Posts Tagged budny family history
‘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 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: Week 14 – Lloyd Lester Pinney – World War II Bonus Case Files
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors on April 5, 2015
This is week 14 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of u
s 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.
“He is a much older man” they whispered. When family members talked about Lloyd it was in hushed tones. When your husband is older than your parents, yes, people will talked, quietly. That lets you know there must be some juicy story to tell. As a teenager, I wasn’t that interested in the gossip.
Lloyd Pinney was indeed much older than his wife Doris Budny. At 28 years her senior, Lloyd brought some stability to Doris’s life. My aunt Doris went down a rocky path in life. The union to Lloyd in her late 30’s helped a bit. The couple would move to Mayflower, Arkansas. After that, there wasn’t much talk of Doris and Lloyd.
Lloyd outlived Doris by four years. In 1984, Doris passed away at the age of 44. Lloyd moved back up to Michigan after her death. He was 75 years old when he died in 1988.
So who was this “much older man”?
Lloyd Lester Pinney, is the son of Allison G. Pinney and Laura M. Stover. He and his sister Ella Louis Pinney were born in Webb, Iowa. Lloyd remained on the farm until he was 30. Then far away in Hawaii, the unthinkable happen. The farm boy from Iowa joined the US Navy on January 14, 1942; five weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack. He was in the service for 20 months.
I found out about his service record from the World War II Bonus Case Files. When I first saw the title of the database, I envision juicy secret war records. No such luck. Move along folks, no gossip to be found here. Lloyd was in the files because he received cash money from the Iowa Legislature for his service to his country.
Iowa, World War II Bonus Case Files, 1947-1954
The following description is from Ancestry.com
In May 1947, the Iowa Legislature approved bonus payments of up to $500 for men and women who served on active duty in the U.S. armed forces between 16 September 1940 and 2 September 1945. To qualify, applicants had to be legal residents of Iowa for at least the six months prior to their service.
Along with name, birth date and place, place of residence for six months prior to enlistment or induction, and address where a check could be sent, forms may provide a wide variety of details related to the applicant’s service. The forms in this database were filled out by veterans.
WWII Bonus Case File Application
Page 2 of Lloyd Pinney’s application
Lloyd’s application affirms that he was living in Webb, Iowa before he joined the service. He may have traveled to Buffalo, NY, for training, as his service started there. Lloyd’s bonus payment was $230. In 1950, that amount would cover about three months’ rent.
Farm Boy Moves to the Big City
The form doesn’t provide where Lloyd mustered out of service. Lloyd does make his way to Detroit, MI, most likely for work. He married Amy E. Reagan on January 3, 1945. She divorced him a scant two years later. What life Lloyd led between 1947 to about 1977 remains a mystery. I have not be able to find his name in any city directories. I don’t know when or where he met my Aunt Doris.
Because of the age difference, Lloyd was already retired when my aunt turned 40. There were no children from the marriage. My aunt and her husband had their life out in rural Arkansas. I was busy with my life in the city. And then, they weren’t there anymore for someone to talk about them.
The winds of time whisper their names to tell me not to forget them. Add their stories to the family tree the whisperer says. By gossiping, they shall be known.
#52Ancestors: Week 11 – Uncle Eddy – A Bigamist or a Serial Marrier
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy Blog on March 18, 2015
This is week 11 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.
The State of Michigan recently released Marriage, Divorce, and Death Records from 1926 to 1952. I have several great aunts and uncles that needed tending to find spouses maiden names. I spent the past two nights plugging in various family names and hit the jackpot on a few.
The marriage index can be accessed at Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org (free). You’ll have to do a little digging at SeekingMichigan.org to find the death records from 1926-1952. Use “Advanced Search” and check the box for Death Records, 1921-1952 OCLC LOADING.
Uncle Eddy a Bigamist or Polygamist?
I started my search in the marriage records index on Ancestry with the Budny surname. When Uncle Edward Budny’s name came up twice and the marriages were only a year apart, I thought he was a bigamist. Then I recognized the third wife’s name and it was “Oh My!” Is Uncle Eddy a “serial marrier?”
Ancestry.com screenshot of Edward Budny’s marriage index
Now the first step in an analysis would be to check if these three Edwards were the same person. Then check to see if the person is your relative. I knew right off the bat that this was my Edward. The Budny surname is not common in Detroit. There are a few Budny families in the area. Strangely, none of the families were related to each other.
Uncle Eddy was not mentioned a lot in my house. We hardly ever saw him. I knew growing up that there was some type of back story to Eddy and no one talked about it. I knew he wasn’t married (anymore) and he had a daughter. My only strong memory of him is at my 16 birthday party that fell on the same day as Father’s day. It was a great fun day with Eddy, my grandfather, and my aunt’s father-in-law. Who are all Polish and telling tall tales for sure.
Ancestry’s pop-up view of the record showed the parents’ names. All three records for Edward Budny listed the same parents, Adam Budny and Mary Borucky (Borucki). Those two are the progenitors of my Budny line.
So…was Eddy a bigamist? No, he wasn’t. The Michigan Divorce Index through 1952 are listed at Ancestry. What a relief to see two divorce listings for Uncle Eddy. Even though I could see the marriage and divorce dates online, I had to write them down on paper just to double check that the marriages didn’t overlap.
Ancestry.com screenshot of Edward Budny’s divorces listings
Edward married Lillian Connor first in August 1939. Their divorce is granted on 16 September 1940. The marriage must have a rocky start from the beginning. Six weeks after the divorce, Eddy marries Victoria Podgorski on 26 October 1940. Vitoria and Eddy’s divorce is final on 21 January 1942. The first marriage lasted 14 months, the second; 15 months.
Third Time is Not a Charm
Another walk down the aisle less than three months after his second divorce. Lois Castle becomes Eddy’s third wife on 11 April 1942. Maybe this marriage has a fighting chance. Eddy enlists in the Army in March 1943 and musters out November 1944. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so they say. The couple are still together in 1958 according to a city directory. A non-amicable divorce does occur sometime later. I think someone mentioned he had lady friends after his divorce. You know how family gossips.
New Year – TYG’s New Goals and Do-Overs
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy Blog, Goals on January 2, 2015
2015 Resolutions
This is the year that I make one branch of my family tree public. My tree is kept private on Ancestry for a number of reasons. Mainly it needs a clean-up from a merge that didn’t go well a couple of years ago that created duplicate empty records. I also need to update the source citations to meet Genealogy Proof Standards (GPS).
Public Family Tree
My goal by end March 31, 2015 (measurable goal); is to make the Borucki and Budny lines public here on TYG and Ancestry (specific goal).
Do help me with this goal, I am joining Geneabloggers Do-Over. It is a personal educational learning initiative that a group of us are doing to improve our research skills. Why, it is about taking a fresh look at your old research, breaking bad habits, creating and using effective planning tools.
Blogging Frequently
The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge continues in 2015. This challenge is about blogging or writing consistently. Check out Amy Johnson Crow’s blog, No Story Too Small. There is a new format this year to keep the writers and readers interest. I will continue to post 52Ancestors on Sunday’s.
Continuing Genealogical Education
The two to three year plan is to become a board certified genealogist. In the meantime, I am working on short term goals. Here is the short list for this year.
Virtual Professional Management Conference 2015
Participate in Pro-Gen Study Group this Spring 2015
Regional Genealogical Society ConferencesOnline and virtual training
Paying it Forward
I have also been visiting my local genealogy and family history center offering advice on researching. I find this part to be the most fun. Helping people get started on their journey of who they think they may be.
May your 2015 be a year of opportunity and prosperity.
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