I am planning a trip to Polom, Moravia to find any remaining traces of my family. My g-grandfather, Johann Rabel, died in Pohl (now Polom) in 1885 at age 35. Family lore is that he died while in the Pohl city/county jail, but we have no actual documentation of this, or the circumstances surrounding his death. Maybe my trip can help clear this up. The following year his widow, Carolina Heinrich Rabel, my great-grandmother, immigrated with my grandfather Alois Rabel (then 7 years old) to New York City via Castle Clinton, pre-Ellis Island. After another boat to Galveston, TX, they settled in central Texas. The Rabel/Heinrich family tree is very well established and traced back at least to the early 1700s, so tracking the ancestry is not an issue. Also, I am able to track their 1886 arrival into NYC and later Galveston via the "Czech Immigration Passport Lists Volume VI," by Leo Baca. My main issue is, how do I find out if anything still remains of Polom from the era my g-grandmother immigrated? Churches, homes, schools, the city jail (or equivalent), any landmarks that would be relevant and still standing from the 1880s. We have a home address of my g-grandmother, but I have no way of knowing if that neighborhood is fully or even partially intact. How affected by World War II was the Polom area? I'm hoping someone can put me in touch with anyone in the Polom area (especially a local historian), and someone who can help me find accomodations, along with family birth and marriage records, once I arrive there. Sorry for the long-windedness (is that a word?) and thanks in advance for any responses. Greg Rabel Houston, TX USA
Polom means wind-damage (in woods), so there are many places with the same name in the C.R. Your Polom (German name Pohl) is probably a village near Hranice in Moravia. Polom was not affected by the WW2. Polom was affected recently by modernization :evil: . The railway station in Polom 15.3.2001. The railway station in Polom 8.4.2002.
