For over 150 years, Milwaukee has been home to a large community of people of Polish descent. The Milwaukee Polonia Project hopes to show the interweaving, intertwining family trees that resulted in this community. It is hoped that, eventually, all the families can be connected to one another. The Milwaukee Polonia Project is also a means to explore our common history and celebrate our shared heritage.

THE ACTUAL DATABASE OF THE TREE IS NOW LOCATED AT THE MILWAUKEE POLONIA PROJECT TREE at Tribal Pages. (We still have much work to do, so don't assume that families are shown completely.) YOU DO NOT NEED A PASSWORD TO ACCESS INFORMATION ON DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.

Community History

The following are a list of some of the available resources which discuss the history of the Milwaukee Polish Community or it's members.

General Background History:

History of Milwaukee City and County, by William George Bruce and Josiah Seymour Currey, The S. J. Clark Publishing Co., 1922. This book gives a general over-view of the history of the area and then offers detailed sketches of the prominent members of the community.  In three volumes. Available through Google books:

Index begins on page 887.

Memoirs of Milwaukee County, edited by Jerome Anthony Watrous, Western Historical Assoc. 1909. A history of the development of the County. Chapter XX, written by Rev. Boleslaus Goral, deals with "The Poles in Milwaukee."
 Volume 2, which contains some biographical sketches, including those of some Poles, can be found at ebooksread.com, openlibrary.org, and at Google Books.

Untitled article in "The Polanders in Wisconsin" by Frank H. Miller:

"Polanders in Wisconsin,"  by John W.S. Tomkiewicz.  An address given before the Wisconsin State Historical Convention on October 11, 1901.

History of Poles in America, (in Polish) by Waclaw Kruszka (This link takes you to page 83.  You can scoll to page one.)

Specific Topic, Events or People:

 Pease, Neal, "Big Game On the South Side -  A Milwaukee Baseball Mystery Decoded," Wisconsin Magazine of History, Spring, 2005.   For a discussion of the first game of the Kosciusko Reds held at South Side Stadium, based around surviving photographs of the game.

Bomb! - the story of the Idzi Rutkowski and the 1935 bombs which rocked Milwaukee

"Polish Pioneers, Lovers of Freedom, Laid Firm Foundations,"  by Edward Kerstein, Milwaukee Journal, February 8, 1941, p. 29 (on Google News).  A history of the early Polish pioneers to Milwaukee.

"Braved Hardships to Build Homes Here," Milwaukee Journal, June 18, 1933.  A discussion of the early development of the Milwaukee Polish community including a long memoir by Casimir Rozmarynowski

"Felony Murder," - a recounting of the 1908 murder of Dominic Gapinski during a robbery

"1860's Brought the First of Polish Immigrants Here," Milwaukee Sentinel, May 2, 1964, p.4 (in Google News.)
 
Who's Who in Polish America, edited by Rev. Francis Bolek, Harbinger House, 1943. A list of the Wisconsinites in the book can be found here.  Some of the entries may be found at The Pinkowski Files.

Faith Cast in Stone: The Polish Churches of Milwaukee 1866 - 2000,  by John M. Smallshaw and published privately. His website contains some nice pictures of the old churches. His chapters on St. Stanislaus Church, St.Vincent de Paul Church and Ss. Cyril and Methodius have appeared in this blog.

''Politics, Religion and Change in Polish Milwaukee, 1900-1930'' by Donald Pienkos, published in the Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 61, no. 3, Spring, 1978, pp. 178-209

"Polonia In Turn of Century Milwaukee," by Jim Nelson at UWM.  A discussion of the tensions between the Polish community and the German hierarchy in the Milwaukee Catholic community.

The Year They Played Here - an account of the 1939 NFL Championship Game played in Milwaukee, and one of Green Bay's star players, Milwaukee's Eddie Jankowski.

The Hattie Zinda Tragedy - an account of the 1906 murder that affected the whole of Milwaukee, and the rush to judgment that may have convicted the wrong men, and let the real culprit free.

"The Rolling Mills," by David Semenske:  an account of the Bay View Massacre.

Waiting for Water:  Service Discrimination and Polish Neighborhoods in Milwaukee, 1870-1910 by Kate Foss-Mollan
  
Memoirs:

A Boy from Milwaukee - The early memoirs of Fred Barzyk, Milwaukee native, and long-time TV director for WGBH in Boston.

Early Morgandale -the memoirs of Frank Ruswick growing up in Morgandale in the 1930's.

Photographs:
  
"A Community Portrait" by Christel T. Maass and John Gurda, Wisconsin Magazine of History, Spring, 2004

Historical photographs of the Near South Side at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Digital Collections.

"Polish Community Photographer:  Roman B.J. Kwasniewski", Chapter Three in Milwaukee: Wisconsin by Richard Klatte Prestor,