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Polish Americans in Michigan, United States of America

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Profiles

  • Louise "Lucy" Norene Siudzinski (1869 - 1959)
    Lived in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan.She came to America from Poland in 1881.
  • John E. Siudzinski (1865 - 1946)
    He came to America from Poland in 1885. JOHN E. SIUDZINSKI, 81, LONG CABINETMAKER, DIESJohn E. Siudzinski, 81, resident of Grand Rapids for 60 years and for 45 years employed by the Berkey & Gay Furnit...
  • John M. Janusz (1871 - 1949)
  • Ignace Jansheski (1830 - 1897)
    He left Poland and came to America with his wife and chiildren (joining his brother and his family) in early 1880s.
  • Margaret Jansheski (1839 - 1926)
    Mrs. Margaret Dzieniszewski aka Jansheski, 89, for the past 45 years a resident of Grand Rapids, died Sunday evening at her home at 143 Lexington-av., N.W.Mrs. Dzieniszewski aka Jansheski was born in P...

Poles are the second largest ethnic group in Michigan (Detroit and Grand Rapids area) and have been a significant part of the history of Detroit and the state of Michigan.

The first Polish mass migration took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries following years of aggression and occupation by its neighbors. During that time about 2.5 million ethnic Poles came to the United States in search of freedom and economic stability.

The Detroit's area large Polish community was for many years concentrated in Poletown and Hamtramck, a suburb of Detroit. Hamtramck was originally settled by German farmers. It became a dominantly Polish industrial town in 1914, when the Dodge Brothers automotive plant was opened providing great employment opportunities. These Polish communities became vital centers of immigrant social life, with small businesses, press, and cultural, political, veterans, patriotic and professional organizations. The heart of Polonia, however, was its Polish Roman Catholic church and its parishes. Poles were able to keep their identity by cultivating their cultural traditions, language and faith.

In addition to the auto industry in the Detroit area, Poles worked in copper mines (Upper Peninsula), iron mines (Western Upper Peninsula), and in the lumber mills. However, the great majority became factory workers and farmers.

The second wave of new Polish immigrants (over 200,000) came to the U.S. following WWII, when Poland became part of the Soviet Union bloc. Of these, 38,000 came to Michigan. The next large population of immigrants arrived between the late 1960s and early 1990s and consisted of refugees, and non-immigrants on temporary visas. Many of these Poles were political refugees from the SOLIDARITY, the Polish trade union movement. Of this group 34% were professionals, while 27% were skilled workers.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Michigan is home to the third largest Polish population (854,844) after New York (986,141) and Illinois (932,996). The current population of Michigan's Polish Americans is concentrated in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties. Troy became the center of Poles in Michigan, after their migration from Hamtramck.

Source: https://bentley.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Polish_America...