Posts Tagged #52Ancestors
‘Disaster’ #52Ancestors 2020 Post 9
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on March 2, 2020
Fire Causes $4000 Damage
The fire was attributed to a passing locomotive according to the April 10, 1912, news clip. The fire caused roughly $2000 damage to three homes. One of those homes was the residence of Adam Budna, my great-grandfather.
The fire happened on a Tuesday afternoon. Was Adam at work when it happened? Two of the children may have been in school, the other three too young to attend. Mary must have been in a panic. The article states the residents were busy bringing out their furniture and belongings. I don’t know if Adam and Mary lost any possessions, important documents, or photographs. The accounts of this fire weren’t passed down to subsequent generations.
The 1912 Polk’s City Directory for Detroit lists my great-grandparents Adam and Mary (Borucka) Budny address at, 382 Poplar. There is no such address today. Detroit renumbered their streets in the 1920’s if I recall. Using Goggle Maps, I find railroad tracks on the western edge of Poplar street. I suspect the house was a multi-unit building with several apartments.
There are very few buildings now along that street. Homes and businesses long since torn down. Empty tracks of land where once a bustling city was growing. Time has done more damage then the fire of yesteryear.
52Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2020 – Post Five ‘’So Far Away”
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog, Polish Genealogy on February 10, 2020
Last March 2019, I had the opportunity to visit Poland for genealogy research. It’s the furthest distance I have gone to research members of my Borucki-Budny Family tree. With a cheap flight from Seattle to Warsaw booked, I set about arranging a research trip with Polish Origins. My trip also included a solo sightseeing excursion to Warsaw and Krakow.
I will delve into my Polish Origins tour in later posts.
Daniel, my Polish Origins guide, drove me to villages that were listed passenger manifests. Though there was no breakthrough in discovering who may have been my great-great grandparents. I had a great time visiting Poland.
In Kranosielc, Poland, I visited the church my second great-uncle Ignacy Borucki married Aleksandra Lipinska in 1895.
A stop in Mamino yielded a road shrine erected by a possible relative, Bolesław Borucki, in 1896. My great-grandparents would have been living in Mamino, Poland, in that time period.
#52Ancestors 2020 Post Four ‘’Close to Home’
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog, Polish Genealogy on January 31, 2020
Whoa…I haven’t stayed up past midnight to chase down a genealogy squirrel in a long time. It started with a search to see if my local library offered access to a newspaper site. The library did not. However, MyHeritage© was available. I only have DNA access at MyHeritage© which doesn’t allow me to see records. I quickly entered my great-grandfather’s name, Adam Budny to see if any record popped-up.
Out of the few records referencing an Adam Budny, one caught my eye. An ‘Adam Budny’ was listed as a brother-in-law on a passenger ship entry for a ‘Jozefa Boruczka.’ I click on the record expecting my usual ‘this is not my ancestor’ self-mantra. The entry is from the Record of Detained Aliens on the manifest of S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam for April 19, 1906.
My great-grandfather Adam’s wife is Marianna (Mary) Borucka. The family story handed down was that Mary had a sister named Josephine, Jozefa in Polish, who remained in Poland. I have not been able to find a record of her in my Polish or US research prior to this discovery.
I read across Jozefa’s entry that included the cause of detention, disposition, discharged date and time and the number of meals she received. Just as I was about to dismiss the record, it clicked. The disposition provided the address for the brother-in-law, Box 61, Vandergrift, PA. Adam and Mary had a daughter born in Vandergrift, in 1906.
This can’t be happening. Did Jozefa really immigrate to the United States? The family story that she remained in Poland came down from several of Adam and Mary’s children. Several of these family myths, I have already discredited. Was this another myth that would be quelle?
Jozefa was pulled aside as she passed through immigration and detained. Immigration officials kept a list of those detained and the reason was listed on appeared on the record as she was detained for “To tel $.” The surname spelling may be based on the Polish pronunciation of Borucka. It appears that Jozefa did not have the money to pay her transportation fare to her destination. The notation “to tel $” means that a telegram would be sent to her relative to provide money for the fare. Immigration would then release her with a transportation ticket once the money was received.
Thanks to the Jewish Gen website I was able to find a reference of the various descriptions of why an immigrant would be detained. Plus, how to interpret the Record of Detained Aliens manifest page. https://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/manifests/detained/
I was very hopeful. I spent the next five to six hours squirreling between FamilySearch© and Ancestry© to find any other records for Jozefa. I was able to locate a marriage record for Jozefa Borucka. The marriage docket had a recording of Alexander Moniewski and Jozefa Borucka marrying on May 13, 1906, in East Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. The witness was Adam Budny. Jozefa married 24 days after arriving on April 19, 1906.
Not able to find Alexander and Jozefa in the 1910 census. Alexander’s Naturalization papers in 1916 list both his wife Ezeffa and daughter, Victoria. Squirreling through other records, Victoria’s birth certificate is located. She was born in East Vandergrift, in 1909. Her parents name appeared to be spelled phonetically, Alex Mainefski for Moniewski and Josephine Barutski for Borucka.
Now searching for the family in 1920 census, I find Alexander and Victoria as lodgers. Then I see Alexander is listed as widowed. Oh no. Moving in an inquisitive manner, I try in vain to find a death record. Well past midnight I come up empty. Subsequent searches reveal no additional records. The death certificate, if it provides Jozefa’s parents names, would likely confirm she is Mary’s sister.
My next steps are to create a research plan. This will include locating the parishes that were in East Vandergrift/Vandergrift, and Ambridge, Pennsylvania. The marriage record should contain the names of groom and bride’s parents. Victoria’s baptism record, to glean any information from the record. And, to locate a parish record of Jozefa’s death.
So close.
#52Ancestors 2020 Post Two – Color of Orange
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on January 11, 2020
Recurring Color Theme
The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is writing, blogging, researching, or whatever, the author chooses to share about their ancestors or themselves. This week’s prompt is, “Favorite Photo.” That is the same prompt given in January 2018. You can see my post here: Favorite Photo and Most Dreaded Photo. Since I did a prior post on favorite photo. I am using some of my photos that demonstrated how color has influenced my style.
It’s how the color orange has played a roll through out my life. Orange is not my favorite color. When I was younger, it was yellow. Today, the preference is cool colors, shades of blue and green. Looking at the items I own, orange is most apparent color. Why is this? Looking back, it started with my Grandmother Olive Roll Howes.
I spent my summers at the family cottage in Inverhuron Beach, Ontario. In the 1970’s, Olive planted poppy seeds or seedlings on the property. The plants survived the harsh winters of Lake Huron. Eventually growing wild everywhere. I looked forward to the annual trips to the cottage for Independence Day weekend in July. The poppies would be blooming if the spring was early and warm. The bursts of orange blooms could be found in the tree line, randomly in the middle of the yard, or along the deck.
Inverhuron Beach offers a great vantage point for beautiful sunsets along the Canadian side of Lake Huron. Many summers spent on the cottage shores have provided a plethora of gorgeous, breathing taking sunsets. Orange, and every shade of orange on the color wheel visible as the sun sets into the horizon. I can see myself now sitting on the rock at the beach waiting for the sun to set.
Looking back at my decorating style, I tended to select items from the color of orange. Vases painted with poppies, filled with artificial poppies of orange and red. I even painted a wall in my home, with a color called, Sunset Gold. My bedsheets are orange. The bed comforter has orange stripes and flowers. Even the throw rug has a dark and light shades of orange.
The last time the family was at the cottage was for my mother’s memorial service. She passed away in July 2003. The poppies were still blooming in late July. The cottage was sold a year later.
#52 Ancestors No. 26 – James White – Michigan Thumb Fire September 5, 1881
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on September 5, 2015
This is post 26 of the 2015 #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. 
Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers tweeted of photo of a cartograph1 depicting the Michigan thumb area that mentions a fire that happen on this day in 1881, as a blogging prompt. Recognizing the all too familiar appendage of my birth state, I remembered that one of my ancestors lost their life during the fire.
Burnt District resulting from the Michigan Thumb Fire, September 5, 1881.
The illustrated cartograph showed the burnt district in the Michigan thumb area that resulted from the great fire on September 5, 1881. The Great Fire, as it is known, burned for three days. It destroyed a million acres of land, including forests, farms, mills, and businesses. The fire consumed the lives of over 280 people2.
James White was just five months old when he died on 16 September 1881. His death was caused by the effects of the fire 11 days earlier. It is not known if he suffered from smoke inhalation or from burns. The death was recorded in 1882 and is transcribed in the GENDIS2 database.
I have a mimeograph copy of a family history from an unknown source and date that includes two written pages of notes. The notes talk of Aunt Vi (Violet White), who would be James’ older sister. The letter mentions that Aunt Vi was five years old at the time of the Great Fire. The writer of the letter states, “Aunt Vi remembers them huddling under a quilt all but their father and one of the boys. They had to keep pulling out sparks that land on the quilt. Then all was over the quilt was full of little holes.” There is no mention of James’ death.
James’ parents are James Montgomery White and Persis DesJardins are my great great-grandparents. Th family were farmers in Minden, Sanilac County, Michigan. By the time of the fire, James and Persis had eight children. Two more children would come later. One was my great-grandmother, Minnie White.
Sources:
1http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-blogging-beat-saturday-5-september-2015/#more-34852
2Wikipedia Great Thumb Fire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb_fire
3http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/gendisx/scripts/individual.asp?UniqueID=282434
Additional resources:
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ptruckin/greatfire.html
http://www3.gendisasters.com/michigan/5778/mi-quotgreat-thumb-firequot-sept-1881?page=0,1
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