The Spiraling Chains: Kowalski - Bellan Family Trees
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From Galicia to Gravenstein to Hamburg to Cleveland

1/17/2014

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Have you ever found an ancestor in an unexpected location and wondered what the heck he/she was doing there?  The other day, I was reviewing two December 1910 passenger ship lists on which my great-grandmother, Sophie Krupa, is listed - a German departure passenger list from Hamburg and a New York arrival list.  On both forms, her last place of residence is listed as 'Gravenstein, Germany.'  Sophie was born in Skrudzina, a small village in ethnically Polish Galicia, that was, at the time of her birth in 1888, part of Austria-Hungary.  So, obviously, I was wondering what she was doing in northern Germany before she sailed for America.

Gravenstein today is no longer in Germany, and, in fact, it is no longer known by that name. The town that used to be called Gravenstein is currently in southern Denmark, and is now known as Gråsten.  As you can see on the map below, Gråsten is quite a journey away from Sophie's hometown, so I started searching for why she may have lived there, at least temporarily.
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Journey from Skrudzina, Poland to Gråsten, Denmark
As I wrote about in this post, Sophie was an illegitimate child born into one of the poorest regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  I do not know anything specific about her early life, but I think it is safe to say that it must have been a hard one.  On the U.S. 1940 Census, she (Sophie Bodziony) lists her highest level of education as only 2nd grade.  As soon as she was old enough, she likely went to work.

While scouring the Internet, I came upon this website from the Danish Immigration Museum.  The page gives a nice, concise history of Polish immigrants in Denmark during the late 19th and early 20th century - right at the same time Sophie was there.  The one paragraph on this webpage that *really* caught my attention was this one: 

"The Poles were recruited by organized German-speaking agents - the so-called “Aufsehere”, who usually travelled around Galicia in the winter and signed contracts with young workers. Some were also sent to Denmark through the so-called import associations that supplied workers to Danish and German employers."

So, there were recruiters around Galicia?  Interesting.  Sophie's occupation on the Hamburg list is shown as 'Dienstmädchen,' which translates quite literally to 'servant girl.'  Was Sophie intending to stay and work in Gravenstein permanently, or was she just saving up money for the trip across the ocean?  Was she there in Gravenstein by herself, or did she have close friends or extended family there also?  Always left with more questions than answers after these investigations, but I wouldn't have it any other way!  :-)

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Sophia Krupa's Birth and Baptism Record

8/28/2013

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My great-grandmother, Sophia Krupa, immigrated to America in 1910 and married my great-grandfather, Michael Bodziony in November 1911.  According to her naturalization papers, she was born in Skrudzina, Poland, a small town that was, at the time of her birth (1888), part of Austria-Hungary.   When I first learned of her birthplace a couple of years ago, I went to FamilySearch.org to see if they had a microfilm that covered this geographic area and time frame.  I saw that they DID have microfilmed records for Skrudzina, but I did not order the film at the time because I had no time to go to my Family History Center and look through the reel.  So instead, I ordered a copy of Sophia's application for a Social Security number.  Since this form was filled out directly by Sophia herself, it's first hand knowledge of her birth date and parents' names.  On it, she lists her birth date as 30 Mar 1888, which is exactly the same birth date as what is listed on her naturalization documents.  Her parents are listed as Joseph Krupa and Katherine Mourdas.  

Fast forward to about six weeks ago.  Some of the birth records on the Skrudzina microfilm have been indexed and are now searchable on FamilySearch.  I find two Krupa families in Skrudzina that are having children around the time Sophia is born:

1.) Joseph Krupa and Catharina Czyrpak, House #16: Children born 1883, 1884, 1885 (none named Sophia)

2.) Paul Krupa and Sophia Hejmej, House #51: Children born 1886, 1890, 1892 (all boys)

So, there IS a Joseph and a Catharine there; Catharine's maiden name is different than what I was looking for, but no baby in 1888.  Apart from these families, there is one more 'Krupa' birth record from Skrudzina that I find in the index:
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Indexed Baptism Record for Sophia Krupa, FamilySearch
The child's first name and birth date match exactly from what I have found in other sources.  Her mother's first name matches the Social Security application and her last name matches my great-grandmother's.  But no father listed.  I requested a copy of the record through FamilySearch's photoduplication service.  Here it is, record #4:
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She was illegitimate and no father is listed.  Her mother was Catharina, daughter of Jacob Krupa and Mariae Kotodziej.  Also, Catharina lived in House #51, which is where Paul Krupa and Sophia Hejmej also lived at the time.  Paul and Sophia Krupa were likely related, but how?  And were there any other Krupas living in Skrudzina (other than those of child-bearing age)?  I need to order the microfilm and look through the whole thing carefully.

I did a quick search of Jacob Krupa and Mariae Kotodziej, and found six indexed baptism records for their children, ranging from 1843 to 1865.  However, none indicated the name of Catharina or Paul. The family lived in Obidza, Poland, which today is just a 20 minute drive from Skrudzina.  These records are on a different microfilm, so I have a feeling I'll be ordering that one, too.

Did Sophia live her life believing that her parents' true names were those she listed on the Social Security application?  Perhaps she was raised by the Joseph and Catharine Krupa in House #16 and she genuinely thought that they were her biological parents.  Or maybe she knew the complete truth.  That's probably something I'll never find out, but hopefully ordering these microfilms will help me learn more about her mother and the other families in Skrudzina and Obidza.  

©2013, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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I Paid for a Document and It Paid Off

6/18/2013

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I've only been doing genealogy work seriously for a couple of years.  My main sources of documents for my and my husband's ancestors have been FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, GenealogyBank, and Fold3 (only used free trial period).  I recently was able to do some on-site library research and will certainly be doing more of that in the future.  Up until a few weeks ago, I was reluctant to order and pay for documents like death certificates, because I've heard stories about researchers paying for them only to find that, in their ancestor's case, it didn't provide any clues helpful for further research.  (Or, even worse, the next-of-kin who filled out the death certificate provided incorrect information about the deceased's place of birth and/or parents!).  

Several weeks ago, I read this blog post by Judy G. Russell a.k.a. The Legal Genealogist, entitled "Ordering the SS-5."  The SS-5 form is the form one uses to apply for a Social Security Number.  It is filled out by the person requesting the number, or for more recent cases, by the parents of the child that the number is for.  So, the information listed on this form is often (not always) first-hand information  from the applicant herself!  (A person must be deceased in order to obtain his/her SS-5 form.)

My great-grandmother, Sofia Krupa Bodziony, immigrated to the U.S. from Poland in 1910.  I was able to find her village of birth on her naturalization forms, but I did not know the names of her parents.  The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio makes it pretty difficult to obtain parish marriage records (where the parents of the bride and groom MAY be listed), but the Diocese also states on their website that parental information is often withheld (yes, even if they were married way back in 1911.)  So, I decided to order my great-grandmother's SS-5 form using the online order form.  The document cost $27, which I admit I sort of cringed at when I submitted my credit card information.

The turn-around time on this request was pretty darn quick.  A couple of weeks later I received an envelope from the Social Security Administration with a letter explaining what document they sent me AND a photocopy of the document itself.  It turns out my great-grandmother filled out an IRS form to obtain a Social Security number, but the form itself contains the same information as the SS-5. (Gotta love government bureaucracy.)  While she did not list the name of her ancestral village, she does list the names of her parents, 'Katherine Mourdas' and 'Joseph Krupa'.  
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Obviously, I was more than happy when I saw the information on this form.  Having these names will surely help me find family records once I am able to find/read birth and sacramental records for her ancestral village.  It was money well spent, and I am thinking about ordering a couple of other SS-5 forms for two of my other great-grandparents.
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    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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