A-Z Blogging Challenge - The letter R is for Rahway, NJ (Wojtkowski/Holley)!

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 R is for Rahway, NJ (Wojtkowski/Holley)!

My Great Uncle Stanley, who was born in New Jersey and died in New Jersey, had a son called Slash, who lived in Rahway, New Jersey. 

Great Uncle Stanley Wojtkowski or Slash (above). Taken from obituary Credit: The Monitor Newspaper July 23, 2012

From Google Earth. Rahway, NJ is highlighted in yellow above.

He was a husband to Susan Lazar, a father to two sons, a police officer and looked up to in the community and church. 

Credit: The Monitor Newspaper July 23, 2012

I never knew about him until I started to research my Great Uncle's life. This is when I learned about him. My father, nor my uncle, ever said anything about him to me, so I never got to know him. 

What I found was he had 2 sons and was divorced. The ex-wife and sons left him and moved away. As you can read by the obituary above.

Within a few years, Slash had an accident and ended up dead. He was still pretty young, 47, when he passed away. 

I haven't been in contact with his children or ex-wife, but from what I've seen on Facebook, he would now be a grandfather and his two children are successful in jobs. I think he would have loved knowing that.

If you are Slash's children, one of the many cousins they/we have, and are reading this, please contact me. I would love to hear from you. 

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!