Archive for category Polish Genealogy
#52 Ancestors – No. 18 – Kasper Gaber
Posted by Caroll in Polish Genealogy on May 3, 2014
This post is number 18 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’s website.
It’s been a rainy day here on the west coast of Florida. Perfect time to do some genealogy research and add a post to my blog. I chose to blog about my mother’s first husband’s family, the Gaber’s.
Kasper GABER is the grandfather to my mother’s first husband. Kasper is sometimes spelled Casper. Born in 1866, he immigrated from the Austrian Poland Partition around 1885. He settled in Shenandoah, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania.
The Gaber family names varies in records. Variants both written and probably spoken pronunciation, include Gober or Gobrich/Gabrich. They are diminutives of the Polish name.
The earliest record for him may be the 1890 Census Directory Listing. There is a Casper Gabel listed at 360 S. West Street in Shenandoah. The record at PA USGenWeb site is typewritten and not an original copy.
Kasper marries Rozalia GRIACJKA (Gressiak) in June 1891. They have 12 children of which nine survive infancy. For the next 35 plus years they reside at 356 S West Street. Just a few doors down from the 1890 Directory. The 1910 Census has them residing at 356 1/2 West Street.
There are a total of 16 people living in one house. The Gaber family with their five children and four boarders are living in one section of the house. They rent out part of the house to the Ptascosky family and their boarder who either live upstairs or downstairs at 356 West Street.
Below is a current image of the house address captured from Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/4iuZa. The length of the house is long and looks like it had a basement entrance at one time, which looks scary to me. The house is owned by Kasper. The dwelling becomes a single family house by the 1920’s and only the Gaber’s live there.
House at 356 South West St, Shenandoah, PA
Kasper passes away in 1934. I have not located Rosie Gaber in the 1940 Census. Some members of the family, including my “step” grandfather, Stanley Gaber, move to Michigan after 1935.
Kasper Gaber Gravestone
Kasper is buried at Saint George’s Cemetary, West Mahanoy, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, United States. The Polish Gravestone translation on his tombstone reads, Prosi o modlitwę (“Asking for a prayer” or “Please say a prayer for him”)
Sources
Google Maps
http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/schuylkill/census/1890/shenandoah4.txt
http://www.pgsa.org/PDFs/CrashCourseInPolish.pdf
NARA Census Records
“BillionGraves Index,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/27MJ-YCJ : accessed 03 May 2014), Kasper Gaber, 1934; citing Saint Georges Cemetery, West Mahanoy, Pennsylvania.
#52 Ancestors – No. 13 – Phyllis Budny, Inmate at Good Shephard
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy, Polish Genealogy on March 30, 2014
This post is number 13 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. The learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy’s website.
There are a lot of half truths, cover-ups and lies in my Budny family. It stems from hiding the shame of probably being abandoned by the patriarch, Adam Budny in 1917, and Stanley Budny’s criminal ways and shocking death in 1927 . Phyllis Budny is my grandfather’s sister. Born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1906, to Adam and Mary (Borucki) Budny. At 15, she married Lawerence Herman on June 12, 1922, in Detroit, MI. She and Lawrence only had one child before divorcing by 1930. She remarried later to Maurice Haggerty.
The story goes that Phyllis went a little crazy and maybe that runs in the family as to why there was not a lot of information passed down. In truth, Phyllis was quite emotional as she mostly likely would be as her son was listed as missing in action during World War II. Her son, Chester, will turn 90 in a few weeks, by the way.
Phyllis is the only Budny family member I can find in the 1920 Census. Under the name, Phyllis Budna, she is listed as an “Inmate” at the House of the Good Shephard in Detroit. The Good Shephard was a catholic asylum who’s purpose was to “restore fallen women to the path of virtue and to protect young girls who are liable to temptation from unfavorable surroundings”. Phyllis’s only crime was being poor.
The English language can be complex. The term “inmate” at this time refers to residing at a institution, not strictly being a person in prison or jail. Though I have a feeling that is what it felt like. Phyllis did not like the conditions and ran away as soon as she could and got married.
The family was very poor after her father, Adam, disappeared. Her mother was either doing sewing or laundry work in the 1920’s to survive. Which is not enough to support seven children. Most of the children were farmed out or placed in institutions. Her sister, Frances, about 15, is hiding from authorities so she doesn’t get placed in a home. Frances gets married in 1920, a few months after the census is taken.
Their brother, Stanley, was a petty thief bringing in money to try to get the family back together. He also used a couple of aliases along the way and once served time at Jackson State Prison in Michigan. I think the family was very wary of interacting with government authorities back in the day.
So Phyllis is in the clear. Stanley did his “time.”
#52Ancestors – No. 5 – Ignacy Frank Borucki
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy, Polish Genealogy on February 2, 2014
This is post #5 as part of the 52 Ancestors Challenge were we blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year.
Ignacy Francis Borucki is my great-granduncle, the brother of my great-grandmother Marianna Borucka. Ignacy preferred to go by Frank in most of the sources records I have for him. So I will use Frank. Frank seesawed in using variants of his name. He would sometimes go by Ignac or Frank; or use Borucki, Borucky or Borke, as his last name. Frank was born in Mamino, Makow Mazowicki, Poland, on 24 Dec 1872 or 1873. Various records list his birth year between 1872 and 1874. I don’t think Frank could make up his mind.
He married Alexandra Lipinska in Poland before they immigrated to America. They arrived on 27 May 1896. The New York passenger list states their final destination is Chicago, IL. Their first child, Ladislaus Borucki, is born in November 1896 in South Chicago, IL. In late 1897 or early 1898 they have moved to Pittsburgh, PA. Ladislaus passes away in April 1898 in Pittsburgh.
He and his family still reside in Pittsburg as of the 1900 census. Frank and Alexandra have two more children, John and Wladytawa, (Lottie). There are three boarders listed with him. One is my great-grandfather, Adam Budny, who recently arrived in America.
I discovered another passenger arrival list for Frank dated October 1900. This record lists his hometown as Mamino. Alexandra is not on the passenger list. His final destination is Schenectady, NY. Was he previously in the U.S? Yes. What was the name and location of the person he was going to stay with, his brother in Chicago, IL? The Schenectady information appears in a thinner ink stroke and could have been added later. I have two issues with this record regarding the brother in Chicago.
I have a copy of Franks’ 1918 Declaration of Intention for citizenship. His lists the arrival date and ship name of his1900 arrival on his application. The Detroit address listed is the same one on his WW1 registration that states his wife’s name, Alexandra.
Growing up, all the Aunts and cousins stated there were only three Borucki siblings, Frank, Marianna and a younger sister, Josephine. Josephine remained in Poland. If Frank was telling the truth, who is this brother listed on the passenger list? Why Chicago, when his family is in Pittsburgh? A polish researcher located a record of birth for Marianna Borucki-Budny’s child born in Mamino, Poland. One of the witnesses was a Ksawery Borucki, which could be a cousin or another possible brother. It is possible that there were more than just the three siblings.
Frank does take his family back to Chicago. The next three children, Stanley (1902), Edward (1907), and Raymond (1910) are born in Chicago. The 1910 census remains elusive for me as well as any city directories and birth records. The family finally settles in Detroit, MI. The last of the children, Zigmund and Irene, are born in Detroit.
Frank’s occupation is a die maker at Ford Motor Co. Irene is 14 when her father, Frank dies, October 1929. Stanley Borucki is divorced and has custody of his two young children. He supports his mother and siblings, all living in the same house on the 1930 census.
Sources
1900 Census https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MS12-HK4
Ladislaus Borucki Death Certificate https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZ7K-52S
1917 World War One registration
1918 Declaration of Intention for Citizenship
Perpetual Family Liar Complicates Genealogy Records
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy, Polish Genealogy on December 15, 2013
My grand uncle Stanley A. Budny is the family’s black sheep. A habitual criminal according to an account in a 1927 Ann Arbor Newspaper article. Taken to the Ann Arbor police station after a fender bender, he told a web of lies, tried bribing his way out to freedom. All for naught. He sought flight through a bathroom window, ensued a fight with an officer on the streets of Ann Arbor, only to lose his life while struggling with the officer’s gun. He lost his life for a missing license plate and a questionable vehicle registration.
Stanley’s criminal activities brought in the money that helped support his six siblings and his mother from 1917 to his death in 1927. His father Adam disappeared in 1917 and was presumed dead by the family. Stanley started using aliases early on. He lied on his 1918 World War I registration form (see image below).
So how did I attribute this registration card to my grand uncle? Borke is an anglicized variant of Borucki. Stanley’s mother is Maryanna Borucki. Both my great-grandmother and her brother Ignatz Francis Borucki (Frank Borke) used this quick and easy pronunciation and spelling of Borucki. On Ignatz Borucki’s application for citizenship, he lists Frank Borke as an alias.
I have heard the name pronounced Bor-rut-ski in a recording by a family member. I can see why the family would use a more American sounding variant of their name. The pronunciation of the name doesn’t match the spelling.
My second clue is the address listed on the form. I have city directory sources listing the same address for Mary Budny. The birth date, Nov 16, 1899, is off by three years. Stanley Budny was born November 16, 1902, Pittsburgh, PA. I think he lied about his age to work. He most likely kept up the lie when he registered. Especially if he registered with co-workers or friends in the line. Being 16 at the time he registered, he could not afford to lose a job that supported his family, so I am assuming he lied to appear older than he was.
Did Stanley steal from his own cousin? Written records should be viewed also as photographs. Photographs are worth a thousand words. This registration card is worth a thousand words too. Some people may dismiss this record or attach it as proof of a source without adding a comment. But the analysis reveals much more. I had to look at the info in detail to correctly match it to my Stanley Budny. Why, because Stanley had a cousin named Stanley Borucki, who sometimes used the name Stanley Borke. Stanley Borucki is the son of Ignatz Borucki. He was born either in Chicago, IL or Pittsburgh, PA in 1902. Stanley Borucki lists his occupation as chauffeur in his 1925 marriage record using the name Stanley Borke. On the 1920 census, he is a springmaker. The occupation listed on this registration card for this Stanley Budny is chauffeur.
Alias of Stanley Budny (Borke)
On Stanley’s and his sister’s marriage certificate they use the name Mary Borke for their mother. As stated in my previous posts, I have yet to find Mary and Stanley Budny in the 1920 census.
Stanley Budny was arrested several times for writing bad checks and stealing cars in the Detroit area. He was sentenced to a 1 to 14 year prison term to Jackson (Michigan) State Prison. He was paroled after a very short time. The lies he told that fateful day in March 1927, included a false name, tales of a wife and two children. A wife he had, children he did not. The Detroit Police had his list of aliases that Stanley used in the past. I wonder how he came up with the names, Kid Gray, Dick Grey and Kline Klinoffosky. Believe me, I checked the aliases to see if I could find clues to locate records.
I’ll keep looking to unravel the clues in records, one day may the truth be out there.
Devil in the Details – My experience with a Polish Genealogist Researcher
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy, Polish Genealogy on November 11, 2013
I hired a Polish genealogy researcher located in Poland three years with mediocre results. Mostly my compliant was with the incorrect of labeling the documents correctly and email correspondence. I also thought the costs were a bit high at that time. Especially, since I had to ask for clarification of the document labeling and spelling errors.
I quite aware of language translation barriers and would expect semantic errors. But these typing errors muddled family names in the same sentence. I could not tell if it was a spelling variant or different person. When I followed up for clarification, sometimes, I had to ask twice. Lack of details and follow through is not a good trait for a researcher. My email asked if they spelled the name incorrectly. The reply was a lesson on grammatical gender rules regarding the family names. Budna and Borucka are the feminine forms or Budny and Borucki.
No, I asked about spelling. The name you wrote was “Budy”; did you mean “Budny”? I had five years of French and one year of German. I know all about grammatical gender naming. The other misspelling was Bogucki for Borucki. That’s frustrating for when you are trying to verify family names. My last name is Polish if you have not figured that one out. I seen Budny spelled in a few different ways. We were not sure how the name was spelled in Polish. My goal is this research request was to verify the Polish spelling.
The records for a birth and death certificate were in Russian. The Russian spelling just adds to confusion. Then add writing styles on top of that create more chaotic spelling variations. The documents had two variants of spelling by the same writer. I included three snapshots of the Russian spelling of Budny is this blog.
One emailed listed the names of the god-parents as Ksawery and Julianna Borucki. Michal the researcher said that Julianna’s maiden name was “Budy” and could be a relative. Now, did he mean to write “Budny” or “Budna”? When asked for clarification, he said her maiden name was “Borucka”; I’m frustrated and confused.
I am getting no closer to enlightenment with my corresponding. Though now I have a few extra names to pursue. Further research was needed and requested by me. However, a lack of follow through by Michal ended our contract.
I am ready to do additional Polish research and looking to hire another firm in Poland. I was wondering if any one had recommendations. Here is a few that I found on the web. Cyndislist has quite a few at http://www.cyndislist.com/poland/professionals. Let me know if you have used them and what your experience was like.
http://www.ancestralattic.com/
http://genopolisgenealogy.com/#home
The Borucki / Borucka family is from Mamino, Makow Mazowicki in Poland. The birth and death certificate were located in Pultusk State Archives. They were from the Civil Registry Office of the Roman Catholic Church in Gasewo Poduchowne.
Records for the Budny side were not located in this particular search. Information is sketchy, but a possible locate is Kolaki, Poland and may be in the Sielun parish. A researcher with ties to Makow Mazowicki would be ideal.
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