The Road Less Traveled: Polish & Ukrainian Research

Descendants of Eastern Europeans have special research challenges to overcome due to the frequent changes of boundaries and governance. Matthew Bielawa and Jonathan Shea, AG, have specialized in overcoming these hurdles.

Matthew Bielawa serves as vice president of the Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast. He earned a B.A. in Slavic and East European Studies from the University of Connecticut and a M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from New York University. His research specialization is Poland and Ukraine, specifically Galicia, about which he has written extensively. He maintains the website “Genealogy of Halychyna (Western Ukraine) / Eastern Galicia”, at www.halgal.com.

Jonathan Shea, AG, is a professor of languages at Housatonic Community College and Central Connecticut State University. An honors graduate of Georgetown University, he also holds advanced degrees from the University of Massachusetts and SCSU. He is the founding president of the Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast and serves as archivist and translator for the society. He is author of several books including the series In Their Words: A Genealogist's Translation Guide, volume 1 Polish and volume 2 Russian and the recently released Going Home: A Guide to Polish-American Family History Research.

This joint lecture from the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society and the New York Public Library is free and no registration is required.