www.chadra.com

• MESSAGE: December 23, 2008 "Gwiazda na niebie Gwiazda w oczach i sercu Rozkwita i trwa... Radosnych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia i Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku 2009 życzy" Adrianna i Bogusław Świechowscy
  Translated via http://www.poltran.com: Star flourishes on sky in eyes star and it flourishes heart and it lasts. Joyful holidays of Christmas and it wishes happy new year 2009 Adrianna i Bogusław Świechowscy
   
• MESSAGE: June 17, 2008 "Dear Dennis, I sent you several Swiechowski photos by air mail a few weeks ago. Did you receive them?" Best wishes, Joan (Swiechowska) Swinburn
  Reply:
  June 25, 2008 Joan, I did receive your package. I haven't had a chance to review it completely yet. I have several things going on at this time and will try to get to it sometime next week. I hope that you are feeling better. Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com
   
• MESSAGE: April 5, 2008 "Dear Dennis, I had a phone call from Zosia Lecznar last week but she is unable to help any further at present with the investigation re her grandfather. I asked if she had been in touch with you by e-mail but she said her computer is broken. I don't know know why it should be such a problem to get it repaired! She said that as she lives in Warsaw it is a long way from Wieliska, but that when she goes to Cracow she will visit there and see what she can find out. She does not seem to have found out much family history from her father Kasiek - he only died about 5 years ago. I would have thought a letter to the parish church in Wieliczka might have got a bit of information. But I suppose she would have to have some idea of the year her grandfather was born. What a pity all this did not arise before my husband died 3 years ago. I am sure he would have found out more information. But he seems to have had much more "get up and go " than his polish relatives. But I suppose that is because he lived in the West for so long. One cannot compare them of course. They lived such a restricted way of life under the Communist influence for so long. So we will have to wait and see what she eventually finds out. She said she has a photo of her grandfather and I asked her to let me have a copy as my three sons would like to see what their grandfather looked like. If I eventually get it be assured I will let you have a copy as he is the one that came from Wieliczka." Best Wishes, Joan (Swiechowska) Swinburn
   
• MESSAGE: March 27, 2008"On the the of occasion of the Easter Holidays of the wish, the humor and success You did not leave in these beautiful spring days and the merry and healthy family was only the support and happiness and the not nuisance." Robert Adamczyk www.adamczykowie.pl   
   
• MESSAGE: March 24, 2008 " "Dear Dennis, I received your E mail acknowledging receipt of my husband's birth certificate, but then I had a bout of pneumonia and had to have stay in hospital. I am home again and almost over it now. Just before I became ill I had a message from Zosia in Warsaw. She said she would phone me later, but I have not heard from her since. Maybe she phoned while I was in hospital. A few day's ago I sent her a letter by air mail, enclosing a copy of you e mail to me and asked if she had been able to help her with any information. I did not phone her as one of the effects of my illness was that I had lost my voice! So I am hoping that she will be in touch with you or me. She ought to E mail you. My son has not been able to process any of the Polish family photos either but will do so when he has time. We will not let you down. He has bee here this weekend but is in process of buying a house in this area ready for when he retires , early in a couple of years time and he and my daughter in law have been round at the prospective property in discussions with the people who are selling it. It is surrounded by 10 acres. He wants to get away from close neighbors after living in London ! It is a peaceful part of the world in these parts." Best wishes, Joan (Swiechowska) Swinburn   
   
• MESSAGE: March 22, 2008 "Joan (Swiechowska) Swinburn, I haven't heard from you for awhile. I hope all is well with you." Dennis Chadra (Great Grandson of Regina Swiechowska) artlover@chadra.com   
   
• MESSAGE:  March 20 2008 "Spokojnych i radosnych Świąt
  Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego życzą" Adrianna i Bogusław Świechowscy
  Translated via http://www.poltran.com: Quiet and they wish joyful holidays of your resurrection Adrianna and boguslaw Świechowscy

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• MESSAGE: March 13, 2008 "Dennis: That is funny, because I remember my father and I setting up his train set in our basement in Long Grove when I was about ten years old. The same train set he'd had for years, Lionel no. 6, he still has them as far as I know. I don't know if you're in contact with him, he's re-married and living in Des Plaines. He and I still talk often, and although we're miles apart we have a good father-son relationship.
  I moved to Florida in 1996 with my mother after her and my father divorced, I was young and not interested in shoveling snow anymore. (sorry to rub it in!)
  You may or may not know, my Grandparents, Joe and Mary lived in Cape Coral for many years as well. My early memories of visiting them at their home on Lorraine Ct. off Del Prado probably had something to do with my interest in moving here in the first place.
  I have to say, 94 is one heck of a birthday! You have to be sure to wish her a Happy Birthday on my behalf.
  I had a great-great-grandmother? If you do find any connection with them, please let me know. Also, please do email me the genealogy.
  I'm so glad that I've made contact with you! My girlfriend is always asking about my family, and although I know a lot about the Polinski family (my mothers side), I haven't had much contact with the Chadra / Hadra family, that my father has spoken so much about. This should shut her up for a while! Haha. Good talking to you Dennis, let's keep in touch!" Mike Hadra 
   
• MESSAGE: March 11, 2008 "Hello there! It is so great to connect with the Chadras. I'm Mike, son of Len Hadra, grandson of Joseph and Mary Hadra. I grew up in Des Plaines Illinois, born in Park Ridge Illinois in 1977. I now live in St. Petersburg Florida. My father has told me about the Chadra - Hadra family connection but I haven't searched for anyone on the Chadra side until now. It would be great to hear from you!" Regards, Mike Hadra
  Reply:
  Hello Mike, It's nice to hear from you. I saw you once when you where a little boy. My wife, Georgene, and I went to dinner once with your father and mother years ago. As a boy I always enjoyed visiting my Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary's apartment and Len and I would play with Len's electric trains. Have you lived in Florida long? My parents, John and Rose Chadra, lived many years in Cape Coral and eventually Fort Myers. My mother has been back in Illinois for a few years and will be celebrating her 94 years this year.
  As you probably know I have been researching the Hadra / Chadra family genealogy since 2000. I have made some progress and still have a lot more searching to do. I have the Hadra Family in Poland family tree through the 1970's. I have been recently in contact with possible descendants of my great-grandmother Regina. Regina Swiechowska's brother Joseph Swiechowsk in England. We haven't verified a connection for certain. Regina is your great-great-grandmother.
  Let me know If you would like me to email you the Hadra Polish genealogy and the few photos I have. My grand father Frank Chadra /Hadra used both surnames on documents I found throughout his life. No one knows why. I have his actual Naturalization Papers as Frank Chadra.
  I own three websites with some information on our family:
  http://www.chadra.com
  http://www.scarbrowv.com
  http://www.eccleswv.com
  Your cousin, Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com

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• MESSAGE:  February 25, 2008 "Dear Dennis, I will get a photocopy of my husband's baptismal certificate and send it to you by ordinary mail. It is not very clear where it has been folded, but there is mention on it of the name Regina. That is not a very common name among Polish people that we know. I will write to my husband's niece Sosia. She lives in Warsaw and runs her own school teaching English. I will also find out her E mail no. I used to have it but I lost it. She can probably get her father, Kasiek's baptism cert. and his may be clearer than Josef's 9 he carried it around in his army days so it got a bit damaged. and as she was close to her father she may have more info. re the family as he was in Poland till he died about five years ago, I think it was.
  At the end of the war there were about 190,000 Polish soldiers here in England most of whom refused to return to a Poland which was not the free Poland they had fought for. A few returned there and some emigrated to the former British Commonwealth countries such as Australia, and Canada, but most remained here.
  During these last 3 years since Poland joined the EU about a million and a half Poles have arrived here as there is free movement in the EU countries. They are well thought of as they are willing and hard workers. Some are here just to earn money and will return after a few years but undoubtedly some will stay. We have good Social Security benefits compared to the other EU countries. Be assured I will get you the addresses of some of the family in Poland. (those that speak English) though will be the best one." Joan (Swiechowska) Swinburn

• MESSAGE:  February 25, 2008 "Dear Dennis I was surprised to hear from you so soon. I haven't a birth certificate as such for my husband, but have a Baptismal Certificate. I think this is what they used as one at that time. It is in Latin but easy to understand. (easier than if it had been printed in Polish]. I will see if my son, Paul can download it on the computer. as I am not very good at these things. It is a bit fragile. If this cannot be done I will get a photocopy and if I have your postal address I will send it to you. Paul was here this past weekend and I showed him you web site and he said he would be able to download any photos. He and another son Anthony live in Surrey About 13 miles outside London. Josef and I retired to this small market town of Leominster from London where I was born and lived until 1990 and where Josef lived once he was discharged from the Polish Army. My eldest son John lives in Yorkshire, so they all live between 175 and 200 miles from here. Paul will be here again at Easter and we will then arrange about sending you some photos. Joan (Swiechowska) Swinburn
  Reply:
  Joan, I am really looking forward to seeing the documentation and photos. In your first email you mentioned "I can give you more information about my husband and the addresses of some of his nephews and nieces in Poland" Please do send me that information.
  Do you have any photos of your husband's siblings? What are their names? I am 65 years old and live with my wife Georgene in Wheaton, Illinois USA about 23 Miles due west of Chicago, Illinois. We have four children and eight grandchildren.
  I am the son of:
  John Chadra, b. Jun 17, 1906 in Michalkovice, Czech Republic - d. Sep 20, 1989 Fort Myers, Florida
  My father John was the son of Frank Hadra (Chadra) b. Jul 16, 1882 in Wsi Grabowka, near Wieliczka, Poland (east of Krakow) - d. May 28, 1968 Chicago, IL and Florentyna Mlynek, the daughter of Jofann Mlynek of Alwernia, Poland (west of Krakow), Florentyna was b. May 1, 1877 - d. September 7, 1913 in Eccles, West Virginia.
  My grandfather, Frank Hadra (Chadra), was the son of Karol Hadra b.? Romania – d. about 1905 in Krakow and Regina Swiechowska b.? - d. 1918 Poland They were married about 1870 - 1872. Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com

 
• MESSAGE:  February 24, 2008 "Recently while idling around on my computer I typed in the name of my late husband who was born as Jozef Francisek Swiechowski in Gorlice, Poland on 15,3,1920. He died here in Leominster, England on23.3.2005.
  In 1939 as a young soldier of 19 years old he was fighting in Poland following the German invasion. He was one of 7 children of Jozef Swiechowski and Marie Bocian. He did not know much about his father's relations, only that he came from a district east of Cracow. His father had worked at the oil refinery in Gorlice and was killed while working there when my husband was still a young boy, and his mother had died even earlier. After the German Army had overrun Poland my husband returned home to Gorlice and then with 3 friends he began a long trek in November 1939, via Rumania, Hungary and Yugoslavia and thence by an empty coal ship to Marseilles in France to join the Free Polish Army. This was in the bitter cold winter of Eastern Europe and they suffered many privations. He then fought under the French until they succumbed also to the Germans and his Polish unit was abandoned by the French. They managed to fight their way in to n neutral Switzerland and after his second escape attempt in 1944 after the Allied invasion of Europe and join up again with the Free Poles who by now were fighting under the British. That is how he ended up in England and married me. I am an English Catholic of mainly Irish descent. We have three sons. As at that time there was some prejudice about foreign names we changed our name from Swiechowski to Swinburn. So my husband became Joseph Francis Swinburn.
  If you wish I can give you more information about my husband and the addresses of some of his nephews and nieces in Poland, though they have not kept in touch with me since my husband's death 3 years ago. I cannot speak Polish but one or two of them can speak English. I am now 82 years old." Joan (Swiechowska) Swinburn 

• MESSAGE: January 1, 2008 "Happy New Year! Hope to hear from you who are interested in contributing to this page. See all correspondence by clicking on the links in the right column" Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com 

These links will open a new browser window.

• Eccles, WV  1914 Mine Disaster
  Eccles, WV (Raleigh County) - A Selected History Early 1900s Through Present Day
• Chadra / Hadra Family in Eccles, WV 1912-1923
  Eccles, WV (Raleigh County) - A Selected History Early 1900s Through Present Day
• Chadra / Hadra Family in Scarbro, WV 1906-1912
  Scarbro, Carlisle, Mossy, Whipple, & Oak Hill, WV (Fayette County) - A selected history from the early 1900s Through Present Day.