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Introduction - A letter sent to Szparagas in the US in May 2013Dear Family, I am writing to you on behalf of the XIII Szparaga Family Reunion, which took place in 2012 in Poland. I would like to invite and encourage you to take part in the activities of our great community. This appeal goes out to all members of the Family who are named Szparaga, as well as to those who as a result of different circumstances carry one of its 'derivatives', eg. Sparaga, Szparago, Szparag, Sparag, Sparage, Szparak, Shparaga, Szparagowski, Sparagowski, Sparazynski, and to those who carry its original version, probably sounding 'Sparago'. I also address my letter to all female members of our Family who acquired other names through marriage but are still members of our community. To many of you my letter may come as a big surprise, therefore I kindly request you to read it and its accompanying attachments (including the ones that can be found on the DVD) with patience and to refrain from drawing any hasty conclusions until you have familiarized yourselves with all the materials that you have received. First of all - on behalf of the Szparaga Family Council- I would like to invite you to participate in our Reunions - including this year's Reunion scheduled for 23-26 August. Szparaga Family Reunions take place every year, on the last Sunday of August and on the days surrounding it (Friday, Saturday and Monday). In order to find out more about these Reunions and how they pass I suggest you to contact Mike McCoy from Atlanta, who has already visited us twice with his large family. I do not know when I will be able to get in touch with all of you on such a large scale again, so please treat this invitation, as a constant incentive for the necessary pilgrimage to Poland - the land of our Ancestors - to the Szparaga Family Reunions. Each year, for 13 years already, we gather in Boniewo village (near Wloclawek) to pay tribute to our ancestors. In Boniewo, on February 2, 1777, Kazimierz Szparazka married Elizabeth (no surname), to give rise to the longest out of all the Szparaga lines . There is a plate commemorating this event on a wall of the church in Boniewo - its content can be found on the attached DVD. During these reunions, a strengthening friendship is being formed between us. During these meetings we are aware that a significant part of our family has not yet joined our spontaneous movement. With regard to those of you who live in the US, we have a strong feeling of guilt that the news of our gatherings have not yet reached you. The rebirth of our community would be very flawed if we would not have set the goal of spreading our idea among all potential members of the Family who are scattered in different parts of the world. In Poland, according to recent figures, there are 475 people named Szparaga, 107 named Szparagowski, 36 named Sparażyński, Szparag: 60 and Szparak: 18. It is an extremely difficult challenge to trace our Family history to its earliest roots. We must realize that each of the potential lines of our Family can help us uncover even more distant history of our community. Therefore we must be careful not to let anything escape our attention and no information can be deemed unimportant. We need everyone's cooperation. The various branches of our Family and its lines were intermingled in different areas. It is difficult to determine their origin, for example: Today in Russia we may find descendants of 'Catholic' Szparaga's and 'Mosaic' ones. The same applies to Sparaga's in the U.S. Moreover, in the U.S there are Sparago's with roots in Italy, as well as in the old areas of Russia. It is not possible to comprehend and put all the pieces in their right places without getting in touch with all of you. Am I able to persuade all of you to this unique idea which crosses the barriers of our differences and already exists in Poland? Perhaps this will depend on the degree of your individual sensitivity and the necessary time needed for it to mature. The world moves forward, human development progresses increasing one's tolerance, sensitivity, empathy. Aren't we, in some way - without even realizing it ourselves, taking part in this inevitable, positive trend? Based on our research, the surname Szparaga and all its derivatives that can be found across the vast lands of former Poland have derived from Szparago name from Catalonia, Spain. Later on the name also existed in Campania, Italy. In Poland of the nineteenth century our surname was divided into two factions: the Catholic and Mosaic. The 'Catholic' faction includes: the name 'Szparaga' (regions of Kielce, Wloclawek and Inowroclaw), the name 'Szparag' and 'Sparazynski' (concentrated near Poznan), the name Szparagowski (in the area between Inowroclaw and Konin), and also names 'Szparago' and 'Szparak' which came into existence in the 20th century. The 'Mosaic' faction comes from the Kielce region (possibly from Ozarów). It was spread into regions such as Warsaw and Lodz in the forms of 'Szparag' or 'Szparak'. From there it moved in the forms of Szparaga, Szparag, Szparago, Szparak and Szparage to eastern Polish territories - that at the time were in the grip of Russia and Austria - eg. to cities of Uman, Kiev, Odessa (all now located in Ukraine) and to Chisinau [Kishinev] (now Moldova) and Mogilev (now Belarus). According to my knowledge the members of the 'Catholic' faction who left to the U.S. in general left the 'Sz' at the beginning of their surnames, sometimes only shortening it to an 'S'. As a result, there are many different surnames such as: Szparaga, Sparaga, Szparagowski, Sparagowski, and Sparazynski. However the members of the 'Mosaic' faction who came to the U.S. received names such as: Sparaga, Sparago, Sparage, Sparag, Sparak and also Shparaga, Shparago and Shparag. In the US 'Sh' is the result of the transition from the Russian letter '?' pronounced like the Polish 'Sz' (German 'Sch'). In the regions of Wloclawek and Kielce during the Russian annexation (1795-1918), in civil acts made in the Russian language the name 'Szparaga' was written as '???????'. Even nowadays, in the passports of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians the 'Shparaga' surname is used. This is because of the translation from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet. I have to admit, that even though I have been trying to unravel it all for over 10 years now, I still find it very complicated and confusing. I believe that with joint efforts we can achieve a lot, to the glory of our ancestors. Last year, a family of Aleksander Shparaga from Minsk came to the 13th Szparaga Family Reunion. Aleksander was born in 1952 in Russia and knows very little about his ancestors. All he knows is that his father's first name was Pantieliej, and his grandfather's name was Trafim. He has established contact with families of nearly forty Szparaga's, scattered throughout Russia (including Siberia), and also in Ukraine. His interlocutors were also not able to identify their roots. As I have already mentioned, they may come from the 'Mosaic' or 'Catholic' faction, since both for different reasons, were living in these areas. I believe that one day, with joint effort we will be able to reconstruct their ancestry, as we have been able to do in Poland. Please find enclosed several letters and documents, which with the help of many people were translated into English. It is impossible to comment on the content of all of them. The purpose of this 'collection' is to introduce to you our (and I think in a way already your) idea of a great ancestral community. Please distribute the materials that you have received among other members of our Family, which may have been omitted - also those who are no longer named Szparaga. I am sending you warm regards from members of our Family in Poland. Jacek Szparaga
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