We've got the Power! - Ancestors in 52 Weeks

 Another prompt by 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. It's run by Amy Johnson Crow.

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Week 8's theme is "Power." Does that mean physical strength, political power, power in the family, electrical power? Yes. It's a vague theme on purpose :-) It's whatever the theme sparks in you.

For Amy, it reminds me of my dad's maternal grandmother. When her house was fitted for electrical power, she was nervous that the electricity would come pouring out empty sockets. To her, it made sense that if oil (her previous power source) would physically flow, so would electricity.

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Once again, when I first read the topic for this week, I figured I would do a power play someone in the family did as I know a few ancestors I've been told were the power in the family. However, once I sat back and thought about it (during the time I sat back to rest my eye which I had problems with this past weekend) and thought I knew who and what I'd write about. 

I've written about my great grandfather Joannes Julius Gauquie (1871-1946), also known as Jules Gauquie, before. However, he's the only one of my ancestors who I know when they got the power and telephone on in their farm house. 

It seemed he always wanted people know know how updated he was on things and then splashed them around. To me, he would have been very annoying and I know we wouldn't have gotten along. Because of how well known he made himself, these things were often put in the local newspaper. 

One of the bigger villages (at this point) nearby, Newburgh, was one of the second municipality to get electric. I found one newspaper article which states that it was done on August 8, 1883 and another newspaper article in October 1883 that the company was finishing its incorporation documentation and was scheduled to start on putting up the building for it. Even a newspaper article in 2017 says that it was 1884 Newburgh had electric by the Edison Electric Illuminating Company which then became Newburgh Electric and then Consolidated Gas, Electric Light, Heat and Power company in 1895. 

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Credit : Poughkeepsie Journal

So I would say that it was between August 8, 1883 and November 1883 (in late October the top newspaper article says it should finish the building in a month and estimated a bit of time after that to start up the electric) based upon the above articles. I was shocked when I couldn't seem to find anything on when the electric started as I figured this would be a large write up with how everyone reacted. 

Not that there wasn't problems along the way with having electric in the towns. 

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Like most things back then, there was a risk, a much higher one than today, but they weighed it up and usually went with it anyway. 

Anyhow, Jules, my ancestor, was one of those people who actually had a small note put into the newspapers when he had things installed in his house. See the pink color below.

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I'm not sure, but it would have been a big thing in 1924 to have electric at home I think. 

Remember in October 1924, Calvin Coolidge was the US' 30th President after President Warren G. Harding died of a myocardial infarction and Coolidge, then Vice President, became president. 

Today we are so used to having electric, but can you think what your ancestors would have in their houses growing up? 

A Different Source for me- Ancestors in 52 Weeks

  Another prompt by 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. It's run by Amy Johnson Crow.

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This weeks theme is "Unusual Source." Not all of our genealogy discoveries come in the "regular" sources like vital records and the census. What is a discovery that you've made using an unusual source?

This is an interesting topic as usually my main ways to find out things are: family, newspapers, marriage, death notices and indexes, and business directories. I've looked other places but haven't really found out too much otherwise. 

The Main NEW Source which sticks out as a different source to me is the Internet Archive. 

I've found things by a person who was a great scupltor in France but I cannot link him to the family who can be found on the Internet Archive. He was the only one until recently, when I found a link to a book called "History of the Two Hundred and Third Regiment, New York Infantry Volunteers" by Rigney, Peter Samuel which is listed there. 

It lists my great uncle Charles Gauquie. Charles Gauquie was the younger brother of my great grandfather Jules Gauquie. 

He was born on Febuary 2, 1876 in Brussles Belgium. By 1893, the family had moved from Belgium to the United States according to his father's naturalization paperwork when he was about 17 years old. Then in 1898, he enlisted into the Spanish American War. This  I had found out in the newspapers. 

I have mentioned his before and more indepth here. 

However, I had now found out that Peter Rigney had listed the history of his regiment which was exciting because it gave a glimpse of what he did while at Camp Meade. 

The whole page looks like this with his last name highlighted in purple: 

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The area where Charles is located is this one below. 

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It confirms it was him because it references Company D which he was in according to what I had found. But the sentence "...who were detailed with the Brigade bakery when the regiment moved..." were also key in identifying him because it made sense. 

Further, in the same book there was a Roll of Company D. According to the listing, there was a Corporal named Andrew B. Westervelt. I wonder if he knew him as the Westervelt we have links to in Belgium. 

Charles' grandparents owned their own bakery (as the read box below shows) and had for years in Belgium. I'm sure he was brought up making things in the bakery. 

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I have briefly spoken about Desiderius (Desire) or Digger before in an earlier post on how to get more information using different techniques. 

However, this is the first time I've actually been able to clearly identify an ancestor in anything to do with the Internet or any journals, so to me this was a different source. 

Also, it makes a point to keep checking back at sources (which is another reason why they matter) to see if new information has come out since the last time you checked. You never know what you'll find. 

A Valentine from the past - Ancestors in 52 Weeks

 Another prompt by 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. It's run by Amy Johnson Crow.

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Week 6's theme is "Valentine." Do you have any Valentines from any of your ancestors? Or maybe you have an ancestor named Valentine. (I remember when I was little being surprised to learn that Valentine was a "boy's name.") How about an ancestor that you wish you could exchange valentines with? Have fun with the theme!

When I first read the topic for this one, I thought of the card I have that I made my mother. Upon looking it up, I found it was for Mother's Day instead. Thinking fast, I decided to use a few of my Valentine's Day from the past to write about. 

My now husband, sent me these flowers for our first Valentine's Day. It was quite a feat as I lived in New York at the time and he lived in Melbourne Australia. I still have the mug but don't dare to use it as the handle is cracked and would probably break if I tried to use it.

Credit: J. Fitzgerald

This is from our second Valentine's Day (below). Within a few months I would be moving from the US to Australia. 

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We do still celebrate it, as its one of the few days of the year I refuse to cook a meal, but its usually celebrated by going out to eat and maybe a movie if something is on we want to see. 

Like all things 2020, it was different. We were in lockdown here and could only drive within 5 miles from home, so I called in an take away order, picked it up, and came home and we had it sitting at the table. However, it was different, but it was also safe. 

It is hard to believe this May will mark our 24th wedding anniversary. We're just about to celebrate our 26th year together! 

Recipes handed down - Ancestors in 52 Weeks

 Another prompt by 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. It's run by Amy Johnson Crow.

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This week's theme is "In the Kitchen." So many memories revolve around meals and cooking together. Do you have an ancestor who was a good cook (or maybe a notoriously bad cook!) What about a favorite recipe -- where did it come from or who always cooked it? If that doesn't spring any ideas, what about ancestors named Kitchen or Cook(e)?

I had met my maternal grandmother Janet, but by that point she was in a nursing home and the few times we saw her there she was so doped up on drugs the staff put into her, there was a body but the mind had gone. Due to this fact, I never learned anything much from her. 

My mother hated cooking and baking. The less she could do the better. When I was young, she would make homemade bread from scratch but that stopped by the time I hit my teens due to arthritis in her hands. 

Growing up, I only knew of 1 grandparent - My paternal grandmother Jean. I used to go spend 2 weeks with her every summer. Sometimes we'd make a few different Polish recipes and others she had in the fridge but didn't look too good - like pickled pigs feet. The Polish recipes were never really mentioned by name, but the last Christmas I had with my grandmother, I knew she didn't have much money but she really wanted to get something for me. I asked her to make the one cookie she made and I loved it. She then asked me if I ment Bow Ties and I agreed. That's what she termed it for us - Bow Ties. We made this other type of donut type of thing and she loved it. To me, it always tasted and looked like Elmer's Glue and not anything ediable. 

So growing up we had Bow Ties. I now know others call them Angel Wings. However, the correct name for them is chrusciki or faworki. As you can see by the correct name, they could be a handful for children, which is why she had us call them bow ties. I loved these. After my grandmother passed away, I asked my oldest sister, Theresa, if she knew of the recipe. She said she sat down one time and wrote down the instructions with Grandma when she was making them. She read them out to me over the phone. 

This is taken from my electronic recipe book. 

I make them now for Christmas every year. 

My Bow Ties in 2014. 

My Bow Ties before icing sugar in 2017.

However, 2020 was such a messed up year, I didn't get to do it, but I'll probably make them during the year and then at Christmas. 

To try and get back with that part of my family history, I've joined some groups online which trade recipes or I look them up once I find out about them. 

I think I found the Elmer's Glue donut thing my grandmother used to make. Its now called Kluski; however, the ones she made never looked like the ones in the recipe but everything else matches. Also, she never put anything on them. She put these onto a plate and handed me the plate. It just looked and tasted like glue. I think she forgot to fry them in some butter and onions or put them into a soup. 

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I haven't tried that one mainly because I remember how it used to taste and it wasn't encouraging. 

I have found other recipes I have tried but haven't quite figured them out entirely. 

Paczki Polish donuts - very good but takes awhile to make. 

My Paczki in 2019.

Paczki - I bought a calendar with recipes in them in Polish so I use that recipe, but here's one online. 

Kolaczki Polish cookie - very good but difficult to make the ends meet in the middle

My first try at Kolaczki in 2019.

Kołaczki - These I made in December 1999 for the first time and everyone loved them. I did make a small batch in December 2000 but they weren't as good so I did something wrong. 

I spoke to my father about grandma and her cookies she used to make. Even he said that my grandmother wasn't one for cooking or baking. She tried but she wasn't very good at it and one reason why they had to close the grill part of the Bar and Grill they had in Newburgh, NY.  However, her mother, Mary, was fantastic my fathe rtold me. He had 2 memories about what he used to eat growing up. 

Barszcz or Polish Borscht. 

He loved beetroot soup. The technical name of it is Barszcz  or Polish Borscht. Upon reading the recipe its very interesting because growing up when we had beets, we warmed them up exactly this way in a pot but didn't add anything to it (again my mother didn't really like cooking and took the laziest way out).

Polish Sourdough Rye Bread or Chleb Na Zakwas Żytni is above

Also, he had fond memories of my grandmother's family making bread with raisins. At one time he also told me it was a rye bread. However, there are 2 different breads he described. One is Grandma’s Raisin Bread or Chalka in Polish. The other is Polish Sourdough Rye Bread or Chleb Na Zakwas Żytni in Polish. I'm not sure which he was talking about, but he said that his uncle's would always be made to go into the kitchen and mix it up with their hands and knead it until she considered it done. I think I would have liked the sourdough rye but not the raisin one. 

Polish Kielbasa or Swojska 

Then there are the Polish Kielbasa or Swojska and Polish Stuffed Peppers or Papryka Nadziewana in Polish. We don't have kielbasa too often but the stuffed peppers I make a few times a year. 

The kielbasa we either cook like a hot dog - grill it or put it in water and boil. Apparently, my great grandfather Adam, who had a corner store in NJ used to have a smoke room and sold kielbasa he made up until he passed away. 

The stuffed peppers (usually we use green) I take a throw ingrediants together quickly which annoys people but traditionally how the Polish people do it I'm told. We usually pair the stuffed peppers up with mashed potatoes. My husband loves these.

I have tried the Polish cheesecake, but didn't like how it tasted so I did something wrong. 

The Strawberry cheesecake is in the front when I tried it in 2017.

These are the stories that are sometimes forgotten about. If you don't know if you have any, look some up, give them a go, and then incorporate them into your life.