As promised, here’s a write up the last located sibling for Joseph Plenzler, Kunegunda. I tried to look up the name Kunegunda because it’s a pretty unusual name–at least for me. Never heard of it until I encountered Joseph’s sister. All I could find was this from catholic.org.  So it’s pretty obvious Kunegunda didn’t get the name from being born on July 24, all records I could locate place her birth as March 22, 1872. I then posted a question to Ask Sister Mary Martha. She seems to be knowledgeable about such things, so maybe she’ll be able to provide some insight. (Now back to our regularly scheduled post. I tend to be interested in some of the odder trivia of genealogy such as answering questions like “Why in the world would a parent give their child THAT name?”)

Kunegunda arrived in the US in Baltimore on June 15, 1892. The manifest seems to indicate that she traveled alone, there are no other Plenzlers or other related family names that I can recognized on this manifest. She was 22 and single and her final destination is listed as Indiana. So she was heading to be with her sisters in South Bend.

Kungunda married Stanislaw (Stanley)  Zalas on January 16, 1892 in St. Hedwig’s Parish in South Bend, Indiana per the South Bend Area Genealogical Society. (Contact the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library.) The 1900 census shows that Kunegunda and Stephen had four children:

  1. Piotr (age 6)
  2. Stanislaw (age 5)
  3. Zofia (age 4)
  4. Jadwiga (age 8 months)

By the 1920 census, the family added five more children:

  1. Hattie (age 19)
  2. George (age 17)
  3. Jacob (age 13)
  4. Verna (age 9)
  5. Klara (age 4 or 5, the census noted the age as 4 12/12 months)

I have little further data on this family. Per Kunegunda’s obituary, Stanislaw died in 1950. Kunegunda died in 1953. Her obituary was published in the South Bend Tribune on November 19, 1953 and  is obtainable through the South Bend Library and I’ve transcribed it below:

Mrs. Kunegunda Zalas, 714 South Brookfield St. Died at 7:30 PM Saturday in St. Joseph Hospital after four weeks illness. She was born in Poland March 22, 1872, and came here 65 years ago from that country. She was married here 62 years ago to Stanley Zalas, who died in 1950. Surviving are four sons; Peter, Stanley Jr., Albert and James; and three daughters, Mrs. Sophia Jaronik, Mrs. Verna Caplin and Mrs. Clara Gapinski, all of South Bend; 24 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren. Friends may call in the Kaniewski Chapel after 6 PM today and the funderal at 9 am Tuesday in St. Adalbert’s Church, with Rev. Ignatius J. Capczynski, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in St. Joseph Cemetery.