Let’s talk Mierzejewski. Lots of confusion on this family, remember my grandfather married a Mierzejewska. So, it takes some time and patience untangling names and relationships. Earlier, I had identified a John (Jan) M. Mierzejewski as my grandmother’s brother. See this post updated on July 13, 2010 and this post from August 1, 2010.
However, I’m going to focus on my grandfather’s family here. And these relationships are confusing because my grandmother and grandfather each had siblings who were named alike. The John or Jan Mierzejewski who is today’s subject is descended through my great-grandfather, Antoni Mierzejewski. Antoni had a son named Ignacy. John is the son of Ignacy Mierzejewski and Marianna Goclowska Dabkowska. My grandfather, Wladyslaw (Walter) is the son of Ignacy and another wife, Budziszewska. So Walter and John were half-brothers.
This post will set the stage for a following post on John’s son, William. William, or Bill, was an OSS officer who served in Yugoslavia in WWII. Bill had changed his last name to Marsh after leaving the OSS to serve with the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Much of the information presented here was provided by Bill’s son, William (Bill) S. Marsh (Mierzejewski).
John was born in Tomasze, Poland on November 15, 1894 per his Word War II draft registration card.
Interestingly, John provided his residence for the World War II draft registration on Vance Street. A number of my mother’s relatives had resided on Vance.
Per the 1930 census, John was residing at 1021 Hamilton. This census indicates that John is living with his first wife, Anna (Joanna) (Mizlinska or Myslinska) and his children:
- Josephine
- William
- Adelaide
Also noted on this census is a roomer, Edward. Edward is likely John’s brother.
John served in WWI and because of his service, became a naturalized citizen.
Thanks to Bill Marsh, there are several photos of John:
John Mierzejewski
John and Anna (Joanna) marriage
John and Anna (Joanna) marriage
John Mierzejewski, far left, uniform
If you can identify anyone in these photos, please leave a message here and I will follow up.
John passed away on August 17, 1970. His obituary as published in the Toledo Blade the same day and is transcribed below:
John Mierzejewski
John Mierzejewski, 74, of 1435 Nebraska Ave., owner of John’s Carry-out for 20 years, died Monday in Howard’s Convalescent Home, Swanton, O., after a long illness.
Born in Poland, Mr. Mierzejewski lived in Toledo 46 years. He worked at the Mather Spring Co. 30 years, retiring nine years ago, and also ran the carry-out with his wife.
Mr. Mierzejewski was an army veteran of World War I, a member of the Wroblewski Post, American Legion, and of the Toledo Health and Retiree Center.
Surviving are his wife, Jennie, daughters, Mrs. Adelaide McCartney, of Berkey, and Mrs. Josephine Galliers, of Toledo, and nine grandchildren.
Services will be Thursday at 1 p.m. in Sujkowski Mortuary, with burial in Toledo Memorial Park. The body will be in the mortuary after 7 tonight.
July 26, 2012 at 3:29 am
I attempted to send this as an email but it came back to me. Hello! I stumbled upon your blog- amazing project, by the way!- while doing some of my own family research and I wondered if we might both have information that would be helpful to the other. My maternal grandfather’s first wife was a Lucille Mislenska/Myslenka, and her father’s name was Ignatz (also sometimes went by John) (her mother’s name was Nettie Shaw). I came across your blog when I Googled the name Myslenska, and came to a post with a tag “Myslenska” in which you mentioned a John and an Ignatz (or some similar spelling). I’ve been trying to track down this side of my mother’s family, because when Lucille died, in 1942, one of her sisters adopted the baby girl she and my grandfather had (he was drafted and had no other choice). I don’t know which of the two sisters (there is a Charlotte and a Frances), but now that my grandparents are both gone, my mother feels a strong pull to find her half sister, so I’m out there searching. Please let me know if you can verify any link to your own research, and if so, I’d be happy to share a more extensive family tree from our side. Thanks so much!
Chloe Viening-Butler
July 26, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Chloe, I will have to respond to you more in-depth via email. I also want to get in touch with a specific person as well (a cousin of mine who is from this Myslenska line). There are several John Mierzejewskis and many similar names in the family. I’d love to compare notes and share what I have with you. I will email you in the next few days.