Polish genealogy for American families
Polish genealogy research for American families
A village you have never seen. A great-grandmother whose maiden name was lost. A family story that stops at the Atlantic.
Hire a Polish genealogist to trace your family from American records into Polish archives. Choose a fixed-price research package, receive a plan before research begins, and get the findings in English.
Fixed-price research from $1,290 USD. Images, translations and archive fees included.
Polish genealogy research packages
How much does Polish genealogy research cost?
Four fixed-price packages. Choose the scope that fits your family question.
One question
Find a village, trace an arrival or investigate one ancestor.
10 research hours · fixed price
- One research goal
- Report with sources
One family line
Follow your family from American clues into Polish records.
25 research hours · fixed price
- One research goal
- Family group sheets
A broader tree
Connect more branches and understand the places they lived.
50 research hours · fixed price
- Up to two research goals
- Documented pedigree chart
A family history
Bring several family lines together in a story to keep.
100 research hours · fixed price
- Up to four research goals
- Narrative history and maps
Pay once, then review your plan. Secure Stripe checkout in US dollars. We email your plan within two business days of payment and your completed form. If the plan does not convince you, request a full refund within three business days. Read the Plan-First Guarantee.
Before you choose
Order from the United States without traveling to Poland or speaking Polish. Research hours pay for the search; a particular record, village or number of generations cannot be guaranteed. See the Plan-First Guarantee before ordering.
Start with the question you have always wanted to ask
There is more to your family than a surname.
Where in Poland did they come from?
American passenger lists and citizenship papers can hold the place name that leads us back to a Polish parish.
Find the ancestral village →
Who were their parents?
Birth and marriage entries can reveal a mother’s maiden name, parents and the next generation to investigate.
Connect the generations →
What was life like before America?
Occupations, households and property records can help explain how your family lived, worked and moved.
Explore their lives →These are authentic historical materials, not customer results. What can be found for your family depends on the place, period and records that survive.
What can the archives tell you?
One old page can open a new branch of your family.
Look beyond the handwriting.
This birth register organizes a life into columns. Reading and connecting those details is where the research begins.
- Dates & placeWhen a child was born or baptized, and the household number.
- The childA name to compare with later marriage and American records.
- The parentsNames and family details that may lead to an earlier generation.
We read Polish, Russian, German and Latin records and provide full English translations of the entries found.
Births & baptisms
A birth date, parents, a maiden name and sometimes a house number.
Marriages
Two family lines connected through the couple and their parents.
Households
Siblings, people living together and changes of residence.
The journey to America
A ship, an arrival date, a last residence or a relative left behind.
Work & property
Occupations, land and transactions that put daily life in context.
Military & identity files
Service details or, in some surviving files, a photograph.
About these record types
The details available vary by record, date and region. See the Polish State Archives genealogy guide and the National Archives immigration guide for the source types described here. Photographs and property records are possibilities to investigate, not standard findings in every project.
From your home in America
Your curiosity. Our research. Four clear steps.
Choose your project
Select a scope, complete your order form with family clues and pay securely in US dollars.
Read your research plan
We email it within two business days of receiving payment and your form. Three business days to request a full refund if it does not convince you.
We search the records
Archives, parish books and American sources. We read the entries and check the family connections.
Keep your family’s story
Receive an English PDF report with record images, full translations, sources and the next step.
No trip to Poland or knowledge of Polish required. See the full process or read the Plan-First Guarantee.
Project finder
Not sure which project fits? Answer two questions.
Research projects
Choose one question or a broader family history. Every project has a fixed price in US dollars, with archive fees, copies and translations included. You pay for a defined amount of research; the surviving records determine the findings.
One narrow question, answered from the records.
Example research goals
For a focused first project: identify the ancestral village from the American documents, or obtain the first Polish records once the parish is known, or document one emigrant’s crossing from Poland to the United States.
- One research goal
- Written report with images and full translations
- Source list including unsuccessful searches
- Recommended next step
Professional research on one family line. One research goal.
Example research goals
Find the village and then go into the Polish registers: births, marriages and deaths of the emigrant’s parents and grandparents, or a complete account of one family’s emigration and settlement, or the evidence file for a citizenship case.
- One research goal, followed across archives and record types
- Written report, document images, full translations, sources
- Family group sheets for the generations found
- Recommended next step
Extensive research on your family tree. Up to two research goals.
Example research goals
Two lines back to the early nineteenth century, or one line as far as the registers survive; brick-wall ancestors; a family that moved between parishes and partitions; the Polish side and the American side documented together.
- Up to two research goals
- Everything in ESSENTIAL25, plus a documented pedigree chart
- Historical context for the villages and the period
- Priority scheduling
The most expansive research for your family tree. Up to four research goals.
Example research goals
All four grandparents’ Polish lines, or one family followed through land, court, military and residence records as well as the parish books, or a complete multi-generation history written to be handed down.
- Up to four research goals
- Everything in STANDARD50, plus a narrative family history
- Maps of the ancestral villages and their parishes
- A 30-minute video call with the researcher to walk through the findings
The Plan-First Guarantee
After we receive your payment and completed order form, we email your research plan within two business days: which archives, which records, in what order. Read it before a single research hour is used. If it does not convince you, tell us within three business days and we refund 100% of what you paid. How the guarantee works.
What you take away from the research
Research, done for you
Original Polish and American sources, archive correspondence and visits where needed.
English, all the way
A PDF report, images of the records found and full translations.
A fixed, inclusive price
Archive fees and copying included. Your research plan arrives before research hours are used.
A clear next step
Full source references, unsuccessful searches and recommendations for continuing.
How your research hours are used
Hours cover searching records, correspondence with archives, analysis and writing. We compare names, dates, relatives and places before accepting a connection. If a goal is reached early, remaining hours go to the next step you choose. If it cannot be reached within the hours, your report explains the work completed and what a further stage would involve. Read the FAQ.
Genetic genealogy services
DNA matches you cannot place in your family tree?
We analyze existing AncestryDNA or MyHeritage DNA results to investigate family connections, compare relevant matches and check supporting US and Polish records. One completed autosomal test, one platform and one agreed question, with an English report.
$2,750 USD. A DNA test kit, medical interpretation and a guaranteed identification are not included. Access requires the adult test-taker’s explicit authorization after the plan is agreed.
Family health history
What did your grandfather die of?
Explore US and Polish death records, connect the generations and receive documented findings in English to discuss with your healthcare professional. Reliable family information may help inform decisions about screening or genetic counseling. We research what the records say; we do not diagnose disease or assess inherited risk.
Dedicated document-based projects: $3,450 / $5,850 / $8,350 / $11,550 USD for 10 / 25 / 50 / 100 research hours. We investigate relevant available records in both the United States and Poland; access and medical detail vary.
Family heritage websites
Your family’s history. Your own website.
A complete family website, written and built for you from your records, photographs and memories. Choose up to 10, 20 or 30 ancestor biographies, with galleries and a family tree presentation. Every package includes a standard domain within a $200 allowance, five years of hosting and technical care, and password-protected access for pages and family media.
$3,500 / $7,500 / $11,500 USD, one-time payment. New genealogical research is priced separately. You own your domain and receive a handover copy; renewal after five years is optional.
What your report looks like
A fictional case: an American family knows their great-grandfather as Stanley Kowalczyk of Chicago, but not his birthplace in Poland. These three sample report pages show how a search could identify his village, name his parents and uncover a brother. All people, findings, entries and source references below are invented for illustration.
identified: Brzeziny
- R01 / US draft registration, 1917Stanley Kowalczyk; born May 8, 1888; birthplace recorded as “Brezin, Russia.”
- R02 / Passenger arrival, 1907Last residence: Brzeziny. Father remaining in Poland: Wojciech Kowalczyk.
- R03 / Polish birth register, 1888Stanisław Kowalczyk, born May 8. Father: Wojciech. The place, date and father agree.
Stanisław Kowalczyk
Invented entry for this fictional case.
“Wojciech Kowalczyk, a laborer aged 26, presented a male child born on May 8, 1888, to his wife Józefa née Wróbel, aged 25. The child was given the name Stanisław.”
- New finding / The mother’s identityJózefa’s maiden name opens a second surname to investigate: Wróbel.
- Research lead / Parents’ agesApproximate birth years: Wojciech c.1862 and Józefa c.1863. These are estimates, not confirmed dates.
the American name
- Another relative found [R05]Antoni Kowalczyk, born 1891, has the same parents. This identifies a younger brother.
- The crossing documented [R02]Stanley left for America in 1907. Whether Antoni later followed him remains unconfirmed.
The Kowalczyk family is fictional. These excerpts are a demonstration, not a customer result or a promise of what your project will uncover. R01-R05 are invented sample references, not archive catalog numbers. Your actual report cites the real records found, includes their images and full translations, explains uncertainty and lists unsuccessful searches. The depth of research and charts included depend on the project you choose.
What would you love to tell your family?
The name of a village. The people behind an old photograph. The story before the crossing. Choose the question that matters to you, and let us investigate it.
Research goals you can choose
Have a particular question? Open a goal below to see what the research involves. STANDARD50 can cover up to two goals; PREMIUM100 up to four.
Where was my ancestral village?
Usually the first step for American families. Before any Polish record can be found, we must establish which specific parish or civil registry district your family came from. We read the US immigration, naturalization, draft and church records for Polish clues, test the candidates against historical gazetteers and parish lists, and confirm the parish in the Polish registers. You receive a written identification with the reasoning shown, or, where certainty is not possible, a ranked shortlist with the evidence for and against each candidate. Usually FOCUS10; ESSENTIAL25 when the first Polish records should follow.
Can you find my family’s Polish records?
Once the parish is known, we search its registers for your family: births, marriages and deaths, generation by generation, in Roman Catholic parish books, civil registration, diocesan archives and the digitized collections that cover the parish. Marriage records are used to jump to earlier parishes. You receive every entry found as an image with a full translation, and family group sheets for the generations reconstructed. Usually ESSENTIAL25.
How far back can my family tree go?
Several generations across parishes and record types, with every link proven by a record rather than a family story: registers, population books, land and notarial records, conscription lists. You receive a documented pedigree chart, family group sheets and a narrative of the family’s movements. Usually STANDARD50; PREMIUM100 for all four grandparents’ lines.
How did my family get to America?
The crossing documented end to end: European departure lists, every arrival manifest at every port with its annotations read, naturalization files, alien registration, and the interwar Polish passport file with its photograph where one exists. You receive the documents, their translations and a written account of how, when and with whom your family came. Usually FOCUS10 for one person; ESSENTIAL25 for a family.
Could my ancestry support a citizenship case?
For Americans with a Polish-born parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who want their citizenship confirmed. We assess the line of descent against the citizenship acts in force at each date, then locate and obtain the Polish records the application needs, in the form the Voivodeship Office accepts, with a checklist of the American documents to order. How citizenship by descent works. Start with the Citizenship Assessment below; the documents usually fit ESSENTIAL25.
Additional services
Fixed-price services for a single record, a single document or a single question, with no project required.
Single Document Retrieval
One specific birth, marriage or death record located in the Polish registers, obtained from the archive or parish, imaged and translated in full. For families who already know the parish, the name and the approximate year. Archive copying fees included. Official certified copies for legal use are quoted separately.
Order document retrievalArchival Document Translation
A record you already hold, in Polish, Russian, German or Latin, transcribed and translated in full with notes on what it tells you. One record is one register entry or one page of a letter. What is included. Sworn translations into Polish for official use are quoted separately.
Order a translationCitizenship Assessment
A written assessment of your line of descent against Polish citizenship law: whether the line holds, where it is weak, and exactly which Polish and American documents an application will need. If the line is broken, you find out here, before spending more.
Order an assessmentAncestral Village Travel Plan
Before you travel to Poland: a personalized plan for one ancestral village built from your research - the parish church and its records, the location of the family’s house or fields where the records allow, the cemetery, the archive that holds the registers, and practical notes on visiting. Available after a research project.
Order a travel planPrinted Heirloom Report
Your report printed on archival paper in a cloth-bound binder with the document images, shipped to a US address. Made to be handed down. Available with any project.
Order a printed reportGift Certificate
Give a parent or grandparent the village their family came from. Choose a FOCUS10 or ESSENTIAL25 project, or any amount toward any service, and we email you a printable certificate with your personal message.
Give the gift of rootsQuestions before you begin
How much does Polish genealogy research cost?
Our fixed-price research projects range from $1,290 for 10 hours to $10,200 for 100 hours. Archive correspondence, copying fees and translation are included. If you know the person, parish and approximate year, a single document is $195; translating a record you already have is $60. Choose the scope that fits your question in the project comparison. Research hours are not a guarantee of a particular discovery.
Were all the Polish records destroyed in the wars?
No. Many parish and civil records survive, but coverage varies by place and year. We check the relevant collections and consider other sources where there are gaps. Your plan explains the route we propose; your report distinguishes what is established from what remains uncertain.
Can you find out why my ancestor left Poland?
Sometimes a letter or another personal record gives a direct explanation. More often, records show the journey, occupation and family circumstances. We can place those details in historical context, but we do not present a possible motive as a proven fact.
Why do you price by research hours and not by results?
Nobody can know in advance which records survived. A fixed number of hours pays for a careful search, and the report shows exactly how those hours were used: every record found, every search that found nothing, and the realistic next step.
What if the goal is reached before the hours run out?
The remaining hours go to the next step you choose, such as the previous generation or a related line. The report says how far the search got and what a further stage would involve.
What if nothing is found?
You receive the full report of what was searched and why the search failed, with the alternatives that remain. Research time that was properly spent is not refundable, and the searches that found nothing are listed so they are not repeated later.
Can I cancel after paying?
Yes. On research projects the Plan-First Guarantee applies: if the research plan we send you does not convince you, tell us within three business days of receiving it and you get 100% back. For other services, the amount paid is refunded if you cancel before work begins. After work begins, we refund the unperformed part of the project and send a summary of the work completed. See the refund policy.
Is the payment secure?
Payment is handled by Stripe with a card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. We never see your card details, and we never ask for them by email or through the intake form.
You do not need a finished family tree to begin.
Only a name and a few dates?
Share what you have. We assess the clues in your research plan and explain what is realistic within the project.
Your online tree hits a wall?
We investigate original sources and compare the evidence, including material that may not be indexed by name.
Already have a Polish record?
A full English translation can help you understand its clues. Translation is $60 per record.
A story worth understanding and sharing
Start with the question your family keeps asking.
Choose a fixed-price project. Receive your plan before research begins. Keep the records and the story they support.