Wonder

I wonder about the wisdom of writing about something you know nothing about. Such is my dilemma in trying to write a novel about my ancestors immigration from Poland in the Nineteenth century.
What was peasant life like in Nineteenth century Poland? What were there tasks from season to season? From day to day and hour to hour? Did they have time for contemplation and self-study? To what degree were social roles determined? What was a typical day like? How repetitive was it?
I've been surprised at how sparse research material had been on all these questions.
What I have found that intrigued me is that Father Leopold Moczygemba offered to lead an exodus from Polish Silesia to Texas where he had gone as a missionary in 1852. The response was overwhelming; immediately, over 200 volunteered to endure the trip.
People's hardiness astonishes me. The trip involved an average of nine weeks aboard a ship in steerage below deck. How much did these people know about the travails they would encounter there and once they reached land? Father Moczygemba had acquired land grants, but what would it have been like to move to a country that spoke a completely unintelligible language?
But most of all, what would have been involved in preparing for such a radical change of life?
I wonder.