I was asked to help trace a friend's ancestor. He was Polish in origin. He left Poland after the Russian invasion of 1820. [rather familiar sound to that]
He returned to Poland once or twice. Murder in the family, so they say. He ended up marrying a Glasgow woman. He apparently lied quite a bit in his documents, so absolutely murder to track down!
The name he adopted sounds like Foil (Foyle or Fiall?). His family believed that he arrived in Dumbarton, but I would think that the Baltic trade would have brought him in via Leith, Dundee, or Methil. Very few clues. Not one of the easy ones.
Any suggestions on how to narrow the search?
Polish family from 1830s
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Re: Polish family from 1830s
He may have availed himself of support from the Poor Law in Glasgow,, depending on how he left Poland, my have no money. Might be worth contacting the Mitchell Library to see if there is a record of him in the Poor Law records.
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Re: Polish family from 1830s
I think you need to start at the beginning [or end] and work your way back from your friend to his Polish ancestor.
Using marriages, birth & deaths with the help of census records can give a clearer picture.
Doing that will give you a better timeline of where the family were at various points and what name[s] they were using.
Back then spelling varied wildly and the written name was usually what the registrar heard [even a Belfast accent can throw up some strange versions], so don't blame your chap for that!
Family lore often holds a kernel of truth but don't rely too heavily on it to begin with.
Once you have some more precise information, do come back and we'll try to help untangle the tale. He may crop up on passenger lists for instance or as suggested above, the Poor Law Records can hold a wealth of information.
Using marriages, birth & deaths with the help of census records can give a clearer picture.
Doing that will give you a better timeline of where the family were at various points and what name[s] they were using.
Back then spelling varied wildly and the written name was usually what the registrar heard [even a Belfast accent can throw up some strange versions], so don't blame your chap for that!
Family lore often holds a kernel of truth but don't rely too heavily on it to begin with.
Once you have some more precise information, do come back and we'll try to help untangle the tale. He may crop up on passenger lists for instance or as suggested above, the Poor Law Records can hold a wealth of information.
Wilma