My Paternal Grandfather

Michael Kolodzinski was my paternal grandfather.  Everything I know about him came from stories told by my dad and aunts.  I never met him.  He died in Chicago, Illinois on 21 Dec 1940, many years before I was born, years before my parents were even married.  

For many years, this was the only picture I had of Michael.

It was taken in 1938 at the wedding of his daughter, Mary, to Theodore Porebski.  His look is stern for this day.  Maybe I am a romantic but I believe he missed sharing this day with his wife, my grandmother Mary, who died two years before.

Stories, so many stories, inter-sprinkled with facts I have proved through research.  My dad's side of the family is a brick wall for me.  Hopefully over time I will be able to scale that wall through genealogical DNA.

Michael was born in an November 1877.  He claimed to have been born in Lithuania but was Polish.  Both were true since the area where he was born had been part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.  When he was born the area was part of the Russian Partition.  Is it any wonder he spoke 7 different languages, none of which were English.  The area he was born is now part of Belarus.

Michael told he served with the Cossacks.  No doubt he was in the Russian military since all men were expected to serve when they came of age.  In all probability he took care of the Cossack horses since he had a wonderful way with animals.

He arrived in the USA on 18 January 1908 at Ellis Island in New York.  According to the passenger list his residence was Dykshuy, Russia.  He had paid for his own ticket and had $10.00 in his pocket.  He was traveling to Chicago to his brother Nikodum, who lived on Avery Avenue.  No brother has been found.

He adopted my grandmother's two children, they would have four more of their own.  Two of the four died in infancy, one of the adopted children died in her 20's.  This left my father, Edward and his two sisters, Anna and Mary.  To support his family Michael worked as a laborer for many different employers.  He also worked for himself as a junk man, driving a horse and wagon through the streets of "Buck Town" in Chicago.

This is a picture of my grandparents taken in Buck Town.  My grandparents moved many times and owned their own home several times.  As a matter of fact, my maternal grandparents rented and apartment from them in the 1920's.  Everything changed during the depression.  They lost their home and even the children looked to find work just so the family could survive.  Michael had a pet rabbit who followed him around like a dog.  The family had no food and the decision was made to kill the rabbit so they could eat.  It was done and the family had food to eat that day, well, all except Michael.  He could not eat.  

My grandfather was a strict man with his children.  He was also a hard drinking man, an alcoholic.  It is for this reason my dad never drank.  After my grandmother died, Michael lost himself in the bottle.  He died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 21 Dec 1940 and is buried in Saint Adalberts Cemetery in Niles, Illinois.

My American Grandmother, Mary Inda Szostek

Mary was the third child and first daughter born to Jozef and Antonina (nee Nowicki) Inda.  She was born in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois in 1894.  Since she was my only grandparent born in the USA, I had always thought of her as my American Grandmother.  She completed 8 years of school in Chicago and was fluent in both English and Polish.  Her daughter, Loretta (my mother), told me of finding a long braid of auburn hair in a trunk in her parents' home.  She was told this was Mary's hair which she had cut about in the sometime after her marriage.

Mary Inda 1907 First Communion



  In the 1910 US Census, Mary is living with her parents and eight siblings at 1736 Wood Street, Chicago, which is part of the area known as Bucktown.  She was already working as a seamstress in a tailor shop and would eventually do piecework for a company called Smoler Brothers.  Sewing was a skill she was taught by her mother along with crocheting and embroidery.

Her uncle, Sylwester Inda, was living with his family at 2124 Berlin Street.  Living in the same building was a man by the name of John Bochyniak.  In all probability this is were Mary met John.  He was a very handsome man, tall with blond hair. The couple would fall in love and marry on 26 November 1913 in St Hedwigs Catholic Church.  On 3 October 1915, Mary would give birth to their first child, Edward.  There happiness would not last.  John was what is called a "ladies man".  He was not a faithful husband and because of this tragedy would befall the once happy couple.  John was diagnosed with syphilis and was being treated.  He told Mary that both she and their infant son would need to be treated also.  The shame he felt lead john to despair.  On 8 January 1917 John threw himself under a train in Franklin Park and died at the age of 30 years, 11 months.

Mary's sorrow knew no bounds but she had a child to raise.  She moved back in with her parents who now lived at 3344 Edgington in Franklin Park.  She would not be a single parent long.  John had been a moulder in Chicago.  He had a friend by the name of Stanley Szostek.  Stanley had also immigrated from Poland and now worked with John.  He was often invited to the Bochyniak home.  Over time he fell in love with Mary but had never let her know since she was married to his friend.  After allowing for a time of morning, Stanley approached marry.  He told her of his love.  He then asked her to marry him and told her he also loved her son and would adopt him legally and raise him as his own.  Mary and Stanley wed at St Gertrude Catholic Church in Franklin Park on 24 September 1918.

On 5 July 1919, Mary would give birth to the couple's first child, Monica Phyllis Mary.  Their daughter, Loretta Mary, would follow on 21 November 1921.  Their last child was also a daughter.  Helen was born on 16 September 1928.   Stanley did legally adopt Edward.  The family lived at various addresses prior to their purchasing their own home in the early 1940's at 2535 North Springfield Avenue in Chicago.  It is interesting to note one of the homes rented by the Szostek's about 1928 was owned by Michael and Maryanna Kolodzinski, my paternal grandparents.  That is a story for another day.

Mary was a wonderful sewer and never used a pattern just cutting the material and creating clothing for her children.  She would dress Phyllis and Loretta as twins since they were so close in age.  She did not have patience to teach her daughters how to sew feeling she could always do it faster.  Her daughters were taught embroidery and Phyllis learned crocheting.

Mary and Stanley's happiness continued as their children married and they would enjoy the arrive of their grandchildren.   Then on 20 September 1955, tragedy again struck Mary as the husband she grew to love died of a stroke.  Now Mary would move into the home of her daughter, Phyllis Szostek Wegrzyn.  At various times she would be living with each of her three daughters' families.  The following picture was taken in 1959 outside of my parents home at 2866 North Woodard in Chicago.  We lived near a neighborhood shopping district and Mary did enjoy shopping.

Mary enjoyed spending time with her family.  As her children grew they would visit many times during the year.  Some days were very special and would mean all of the families would gather.  These would include Christmas Day and one day in the summer for a family picnic also every Easter we would celebrate both Easter and her birthday even though the day of this event would in reality change yearly. 

My grandmother carried on the tradition of teaching needlework.  I fondly remember sitting by her when I was about six and learning how to embroider.  Yes, it was simple embroidery stitches but she taught me and instilled my love of the needle arts by doing so.  The first piece I embroidered was a quilted potholder with Humpty Dumpty on it.  Mary continued to sew and altered both her clothes and that of her daughters if they asked.  She enjoyed her soap operas especially All My Children and As the World Turns.  You were not allowed to interrupt her during her favorite soaps!  As far as she was concerned there were no commercials.  She assumed they were just a part of the show so you needed to save conversation until they had finished, commercials and all.

Mary Inda Szostek died in Chicago on 10 February 1977.  She is buried next to Stanley at St Josephs Catholic Cemetery in River Grove. 

My Elusive Babcia, Maryanna Kolodzinski

In Polish, babcia means grandma, Maryanna was my paternal grandmother.  She died in 1936, eleven years before my parents were  married.  Growing up I believed the stories all to be true.  First the stories told to me by my father, Edward Kolodzinski and aunts, Anna Drozek and Mary Porebski:

 

I was told Maryanna was born in Austria about 1883.  My grandmother spoke Polish exclusively.  She did not know how to read or write Polish or English.  Both of my aunts, her daughters Anna and Mary, remembered writing letters back to the "old country" for their mother.  They were addressed simply as SMULSKA (everyone also believed this to have been my grandmother's maiden name also) in Vienna, Austria.  The letters were sent to Marianna's mother and after a time replies would be received.  Our family understood Maryanna's maiden name was SMULSKA.  When asked if this was the right spelling of her surname Maryanna would say it looks like it. 

 

My cousins and I heard tales of my grandmother coming to the United States as a young girl, working as a servant to a rich family aboard a ship to obtain passage.  My father and my aunts never told us what brought her to Chicago where she began her new life.  It is quite probable even they did not know.  In the late 1800's and early 1900's it was common for immigrants not to talk about life in their homeland.  They were afraid word would get back to the authorities there and bad things would happen to the immigrant's family which was left behind.  

Maryana
Picture taken soon after she arrived in Chicago.

Maryanna married Michael KOŁODZINSKI in Chicago.  Anna, born in 1909 was the oldest child, Edward was born in 1914 and Mary in 1916.  Two other children, Genevieve and Michael, died in infancy.  The family lived in an area of Chicago called "bucktown".  Bucktown was an area on the northwest side of Chicago.  At the time it was predominantly Polish. 

 

Maryanna owned a candy store in the area.  My father told me stories of her sitting on the front stoop of the store after closing on the 4th of July and enjoying herself shooting off all of the fireworks she had not sold.  She closed or lost the store at one time but would once again reopen it in the same neighborhood.  I would ask how she handled the store and the paperwork involved and all my dad would say is she had no problem.  She loved to cook and the family would always have good food and delicious desserts even during the lean times. 

 Maryanna and Michael Kolodzinski - 1929

She was the buffer between her husband who was an alcoholic and her children.  When Maryanna died in January of 1936 the family was devastated.  Today lumbar pneumonia would be treated, in the 1930's it meant death for Maryanna.  She is buried in St Adalbert's Catholic Cemetery in Niles, Illinois, the same cemetery where her children Genevieve and Michael were buried.

 

It would have been wonderful to have known my babcia or at least to know more about her.  It was her untold story which started my interest in researching my family tree.  As I had written in a previous, I was in my mid 30's when I found out my babcia had been married previously and my Aunt Anna was born from that union.  My cousins had also been in the dark about this part of our history.  Little did I know this was just the beginning.......

 

The records found so far place Maryanna's birth as occurring between 1882 and 1884 but the location is not always stated as being Austria let alone Vienna.  Yes, Austria is named but at the time she was born much of the area was part of the Austrian Empire.  Her death certificate states she was born in Czechoslavakia and the passenger list from her arrival (27 Jan 1901) states she had been living in Zapolocz, Hungary (I have not been able to find this location).  She may have moved there to work.  Other than her location prior to arrival the passenger list bears out the story of her working as a servant to gain passage to the USA.  The passenger list was difficult to locate due to the name she traveled under, Maria Czmar.   Not quite the surname Smulska she told her daughters her name looked similar to when they wrote letters. 

When we were told about the two marriages we found out her first husband had been a man by the name of Andrew Opalenik.  Maryanna and Andrew had four children, Helen born about 1903 (she died sometime in the 1920's), Paul born 1905 (he died the same year), Dmitron born 1906 (he died in 1912) and Anna born 1909, before Maryanna filed for divorce in 1913.  The 1910 US Census confirms Mary having given birth to 4 children 3 of which survived.

It is thanks to the dedication of my aunt Mary that the divorce documents had been located.  According to the document, the couple had married on or about 1 Aug 1906.  When did they really marry?  After sending for a copy of a marriage certificate for Andrew Opalenik and Maryanna Smulska and being unsuccessful I asked the Cook County clerk to look for various spellings (they must have had an interesting time with the variety).  Almost giving up Itried just using Andrew Opalenik's name.  Success!  This is were Maryanna's name was found to be Mary Czmur!  Paul's birth register states his mother's maiden name was Murzat, Dimitron states Zuner. The error in the spelling Czmur to Murzat or Smulska is no doubt due the inability to read or write or hearing a name pronounced by someone who does not speak English.  Since the letters were sent to Austria with the name Smulska could Maryanna's mother have remarried and Smulska was his surname?

 

Maryanna and Michael's first born was Edward in 1914.  Since their marriage certificate has not yet been located the question which comes up is did they formalize their marriage?  Why would Mary have gone through a divorce, hiring a lawyer and appearing in court, if they did not intend to marry.  Once again spelling may hold a clue in finding the record.

 

Yes, she did own at least one candy store.  The proof is in the 1920 US Census which states the fact and a Chicago City Directory showing a Mary Kolodzinski having a candy store in the 1920.  From the record found of Paul's birth in 1905 until she died in 1936, Maryanna lived at thirteen different addresses, all in Bucktown. 

 

Her love of family lived on after she was gone and is still shown by the closeness we all feel to our elusive babcia.

How We Relate to History

Yesterday I watched the Inauguration of President Barack Obama on television and thought about the other Inaugurations I had lived through.  Each of of lives and destinies are formed by our families and the land we live in, its government and relationship to the world.  I was born during the middle of President Harry Truman's term in office, yes, I am dating myself.  I was a toddler during the first Inauguration of Dwight D Eisenhower.  The Inauguration of John F Kennedy was the first I truly remember.  These men have influenced me and how I live as have the men who followed them in office.

 

 

 

This made me think of my ancestors.  They immigrated from Europe and did not experience a democracy until they arrived in the USA.  Who were the Presidents when they arrived?  What was happening in the United States?  This would have influenced the lives they lived in, they would be part of this history.  What other historical events happened the year they arrived?

 

My paternal grandfather, Michael Kolodzinski, arrived in the USA in January of 1908.  Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the USA (William Howard Taft was elected to succeed him in 1909).   Henry Ford produced his first Model "T".  Wilbur Wright flies 30 miles in 40 minutes.  Yes, his history continues to influence my world and life.

 

My maternal grandmother was Mary Czmur (we thought her maiden name was Smulski but that is a story for another day) immigrated in January, 1901.  William McKinley was the 25th President of the USA when she arrived but in September of that year he was assassinated to be replaced by Theodore Roosevelt.  Queen Victoria of England had died and was succeeded by her son, King Edward IV.  Cuba becomes a US protectorate.  The first Nobel Prize ceremony is held in Stockholm, Sweden. 

 

My maternal grandfather, Stanley Szostek, immigrated in April of 1907.  Theodore Roosevelt was President.  The RMS Lusitania makes its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York.  Marconi initiates the first commercial transatlantic radio communications.

 

My maternal grandmother, Mary Inda, was born in Chicago, IL.  Her parents, Jozef and Antonina Inda arrived in April of 1891 and her grandparents, Jan and Anna (nee Schleichert) Inda arrived in May of 1892.  Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the USA.  In 1891, the first escalator is patented, Wrigley Company is founded, Edison unveils the kinescope (a precursor to our motion picture camera), and the first Sherlock Holmes story is published.  In 1892 Ellis Island opens its doors to immigrants, the first official basketball game is played,  Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two way telegraph and the University of Chicago holds its first class.

 

 

For my cousins I would also like to add some of their ancestors years of immigration and a bit of history. 

 

Albert Schleichert (my half brother of Anna Schleichert) immigrated in 1882 and 

Catherine Inda Manicki (sister of Jan Inda) immigrated in June of 1882.  Chester A Arthur was the 21st President of the USA. 

 

Valentine Inda (cousin of Jan Inda) immigrated in July of 1872.  Ulysses S Grant was the 18th President of the USA.  The Great Chicago Fire was the previous year (no wonder Valentine settled with his family in LaSalle, IL)

 

Julius Drozek immigrated about 1889.  Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the USA succeeding Grover Cleveland in March of 1889.  North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington become States.  The Coco-Cola Company is incorporated in Atlanta, GA. 

 

Paul Porebski immigrated about 1910.  William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the USA. The Boy Scouts of America are founded.  The first filmed version of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein comes out.  The Mexican Revolution begins.

 

For my Inda cousins having ancestors settling in Waushara County, WI:

Frank Inda immigrated about 1881.  His sister, Josepha Inda Korleski, immigrated in April of 1883.  When Josepha Korleski immigrated with her family Chester A Arthur was President.  Not knowing when in 1881 Frank Inda and his wife arrived it is hard to know who was the President.  Rutherford B Hayes was the President until March of 1881.  He was succeeded by James A Garfield who was then assassinated on 19 Sept 1881.  Chester A Arthur succeeded him.

 

For my Inda cousins having ancestors being in Michigan and before settling in Arkansas:

Peter Inda immigrated in June of 1868.  Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the USA.  He was sworn into office upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  The Civil War had ended and it was time of Reconstruction.

 

For my Inda cousins in who had ancestors settling in Branch County, MI with many moving to Nebraska:  Anthony A Inda immigrated between 1870-1880, his sister, Anna Inda, immigrated about 1873, and brother, Martin Inde,  immigrated about 1874.  Ulysses S Grant was the President.

 

For my Inda cousins having ancestors settling in Huron County, MI:  Jacob Inda immigrated about 1884.  Chester A Arthur was President of the USA.  The first eight hour work day is proclaimed by Federation of Organized Trades and Unions in the USA.  May 1st is called May Day or Labor Day.

 

For my Inda cousins in who had ancestors settling in Buffalo, NY:

Peter and his brother, Wojciech (Albert or George) Inda immigrated in 1890.  Benjamin Harrison was President of the USA.  Idaho is admitted as the 43rd State, Wyoming as the 44th.  The Wounded Knee Massacre happens in South Dakota.

 

For my Inda cousins in who had ancestors settling in Milwaukee, WI and Cheektowaga, NY:  Anthony Inda immigrated in 1887 and his brother, Jacob Inda, in 1893.  Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States serving between 1883-1889 and then again from 1893-1897.  Benjamin Harrison was the 23ed President between 1893-1897.

 

For my Inda cousins in who had ancestors settling in Milwaukee, WI:  Valentine, Michael and Catherine Inda immigrated about 1874.  Their father, Anton Inda, immigrated in 1879.  Ulysses S Grant was President until 1877 when Rutherford B Hayes was sworn into Office.

 

History was never one of my favorite subjects in school, it was just memorization of dates and events.  When I see how it relates to my family it becomes enthralling!

Stories and Spoons

As children many of us are told stories about our ancestors.  The stories may only be about our parents or grandparents but we feel they are the history of our family.  Many things are also left out of stories as I found out when I was in my early thirties.

My father, Ed, had two sisters, Anna and Mary.  There were two other siblings, Genevieve and Michael, both of whom died in early childhood.  Aunt Anna was older than  my dad.  She had married William "Bill" Drozek and they had three sons.  Aunt Mary was the youngest in the family.  She had married Thaddeus "Ted" Porebski and they had one son.  Yes, we were a small family but we were close.  There were many fun visits throughout the year and Thanksgiving traditionally spent at the Drozek's home and New Years Day at the Porebski's.

 There was one Thanksgiving I will never forget.  It had been a fun day as usual and our stomachs were all filled with wonderful food.  We had just finished a game of "Spoons"* and the conversation turned to my grandmother, Maryanna.  One of my Aunts mentioned something about  Maryanna's first husband.  Well, my jaw dropped and when I looked at my cousins, who were older, and they looked equally surprised.  We seemed to ask as one,
"What do you mean first husband?"

It seems Maryanna had first married a man named Andrew Opalenik and Anna was born from this marriage.  The couple also had another child who survived to adulthood.  Her name was Helena!  She had married and had two stepsons before she died sometime in the 1920's.  No one remembered the year of her death or her married name.  There were more cousins out there!!!

Then one of my cousins asked when Andrew died and we were told it was sometime in the 1920's.  Well, my father was born in 1914 from the marriage of Maryanna to Michael Kolodzinski.  How???  Then we were told Maryanna had divorced Andrew sometime between the time Anna was born in 1909 and Ed in 1914.

Helen Opalenik (eldest daught of Maryanna Czmur and Andrew Opalenik)

When my family returned to my parents home I was still reeling.  When I commented once again on the fact that Maryanna was married twice,  my mother, Loretta (née Szostek) told me that my other grandmother, Mary (née Inda), had also been married twice!  That is a story for another day since there is more to this story.

A year or so later I started again asking my dad about his siblings.  He then told me there was another Michael plus another child but he was not sure of the name.  Both of the children died as infants or toddlers.  Over the last few years I have found records confirming these two children born to Maryanna.  They were from her marriage to Andrew.  Michael was called Mike but Baptized as Dmitron.  The other child was also a son.  Paul was 7 months old when he died.

We seem to believe divorce is something new to our lifetimes but it is not.  My grandmother, Maryanna, divorced her husband Andrew in 1913.  Thanks to the persistence of my Aunt Mary in looking for the paperwork, I have a copy of the divorce decree and the court records.

* * * * * * * * * * *

*SPOONS is an easy game which can be played by many different age groups, children and adults at the same table.  All you need is a deck of cards and one spoon less than the number of people playing (eg 10 people playing = 9 spoons, etc).  Remove the jokers from the deck of cards.  If you have 8 people playing you use 8 sets (a set consisting of 4 common cards) ignoring the suits (eg 4 twos, 4 threes, 4 fours, etc until you have the needed amount).  Everyone sits by a table and the spoons are laid down the middle.  Shuffle the cards and deal each person 4 cards face down.  People can look at them but not let others know what they have in their hand. Each person passes one card, again face down, to their left and adds the card from their right which has been passed to them to their hand.  This continues until the first person obtains 4 of a kind.  They then take a spoon out of the center of the table (most people do it as silently as possible).  It is up to the others to notice a spoon is taken and the scramble for spoons begins.  Whoever does not have a spoon is out of the next round and one spoon is removed from the table.  This continues until there is one person left and they are the winner!
We played this game at family gatherings with both sides of my family.  There is another variation to this game called "NOSE".  You do not use spoons in this version, just the cards.  Everything else is the same but when the first person collects 4 of a kind they place their finger next to their nose and everyone else must do the same.  The last person to do such is out of the game.  This is a much tamer version and personally I do not believe to be as much fun as the original game.

Am I Really Polish American?

My family lived in Chicago but we were of Polish descent.  I grew up in an area of the city that would be dubbed "Little Warsaw".  It was so named since it had as many Polish people living there as Warsaw, Poland. Many people spoke Polish as a first and sometimes only language.  My parents, Ed and Loretta (née Szostek) Kolodzinski were born in Chicago but were fluent in Polish.

 Both of my father's parents, Michael and Mary Kolodzinski, were immigrants and only spoke their native tongue at home. Michael spoke 9 languages in all but did not care to learn English. He did not want his children speaking English in his home until his wife, Mary, stated, "how can I learn English if they do not speak it at home?"  My dad first learned to speak English when he attended school.  Neither of my paternal grandparents ever learned to speak English before they died.  Loretta's parents were Stanley and Mary (née Inda) Szostek. Stanley was an immigrant from Poland. Eventually he would learn to understand English but never to speak it. Mary was born in the USA and fluent in Polish.

One would think all of my grandparents immigrated from Poland but this is not true. Even though Michael Kolodzinski spoke Polish he stated he was born in Lithuania. During research this was found to be partially true. When he immigrated to the USA in 1908 the area he lived was part of Russian Empire (between bout 1795 until the Treaty of Versailles in 1918, the country we call Lithuania did not exist). After finding the passenger of his immigration I found he had lived in Dykshuy (Dokshytsy), Russia which is now part of Belarus!

My paternal grandmother, Mary Kolodzinski, could not read or write.  Her two daughters would write letters for her and send them to the family in, no, not Poland but Vienna, Austria!  When Mary immigrated to the USA in 1901 the passenger list stated she had been living in Zapolocz, Hungary.  When she died in 1936, my grandfather gave Czechoslovakia as the place of her birth.  Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia were all part of the Austrian Partition between about 1795 until the Treaty of Versailles in 1918.  The countries no longer appeared on maps.

Stanley Szostek immigrated to the USA in 1907.  The passenger list states he had lived in Gromiec, Galicia prior to immigration.   Galicia was an area in the Austrian Partition and today is part of Poland.

My maternal grandmother, Mary Szostek, was born to Jozef and Antonina (nee Nowicki) Inda, both immigrants.  Mary knew her parents were from Posen.  At the time Jozef and Antonina immigrated (1892) Posen was part of the German Partition, the Polish spelling is Poznan.  At times this area was called Preußen or Prussia.  Also, my Inda ancestors did not come from the city of Posen but from the Province of Posen.  Currently this area is part of the Wielkopolska Province also called Greater Poland.

The map below shows the various partitions of the region.  The first occured about 1792.  Some countries disappeared off of the world map but most remained in the hearts of their citizens.  If you are interested in learning more about the various Partitions of Poland I would suggested reading the following website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland  Here you will also be able to see a larger and better view of this map which was on the site.

 Even though the boundaries of the lands changed and they owed allegiances to different monarchs, my ancestors considered themselves Polish Americans and so do I.  

The Quest

My aunt and godmother, Mary Kolodzinski Porebski, had always been interested in finding information about her ancestors.  She had spent hours in the Cook County Courthouse (Illinois) looking for records.   Frustrated since neither my father, her older brother, Edward, nor their older sister, Anna Kolodzinski Drozek, would tell her anything about their parents lives in Europe.  

 

 

Her research always intrigued me.  I had researched the history of a building and found it fascinating and informative.  This made me decide to research the history of my family sine it would no doubt be fascinating and informative, too.  The quest began!

 

 

Both my paternal grandparents were born in Europe and immigrated to the USA in the early 1900's.  My grandmother, Marianna Smulska Kolodzinski, died of pneumonia in 1936 at the age of 53.  My grandfather, Michael Kolodzinski, died from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1940at  the age of 61.  Both had been laid to rest at St Adalberts Catholic Cemetery before my parents married.

  

 

I was never to meet them but remember many of the stories my dad would tell me.  They were fascinating tales to a young child and I will tell you some of them in future posts.

 

 

My maternal grandparents were slightly easier,or at least my grandmother side was easier.  Her maiden name was Mary Inda.  She was born in Chicago, IL, in the mid 1890's.  Mary married my grandfather, Stanley Szostek, in Chicago.  He had been born in Poland, immigrating in the early 1900's and finally settling in Chicago.

 

  

Her parents and grandparents immigrated from Poland in the early 1890's.  She was not told much about her family's life in Poland but records found in Illinois filled in much of the tree branch prior to immigration.  

 

 

It was my mother's older sister, Phyllis Szostek Wegrzyn, who helped fill in many gaps in my materal branch.  

If you are starting to trace your family's history start with what you know.   Then remember to ask your oldest living relatives what they can tell you about your family.  They won't always be around to relay their knowledge, write it down while they are still there to tell you the family stories.....