Only Two Places: Poland and Buffalo: A History of One New York Family

For many people, their ancestors are just names on a family tree. We know little about them other than when and where they lived. What their lives were like remains a mystery. We wonder what role previous generations played in the lives we lead today.Jerome Biedny, Jr. did more than wonder. He spent decades researching his family history, tracing his roots back several centuries and retracing the journeys that brought his ancestors from Poland to Buffalo, NY.But this is more than just a genealogy book. Only Two Places, Poland and Buffalo: A History of One New York Family also chronicles landless farmers who lived under oppressive regimes, only to leave Europe and form a fast-growing immigrant community which helped an American city to thrive.This 40-plus year labor of love brings the past to life and shows how the struggle of immigrants paved the way for the American Dream.-----------------------------------------(August/Sept 2024) Published review in the Polish American Journal by David Trawinski states:[Only Two Places] is a thoroughly researched and documented work of the various branches of one family in Buffalo, N.Y. With names including Biedny, Bartkowiak, Jachowicz, and Ozimek, their roots are traced back to Poland, including all sixteen of the author’s grandparents. Even some ancestors’ heights, weights and other physical attributes are presented in an interesting and easily legible graphical format.Being interested in Polish history myself, I found the detailed information within this work to be incredibly insightful to the various issues our [Polish] homeland was struggling through at the time. The Partitions of Poland are discussed in detail, so crucial to understanding one’s ancestral heritage depending on your families’ locations. Many Polish families are made up of ancestors raised on lands stolen by Prussia, Russia, and Austria.This work also documents the development of the neighborhoods of Buffalo to which so many Poles emigrated. The detail of this work underscores the training of its author, Jerome Biedny, past president of the Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota. This impressive work is available on Amazon and sets the bar for family ancestral remembrances and documentation.This book is also available at a number of public places:Polish Genealogical Society of America984 N Milwaukee AvenueChicago, IL 60642-4101Polish Genealogical Society of New YorkPolish Genealogical Society Of MinnesotaBuffalo and Erie County Public LibraryGrosvenor Room1 Lafayette SquareBuffalo, NY 14203University at Buffalo, Polish Collection303 Abbott Hall, South CampusBuffalo, NY 14214-3002Dakota County Public Library1340 Wescott RoadEagan MN 55123-1029The Buffalo History Museum1 Museum CourtBuffalo, NY 14216 Read more