Thanks to all who attended our November meeting, which included our annual elections for PGSNYS officers and trustees. Although we will miss Kristen Mruk, who has served as Trustee for the past two years, we’re excited to welcome Gabrielle Michalak who will serve as our new Trustee. Thank you both for volunteering to share your time and expertise with PGSNYS!

PGSNYS President, Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz, presented the lecture, “Getting Around the Language Barrier: Translation Aids for Polish Genealogy.” She explained that Polish history and geography dictate the languages in which one might expect to find historical records pertaining to one’s ancestors. Researchers must decide for themselves how independent they would like to be when it comes to locating and translating genealogical records. Vital records tend to be very formulaic, making them relatively easy to learn to translate, even for those whose only language is English.

Julie provided an overview of the translation aids that are available to genealogists researching Polish ancestors: self-teaching aids, machine translation tools (including AI), and human assistance. She also offered some tips and strategies for deciphering foreign language records. After the presentation, attendees commented,

“I have many digitized records found through Geneteka, Skanoteka etc. The suggestions will help me improve the translations that I have been doing by myself.”

“I didn’t think I was going to learn much today, but I really learned quite a bit!”

“The professional presentation as well as superior organization were outstanding.”

“Met my expectations plus.”

The lecture recording is now available on our Meeting Recordings page for members to access.