We started in Kolbuszowa, a small town in south-eastern Poland. We went to the local archive and a vicarage to go through the parish registry. Since Mike had an old contract regarding a land transaction we decided to check some land registers. We had to spent some time contacting local surveyors but we managed to find the plot of land that Mike’s ancestor had sold many years ago. It’s somebody’s meadow now.
We also went to Cmolas, a small village near Kolbuszowa. There is a small cemetery where Mike’s and his siter’s JoAnn relatives are buried. We visited the graves and admired an old wooden church built in 1674. Mike did not want to focus on the past only, we were looking for his living relatives too.
Mike was very active and armed with some letters written by the family members from Poland so we found his next of kin in no time. He and his family spent some time talking to the newly-found relatives about genealogy and farming. It turned out that the family has lived and farmed on the same land for generations.
