This site is dedicated to the brave Polish men and women who left their ancestral homes in Europe and settled in a new land, the Lone Star state of Texas. These early immigrants settled in the Texas communities of Pana Maria, Anderson, Yorktown, Stoneham, Brenham, Bremond, Chappell Hill, New Waverly, San Antonio, Houston and others.
Many of them started out as sharecroppers on large plantations and, with hard work and much sacrifice, eventually acquired their own land. Although many of these immigrants came to America with very little material possessions, they did bring their work ethic and toughness along with their unique culture and strong Catholic faith.
After years of researching my Polish ancestors and becoming familiar with the surnames of the original settlers of many of the early Polish towns, I have long been intrigued with the thought of somehow documenting the family connections that spanned the southeast Texas communities and maybe even the whole state.
Polish Texans website consists of two distinct sections, the main section is for articles, events and links and the genealogy section consists of a dynamic, searchable genealogy database. I have tried to make the navigation as easy as possible, so just proceed to click on the many links and see where they take you.
This website is only the beginning of the process of documenting the family history of these early Texas Poles. It is very much a “work in progress” and will be for many years. Contributions in the form of articles, genealogy data, documents and photographs will be greatly appreciated.
James Smock
Editor and Webmaster
PS I do realize that this website and especially the genealogy database, focuses more on the Poles of Southeast Texas while the first Polish settlements in Texas and in fact the first in the US were in the San Antonio area of South Texas. However, my research and expertise is confined to the southeast Texas areas. As time permits, I plan to expand this website to include more of the history and genealogies of the south Texas Poles. Any help from researchers knowledgeable in this area would be appreciated.
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