Mystery Monday: Johon Drezdzon/John Drezdon - Where are you from? Pueka Poland?

I have been researching my mother-in-law's family.  Her family had been spelling their last name Drezdon; records located in Milwaukee indicated a spelling of Drezdzon.  I searched back through her family tree trying to figure out when the second z was dropped.  The name seemed to change during John's lifetime 1864-1954.

I sent away for John's immigration records.  They arrived yesterday.  On his Declaration of Intent and Petition for Naturalization he states he was born in Pueka, Poland. I must admit that Polish research is something I have done before.  I thought the most logical thing would be to consult a gazetteer.  I looked in three different publications - no Pueka in Poland, Prussia, of Germany.  I am stumped.  I would welcome any ideas.

The Declaration of Intention has his name as Johon Drezdzon from Pueka, Poland. His signature is  Johon Drezdzon.





 Johon's Petition for Naturalization has his name spelled as John Drezdon. The Petition listed his actually birth date along with  the birth dates of his eight children and wife.  What a goldmine!  It also has two of his daughters married last names.  I move forward with some research and get stumped in another.


Comments

Anonymous said…
Look around the Hel peninsula. I believe it is Puck now.I got the hint from a book at the Library of Congress. It refers to yhe meir family from Pukea. Hope this helps.
July 13, 2015 at 9:10 PM
Brandy Heineman said…
I don't know a thing about Polish genealogy, so I pulled out my copy of "The Family Tree Guide Book to Europe," which has a chapter on Polish genealogy. It's copyright date is 2003 (perhaps there's a newer edition?), but it gives a good overview of some challenges and things to consider. It also includes a list of resources. Maybe you can snag a copy from the library.

Good hunting to you! :)
July 14, 2015 at 10:01 AM
Amy Urman said…
Thank you for the input, I will look for the book and check the map for Puck.
July 15, 2015 at 11:14 AM
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