A-Z Blogging Challenge - The letter Q is for Quakers! Gauquie in Minnisota

In 2017, there was a challenge. I heard about it from jillballau blog and more information can be found out about it on the A-Z Blogging Challenge (which was at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/) page itself. However, as I was testing links I found the A-Z Blogging Challenge link is no longer working *frown*

Many people had done this challenge in April 2017, but I’m a rebel and do things when I have time, so I’ll do mine now. I’ve been working on it over many days, and was hoping to get it all done before posting BUT it’s taking me a lot longer than I expected. I’ll do a few posts now and work on the rest. 

I know I have about ½ of this challenge done in draft format, so not too bad.  J

What can I say – I’m an original. So, here I go…

The letter Q is for Quakers! Gauquie in Minnesota

My mother once told me how my grandmother, who married into the Gauquie family, was on a farm alone near Warsaw after her husband and baby died. Quakers came by and found her alone and took her with them and she ended up in New York because of it. 

I have to admit when I heard this story it seemed plausible because I didn't know anything about Quakers. This was one of the first stories I researched when I first started genealogy. I learned so much about them and where they were at certain points. One of these was they were in Poland but not where my mother said her mother was. Further, her mother would never had been able to living on farm land by herself in Poland because it would have gotten taken from her because she was an unmarried woman. That's how things worked over in Poland then. 

This is one reason why you must check out stories. You will find some are correct, like I have, and others, like above, are not correct at all. 

Anyhow, I stopped looking for the Quaker story. 

I was researching the Minnesota Gauquie's because we knew there was a link to them but we didn't know how. This was on my maternal grandfather's paternal side. 

The Chart (above) I've put together based upon research papers I've found over the years including 2018. I haven't been able to find the direct link from my ancestors to theirs. However, I do know the place Camiel was born was where my ancestors once lived. 

I had names and places and started to link everyone up. Wouldn't you know the research I did for the story above, actually helped? 

I found one of the Gauquie's named Jerome, married Lula Yoder and had children. This is demonstrated by the above chart. They were Quakers or so I've read. Talk about interesting. They were huge into religion and their church from what I've read. 

Look at at the side of the article for credit

Credit for this is in the above article as it was in the same newspaper on same date.

Credit is at the top of the newspaper article above

I find this interesting someone could marry someone else and take their religion. I know my part of the family were all very strict Roman Catholics, so its more than probable Jerome Sr was born into the Roman Catholic faith, which is why I say he had to convert or take up his wife's religion as stated in his obituary above. True, I still don't care about a persons religion, but it impressed me someone would do that for someone they love. 

Credit

A-Z Blogging Challenge - The letter P is for Poland!

In 2017, there was a challenge. I heard about it from jillballau blog and more information can be found out about it on the A-Z Blogging Challenge (which was at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/) page itself. However, as I was testing links I found the A-Z Blogging Challenge link is no longer working *frown*

Many people had done this challenge in April 2017, but I’m a rebel and do things when I have time, so I’ll do mine now. I’ve been working on it over many days, and was hoping to get it all done before posting BUT it’s taking me a lot longer than I expected. I’ll do a few posts now and work on the rest. 

I know I have about ½ of this challenge done in draft format, so not too bad.  J

What can I say – I’m an original. So, here I go…

The letter P is for Poland!

If you have been reading the past postings, you have noticed I have mentioned Poland more than a few times. 

My Paternal side comes from around Nur, Poland which is on the North East of Warsaw. Where the Bug and Nurzec Rivers meet. 

Google Earth map of where the 2 rivers meet as my grandmother described.

When my paternal grandmother told me, when I was a child, was her and her cousins loved to play in these rivers. It was some of the best times of her childhood. Later, I got to know just how rare good times were at anytime in Poland. 

Anyhow, where my paternal grandmother and her side came from was Poland but before 1919 it was Russia. It was only known as Poland once again after the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919. Then Poland reemerged. This was good and bad. Good because Poland, after 123 years, was back on the map, but bad because this treaty didn't make mention just how much land Poland was to be. Because of this, Russia was trying to take over as much as it could. 

This was led to the battles all around Warsaw in 1920 when it fell. It feel and my grandmother and great grandmother were trying to get out of Poland. Eventually, my grandmother and great grandmother got out in August 1920 and arrived at Ellis Island in September 1920. 

From Google Earth on 24 December 2016. The white lines could be the track Genowefa and Maryanne took to get to Danzig (Gdansk).

From Google Earth on 24 December 2016. The white lines could be the track Genowefa and Maryanne took to get to Danzig (Gdansk).

Shortly after than the iron curtain was put up and very little information was able to get in and out. Apparently, from what I've learned from our cousin who still lives in Poland, they did write back and forth to each other keeping in mind the mail was being read before they would get it so they had to be careful. I know this as a fact because our cousin had a picture of my father when he was a boy and they had the same photo as I have of my great grandmother, her sons and my father. 

Picture of my father which is 1st cousin had in Poland. It was taken in NJ.
Credit Krzysztof Wyrzyskowski

Then World War 2 happened, and communication was cut off again. My grandmother thought everyone was killed and told me this growing up. 

I can only imagine she's smiling down from heaven at me for finding our one cousin that's left on her mother's side. I haven't been able to find any on her father's side -- yet. 

Other Poland

Golina, Poland

We do have another connection to Poland. This is from my maternal grandfather name Apolonius
Jagodzinski who is an interesting character. I've written about him before in blog posts. 

I have been able to find another naturalization paper which list Golina, Poland as the area he came from. However, I haven't traced this side - yet - because of the other areas were my research has taken off. 

Google Earth placement of Golina, Poland

Another reason is because before you can go back to the country the immigrant has come from you must gather all the information you an in the last/current country. I'm still doing this as this is a person who's changed his name countless times and has moved around a lot. I still haven't found where he's buried or when he's died. 

I do know, according to his ship manifest, he has a sister, but I haven't been able to find information on her either. 

His 1905 Ship manifest where his sister information is. Credit

This is an area for more research which I think is going to be hard because it was one of the worst parts of World War 2 was here. I've read some information on people searching here and it wasn't very easy at all. 

Wilno/Vilnius Poland

Google Earth of the area around where they lived

My maternal line, the Ostrzycki, came from Poland as well. I've done a write up on them previously.

Again, I haven't had much time to research this area of Poland. Although one of our cousin's still lives nearby and has taken some other relatives to a nearby mock up of what the house and living was like back then. She's given me some pictures of the area.

Outside of a house in the same town as my ancestors. Credit. Anna Ostrzycki

Inside of a house in the same town as my ancestors. Credit. Anna Ostrzycki

As you can see much different than what we currently have and think of for Poland! 

A-Z Blogging Challenge - The letter O is for Ostrzycki!

In 2017, there was a challenge. I heard about it from jillballau blog and more information can be found out about it on the A-Z Blogging Challenge (which was at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/) page itself. However, as I was testing links I found the A-Z Blogging Challenge link is no longer working *frown*

Many people had done this challenge in April 2017, but I’m a rebel and do things when I have time, so I’ll do mine now. I’ve been working on it over many days, and was hoping to get it all done before posting BUT it’s taking me a lot longer than I expected. I’ll do a few posts now and work on the rest. 

I know I have about ½ of this challenge done in draft format, so not too bad.  

What can I say – I’m an original. So, here I go…

The letter O is for Ostrzycki!

My maternal great grandmother's married name is Valerie Ostrzycki. This is her Americanized name. Walter Ostrzycki was my maternal great grandfather. These are my immigrants from Poland on my grandmother's side. 

My 2x great grandparents with my great grandmother listed. Credit

My mother never knew this side of her family. The closest she heard was "We have some family in Pennsylvania." and that was it. She didn't know names or anything. 

Then I started my research. I searched for my grandmother's name which was Janet Gauquie. This led me to some information on my grandfather's side which you run with because you never know when you'll get that information again as we  know in genealogy. 

Anyhow, long after I started to search on her name again. I came across an obituary which listed Janet Gauquie as the daughter of Bernice Jagodzinski. It also listed a Genevieve which, in my gut, told me was the person I knew as "Aunt Honey". 

My great grandmother's obituary listing my grandmother (in yellow). Credit on image.

From there I had a name and a place which I started to research. Before long, I started to find cousins and cousins and great aunts and uncles. Wow! It was really amazing just how many people who were family we didn't know about. 

One of these searches also produced a picture of Valerie Ostrzycki. On her headstone. This made me suck in my breath when I saw it. Not only because it was a picture of my 2x great grandmother and her headstone, but because it was like looking at MY mother. 

My 2x great grandparent's headstones in PA. Credit

You be the judge - do they look alike? 

My 2x great grandmother Credit

My mother, Jo Ann Credit: Jo Ann J. Fitzgerald

Anyhow, then I contacted one of the cousins and gave them some background. He was, and still is, leery about me and our side. Even after I shared a picture of my mother. However, we did talk a few times and exchange pictures which he gave me another of my 2x great grandmother which shows a great likeness to my mother but the slight and thin of her body hasn't been passed along or at least not to any of us. 

This being said they did know someone was in New York but didn't know where to look. 

My Great Aunt Genevieve "Aunt Honey" Credit

I did contact someone who had Aunt Honey on their family tree as well. She was the aunt I thought she was because I saw some pictures of her and the person I remember were one in the same. Once again I filled her in on who I was and why I was contacting her. She replied back asking why I was contacting her. I asked her if she knew why my grandmother was in the hospitals and if there were any family members who wanted to get to know us. 

Well, wrong thing to say because I was told she had a mental problem, which they were told never to talk about, and no. No one wanted to know us and she never replied back. 

Some times you hit gold and other times black coal. The black coal was this second person. 

Anyhow, this lead me to start a Facebook group for this side of the family. Since then, it has been growing by leaps and bounds and now we've even joined up Walter's brother's family to ours and have a relative from even farther up the chain who still lives in Poland. 

We're learning from each other and we must get together next time we hit the states.  This is the gold and not the coal.

The gold among the coal. Credit

A-Z Blogging Challenge - The letter N is for Nur!

In 2017, there was a challenge. I heard about it from jillballau blog and more information can be found out about it on the A-Z Blogging Challenge (which was at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/) page itself. However, as I was testing links I found the A-Z Blogging Challenge link is no longer working *frown*

Many people had done this challenge in April 2017, but I’m a rebel and do things when I have time, so I’ll do mine now. I’ve been working on it over many days, and was hoping to get it all done before posting BUT it’s taking me a lot longer than I expected. I’ll do a few posts now and work on the rest. 

I know I have about ½ of this challenge done in draft format, so not too bad.  J

What can I say – I’m an original. So, here I go…

The letter N is for Nur!

Nur is in Poland. 

Nur and areas where my great grandparents and grandmother were born/married/lived from Google Earth

This is where my paternal grandmother's parent were married in 1905. 

Adam and Maryanne's (my great grandparents) wedding entry in Russian. Credit

This was held, according to the transcriptions I've had done. I had two different sources transcribe the document so they were independent and I could see if they had come up with the same information. 

Anyhow, this document gave me great insight to the life both great grandparents had and an insight at my 2x great grandparents. 

One translation of the above wedding certificate

I could tell where they were both living, the state of their lives and occupations, where they lived and how much church meant to them. 

I could tell where their parents were, their names, if they owned a business, and if they were alive or dead. Very telling times for people around this time due to them being under Russia's influence and control.