This post is number 48 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year.  To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.

A life story told by the records left behind

Wladyslawa Borucki is the daughter of Ignacy Francis Borucki and Aleksandra Lipinska.  To me, she is my first cousin, two times removed. What I know of her is gleaned from the records of her life.  Personal details of her life are based on conjecture as there are no family stories of her passed down on my side of the tree.

If Wladyslawa had a nickname to Americanized her Slavic name, it was not written in any formal record.  Census records, her marriage and divorce record,  list Wladyslawa as her first name.  The name is a feminine form of Wladyslaw.  A Polish name with no real English equivalent. Though some use Edward or Walter as an equivalent for a man.  Lottie or Lorraine may  have been used for females.

The records tell us she lived to be 33 years old.  Most likely born in the house at 3030 North Phelan Street in Pittsburgh, PA where her parents are enumerated on the 1900 census.  Wladyslawa, born on 23 April 1900, was just a few weeks old. She was the third child of eight born to her parents. One year old brother John gets a new playmate.  I discover later that John is mentally disabled.

Her uncle, Adam Budny, my great grandfather, lives with them.  He has just arrived himself from Poland in March 1900. There are two other boarders, possibly relatives of unknwon relationship based on their last names.  Her home is a boarding house as there are four other families living at that address.

Based on her siblings birthplaces, her family moves back in forth from Chicago, IL to Pittsburgh before settling in Hamtramck, MI.   Currently no 1910 Census record has been located for the family.  Her father used either Ignacy or Frank as his first name and would use Borke or Borkey as his last name throughout his life.  The spelling of Borucki in records is so convoluted, I amazed that I can find a record at all.  Handwriting and transcriptions are also difficult to interpret.

The next record of Wladyslawa is her 1917 marriage record to Waclaw Burzynski.  The record indicates that she is 18 years old (actually she is 17) on her wedding day, December 3, 1917.  Her last name is transcribed as Barucka.  She is employed as a saleslady. She states her father’s name is Frank and her mother is named Alexandria.  Her new husband, Waclaw, is 23 and a cabinet maker. He was born in Russia to Joseph and Josephine Burzynski.  They were married in Detroit, MI, by Justice J. W. Hatrex.  The witnesses were not family members.

1917 Detroit Marriage Record

1920 finds Waclaw and Wladyslawa Burzynski renting a place at 862 Holbrook Ave in Hamtramck. Her parents and siblings live about a mile away on Evaline Street. No children are listed on the 1920 Census.  The last name is also spelled with a “G” in the beginning.  Another variant spelling of the name.

Ten years later the 1930 census lists the couple living with Wladyslawa’s brother, Edward Borucki and his young family.  The house is probably a duplex or multiplex based viewing Google Maps of the addresses.  Edward is at 11467 Moran Ave.  Next door at 11465 Moran is the widowed Aleksandra Borucki and her surviving children.  Ignacy passed away in 1929.

The 1930 census reveals that Waclaw and Wladyslawa have no living children. Birth records for Michigan are still private for this time period.  There may be clues if she did give birth and the child or children did not survive.

Searching SeekingMichigan.org divorce records for Wladyslawa’s brother, Stanley Borucki, I found a record by typing in her  married name just in case.  Why, because you never know what you may find.  Plus I was trying to find her in the 1940 census with no luck. Stanley Boruki was listed as divorced on the 1930 census, that’s why I was looking at SeekingMichigan to see if I could find his divorce record.

Wladyslawa filed for divorce on June 12, 1931.  The cause was extreme cruelty and non-support. The divorce was not contested and was granted on September 1, 1931.  No children were listed on the record. No alimony was provided to Wladyslawa.

Borucki & Burzynski

Regrettably the last record I have found for Wladyslawa is a record of her death certificate.  She passed away on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1933.  Her last name is the genitive ending of Burzynska on the record instead of Burzynski. The cause of death is not known and should be listed on the digital or original copy. Plus a clue to where she was buried.

I wondered what life you had Wladyslawa during your short time that records cannot convey.

Sources:
Year: 1900; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 13, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1359; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0161; FHL microfilm: 1241359. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

“Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N3RT-YWD : accessed 01 Dec 2014), Waclaw Burzynski and Wadyslawa Barucka, 03 Dec 1917; citing Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, v 1 p 458 rn 156555, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2342725.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Hamtramck, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_820; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 753; Image: 877.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Hamtramck, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: 1073; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0975; Image: 745.0; FHL microfilm: 2340808.

Death record listing from Familysearch.org

Wladyslawa Burzynska
Michigan, Death Certificates
Name:     Wladyslawa Burzynska
Event Type:     Death
Event Date:     24 Dec 1933
Event Place:     Hamtramck, Wayne, Michigan, United States
Gender:     Female
Age:     33
Marital Status:     Married
Birth Date:     23 Apr 1900
Birthplace:     Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Birth Year (Estimated):     1900
Father’s Name:     Ignac F Borucki
Mother’s Name:     Alexandra Lepinska
GS Film number: 001973157 , Digital Folder Number: 005363523 , Image Number: 00088