Anthony Runs a Pool Hall

The family legend is that my Grandpa Anthony Raczkiewicz at some point had a “game room” and made $100 a day and was often raided. My mother remembers hearing these stories but it was “before her time.” She always assumed gambling or betting was involved. After Anthony came from Poland in 1912 with two brothers, his first job I found In the Polk Directory of 1914 listed him as a laborer. He got a job at Keifer Tanning Company on 260 Front St. SW and worked there a few years. In 1921, Anthony left the tannery and was a clerk at Charles (Powlski) Powlowski’s Billiards at 612 Bridge St. NW. This location had opened in 1916 as the Buddy Theater, opened by the Buddy Brothers. It seated 500 and was “handsomely decorated in old rose and white” when it was a movie theater. (The Moving Picture World, Vol. 27, p. 457.) Interestingly a few years earlier, Grand Rapids had gone dry, at midnight, April 30, 1918 and the state soon followed with Prohibition voted in until it was repealed in 1933. It is unclear if gambling or alcohol contributed to the money made or the demise of his business Pool halls must have been a popular entertainment with 13 listed in the city that year. Charles Powlowski was from the same part of Poland, immigrated to Grand Rapids and married his wife the same year my grandpa Anthony married Pauline. Powlowski also had a soft drink store at 511 Bridge St. NW. By 1922, the city had 30 billiard halls and Anthony (Radzkiewicz) was listed in the city directory as the owner of the one at 612 Bridge St. NW. He had five competitors on Bridge Street alone. In 1923, he was co-owners with Mr. Czarnopis and there were 33 pool halls in Grand Rapids. This may have been Stanislaw Czarnopis who came to the US with Anthony’s brother Jan. By 1924 the number grew to 34 but sadly, Anthony was no longer running one of them and there was no longer a listing in the city directory. Apparently there was a pool hall again in this location. A person posting on the Facebook Page Grand Rapids History 1960 and before named Matthew Farage, posted that his grandfather Aman Farage owned it beginning in 1927.

Anthony Raczkiewicz & His Siblings are from Tomaszow Lubelskie, Poland

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Sabaudia/22-600+Tomasz%C3%B3w+Lubelski/@50.4513291,23.4332671,13z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4724af60ea937279:0xa350c5b9c962ba7d!2m2!1d23.4341877!2d50.4714181!1m5!1m1!1s0x4724af11c7aacc15:0x268d7ac08cef58c!2m2!1d23.4163099!2d50.447024!3e0 The first exciting information I learned when beginning to research my grandfather Anthony Raczkiewicz was the name of his parents. Anthony’s parents, born in Tomaszow Lubelski, Poland, were Katie (Katarzyna) Kaszucka (1869-1944) and John (or Jan) Raczkiewicz (abt. 1867- 1920?) When my genealogy search began in November, 2019, I knew that Anthony may have had other siblings, that remained in Poland or also emigrated, that had not yet been discovered by me. I have found that five siblings came to the U.S. The two I knew about were my grandfather, Anthony who was born March 13, 1896 and his brother Joseph who was born in 1891 or 1894. I first discovered their oldest brother Jan/John (born June 1889) also came to Grand Rapids, before Anthony and Joseph. Then I found his sister Marion who was born December 16, 1902 and ended up in Muskegon, Michigan, about 30 miles from Grand Rapids. My mother Shirley Longwell remembers visiting her house one time. Lastly, I discovered Paulina born in either 1901 or 1905 who came to Grand Rapids but I think ended up in the Detroit area. I discovered he also had siblings that remained in Poland: Franciszek (b. 1898), Boleslaw (b. 1906), and Piotr (b.?) These siblings that came to the U.S. all claim Poland as their birthplace on various documents. For example, when the three brothers in Grand Rapids registered for the WW I draft in June of 1917, they all listed where they were born as Lublin (state), Poland (country) and Russian (citizenship.) Anthony listed his city as Tomaszow. Tomaszow is a village in the district of Gmina Pulawy, within Pulawy County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately 7 kilometres south-west of Puławy and 51 km west of the regional capital. John listed his as Zabaldy which is how you pronounce Sabaudia. “Sabaudia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Tomaszów Lubelski, within Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland.”

Anthony Raczkiewicz Died 40 Years Ago Today

Anthony J Raczkiewicz died at his residence on October 31, 1980, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when he was 85 years old and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Pauline, son Anthony Jr. and wife Cecilia, son Ronald and wife Pamela, daughter Shirley and her husband Roy Longwell, John Dykstra, surviving spouse of his daughter Lorraine, as well as nine grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and his sister, Mrs. Frank (Mary) Kufta of Muskegon Heights. Anthony reposed at the Arsulowicz Brothers Mortuary, West, Stocking Avenue and a Funeral Mass was celebrated in the Basilica of St. Adalbert, committal at Holy Cross Cemetery. (Obituary)

Shirley's Work Life

Shirley worked her first job at a parking garage in downtown Grand Rapids. Her boss was good to her and sometimes gave her a ride home so she didn’t have to take the bus in the dark. The 'new' Wurzburg's of 1951 was a collection of several older buildings,as well as a "Parking Pavilion" across Ottawa Avenue NW. She found out from her sister-in-law Ceil, a surgical nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan that an x-ray course was being offered. She was one of three students accepted. When the three students took their final exam, (probably downtown at Ferguson Hospital), all three of them flunked. Shirley was the only one who retook the exam and she passed and continued at St. Mary’s. Shirley was nervous and said she “shivered” around Dr. Benson, who would stop to grill them on how many bones in a part of the body or the name of a bone.She also remembers his kindness in letting her go for a week to Pennsylvania when her cousin Eileen Schlosser married Ted Marchibroda, a quarterback in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals who was later a coach for the Baltimore Colts and Indianapolis Colts. At one point he told her to come in at 9am instead of 8am because she was tired since she still worked at the parking garage. Dr Benson also gave the students meal punch cards when he discovered fellow student MaryJane from Mount Pleasant who lived in an apartment downtown, was bringing mayonnaise sandwiches to work. Unlike Shirley who continued to work at the parking garage, Mary Jane wasn’t working. Receiving a meal card was fair though since they were already working as part of their internship. During the time she was at St. Mary’s, Shirley was dating Paul Plasman. Paul and Roy Longwell had a sailboat and met around Lake Michigan since Shirley visited her sister Lorraine and her husband John often at their boat slip on Lake Michigan. Paul was in a serious car accident and Shirley remembers Roy taking her up to see him at the hospital. Sometime after that (and we don’t hear any of the details!), Shirley and Roy were dating, with Paul’s blessing. Paul recovered and went on to marry someone else and started “Bill and Paul’s Sporthaus” with a friend in 1961. Shirley continued to work at St. Mary’s until after she was married and once she discovered she was pregnant. Because there was little in the way of protection from radiation, she often wondered if daughter Paulette’s left undeveloped optic nerve was a result. While gloves and gowns and meters were introduced when Dr. Shay joined the staff, she still remembers carrying a bucket of radium up to surgery when she was pregnant. While the eye nerves develop early in utero, possibly before Shirley knew she was pregnant and quit, first pregnancies and low maternal weight gain are other possibilities among many. A pregnancy related practice at that time according to Shirley was for the expectant mother to limit their weight gain. She would go with a friend for a malted milkshake AFTER her weigh in and complained she was starving during her pregnancy. Her return to work in the early 1970’s was a surprise to everyone. She had not been looking for a job or interviewing. A former co-worker who had remained a friend, recommended her for the x-ray technician job at Alpine Medical Center when he was moving on to another position. Her job necessitated a second car for the family. Daughter Paulette was in high school so the three girls were old enough to stay alone. She worked until eventually the medical practice contracted out their radiology. She remains friends with many of the co-workers from this job and attends their regular luncheon get-togethers. Shirley worked for a few years after that at Michigan Bulb until she retired.

Staying Busy as a Housewife in the Late 50's & 60's

Shirley was a full time mother until daughter Paulette was in high school. Shirley made many clothes for herself and all three of us girls--everything from prom dresses, coats and other things. She would buy or borrow a Simplicity or McCall Pattern and lay out the material on the dining room table. Her sister Lorriane and her often worked on projects together. For instance, they each made a felt Christmas tablecloth that had ornate ornaments festooned with rickrack, beads and other decorations. I think Lorriane helped with the smocking in the three red dresses pictured above. As the oldest, I wore these the least amount of time. Once outgrown by one of the sisters, the dress was passed down from Paulette to Linda to Lori. Lori must have worn this dress for many years. A gift of a better sewing machine from Roy was treasured.

Making meals was a time consuming process. Everything was pretty much homemade. Breakfast would include milk which was delivered to the back porch into a silver milk box for many years. School and work lunches were packed while everyone ate and got ready for school or work. There were very few conveniences for cooking meals. Burning feathers off raw chicken, using a gas burner on the stove was part of the process of making dinner. A full dinner was served every night after Roy got home from work with all of the family at a small table in the kitchen. A special meal would be served on Sunday in the dining room and often family visitors came over for dinner or visited on Sunday afternoon after church. The football game would usually be on in the living room and the women would sit at the dining room table. Our Uncle Tony and Aunt Ceil were frequent visitors. City chicken from Levandowski’s Meat Market, on Stocking Avenue, would be a special treat. Meat from the meat market and Polish rye bread from American Bakery, on Bridge St., were always a part of every holiday meal. Other special treats were the homemade hot fudge ice cream topping she often made for Sunday night. She still makes this sauce, using a candy thermometer to ensure it isn’t soupy or rock hard. On Sundays, because we had a big dinner after church, our supper in the evening would be something smaller. A favorite was hotdogs wrapped in crescent rolls with a melted slice of cheddar. We would watch our favorite Sunday night programs together like The Wonderful World of Disney. While all her baked goods were (and still are) good, she is really known for her pies and her pie crusts. She knows every trick to rolling out a perfect crust. She can tell you why egg whites didn’t rise when whipped and she scolds you when you keep nibbling on the cookie batter.

More Pictures of Shirley Marries Roy

Shirley Marries Roy

In 1957, Roy Longwell (my father) and his friend Paul Plasman (later owner with his friend Bill Pearson of Bill & Paul’s Sporthaus”) were living on their sailboat Kismet in at Bay Haven, in Holland, Michigan as they restored it. Shirley often visited the marina because her older sister Lorraine and her husband, John Dykstra had a boat. Later, the Dykstras enjoyed their boat and slip and membership at Singapore Yacht Club in Saugutuck, Michigan with an active social life. Paul was dating Shirley Raczkiewic, who worked at St. Mary’s Hospital. Paul was in a serious car accident so when Paul was in the hospital, Roy was happy to bring Shirley to the hospital to visit him. With Paul’s blessing, Roy and Shirley eventually began to date. Paul was his best man when they were soon married at St. Adalbert’s Church, October 26, 1957. Paul recovered and went on to marry and start Bill and Paul’s Sporthaus with his friend Bill Pearson in 1961. Since Roy wasn’t a Catholic, they needed to agree to raise their children as Catholics. Shirley didn’t know that Roy was taking classes to be a Catholic and would have waited to get married if she had known. Shirley signed an “Ante Nuptial Agreement, Non Catholic Party” on September 19, 1957 that if she were given permission to marry a non-Catholic, that they would raise their children as Catholic.

Shirley married Roy Howard Longwell October 26, 1957 in Michigan. when she was 21 years old at St. Adalbert Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Parents of the bride were Anthony and Paulina Raczkiewicz from Grand Rapids, Michigan and parents of the groom were Leo and Naomi Longwell from Lake Odessa, Michigan. Maid of honor was Miss Dorothy Karas and best man was Mr. Paul Plasman. Bridesmaids were Miss Rosemary Host, Mrs. John Dykstra, Miss Saundra Dykstra, Miss Patricia Wysocki. Ushers were Ronald Raczkiewicz, Mr. John Dykstra, Jr., Mr. Anthony Raczkiewicz, Jr. Ring bearer was. Michael Lyon and miniature bride was Yvonne Denise Raczkiewicz. Sharon Karwowski was flower girl. A breakfast was held at St. Hyacinth’s Hall with a reception in the evening. The couple resided at 115 Madison Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan after their honeymoon i North Dakota. Like her sister Lorraine, she was part of the first generation of Polish immigrants to marry outside of Polish Catholicism, though her husband Roy did later convert to Catholicism and embraced many of the social customs of the westside Polish. Later Roy was confirmed when his daughter Paulette was confirmed.

The Time Changed Today in Poland

The time changed last night in Poland, from October 24 to 25. Clocks are turned backwards one hour so it will get dark one hour earlier in the evening. Poland has been using daylight savings time since 1977. The European Union ended the custom of the twice yearly clock changing but individual countries are free to decide. Sunday, November 1 will be the day our time has changed in the United States. Poland is in the Central European time zone. So right now here is the time: Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, US 8:00 AM Tomaszow, Lubelskie, Poland 1:00 PM

Lorraine (Raczkiewicz) Dykstra Remembered by her Sister Shirley (Raczkiewicz)

Her sister Shirley Ann (Raczkiewicz) Longwell was 33 years old, when Lorraine (Raczkiewicz) Dykstra died. Shirley, my Mother, was very close to her older sister Lorraine. Lorraine lived on Cummings Street in Walker Michigan, outside of Grand Rapids. When Lorraine and John were married in 1941, Shirley was only five years old at the time. Shirley enjoyed staying over with her big sister since her family’s house on Milwaukee was small and crowded. Her Uncle Joe had a room, her parents had a room and later a bedroom was added on. There were boarders upstairs and in the little house behind the main house. When Shirley got older, she kept Lorraine company because Lorraine’s husband John was a truck driver and Lorraine didn’t like to stay alone. The house was on a country road with the houses far apart and fields and woods behind. Shirley remembers going ice fishing and cross country skiing with them on Whitefish and Big Star Lakes. Shirley also recounted a time when she was staying there overnight and John’s father John Sr. was disapproving of her bare legs since she had on shorts. Lorrainne defended her, reminding him, “She’s just a little girl.” When her daughter Sandra was born, John and Lorraine Dykstra lived at 501 Milwaukee, in the small house behind the one that was owned by her parents Anthony and Pauline. Shirley remembers that Lorraine gave birth at home to a two pound baby and that when the doctor left the house, he remarked, “That baby is not going to make it.” She remembers humidifiers and other measures that were taken to help Sandra to grow and that made a deep impression on her. My Mother likes to talk about which of our family “treasures” will go to which of the three daughters after she passes away. She related this story on December, 30, 2016 to me, her daughter, Paulette Longwell about pudding cups she had often used to serve pudding or tapioca, while we are growing up and how they related to Lorraine. She got the cups on the day, October 23, 1969, that her older sister Lorraine died. Lorraine and Sandy were going out Division Avenue to a big department store whose name she no longer remembered. The store had a certain, big doll there that they wanted to buy. Sandi left her car at Shirley’s house and rode with her mother. While they were gone, Shirley did the family laundry and hung it out on the clothes line. Sandy and Lorraine came back, carrying in a big doll and pudding cups to show to Shirley. One set of pudding cups had brown trim and another set had black trim. Shirley picked the ones with black trim. She invited her sister to stay for supper but Lorraine was feeling very unwell. She had meatloaf at home but was only going to have toast. Shirley had taken her one or two times to the doctor but they determined it was just indigestion. Lorraine left and Shirley started taking clothes down from the clothes line. It bothered her so she called their house and John was distraught. The next door neighbor June Bowman drove her out to their house. When she got there,the ambulance was just leaving. Shirley believes it was a heart attack, based on where the pain was and said, “Back then they didn’t think women had heart attacks.” Because the pudding cups were so connected to Lorriane, and I was the oldest daughter and had the most memories of Lorraine, my Mother said, “that’s why you should get the pudding cups.” Losing her sister had a big impact on Shirley. She had a close relationship with her older sister Lorriane and also continues to have one with Lorraine’s daughter Sandra.

Lorraine (Raczkiewicz) Raczkiewicz Passes Away 51 Years Ago Today

Anthony and Pauline Raczkiewicz’ daughter Lorraine passed away on October 23, 1969, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the age of 47. OBITUARY: Lorraine was 48 years old when she passed away unexpectedly at St. Mary’s Hospital on a Thursday night. Survived by her husband and daughter, two grandchildren, her parents, her grandmother Mrs. Anna Skrobat of OIl City, PA, two brothers (Anthony Jr. and Ronald R.) and sister Mrs. Roy (Shirley) Longwell.She was a member of the Women’s City Club of Saugatuck and the Singapore Yacht Club of Saugatuck. Funeral Mass at Holy Spirit Church, reposed at Alt Morturary.

Lorraine (Raczkiewicz) & John Dykstra's House

My Aunt Lorriane spent time with me up until her death when I was ten years old. I enjoyed visiting their boat in Sagutcuk Miichigan. I am not sure how, when sleeping over on it, I ended up with a bloody nose from her ever present knitting needles. I was probably messing around. My mother started sending me in braids after I came back with ratty snarls in my hair. Lorraines hands were too affected by arthritis for her to help comb my hair. I loved the independence I had when I visited them. I could walk to the downtown and use their returnable pop cans to buy something from the drugstore soda fountain. They were very involved in the boating community and I remember watching them as they participated in a commemorative parade. Visiting at their house happened more often than at their boat since they only lived a few miles from our house. John Dykstra and his wife, Lorraine (nee Raczkiewicz) lived at 50 Cummings N.W., which was built in 1956. These pictures are from when Grandson John Spruit and his wife Irene sold it after John’s death. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/50-Cummings-Ave-NW_Grand-Rapids_MI_49534_M31393-26023#photo1

This house epitomized the features and colors of a 50s/60s ranch. Visiting this house was fun because the memories made there and because of some of the special features of the house-- a two sided fireplace, a lazy susan built into the kitchen, and two ovens built into a wall in the kitchen. The lazy susan in the kitchen was fun to play with since it always had a treat like marshmallows to find. One bedroom was set up as a den. When I slept over, the privilege of being at their house was being able to stay up as late as I wanted. Aunt Lorriane would doze on the couch and I would watch TV from the floor. She would wake up and ask if I was ready to go to bed and she accepted my “no” every time. Uncle John would be asleep but not before a few extremely firm handshakes and chuckles when you tried to escape. Sometimes we would go out, somewhere like Schensuls Cafeteria and there was the thrill of picking what I wanted, especially an array of pudding, jellos, pies and cakes. Having an aunt spoil me was a memorable experience.

Introducing Anthony Raczkiewicz and Pauline Skrobat's Children

(The two older children: Lorraine and Anthony Jr.) After my Grandfather, Anthony Raczkiewicz married Apolonia (Paulina) Skrobat in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on September 6, 1920 they had five children, four that survived to adulthood. An infant passed away on March 24, 1920 and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This Polish cemetery near Walker St. and Richmond St. is 100 acres large and was founded in 1909. It’s name was changed in 1947 from Polish Catholic Cemetery to Holy Cross Cemetery. (The Rise and Fall of the GR Polonia) In 1921, Anthony lived with wife Pauline at 208 Lexington NW. Their daughter Lorraine was born in 1922.. In 1924, they moved to Milwaukee St and the address was listed at various times as either 503 or 501. The house had an apartment upstairs and a small house behind it. Their son Anthony Jr. was born in 1926. With ten years between Anthony Jr. and their next child, their daughter Shirley Ann was born on January 15, 1936, while they still lived on Milwaukee Avenue. She was followed by their son Ronald, who was born in 1940. They lived on Milwaukee for approximately 37 years until a demolition order came through (05/23/62 1153 OK Wrecking) because of a highway being built. US196, between the Lane St. exit and US 131 was being built through in their neighborhood, splitting the west side of Grand Rapids. They moved to 827 Douglas and son Ron and his wife Pam also had to move out of the small house and buy their first house.

(The two younger children: Shirley and Ronald)

What Jobs Did My Family Do in Poland?

(This image is from: https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/45548-a-group-of-russian-peasants-and-children Occupations are often listed in birth, death and marriage records. I have been able to see what time of work relatives were doing. Anthony Raczkiewicz’s father side predominantly had one line of work: peasant farmer (wloscianin), going back as far as I could discover with people who had been born as early as 1753. Anthony’s mother’s side (Katarzyna Kaszucka) was more varied. Her father’s family were furriers (kuśnierz), all the way back to 1742 in Ulnow, Galicia (now Ukraine.) Many of them moved to Tomaszow Lubelski and continued to work as furriers. On both her family’s sides, there were many potters (garncarz)--working in a factory making faience (a type of metal fired pottery) and porcelain. Besides ceramics, many of them made other things for a living. Some were considered master craftsmen (majster), and others were apprentices. A lot of them made shoes (szewc), others made fabric ( tkacz), wheels (stelmach), and barrels (bednarz). Some women were listed with occupations --often the same occupation as their husband-- or as a servant (sluzacy) or midwife (położna.) Some of the other occupations seen were: carpenter (stelmach), mason (mularz), grave-digger (grabarz), farmhand (robotnik rolny), farmer (rolnik) and soldier (zolnierz). https://www.polishpod101.com/polish-vocabulary-lists/20-common-words-for-occupations/

October in Poland

ENGLISH: October POLISH: Październik MEANING: Dry stalks of flax Like Michigan where I live, Poland is a good place to admire the colors of changing Fall leaves. It also can be very variable weather-wise. It can be sunny or cold and rainy but frost would be rare. Tomaszow Lubelskie (where Anthony’s relatives mostly originated) has weather similar to Grand Rapids, MIchigan. A high temperature here, on average for October would be 60 while there it would be 55. It is similar with the low temperature--here an average of 41 and there 39. The days get shorter, like they do in MIchigan, and by October 31, sunrise will be at 6:24 a.m. and sunset at 4:07 In Michigan our sunrise is at 8:17 a.m. and 6:35 p.m.. Poland has “No Shopping Sundays” except for seven Sundays per year. There are two in December but none in October. Like MIchigan, Fall crops in Polan of apples, potatoes, carrots, beet and pumpkins are still available.

Travel to a New Life: Part Two

Other friends and family made their way to Grand Rapids, Michigan from Tomaszow Lubelskie, Poland. In February, 1910, Anthony’s older brother Jan Raczkiewicz traveled from Hamburg, Germany to New York on a ship called the Pennsylvania. He was a 22 year old, single farmer/day laborer from Tomaszow. He traveled with Stanislaw Czernopis (Czarnopys?) who was 20 and also a single farmer/day laborer. It appears that Stanley returned to Poland and came back through Canada with a wife, Sophia, early in March of 1913. Shortly after that in March of 1913, Anthony’s future first wife, Klementyna Goleiowska, traveled to the U.S, six months after Anthony. (Check out line 11 of the image above.) She landed in New York with a final, planned destination of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She had a relative, Wicenty Zyzyk who was already in the U.S but the ship manifest is not legible enough to discern where he was living. She was a 17 year old servant girl traveling with a friend, Paulina Malec, a 17 year old farm hand. Also on the ship from the same home town of Tomaszow was Katarzyna Nadowornik , a 45 year old housewife and her children Feliska, 17, Katarzyna, 14 and Joseph, 11. Katarzyna was a witness later at Antoni and Katarzyna’s wedding. Anthony’s sister Marion Raczkiewicz, a 22 year old farm laborer, departed from Antwerp, Belgium and arrived in New York on August 5, 1913, with a final, planned destination of staying with her brother Antoni Raczkiewicz at 208 Lexington St., Grand Rapids. She traveled with Stanislawa Kudlicka, 19. Anthony’s brother Jan married her relative Frances Kudlicka. In their group was also, Marya Golobiowska, 20, the sister of Klementyna, Anthony’s first wife. They also were with Jozef Lesikiewier (Lesikiewicz?), 26. From the same area was Julia Kuczynska, 23, and her two year old daughter, Wanda.

How Many Ancestors Do We Have

 

When I started doing genealogy, I knew that my father's side was extensively researched by others. already. I was more interested in my Mother's side.  On that side, I only knew the names of two of the four great-grandparents -- so finding Anthony's parents was my first goal.  At this point, I have a pretty good handle on my 4th great grandparents on the maternal side I know some information about some 5th great grandparents and am currently working to learn more.

One thing that I didn't realize is that I also needed to look at each generation's siblings so the tree grows even more.  Siblings records sometimes help to flesh out information missing about my direct ancestor.  Also, the siblings are the ones that may lead to some currently living descendants and it has been fun to connect with some new "cousins." 

Travel to a New Life

It was known through family stories that our relatives left Poland for safety and better opportunities. I always understood that the economic and political situation is why the Raczkiewicz siblings left Poland.  On a census document later in the United States, it was reported that Anthony had a first-grade education.  While I am no historian, a little research on what was going on shows some of the challenges.  In 1898, a few years before Anthony was born, there were Anti-Polish Emergency Laws in the Prussian Partition. When he was ten to twelve years old, from 1905-1907, there was a revolution in the Russian Partition.  

There was fighting outside the area they lived in 1914 during World War 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomasz%C3%B3w_Lubelski. Anthony was age 17, then and  Polish Legions were being formed within the Austrian Army.  In 1915, Russian Poland was occupied by the central powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria).  https://epdf.pub/historical-dictionary-of-poland-historical-dictionaries-of-europe.html 

We don’t have a clear understanding of what impact this had on Anthony or his family. Little snippets of family stories of this time remain.  One family story is that Antoni and Josef had to swim to safety.  Another story was that an older sibling (John or someone else?) was supposedly arrested or shot for attempting to “steal” corn from his own farm, which was no longer in his control.  Another one is that Josef’s epilepsy was caused by his involvement in the war--it is unclear if that was when he was in Poland or after he moved to the U.S.

During a family trip to New York, several of us tried to find immigration information on Anthony and his brother Joseph.  We went to Ellis Island and found a Josef Raczkiewicz who emigrated to the United States when he was 20 years old, departing on July 26, 1913, and arriving at Ellis Island on September 6, 1913. We couldn’t find any information about our Grandfather being on the same ship but as far as she knew, our mother believed they came over together.  We left the Statue of Liberty confused but in awe, using our imagination to think of the decision to leave home, the determination to make arrangements to leave, pay for it and endure the taxing travel required, since the ship, Amerika,  departed from Hamburg, German, approximately 500 to 600 miles from their home. 

When I decided to trace our family history, I still believed the family lore that Antoni traveled with Josef and I looked at every line on that particular ship’s manifest to find his name as well as many other possible voyages.  I also looked for their sister Marion without any luck. One day I got lucky though and received more information which helped to solve the mystery.  I sent away for the Alien Registration form of the United States Department of Justice, Immigration & Naturalization Service through the National Archives.  I found out that Anthony arrived in the United States at Detroit, Michigan, on October 4, 1912, by train, as a passenger, entering as a permanent resident. From there, I was able to find the US Border Crossings from Canada to the U.S., 1895-1960 in Ancestry which told me that Antoni and Josef sailed on the SS Mount Temple, from Antwerp to Quebec, Canada, leaving on September 18, 1912, and arriving October 2, 1912, with a final destination of Grand Rapids, Michigan to their brother Jan.  In Family Search, I found the ship manifest (Vermont, St. Albans Canada Border Crossings, 1895-1954, Roll 320, R214, Bernard-R240.) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Mount_Temple The ship was put into service in 1901 carrying cargo.  By 1903, a wireless telegraph was added and the ship was retrofitted to carry passengers in one direction and cargo on the return trip. The ship’s history included hitting another ship, being grounded several times, and being stuck in rocks on a shore. Earlier, the same year Anoni and Jozef were on this ship, the boat was on its usual journey from Antwerp to St. John with 1,461 immigrants on board.  The wireless operator picked up a distress signal from the RMS Titanic, from the night of April 14 to the morning of April 15. Even though Captain Moore had been directed to avoid icebergs, they went to the last known position and waited in an area of heavy ice. Without seeing the Titanic or survivors, they headed for Canada.  There was controversy about their role and some accused them of being near and not helping with the rescue.  Rumors continue to this day. When Great Britain entered World War I on 2 August 1914, the ship was used to transport food and troops until it was captured and sunk on December 6, 1916

It is about 700 miles from Poland to Antwerp. The current train ride would be 23 hours. https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Antwerp/Tomasz%C3%B3w-Lubelski

On the manifest, I learned that 20-year-old Antoni and his 22-year-old brother Josef were born in Zabaldy (Sabaudia) and were farm laborers who could read and write.  While they were Russian citizens, they were Polish.  Their father, Jan, of Zabaldy, Lublin, Russia had paid their passage and Antoni had an additional $18 in his pocket. 

 Since I now knew that they didn’t come through New York, I looked more into trips through Canada, and not only did I find the documents for Anthony and Joseph, I also found them for their sister Marion (Mary or Marja) and this helped me learn of another sibling. Marja was 22, born about 1901, and described as 5’1” with a medium complexion, fair hair, and grey eyes and was a single farm laborer who could read and write when she left Zalbaldy (Saubadia) for Southampton England.  Her passage was paid for by her brother Piotr, who remained in Zalbaldy, Tomasjow, Poland and she brought $30 with her on the trip. She sailed on the Melita to Quebec, Canada, and arrived on October 5, 1923, with her final destination planned for 208 Lexington NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan, where her brother Anthony lived. She would have been about 11 years old when her brothers Anthony and Joseph left--it is interesting to think what her life was like the next ten years until she herself came to the US.

Their older brother Jan at age 22 HAD come through New York, leaving Hamburg, Germany on February 3, and arriving February 18, 1910. He traveled with several other men from Tomaszow: Stanislaw Czarnopis, 20, Jonf Benks, 45, and Raische Agey, 36.

Celebrate Polish American Heritage Month by "Liking" Poland Related Sites on Facebook

 

Discovering many Polish genealogy pages on Facebook, I started “liking” many of them and began to read.  By January, 2020, I reached out to Polish Genius - polish genealogy group 

Polish Genius - polish genealogy group. The woman who is the administrator for the Page  found that

Grandpa’s brother Jozef Raczkiewicz was baptized in 1891 in Tomaszów Lubelski and the parents

Jan Raczkiewicz and Katarzyna Kaszucka.  Of course, I can’t read Record #59:

https://szukajwarchiwach.pl/.../full/fP1MCdwILeZhBKTtX1xMkA so that was a little disappointing. 

 

On Feb. 29, 2020, I reached out to the Facebook page “Polish Genealogy” to try to find out

more about my Polish Ancestors.  At that point, I  mainly used Ancestry, Family Search and I sent

away for Antoni’s alien registration information from the National Archives.  I tried Genteeka but didn’t

know what I was doing and found some records of Raczkiewicz but couldn’t figure out if the people

were related (Kazimer, Bruno, Frances, all of Lublin--which was on one document. I asked them for

help with Antoni Raczkiewicz.  I knew from various records that: 

• He was born in 1893, 1895, or 1896.  

• I had found the location of him and some other relatives as Tomaszów Lubelski. 

•  I knew his father was Jan Raczkiewicz from Zabaldy, Lublin Poland but couldn’t it on a map.  

• I knew his 1rst wife was Klementyna Golboska;

• They married  20 June 1916, in Grand Rapids, MI, 3.5 years after immigration.  

• I knew she had died Apr 1918 after childbirth and their daughter Bronislawa died Jul 1918. 

• I knew that he married Apolonia Skrobat (my grandmother), 6 Sept. 1920, in Grand Rapids.

 

Amazingly, I had found two other siblings of Antoni that had come to Michigan from Poland: 

• John/Jan Raczkiewicz Jr., b. 21 June 1899, Sabaudia, Lublin, Poland.

• My mother was unaware of this uncle.

• Marion Raczkiewicz, 16 Dec 1902, Tomasov, Lublin, Poland, d. 30 May 1984, Muskegon, Michigan.

• My mother remembers visiting her and a daughter near her age in Muskegon one time.

 

People on the Page helped and I found out that: 

• Antoni’s parents Katarzyna and Jan married in 1885. 

•  Katarzyna was born in 1871.  

• My grandpa had a sister Pauline born in 1901.  

• Katarzyna’s parents were Jozef Kaszucki and Marianna nee Grabek.  

• Katarzyna’s last name was Kaszucka and her father’s last name was Kaszucki.  

I appreciated all the information but couldn’t read the records.  Luckily someone recommended the Facebook page Genealogical Translations, saying the demand for Russian translation is very high but there are lots of skilled people there who could help. I want to express my appreciation for the translators in that group.  My Grandma translated Polish and Russian for lots of people and now there are people translating these records for me.  I am sharing stories with my mother and it is bringing her lots of memories--and some fun surprises.