The Czachorowskys | From Prussia to Chicago: 1890 to 1900

The Czachorowskys are a conundrum. They seem to simply 'appear' in Chicago around 1868. Claiming to be from Prussia I have yet to determine their actual origins. Or their point of entry into the United States. Or why they chose Chicago. As I set out to research one family I discovered others. Curiosity getting the best of me, this turned into the study of five Czachorowsky families living in Chicago c. 1870.  It is my hope with this series to make some discoveries to either link these families together, or prove they are not related. This is a real-time research project, I have not worked on this cluster before. I plan to share my discoveries and my frustrations in hopes that more eyes on the evidence will result in some sound conclusions. Join me as I explore these families, maybe we'll make some discoveries together!

Chicago 1890 to 1900

This week the focus is on the last decade of the 20th century. Where the Czachorowskys were, what they were doing. We don't have a census to consult for 1890 unfortunately, but we do have city directories and other documents. Let's dig in!

1890, Bernard is still on 14th, Anton (Anthony?!) and his sons Bernard  and Frank are still on Maxwell, Leo and Mary with son Frank are all still on Canal. Quiet year .....

1890

1891, Whoa! What? Is this our 'mystery' Frank again? The other two Franks are accounted for at the homes of their fathers. Leo's got a new job! Insurance Agent. Wonder if Mary has retired?

1891

1892, Anthony, Benjamin (Anton and Bernard) and Frank are still on Maxwell, but it looks like Leo has moved again - 488 Hermitage Av is the new address. No listing for Mary.

1892

1893, Anton has gone 'legit'! He and Frank are on Maxwell, Bernard (the older Bernard or Anton's son?) is living on Frank Street (oh now come on .... Frank!?) this year. Leo and Frank stay put on Hermitage. And Leo has managed to keep at the insurance agent gig!

1893

1894, Okay looks like Anton (son of Anton) might be getting into banking? But he is still doing the housemover thing with Anton Sr and brother Bernard (who is the one living on Frank St) Leo and Frank? Same old, same old.

1894

1895, Maxwell St has changed to 13th Place this year. Everybody seems to be keeping on. But where's Bernard (the elder) been?  We haven't seen him since 1891. (Must have won that lawsuit - might take a while to blow through $100,000!)

1895

1896,  Looks like most everybody was avoiding the city directory this year .....

1896

1897, Well, well! Old Bernard's back! Who is Julius? Frank L has moved into his own home on S Winchester and I suspect this is Leo B, Leo's son - either that or Leo has a new job ...... again .....

1897

1898, Our new friend Julius has a brother - Louis - didn't our 'mystery' Frank live on 18th St? And yes, that was Leo B in 1897, looks like he moved out of 488 S Hermitage and is now on Winchester Av too. Bernard's still hanging in there on 14th ..

1898

1899, Julius and Louis are still in the picture. Related? Further investigation is in order. Oh, look! Mary's back! She's moved to Myrtle. Wonder what happened to Leo? Last time we saw him was in 1896.

1899

1900, Seems Anton Jr is an artist now, and shortened his name? Leo B is now living with his mother on Myrtle. Bernard is gone again. Leo is still missing.

1900

Let's re-look at the family tree. And the daughters of Leo and Anton.

A newspaper search found little for the decade, but I did find a few things. And a sad thing.

In 1888 Leo was sued for $1,130.51 - this bears further investigation ...

1893 was a busy year, a Czachorowsky was a member of the Chicago Minstrel Club - I found him listed among the performers! (Look under 'football')

And Mary Czachorowsky, Anton's daughter, married Peter Wagner.

In 1896 Leo's daughter Annie married Frank Weyl. And his son Frank married Bertha Mueller (could find no announcement for that)

1898, Leo died. I did not find a funeral notice, just this listing for burial permits.

A few more Chicago records can be found on Ancestry.com. Among them the Chicago Voter's Registration of 1890 and 1892.

1890 Voters Registration

1892 Voters Registration

Not much we don't already know from the city directories. We do learn that Anton, at least, was naturalized in 1870 or 1872, or so he claims. Might find more information at IRAD.

On FamilySearch I found an indexed marriage record for Frank Czachorowsky, Anton's son. He married Rosa Redeker in 1888. I will need to look for the record at IRAD.

That brings us to the 1900 census. I LOVE this census!

Mary is the head of the household, Leo having died in 1898. She is living with her daughters Mary and Clara and son Leo B. She reports that she has been in the US since 1861, she is a widow who was married for 31 years, she is the mother of 7 children, 5 of whom are still alive.

This one is tricky. And I promise to explain it all in more detail later. Anton is listed as the Father Head - still a house mover - A F the artist is there too (as Czach - the B-in-law)  Oh, and look! B! B as in Bernard! 67 year old carpenter listed as F-in-law. Clearly the census taker was a bit confused - Mary Wagner is Anton's daughter, she married Peter Wagner in 1893. So Anton Jr would be Peter's brother-in-law, as recorded by the census taker. Anton would be the father-in-law, but he really should have been the 'Head' as he is the home owner (hence the strike through) Bernard really confused him! Still does not prove Bernard is Anton's brother, but the pair living in the same household lend a very strong argument to the case! Finally! A breakthrough! Just wish the census taker had been more careful -

This is the listing for Frank, Anton's son. Same careless census taker (same page of the census) Listed Frank as "C".

And finally Frank L, Leo's son.

By 1900 we're starting to see new families form, a few deaths, and several moves - both home and job. The next post will begin to feature our individual cast of characters. Looking at them individually instead of as a collective.

the Czachorowskys 1890 to 1900

My take-aways for this week:

• Field trips!!!
• A trip to IRAD is now more necessary if I am to uncover any more information.
• A trip to the Wilmette Family History Center to view microfilmed documents scanned by LDS.
• A trip to the Chicago History Museum research center may likely uncover more facts.
• A trip to the Newberry!
• Continue to search the unindexed church records on FamilySearch for clues. 

until next time .............

catch up with all the posts here: INTRO - 1870 to 1880 - 1880 to 1890 

Five Photos ~ Five Weekends: #3 Gus and Dad

Here we have Irv Potwin, my great grandfather, and his lifelong best friend Gus Nelson. Taken sometime around 1900. Gus had talked Irv into going to the Oklahoma territory to try their luck at one of the many land runs of the time.

This photo must have been taken before they left Corning, Iowa. They sure look confident, almost cocky, as young men of 20 often do. Visions of prosperity and new, untamed lands dancing in their heads.

Someone had labeled it, "Gus" and "Dad", but the handwriting is not my grandmother's.

I don't know much more about the adventure, I do know it didn't turn out quite as they had hoped.

You can read about Irv and the outcome of the adventure here.

Five Photos ~ Five Weekends: #1 Uncle Charlie

Uncle Charlie. In a dress. With a pipe and a devious smirk. Outside in what appears to be a public park. With a baby carriage?

When I came across this photo in a box of memorabilia I inherited when my dad died I was more than curious. It dates to around 1900. There is no notation on the back giving any indication as to what was afoot.

As a matter of fact, I needed to investigate for a while before I could even determine this WAS Uncle Charlie.

Googling "victorian men in women's clothing" got me a lot of photos. I mean a lot. Seems it was a thing. Charlie's here was an amateur photo, but there are many, many professional photos for the browsing.

So. What's up?

I feel like he was a prankster. A rogue. A rascal.

He was the youngest of 7 children. He had three older brothers and three older sisters. Four of his siblings were a decade or more older than he was, and would most likely not have approved of this behavior. The other two were only a few years older, a sister and a mischevious brother. Could this have been a bit of sibling goading?

I like to think that. A dare, well played.

Or maybe there was another side to Uncle Charlie.

Either way I like him very much.

He married late (37 years old) and had two daughters and one son.

I am currently searching for his great grandchildren, they would be about my age. I would love to learn more about my favorite uncle I never knew.

Charles Sumner Irons

b. Chicago IL 1874

d. Hinsdale IL 1956