching.

I will add my parent's stories in their profiles. Their lives were indeed very difficult as forced labourers in Germany and then Displaced Persons for so many years.

Once again thank you for your interest in my "Brick Wall" and for the information you have sent me.

Warmest Regards,

Gienowefa

Answer 3

The "owa" on the end of the Ligon is like a suffix (indicating she was a single female).  Her surname would have been Ligon, but it may show as Ligonowa in records. 
 

 There are plenty of records on Geneteka for both surnames Ligon and Smolka.  Sometimes you need to think outside of the box.  Because your ancestor was born 1923 and parents born in 1880s, it is entirely possible they may have had a marriage prior (this is where comparing house numbers from the records comes in handy).

The other thing you need to consider is the former location of the village: Dąbrowa Górnicza, Będziń Uyezd, Piotrków Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire.  You will need to look in Metryki for records and they will most likely be in Russian.

https://metryki.genealodzy.pl/pow-9

Comments

Hello Skye,

Thank you for your response and interest in my "Brick Wall". Yes I was told by another person on Wiki Tree that the surname Ligonowa was indicative of a single female.

Thank you also for your offer to do some digging ...it would certainly be so very wonderful if you find any information about my grandmother. I have searched on Geneteka for both of the surnames Smolka and Ligon and the only record I found was for my grandfather's birth certificate.

I have previously searched on Metryki for records from my mother's side of the family. I found some records written in Russian and was unable to even decipher or confirm that the record I was looking at was correct. So very difficult.

THANK YOU again for your reply

Warmest Regards,

Gienowefa

I

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Not really true about the Polish suffixes. The suffix has nothing to do with if the woman is single or not - it is connected to the relashionship the woman has to the man who's last name she carries.

Usually, the Polish postfix -owa, meant the wife of the man; -ówna is the postfix for the maiden daughter, still carrying the last name of her father.

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Thank you for the correction!! :)

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Hello Magdalena,

Sorry a bit slow in responding but just wanted to thank you for clarifying the surnames for females in relationship to the man whose last name she carries.

Regards,

Gienowefa