Friends,

I just received in the mail a copy of the naturalization petition of my 1st
cousin, 3x removed, Mendel "Max" Stern, >from 1907. I would love to get help
about it in two respects.

First, he says on it that he is >from Potzanka, Bereg Megye, Hungary. I
can't locate that town using Shtetlseeker, and I've never heard of it. Most
of my family is >from Munkacs and thereabout (which is also in Bereg Megye),
so I imagine Potzanka is near to there. Is anyone familiar with this town?

Second, I haven't been able to locate his records through Ellis Island. The
Petition says he emigrated >from Rotterdam, Holland on the vessel Pottsdam,
coming >from Potzanka, arriving at the Port of New York on 21st day of July
1902. (This was done in November 1907, so my poor ancestor will be forgiven
if his memory failed him at the ripe old age of about 22.)

The closest I've found is a manifest listing a Mendel Stern dated July 28,
1903, which is one year + one day off (though the month is the same). It
says he is 14 y.o., which is four years off. The town he comes >from appears
to say Polyana, which *might* be Potzanka (Potsana???). It says he is going
to Yonkers, which would be correct. And it looks like it says he is going
to meet his father, "L. Stern," which also raises questions, because his
father's name was Chaim Leib Stern.

http://www.ellisisland.org/search/shipManifest.asp?MID=08174149750236454592&pID=102672080291&show=K%3A%5CT715%2D0378%5CT715%2D03780032%2ETIF&origFN=K%3A%5CT715%2D0378%5CT715%2D03780032%2ETIF&fromEI=1

I started reading through all the passengers on the Potsdam (diff. spelling

from how it appears on the citizenship papers!), arr. July 28 (so cousin Max

was off by a week), but I only got it through 100 pages out of the 500 or so
on the microfilm!

Thanks!

-Micah Salb
STERN FAMILY

"S. Micah Salb" wrote

First, he says on it that he is >from Potzanka, Bereg Megye, Hungary. I can't
locate that town using Shtetlseeker, and I've never heard of it. Most of my
family is >from Munkacs and thereabout (which is also in Bereg Megye), so I
imagine Potzanka is near to there. Is anyone familiar with this town?

Micah,

If you are certain that Potzanka has been located in Bereg county, may I suggest
to locate village whereabouts by using Bereg's 1910 map.

from the index of Hungarian counties in 1910, select Bereg county:

http://lazarus.elte.hu/hun/maps/1910/

When you have managed to locate Potzanka, follow now with the fairly modern map
(Soviet era) of Ukraine's Zakarpatskaya oblast' (Transcarpathian Ukraine) at:

http://www.infoukes.com/ua-maps/oblasts/oblast01/

to identify current Ukrainian name of Potzanka.

Good luck in your search.

Alexander Sharon
Calgary, Ab