This year's challenge is 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and is run by Amy Johnson Crow.
Information on the TopicWeek 33's theme is "Troublemaker." There's one in every family. If you don't want to write about a literal troublemaker, how about an ancestor who has been troublesome to research?
I've had a few ancestors which have been troublesome to research.
Sometimes you only need one bit of information to unlock the whole branch. Sometimes that branch just keeps going and things come at you from all sides when you start to research. It gets crazy when this happens that's for sure. Everything else gets dropped and you get submerged into the entire side of the family and it just keeps going until one day things seem to suddenly calm down.
Unfortunately, there are others who you just want to look at them and ask "Really? You really went there?" in disbelief. Most ancestors seem to disappear before coming back in another form, name or area. There are others you look at and actually do say...
And believe me there have been weekends where certain collections were free for a few days and we (hubby and I - yep I have him researching his ancestry too!) have sat there and bounced things back and forth. At least I have company *wink*.
Anyhow, even with all of that, I still have a few ancestors which still are holding out. Some I've actually written posts about them before and others might be new.
Jagodzinski Appolanus / Barry Leo
The first one off the top of the head is this guy. You'll probably notice the two names which is a head's up about it being a problem. I've written before about him, because he's definitely a head scratcher. He arrived into the US in 1905 from Galina, Poland or should I say Russia Poland after 1870. On line 5, the highlighted area, is our Appolanus when he came to the US.
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The entry on the ship manifest is hard to read due to the slant of the letters. However, it does say he went to Pittsburgh, PA and he was going to meet up to his sister. At first, I thought the sister he mentioned was a sibling. It took me years, and someone to point something out to me, to think that sister could have meant a sister in a religion sense. Of course there was always the thought that his sibling sister could have been a sister too. Confused yet?
Anyhow, I continued on and found there was a marriage in 1906 which could be my great grandparents (one of which is Appolanus). I couldn't get my hands on the actual certificate but its out of PA so it could be them. This, I believe, is my great grandparents on my maternal mother's side. Credit: FamilySearch.
Once again he falls off the radar. Then they pop up in Ohio with a son who dies in 1916 at just over a year old. What it does give us is where they were living and that they were in PA until at least 1915 as that's where he was born according to the death certificate. They murdered/misspelled his mother's maiden name which is why I think it was so hard to find. The 1916 City Directory. Notice Apollonius' name now!
CreditI did find Appolanus back in PA on the 1916 US city directory(above). By 1917, according to the WW1 registration card, they were back in Leechburg. The person who took his name down murdered his first name and he never gave his wife's name for next of kin. Talk about lacking details, but he did want it known he had 4 kids by this point. They would have been Pauline, Janet (my grandmother), Alfred, and Edward. He left Stefan,who had died, out of his count of children.
Look at the name spellings and the number of children. Credit: FamilySearch as above.
Their son, Stefan's, death certificate.
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Now we're going to forward ahead to 1930 where he filled out his Declaration of Intention to become a US citizen. I found this really late in the search for him. He lists his children, wife, birth date, his date of birth, and where he was born. What he also says is that he filed his first paperwork in 1922, but I've never found that paperwork as yet.
Apolonius' first Declaration of Intention for Citizenship in Sept 1930. Jennie, is my grandmother Janet.
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This below is their section of the 1930 Census on April 19 1930 in Leechburg PA.
I like how Jennie is my grandmother Janet and Leo (Apolonius) is a border. Crazy.
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I found the 1930 US Census but it's a bit weird. His wife's name is Virginia, my grandmother's name is Jeannette (but this could be of the accent as her name was Janet) and his name on the list was Leo Jagodzinski and he was listed as a boarder. Not as head of household which was very interesting. All the children's details all match including where they are born and the ages. Weird... I've gone back and forth if this was them, but when I started to remember the accents that they would have had it would have been easy to mishear my grandmother's name. It might have been the same from Bernice, but who knows? Also, I had a question about the name Leo as that's not what his name is? Again, I save the document and keep looking.
They (Janet, Leo, Pauline) are now using the last name Barry as you can see above in this Newburgh Business Directory.
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Next is 1935. I found a business directory for Newburgh, NY where I know my ancestors were from around. This was where we lived when I was born and my mother did give me she grew up in Newburgh. It listed Pauline, Leo, and Janet as being there and working at the same place except for Leo. He didn't have a workplace listed. But again with the Leo but now the last name is Barry? Ok, this was starting to confuse me about the name.
It wasn't until later, when I was in one of my Polish genealogy groups, I asked about someone being named Leo. I knew, by now, that Jagodzinski were berry farmers in Poland and sometimes Americanized their last names to this to make them "fit into" being an American. Now it was to find out about Leo. I told them the story of Appolanus, some of the paperwork I found when looking but didn't know if it would be him, and how I figured out about the last name part, but why Leo for him? It came from one of the Polish people who stated that when people from Poland Americanized his first name it came out as Leo because of the last bit of the first name (the Lanus must have sounded like Leo when they said it with their accent).
I was still skeptical but took the knowledge in as the probable explanation I found him on other business directories in Newburgh the next few years. In 1936, it was interesting because it actually has next to his wife's name that she moved to Leechburg, PA and Leo moved to Paramus NJ. It sounded like there was some kind of split in the marriage there. My maternal grandmother, Janet, Social Security application. Credit: Social Security Administration
When I received my grandmother's Social Security application (above) there was a link. It had her father as Leo Barry, her mother's maiden name which was close to the way it was spelled and it was done in Newburgh, NY. Also, it listed her place of birth - Leechburg, Penna. What's interesting is I can find NONE of the children's births ever being registered - including my grandmother's.
In 1940, Leo is now back to being Apolonius Jagodzinski, in NYC and has filled out an Alien Registration (below) form as required by federal law. This gives me information to track down where he was at this point in time, where he worked and listed his 1930 Intention to become a US citizen paperwork. What still makes me laugh is it asks if he's ever been arrested (on page 2) and he's listed something but it's very vague like he can't remember the date but it was all a mistake. Somehow, I don't believe that one.
Apolonius' Alien Registration form page 1 in 1940. Credit: USCIS
Apolonius' Alien Registration form page 2 in 1940. Credit: USCIS
In accordance with the federal law and with him being an alien citizen, he filed address report cards from 1941 - 1951 which are below and are from the USCIS. In 1950, he shows back up again on a business directory in Newburgh under Leo Jagodzinski. His wife, Bernice, is back in Newburgh in the same business directory, but is going by Bernice Jagodzinska which is keeping in line with the Polish naming system (usually ski is male and ska is female in Poland. Once people come to the US then they usually just keep the ski ending). So they are back! Credit: Ancestry
Credit: Ancestry
In 1951,1952, 1955 he's in the business directory under one of the names above.
Then in 1964, his wife dies. What's interesting is not one mention of her husband is listed at all in the obituary.
Then in 1967, he dies and they list him as Apolonius Jagodzinski and they list Bernice as his wife, which they murder her maiden name again.
When they were buried, Bernice was buried under the last name of Jagodzinksa and he was buried just ask Jagodzinski with no first name. Talk about being plain!
Where Apolonius and Bernice are buried in New Windsor, NY, taken 2019. Credit. J. Fitzgerald
I still don't know much else about him including his childhood and those gap years. I have heard a few stories over the years about him from different people, but I'm still looking for more paperwork if there is any. Bring on the 1950 US Census!
Mathias/Matthew Schmitz
My paternal grandfather is another interesting character. In his timeline there are gaps like huge holes.
In the past few years, I was able to get his birth entry from Germany. Mathias' birth entry. Credit: Uwe Kruse and Armin Beu
I do know he came over to the US for the first time in April 1926 from Breman from ship manifests. 1926 German translation of ship manifests from Germany.
CreditEllis Island incoming passengers manifest in NY.
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By July 1926, he was filing his first intention to become a US citizen paperwork which backup the ship manifest and birth entry. His first Declaration of Intention Credit: FamilySearch.org
Then nothing until 1926 when once again he fills out the Declaration of Intention to become a US Citizen. It lists his name as Mathias Schmitz, much of the information is what I found on the other documents above and included a picture. Also, during this year he returns to Germany for a visit.
Mathias returning to the US after a visit to Germany in 1930.
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It took few years, but I was finally able to find the marriage certificate for him and my grandmother, in 1934, which backed up and gave some new information like he was living in NYC and not Brooklyn. Also, he filed a second Declaration of Intention to become a US Citizen along with another picture with a black eye. This time he says he's not married even though he was married in January 1934 (the first time to my grandmother) and in March 1934 (for the second time in a church) and here it is May 1934.
The 1st wedding in Jan 1934. Credit: FamilySearch.org
The 2nd wedding in March 1934. Credit: FamilySearch.org
Then in July 1939, he once again files for Declaration of Intention to become a US citizen including another picture without a black eye this time. He puts down my father and grandmother on the application. In November 1939, he takes his oath and becomes a citizen this time. I could find by grandmother on the business listing in Linden NJ but not his name, again this is interesting. His 2nd, and last, Declaration of Intention. Credit: USCIS
Then in 1940 the US census is taken and they are still in Linden NJ. Now his name is Matthew Schmitz. Then World War 2 happens. Its been told he was in the war, in the hospital section, but just didn't see combat. However, I was never able to find these documents as yet.
Part of the 1940 Census.
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By 1946, he's back and I find an article about him in the newspaper in Newburgh NY where he was assaulted. I was told he went up there to see an old army buddy and ended up buy the person's bar - without speaking to my grandmother - his wife. By March 1946, they owned the bar and grill and had a liquor license for it.
I can follow my grandparents in the business directories and Deed Index for the bar and grill land over the next few years. By 1949, they don't have a bar and grill any longer and he's working at a local business.
Highlighted in yellow. Credit: Ancestry
Further, I noticed in 1946, my grandmother moves the business from only his name to both of their names. Then in 1949, my grandmother moves the business into only her name (last line below). That's a very odd and brave thing to do in 1949! Orange County Index of Deeds from Matthew and Jean to just Jean in 1949. Credit: FamilySearch.org
1952 gives me a parking fine in Newburgh for him. Also, he sells some land to someone according to the Deed Indexes. The newspapers note him transferring land and buying land around the area. 1954 see he illegally parked his car and lost the money. 1957 he is inducted into the American Legion. This tells me he must have served because you have to do one to be eligible to do the other. It goes on a bit like this skipping a year here and there. In 1970 he's mentioned when his second son gets married. However, nothing is mentioned about where he's employed or where he's living. Then nothing...until is Social Security Index. I do know from my father that he died in the Veterans Affairs in Beacon NY. I don't know much after this point - not even knowing where he's buried.
Conclusion
I have many other members of the family like the above like my great Aunt Pauline which I'm not sure where she was living or anything. I do know she's passed away. But in our family there are many people which we just don't know anything about because of misspellings of names, accents and how the words were interpreted and the list goes on and on.
You just have to keep going, keep trying different things and different databases to get that important information.
Persistence...
I will make it.
