No left hand turns from 4 pm until 6 pm

While researching the Rochowiaks, I learned Lawrence Rochowiak had two sons named Joseph. The eldest, born to his first wife, Rosalia, was born in 1876. The younger, baptized Joseph Wladyslaw, was born to his second wife, Anna, in 1901. While I am still untangling the children of Lawrence and his two wives; I’d come across an  interesting tidbit that I believe would have involved Joseph Wladyslaw.

Per the 1930 census, Joseph Wladyslaw was a city of Toledo patrolman. That same year, on 27 May, the Toledo News Bee published an interesting little tidbit on Joseph:

Watch Your Turn (Published Toledo News Bee, 27 May 1930)

The scan isn’t easy to read, so here is a transcription:

Watch Your Turn

Downtown Traffic Officer Out to Enforce the Law

Toledo motorists Tuesday were threatened with a new traffic menace in the person of Patrolman Joseph Rochowiak, who late Monday launched a single-handed crusade against 27 motorists who persisted in making a left turn at Erie street and Madison avenue between the hours of 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. , in violation of a traffic ordinance.

Unfortunately, there are no further details. How many of these drivers fought city hall and won?

 

Tombstone Tuesday: Koralewski, Lawecki, Lewandowski

A few gravestones from Calvary Cemetery again. None of these are directly tied to my family.

John Lawecki, World War I Veteran, Died Aug. 10, 1921, Age 26

John Lawecki’s gravestone transcription:
World War Veteran
Meuse Argonne, Verdun
Army of Occupation
Died Aug. 10, 1921 Age 26

John’s burial record through Calvary reads:
No. 23038
Name: John Lawecki
Residence: 1417 Nebraska
Age: 28
Cause of Death: Thrombosis
Date of Interment: Aug. 13
Grave: 1823
Range or Lot: 12
Section: 3
Undertaker: W.J. Sujkowski

Casimir Koralewski 1890 - 1975

Casimir Koralewski’s grave is located here: Grave: S-1/2, Range or Lot: 21, Section 34

Beloved Daughter, Cecelia Lewandowski 1910 - 1911

Cecelia Lewandowski’s grave is located here: Grave: 1283, Lot: 21, Section: 28

 

Sentimental Sunday: Easter Sunday dinner

Three year old's delight, Easter morning

Now that I’m single and my kids are all grown up, I suppose that it is medically correct to say that I’m healthier because I don’t have all those fattening and sugary goodies around the house during holiday time–today, no chocolate bunnies or jelly beans. But after reading a few other blogs today, I starting reminiscing about the Easter dinner table. Here’s some of the goodies we had on the Easter dinner table–pretty much through the time my kids were grown and gone:

• Kielbasa
• Of course, hard boiled eggs. But these weren’t just cracked, peeled, and eaten. We made Eggs Jeannette with them. (Ok, they weren’t Polish, but Jacques Pepin’s French cooking made easy made these eggs hard to resist!)
• Butter molded into pretty lambs
• Ham (Have we a theme going here? — We were a pork eatin’ Polish family machine!)
• Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate
• Kapusta (sweet and sour cabbage, seasoned with — you guessed it — bacon!)
• Polish coffee cake with raisins
• Peeps — my mother could consume a box–an entire dozen–of these by herself

Time moves on, and I’m not so sure that I’m unhealthier for having had these delicious memories. And how can I not laugh when I remember my kids bargaining with their jelly beans? If mom or dad wanted any, we got the black licorice jelly beans! Who can not smile when remembering egg hunts and squeals of delight over something as simple as a basket of colored eggs and chocolates?

Happy Easter!

 

Wedding Photo Mystery

Because Saturdays are traditional days for marriages, thought I’d take a break from my Rochowiak obsession today and post the following photo. Per John Plenzler, this photo my be “William Grzechowiak and Helen Lakes, William is Josepine Grzechowiak (Plenzler)’s brother.” There is no other identifying information. My guess is that this photo was taken sometime in the 1920s. The style of the dresses seem to be from that period and a quick bit of research on William Grezechowiak found him and Helen on the 1930 census, living at 922 Marmion. Per the census, they were married when William was 24, Helen was 16. (Age at the time of census: William 32 and Helen 24.) They had two sons: Edward, 6 and Alphonse, 5 when the census was taken. So they may have been married sometime in 1922.

This is a remarkably well preserved photo and the detail is incredible. The bride is wearing full length gloves–her watch and new wedding ring are worn outside of the glove. Her veil has beautiful embroidery and she and her female attendants have beautiful, large bouquets of roses. This was definitely a studio photo–study the background a bit and you’ll notice a large painting in the center and perhaps a faux window or moveable partition to the left. Click the photo to enlarge.

Unknown wedding photo--perhaps the marriage of William Grzechowiak and Helen Lakes

If you have any information or can identify anyone in this photo, please leave a comment here or drop me an email.

 

Rochowiak obsessed: Marriage record for Martinus Rochowiak and Catherine Switała

While obtaining the marriage record for Adalbertus Rochowiak and Marianna Chlebowska, I had also asked Lukasz for the marriage record for their son, Martin, and Catherine Switała from November, 1877. The image isn’t near as clear as the one for Adalbertus and Marianna, and it’s a much larger image. So here are snippets showing just the record for Martin and Catherine. The top is the left side of the book, the bottom image is the right side of the book. I have to apologize for the size of the snippets. The original image was large and lower resolution, and it needed to be cropped and reduced quite a bit to fit on the screen here. You can click the snippets to enlarge. If you want a full copy, feel free to ask. I’m happy to send it on and can email it.

Left side: marriage record November 1877 for Martinus Rochowiak and Catherine Switała

Right side: marriage record November 1877 for Martinus Rochowiak and Catherine Switała

At the time of the marriage, Martin was 28 and Catherine 20. I cannot ascertain the exact date of the marriage; however, marriage banns were published on 20 October, 28 October, and 4 November. That should tell us that the marriage likely took place within the following week of the final publishing of banns. Catherine’s parents were Mathias and Marianna Zablocka. The couple was married in Góra Żnin.

Per the 1900 census, Martin and Catherine emigrated to the US in 1889. The children per that census were:

1. Frances, b. 1880 (Poland)
2. Agnes, b. 1882 (Poland)
3. Teresa, b. 1883 (Poland)
4. Joseph, b. 1890 (Toledo, Ohio)
5. Jadwiga (Hattie), b. 1895 (Toledo, Ohio)
6. Martha, b. 1899 (Toledo, Ohio)

I can’t say why, but I’m happy that I’m learning Frances had siblings and nieces and nephews in Toledo. This also makes me wonder if entire villages in Poznan emigrated to Toledo! (I am only half joking–the Plenzler family seemed to have emptied a few small villages themselves so far.) This also makes me wonder too if my great-great grandchildren would be able to find my family for their genealogy efforts. My family is now so very spread out over the United States–how difficult will that be in 90 or 100 years for my progeny to locate our whereabouts? Connecting the dots with my great-grandparents’ family who lived within a small radius together both in Poland and in Toledo continues to challenge me.

 

Wedding Wednesday: Rochowiak

Again, I am posting a bit early for Geneablogger’s Wednesday theme, but I was excited to get a huge surprise today.

I had written to the Poznan Project over the weekend to obtain what I believed was Adalbertus Rochowiak’s (my 2nd great-grandfather) first marriage. I’m now thinking he was married three times–based on what I received today. The record I received would be the second marriage for Adalbertus. Lukasz kindly sent me the marriage record today. Here it is.

Aldalbertus Rochowiak and Marianna Chlebowski, marriage record 2 November 1832, Chomętowo, Poznan, Poland

Roughly transcribed:

Specificato Copulatorum 1832
Nomina Vallarum: Zedowo

1832 die ii Novembris
Ego Andrea Kowalski Curatus
Stupensis, Benediti matrimonium inter
laboriosum Adalbertum Rochowiak vidius
de Gorzyce anno 34 et
Mariannam Chlebowska virginem de
Zedowo  ann0 24 filiam Valentine Chlebowski
vidui — Premipis bannis en utr???
Parochia nullo Impedimento detecto –
Br???ntibus
Benedicto Pietras
Paulo Bryzycky
Petro Bryzycky
et Mathias Białecki

Now, here too Adalbertus was indicated to be a widower (vidius), as he was in the marriage record to Marianna Mazana dated 27 October 1851. This record tells us he is living in Gorczyce, is 34 years old, and widowed. Marianna has not been married previously, is 24 years old, and her father, Valentine, is a widower. They were married in a village parish of Zedowo on 2 November 1832.

And a familiar names is popping up: Bryzykcy.

With these clues, I did notice there is one more record of a marriage for Adalbertus within the Poznan Project. This is to an Eva Malak in Gorzyce in 1825. It is possible this marriage produced children as well.

 

A very interesting thing to have

I was recently emailing with the Toledo Polish Genealogical Society. The person I was conversing with kindly sent me the marriage record for my grandmother’s, Anastasia Przybylski, first marriage to Stanley Lawecki.

I’ve transcribed it below:

Stanislaw Lawecki filius
Joannes et Mariae Szuchininska (sp?)
natus in Toledo, O. Sept. 21. 1886

et

Anastasia Przybylska
filia
Andreas et Franciscae Rochowiak
nata et bapt. in Toledo, O.
d. 23 February 1889

Testes: Antoni Lawecki, Joseph Rochowiak
Jos. Kuta
Sept. 20 – ’09

I cannot quite transcribe Stanley’s mother’s name so I may have it wrong.

Sadly, Stanley passed away a bit over a year from the marriage on October 9, 1910 of typhoid fever. Anastasia and Stanley had a child, Daniel. Daniel passed away on November 2, 1910 of cholera. I’m not sure I can comprehend how difficult it must have been for her to have lost a spouse and a child within weeks of each other.