Dear Diary, I...Ancestors in 52 Weeks

This year's challenge is 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and is run by Amy Johnson Crow.

Topic Info:

True, not everyone is fortunate enough to have an ancestor's diary or journal. (I haven't found any in my family yet!) You could write about an ancestor who you can picture keeping a diary. You could write a diary entry telling about researching someone. You could do a bit of creative non-fiction and write a diary entry as if you were one of your ancestors.

And if you are fortunate enough to have an ancestral diary or journal, tell about who wrote it!

Do I have a diary or journal?

I'm not one of the fortunate people who have a journal or diary from anyone in the family. We did have a family bible on my father's side, but it got water damaged and thrown out when I was a teenager without my knowledge and I didn't know anything about that until I asked my father about it a few years ago. I used to love looking at the bible because the pages were so thin and so elegant with the gold and the drawings. This just about broke my heart. 

Putting the family back together...

Anyhow, my research started with only a few things, as I've written about before. From here, I've been able to put things together and use tape and glue to keep them together. I've been lucky enough to start to join the families back together as well. My mother's side I now have an uncle, cousins from first cousins to cousins all over the world in Poland, Belgium, Germany, and USA. On my father's side, I have a few from the German side and cousins from my paternal grandmother's Polish side. I've been lucky enough to join in some way with these families and I couldn't be prouder. I have run into some people through the DNA or email which basically said Nope and told me to shove off (actually used other words but this is a child friendly area or at least I try to keep it that way!). 

I have been trying to trek each of my ancestors across their lifetimes. Sometimes its easy and others aren't so easy...these are called roadblocks. Believe me, we all have these.

One of the ideas listed above is to write a journal entry of an ancestor as if it where them writing it. I've had a tough time narrowing the person down.

An Ancestor's Diary Entry...

Dear Diary,

You don't know me, but my name is Adam Wojtkowski. My great granddaughter, Jo Ann, will be writing this in years after my passing, but I think, from my looking over her shoulder and steering her a bit, she's done very well so far. As she's fluent in English, and barely knows any Polish, this will be written in English.

Its currently 1913 and I am sitting here on my bed on the ship Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, which is a beautiful ship, but still makes me scared as its been about 10 months since the Titanic sank. True she is fast and the largest in the world, but the things we have heard about in the Titanic hearings didn't make this voyage any easier for any of us. Its currently taking me away from everything I know and love and bringing me to the land of opportunity they promise those of us in the advertising.  There was accommodation for 472 first class passengers, 174 second class passengers, 212 third class passengers and 1608 forth class (steerage) passengers as written by the shipping company.

They spelled the last name wrong, but all other information is current. Credit: Ellis Island

Anyhow, I grew up on a farm with my parents in Wojtkowice-Dady, Podlaskie Voidvodeship in east-central Poland. My mother owns a mill which helps us sell the flour on our land at the nearest market in nearby Nur which is in the Masovian Voidvodeship and almost 6 miles or almost 11 kilometers away. When I met my wife, Maryanna, but I call my Mary, I fell instantly in love. She's my princess and I would do anything for her.

Circles show the areas mentioned above in Poland. Warsaw is to the West of Malkinia Gorna. From Google Maps

Soon after we did our wedding banns in both her church and ours because my princess wanted it that way because I lived in what the people in the US would call a county and she in another. It wasn't traditionally done here with the double banns, but whatever my Mary wanted I tried to give her. I still can't believe she married me in 1905 and gave me our little girl, Genowefa in 1910. I love them so much and only want to keep the safe and love my girls. Tears are filling my eyes just thinking about leaving them behind to go off to find our future. I live to feel them again in my arms.

The above is the wedding certificate on left. On right is the translation and date conversion. Credit

However, with the Russians looking for more soldiers for their rotten army, and the things THAT army does to all people along with the unrest they are causing, I had a talk with some close friends in town about the US. After talking it over with them and my wife, it was decided. The men would head to the US and I would have my girls say with my wife's family in Malkin Gorna for protection. Her family is from nobility and has more protection for them than anyone else I could have left them with or at least that's what we're hoping.

Newspaper article about people hating Russia. Credit

In our group, we all have the same last name. As my family owned land, we had the last name of Wojtkowski so I received my last name by my father, but the same Russian scum forced naming conventions upon the others.

The fighting has been stepping up and what the Russian scum are doing with treatment and thievery of people are only going to get worse I fear.

My friends and I had set out for the Hamburg port in Germany on foot as I sold or left behind everything else. We did have people help us with giving us rides in wagons and such, but it still took us a long time to get to this port.

We came close a few times to getting caught by either the Russian army or when we crossed over to the German area. Thankfully, we know both languages so we could pretend we were farmers from both sides and were able to get through. We did see some people who must not have been so convincing as they were shouted at because the solders did not believe them before they were shot in the head dead. It was brutally cold winter for we left in January and arrived on board in February.

Most people would be shocked or appalled at this killing treatment, but since my birth its almost a common occurrence so we're all used to it unfortunately. The toughest ones, I dare say, are when this is done to your loved ones right in front of you. We've had many family members who have had this done, or have simply disappeared like my younger brother, which I pray for every night and live in hope he is well, but deep down I fear is is already gone from us.

On board its cramped but at least I have my friends along with me, so I'm not completely homesick. I hope my brother Wiceski in New Jersey is well. Although he's not technically my brother, we are saying he is so I can get through customs. The 25 dollars I have helps with this as well. Each of these are how we are getting through the regulations the officials have put on. We have done this before in our homeland, so this isn't a problem for us or at least we hope. This is what has been told of us to do and we had decided it is all worth the risk. Thankfully my dear friend Crzeslaw, who has traveled there before even due to his young age, has helped us with this voyage.

Czeslaw's letter for my grandmother's (Genowefa/Genevieve) naturalization documents. Credit: US NIS

I better go as the seas are starting to toss about wildly once again and at times you had to hang on or else risk being thrown about. Meanwhile, I'll sit here and dream about what kind of life me and my girls will have once we all there there and settle down. I will also pray you, my darling princess wife, and our little daughter stay safe until we can be together again.

All my dreams and love to my girls.
Dobranoc (Goodnight)
Adam