The information here will certainly be of great interest to anyone with POLISH, LITHUANIAN, UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN or PRUSSIAN ancestry! I have recently returned from Europe where I spent January and February visiting several archives in search of the original documents relevant to the Polish, Lithuanian and Russian refugees who had fought in the Polish Revolution of 1830?1831 and who chose to emigrate to America rather that accept the "amnesty" offered by the Czar of Russia. The vessels that transported these men to the New World and to new lives in America arrived at the port of NEW YORK in March 1834 after an arduous voyage of 46 days.

I am pleased to inform you that I now have the records of 270 of these men who arrived in New York. The majority came from villages, towns and cities throughout POLAND. Many were from the UKRAINE (Ruthenia and Volhynia). A few were from GALICIA; others came from PRUSSIA and BYELORUSSIA. Some served in the "Lithuanian Legion" and were born within the present?day boundries of LITHUANIA. The information contained in these original archival records includes all or most of the following: a) first and last name, b) religious affiliation, c) age, d) place of birth (city/town/province/country), e) marital status, f) profession and/or military rank and unit before and after the Revolution, g) physical description of each man (build/facial features/color of eyes and hair), h) dates of transport from point of surrender to internment, i) names and numbers of men and route from internment to port of embarkation, j) Ship's names and dates of sailing and manifests listing each refugee and his profession/military rank signed by Ships' Captains and k) "Declaration of Intent" (refugees' statements in their own words regarding their intention to travel to America). It is important to note that this personal data served as information for each individual's travel documents. I have also found much heretofore unknown documentation regarding the daily lives of these men during their two year internment and during their voyage aboard ship as well as their reception upon arrival in New York. Among the names are: Wyszinski, Pawlinski, Janski, Hendrichowsky, Pange, Gutowski, Radziminski, Lepkowski, Sulak (Suwak), Kaminski, Dombrowski, Dubiecki, Gurski, Jaworski, Grabowski, Roman, Kadmus, Jablonski, Dembicki, Paskiewicz, Szemetylo, Cwierczinski, Betscher, Czechowski, Komar, Miedzwecki and Kwiatkowski (alias Rosenberg).

For this small fee you can learn if one of your ancestors was one of these young men who chose liberty in America rather than oppression and near certain execution at home. If, after determining whether a particular individual appears in the records, you can obtain the wealth of information contained in the records about that one individual, including photocopies of the original documentation and an English translation. For more information, contact

Jeffrey E. Stokes
259 Kinvara Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15237