Bila Tserkva or Moschna (?). Where was Stefan Ramik, my great-grandfather, born? Where did he live the first ~17 years of his life before immigrating to the USA? Both of those places are mentioned in different documents that ask for his birthplace.
Order of statements:
- 1904 (age 17): Moschna (?)
- 1917 (age 29): Musmy (?)
- 1925 (age 37): Bela Cerkow
- 1941 (age 54): Bela Cerkow
For example, these earlier records list a location that begins with an "M". They are very hard to read and may not even be the same word, but they definitely are not "Bila Tserkva":
Hamburg Passenger List (1904 at age 17). This is listed under a column titled "Bisheriger Wohnort", which translates from German to "Previous Residence". So it may not be where he was born but if not it's certainly not Bila Tserkva.
WW1 Draft Registration Card (~1917 at age 29):
On the other hand, his Petition for Naturalization (1925 at ~age 37) states that he was born in Bela Cerkow, Russia:
And his WW2 Registration Draft Card (1942 at ~ age 54) lists his place of birth as "Bela Cerkow", a version of the Polish word for Bila Tserkva:
