Posts Tagged Michigan genealogy
#52Ancestors: Week 12 – Arthur A. Anderson – Cold Case
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors on March 29, 2015
This is week 12 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.
I have been busy spying on my ancestors. The Michigan Archives has released marriage, divorce, and death records up to 1952. Week 11 of 52 Ancestors I wrote about the three divorces of my Great Uncle Eddy (Budny). Curious as a cat, I pried in to the lives of two generations of my aunts and uncles.
I remember the story of my grandmother sisters trying to find two sisters given up for adoption. To bring them back to the fold. My great grandmother Minnie White lost her husband, Ernest Anderson in 1925. She remarried to a William O’Neil in 1926. There were five children still at home when Ernest died. The oldest daughter, Vietta, was married already. The six and youngest Betty Jane, was born just after her father’s death.
William and Minnie’s marriage did not last long. I have a feeling the relationship was not harmonious. As a laborer at Consumers Power, William may not have had the income to support the family. Some of the older girls get married. My grandmother, Edith, who was 13 in 1930, was sent to live with one of Minnie’s sisters in Detroit. As of the 1930 Census, Lucille, Betty Jane, and William and Minnie’s daughter, Rosetta O’Neil reside at 609 North Jefferson Street in Bay City, Michigan.
The family story goes on to say that Arthur left for California and the family never heard from him again. So what did happen to Arthur? A person of the same name does end up in California. The 1931 city directory for Bay City, MI; shows an Arthur Anderson at 509 Ketchum St. Arthur is not listed at that address on the 1930 Census. A few blocks away at 1615 N. Sheridan Street lists Ruth Pettit as a clerk at Woolworth’s.
Michigan marriage records for Bay County provide the next clue in Arthur’s life. The license application states Arthur A. Anderson, 22, single, never been married before, and is a bus driver. His parents are Ernest and Minnie White. Ruth Pettit, 18, born in New Jersey, the daughter of Martin Pettit and Elizabeth Madden, is the bride to be. This license is dated the 10th of January 1931. The marriage takes place on the 19th of January (1931). Incorrectly typed on the certificate is the year 1932.
Not sure if the young couple got caught up in desire and romance when they met as Ruth may have been pregnant at the time of their marriage or given birth just before their wedding date. A short three years later, a divorce decree ends the marriage. Dated October 4, 1933; the absolute decree, lists two children, three year old Ernest Anderson and 1 year old Bonnie Lee Anderson.
The petition was filed by Ruth on January 15, 1933 for non-support. The marriage date is listed at January 19, 1930. A year off the marriage license. Could be an error? Could be someone provided an earlier date to show all the children were born within the marriage. Sometimes the first baby comes before the wedding date.
There is no further listing of Arthur Anderson in the Bay City Directories that I have found. He could be residing elsewhere. A California death record for a similar name, listing the mother’s birth name of “White” could be a clue.
Other than that, the story grows cold for Arthur. And, heats up for Ruth Pettit.
Arthur Arlington Anderson Death record
Event Date: 05 Jun 1986
Event Place: Los Angeles, California, United States
Birth Date: 14 Feb 1909
Birthplace: Michigan
Gender: Male
Father’s Name:
Mother’s Name: White
Source Citation: “California Death Index, 1940-1997,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPVM-H8B : accessed 29 March 2015), Arthur Arlington Anderson, 05 Jun 1986; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
#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.
#52Ancestors – No. 51 – Victoria Langner – Outlived most of her children
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy Blog, Polish Genealogy on December 20, 2014
This post is number 51 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.
Victoria Langner is the the mother-in-law of my great-aunt Phyllis Budny, subject of #13. When I started getting the material for the blog post yesterday, my curiosity peeked into the family lines. Yes, I have been researching for about 16 hours on just these two collateral lines. I had to mind map the sibling marriages between her and her husband’s family. I will write about the two families in a follow-up post.
Victoria Langner was born near Avon, in Sterns County, Minnesota. She and her parents, Joseph Langner and Christina Gallus immigrated from Silesia, Prussia (now Poland). Victoria is one of nine children out of 12 who survived infancy.
She married Peter Herman (Hermanza) in 1899. Eight of their 10 children were born near Holding, MN. Two were born after the family moved to Detroit after 1910. Peter is not listed with Victoria on the 1910 Minnesota Census. He may have went first to Detroit to secure a job and new home for the family.
Victoria Langner Herman and Mary Budny in 1947, Dearborn, MI.
Peter died of pneumonia during the 1917 Influenza Epidemic. There is a family story that Victoria had a man around to help with the finances in exchange for “benefits” after Peter died. When her boys were old enough and could support the family they chased him off.
However, I found a 1921 marriage record for Victoria and one, John Urbaniec. The marriage did not last long. Victoria cited, extreme cruelty, non-support, and desertion as cause in her divorce petition. A decree was granted to her on October 26, 1925.
Victoria died at the age of 90 in 1970. She is laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery in Detroit. Eight Seven of her children died before 1940. Her sons, Julius, died in 1966, Anthony in 1968. (Updated 12/23/2014.) Her son, Francis, passed away in 1986.
Sources:
Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NQM4-XYD : accessed 31 Mar 2014), John K. Urbaniec and Victoria Langner Herman, 25 Jan 1921; citing Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, v 7 rn 208057.
Ancestry.com. Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data: Michigan. Divorce records. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Lansing, Michigan.
Death: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=119218713&ref=acom
#52Ancestors – No. 49 – Gordon Anderson
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy, Genealogy Blog on December 7, 2014
This post is number 49 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.
Today’s post is the marriage record of my second great grandfather on my paternal mother’s side of the family. Gordon Anderson, born 1857, near Wilmot, Ontario, Canada to James and Catherine Anderson. His parents were of Scotch and Irish ancestry.
Gordon married Elizabeth Woods on 28 June 1881. The couple were married Chesterfield, Ontario. A very small village at the time. The Chesterfield United Church Cemetery remains in what now a rural farming area.
They may have held the ceremony there as Gordon religious affiliation is Baptist and Elizabeth was a United Brethren member. Or, that Gordon had since immigrated to Flint, Michigan just before his marriage. The bride states she was living in Blenheim, Ontario. About a 2 hours drive by today’s automobile from the Wilmot and Chesterfield locations and closer to Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, MI.
Elizabeth’s parents are James and Elizabeth Woods. Both who immigrated to Ontario, Canada in the mid 1850’s . Witnesses to the marriage were Esther Woods, Elizabeth’s sister, and William Edmiston.
The couple settled in Bad Axe, Michigan, located in the thumb area of the state. Gordon set himself up as a farmer. His farm was still under mortgage per the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census records. A long time to hold a mortgage on a farm owned since 1881.
The couple had 12 children of which one died in childhood. Their first son George (Ernest) Anderson is my great grandfather.
Gordon Anderson and Elizabeth Woods 1881 Ontario Marriage Record
#52Ancestors – No. 48 – Wladyslawa Borucki
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy Blog, Polish Genealogy on November 30, 2014
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
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