%0 Journal Article
%T How a merchant from Krakow became a steward in Greater Poland
%A Lubierska, Joanna
%J Archival and Historical Review
%V 2020
%R 10.4467/2391-890XPAH.20.012.14646
%N Vol. VII
%P 265-298
%K secret, fraud, forgery of vital records, change of identity, escape, arrest warrants, genealogy, merchant, steward, Sub Aethiopibus House, Greater Poland, Krakow, 19th century
%@ 2391-890X
%D 2020
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/przeglad-archiwalno-historyczny/article/jak-krakowski-kupiec-stal-sie-wielkopolskim-ekonomem
%X 
	For many years now, genealogy has been the subject of interest for an increasing number of individuals with different social and educational backgrounds and of different ages, and at present the largest group of archive users are people who are simply passionate about their family history. The article is an attempt to demonstrate professional geologists’ methods of work and challenges they encounter, as exemplified by the search for a real person for whom an arrest warrant was issued. This person came into possession of someone else’s documents, and completely changed not only their own identity, but also the identity of their descendants. Following this person all around the three partitions of 19th century Poland is not only fascinating — it also perfectly reflects the character of a geologist’s profession, which requires versatility, an inquiring and analytical mind, as well as a flair for detective work. The article details the sources used during the search, which came from multiple ecclesiastic and state archives, emphasizing the need to confirm facts by using more than one source. It has also been noted that archival documents and indexed online databases created by genealogy fans (i.e. people from outside of the archival circles) are mutually complementary and can determine the success or failure of an investigation.