Ancestor Archaeology: Mystery

Showing posts with label Mystery. Show all posts

Sunday, February 6, 2022

The Czachorowskys | From Prussia to Chicago: Fortune Smiled

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!

It was January 26, 2020 and I had a date with destiny but I didn't know it quite yet. I opened my email to find a subject line titled "DNA test common ancestors". OK. I'll bite. These type of inquiries almost never pan out, but I always follow up, one never knows. It read:

"Hello, my name is (redacted) Ciachorowski. I have just carried out (redacted) DNA tests and the results showed that we had common ancestors relatively recently. My family comes from the north of Poland, which was under German occupation in the 19th century. The same blood flows within us. Regards."

Chills ran through me as I read the message.

Of course I logged into the DNA test site the author was referring to - immediately, looked up matches to my Czachorowsky and ... THERE. IT. WAS.

Genetic Distance: EXACT MATCH

Exact match?! That NEVER happens! Not like this! Not from half way around the world. So may questions; so, so many questions. I wrote back to my new best friend begging for any scraps that might be thrown my way. Starving for the common knowledge so long lost as the generations migrated far from their homeland. A homeland I might soon discover!

The wait was long. I checked my email every day, sometimes every hour.

Finally, May 20th 2020 I got a response. And an introduction to a professor who does Czachorowsky research at a University in Poland. He did some digging for me, didn't turn up much, but I received an extensive history on the origins of the surname Czachorowsky. Very interesting! (A separate post at a later date, perhaps) My new friend and actual blood relative was however very, very helpful. I shared what I had, and where my trail went cold back in 1867 when my original immigrant (and now DNA match) L. F. Czachorowsky had showed up in Chicago Illinois. Didn't take long for my friend to uncover some gold. Within a week I had a full given name, a place of birth, a homeland, parents, grandparents - and, oh my gosh, they were all related! Leo, Bernhard, Anton and Pauline! Siblings! And there were more! I was also enlightened as to the long held confusion in the family on the town and country of origin. So much to process! Where to begin?

`Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely,

`and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'

Well. Okay. How about first things first? How did our man Leo supposedly come from Germany (Nurnburg by family lore) but the direct DNA match has deep roots in Poland? Simple answer. Smack your forehead answer. The town today is known as Nowe. But in the 1850's it had a different name - Neuenburg! (Did you smack your forehead?)

Here is the wiki article:
In 1772, after the First Partition of Poland, the town, as Neuenburg, was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia and was subject to Germanisation policies, however, in the late 19th century it was still mainly populated by Poles.

Okay, now just wait a minute here. That looks real similar to the map of where Anton said he lived before emigrating. Real similar. (Hiding in plain sight, man oh man) I have said on more than one occasion that I really, really need one of those giant boards you see on detective shows. You know the ones. Where all the facts are pasted up and there is string running here and there. ...And a time machine. Always a time machine. Well ....

Things just might be coming together! Fortune is indeed smiling on this!

Now, about those parents. Yes indeed. My friend found a document listing the underage children in the death record of the father. They were all there - Bernhard, Anton, Pauline, Leo. How did he know he had the correct family? Remember he was working his end to put the DNA match together too. He had everyone accounted for in his line except for one man. Yep. The man in the death record! I'm sure he was as excited as I was to link it all together.

This is what he wrote: I promised that I would translate the document which is a death certificate of Jan (German: Johann, Eng. John ) Ciachorowski who died on April 3 and was buried on April 7, 1845. He lived in Nowe on the Vistula River (German: Neuenburg). The profession was probably written under the name, but it is unreadable. It is known that he died at 2 hours, but I can not read whether at night or during the day. At the time of death he was 46 years old. The cause of death is illegible to me as well. The deceased left his wife Julianna Pioro and 5 children: Bernhard 12 years old, Anton 10 years old, Pauline 7 years old, Caroline 6 years old and Felix Leo (age is not given). That's all I could read from this document.

First. OMG! Second .... FELIX Leo?! Third .... ~~Aloysius~~. Comparing the written number after Aloysius to others on the page it appears to be a 2. Could Felix Leo and Aloysius be the same boy? The age is right. Digging in the database of the Polish Genealogy Society (link thanks to my new bff) I was able to find an indexed entry for a child born to Johann and Julianna in 1843 with no first name given. Bernhard, Anton and Paulina were all there, as well as other siblings, but this child had no name. Curious.

Leo's (and Bernhard and Anton and Paulina's) father had died when they were very young. Their mother had remarried the following year to a boy from Neuenburg several years younger than herself named Jacob Saremba. Most of the children, sadly, appear to have died young, but the four that came to Chicago came as soon as they were old enough to leave home.

Now this is where I thought the trail had run cold. I had been butting heads with the Polish records looking for clues to no avail. Then, for some unexplained reason I decided to do my very favorite thing - - sideways research! I decided to try to look for Julianna.

WARNING!! Rabbit Hole Approaching!

I jumped over to FamilySearch and entered "Julianna Pior, Neuenburg, Prussia" into the search box. The Heavens opened up and I heard Angels sing .... well maybe not, but I did find the puzzle piece I was searching for. Thank you FamilySearch! I can't tell you exactly how it happened, it seems it was fast and frenzied. The second entry that popped up was a death listing for a child named Theodor Zaremba. "Z" not "S". Promising to return to FamilySearch to look at the rest of the gold I had uncovered, I headed over to Ancestry, changed the spelling of Jacob's surname and just guess what happened? Guess! A hint! And not any old hint, mind you. A will! Guess where it was? Chicago! Guess who the executor was? Anton! That lead me to the Hamburg Passenger Lists -

it listed Jacob, Julianna, Caroline (I wondered what had happened to her) A Franz, Johann and ..... Anton???? Where's Leo? (see, fast and frenzied)

Sunday, January 16, 2022

The Czachorowskys | From Prussia to Chicago: The Lost Years

"Ah, now, don't cry over lost years and forgetfulness. The tales tell what they can. The rest is for us to learn." ~ Shannon Hale

THE LOST YEARS. Not the Czachorowskys, no. Mine. It's been nearly five years since I published the previous chapter of this ongoing tale. And it was by no means the final chapter! No. No, no. I made an uncomfortable discovery prior to telling you about our third suspected brother, it happens. Genealogists and Family Historians uncover lost truths and skeletons often. Doesn't mean it's comfortable. I come to know these people, care about them, feel their joys and their sorrows. Out of respect I took a step back, needing time to sit with my new information; hold the truth to my heart, really think about how to present it to you with love and respect.

Meanwhile, life goes on, the world keeps on spinning, and each day brings something new and sometimes serendipitously unexpected. That happened. And it ties this whole narrative together. I've kept that bit to myself for a long while too, the Covid-19 Pandemic took a front burner for me and my family for most of 2020 and 2021, but it's time to start the tale up again. Wrap this story up. Yes, it is a never ending story, as all family stories are, but there is a point in the past where the sands of time erase all trace and the trail becomes untrackable. Let's take this to that point, shall we?

It's time.............

catch up with all the posts here:

INTRO - 1870 to 1880 - 1880 to 1890 - 1890 to 1900 - Bernard - Anton - Pauline

Monday, February 5, 2018

Brick Wall Ancestor | #9 Martha McBride {part 2}

We all have them! Those stubborn ancestors that refuse to come out of hiding. No matter how much coaxing we do! Well, I think it's time to bring them out of the shadows - put their redacted story out there - another piece of the puzzle could be lurking just around the (cyber) corner, in someone's basement, or closet, or sitting in a box on a bookshelf ...... You never, ever know where that loose chink will manifest, the one that allows you to push out one brick, then the next. Food for thought. So without further ado....

Brick Wall Ancestor | #9 Martha McBride part 2

In Part 1 I gave you some background on Martha and proposed Wild Theory #1, the Theory of James, that she is the daughter of James McBride Jr and Martha Hill.

Here I will offer Wild Theory #2 and propose she is the daughter of Archibald McBride Jr and (maybe) Jane Newkirk. Thus the Theory of Archibald. Even less evidence exists to support this theory! And, I'm taking the long way around. Bear with me.

Let's look at Archibald. We know there was one Archibald living in Mamakating, Ulster Co, New York in 1790 (3 males under 16, 2 males 16 and over, 4 females any age). Digging deeper unearthed the discovery of a will of one Jane McBride of the town of Montgomery, dated June 26th 1795. The will lists four children. Sons James (wild theory #1! - put a pin in that!) of Wallkill and Archibald of Mamakating, a daughter (deceased) Mary, wife of Francis Burns and another daughter Mrs William Douglas (hey, thanks for that!) The will names grandsons Archibald and William (sons of James) and John Douglas (son of unnamed daughter) and "the grandchildren of my son Archibald" (again, thanks for that!) and the "five grandchildren of my daughter Mary Burns, deceased", also granddaughter Elizabeth Burns.

Lots of grandchildren. (FAN research anyone?)

What struck me as curious was that the boys, for the most part were listed by name but the "grandchildren" of son Archibald could possibly mean his children were very young at the time of the writing of the will and that there were perhaps sons and daughters. Still, not much help.

The will also made mention of a note that Jane had in her possession that was outstanding against Archibald dated July 19th 1786. Curious.

Digging into land records uncovered a land sale between Jane McBride of Montgomery and her son Archibald, of Mamakating, dated July 20th 1786. Huh. Must be what the note was for! Further land record digging unearthed this land purchase made "the 30th day of June in the first year of the reign of our sovereign Lord George the Third by the grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King defender of the faith and the year of our Lord Christ one thousand seven hundred sixty one" Between Samuel White and Jane McBride, relict and widow of Archibald McBride .... two thousand two hundred and nine acres of land ..... seven hundred and thirty six acres of land .... one thousand and fifty five acres of land! A total of four thousand acres of land in Ulster County, Province of New York.

The widow Jane purchased a great deal of land in 1761!

What I found interesting, the land was adjacent to land owned by Jane and Alice Colden and by Thomas Noxon and by George Murry. All players in another story, one that might intertwine with this one yet.(*)

Connecting the dots from these documents it appears that Jane McBride and Archibald McBride were the parents of Archibald, James, Mary and Mrs Wm Douglas. Disproving the common assumption that James was the son of a James. Maybe there never was a James Sr? Maybe James was Archibald's middle name? If there is proof, I have yet to find it.

So how does Martha fit into all of this?

Not sure. Yet. (I think we need a diagram for this!)

There are a great number of 'coincidences' because of a very limited population at this time in history.

Let's go back to that 4000 acre land purchase.

Martha married James Faulkner. James Faulkner's father was Samuel Faulkner. (*)Samuel Faulkner owned land adjacent to Jane and Alice Colden, Thomas Noxon and George Murry. It is suspected that George Murry was James Faulkner's grandfather. The land straddled the border of modern day Orange and Sullivan Counties, sitting in both Mamakating and Wallkill. In fact Samuel and his wife are buried in unincorporated Mamakating. IF Martha was the daughter of Archibald McBride she would have grown up on the farm next to Samuel Faulkner and his son (her future husband) James.

A stretch, I agree. A good example of those coincidences. (You might want to take notes)

And there is NO census evidence for Martha anywhere in 1800.

Then there's the DNA.

DNA points to Archibald McBride as the prime candidate based on the research tree of our DNA match. However the newfound information that Archibald and Jane McBride are the parents of BOTH Archibald Jr and James is a greater cause of confusion! (That would suggest our MRCA is Archibald Sr, still not proving which son is Martha's father.) The author of the Bull book, who posed the 'James Sr', theory did not back his statement up with evidence or any type of citation. In fact, the book that was referenced as the source does not contain any sources or citations either, kinda like a Public Ancestry Tree!

Perplexed? Me too! (Where is that diagram?! The one that explains everything?)

Martha could be in the Archibald McBride household in 1790 - the census reports 4 females (of any age) and we know three of them (from church records): Jane, his wife; Jane, his daughter; and Agnes, his daughter. That leaves one daughter unaccounted for. (And no, it would not be the mother Jane, she was residing in Montgomery not Mamakating, per all of her legal documents)

So my second (wild) theory, the Theory of Archibald posits Martha belongs in the Archibald McBride household. The DNA evidences leads to this conclusion, but remains fuzzy if James and Archibald are brothers. Martha could fit into the 1790 census of Archibald's household. Again, the question is where is the family in 1800? Did both Archibald and Jane die? Are the children living in a relative's home, or with an older sibling?

More fuzzy information. More possibility of errors. No real conclusions, just two theories, similar and frustrating. Time to back-burner this project and let it simmer, perhaps more evidence will turn up?

Oh, Martha; Martha, Martha, Martha .....

- - - - - - - -

Then this happened .....

Well, hold your horses! Look what the gods of land records presented me with today!

A glorious land division document dated 1799, the year after James McBride died, dividing his land among his four minor children ...... Archibald I McBride, William McBride (both of the Jane McBride Will from the top of this post!) Jane McBride and John McBride (born after the will was written). No Martha! NO MARTHA!!! Martha would have been about 10 in 1799, a minor child. Martha was not the daughter of James. Wild Theory #1 is incorrect.

That leaves Archibald.

********

up next ..... charts and graphs!!! (Or at least a genealogy, stay tuned)

©2018 Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Finding Faulkner: The Progeny | Frances Ann "Fanny" Faulkner {Gen 3}

It started, as good quests always do, with a family tale.

Frances Ann "Fanny" Faulkner (James, Samuel, William) was born in Wallkill, Orange Co, New York, sometime in 1816/17, to parents Col James Faulkner and his wife Martha McBride.

Fannie married Joseph C Watkins about 1843 in Jackson County, Michigan.

The couple had one son:

FNU Watkins b. about 1844/45

Frances Ann Faulkner had come to Grass Lake, Jackson Co, MI with her parents and siblings in 1834. I am uncertain when Joseph Watkins came to Michigan, however he did receive a patent for land in 1837. He may be the J C Watkins found in later censuses in neighboring Ingham County. If this is the same man, he remarried in December of 1845 and died in 1870. I have been unable to find any more information on the son, perhaps he died before the 1850 census, perhaps he was raised by other family members.

from Find A Grave

Frances 'Fanny' Ann Faulkner Watkins died April 20th 1845 at the tender age of 29. She left behind a grieving family, including husband and young son. Fanny Ann is buried in Grass Lake East Cemetery with most of the rest of the Faulkner family.

The rest of the story remains a mystery. I'd really like to find out what happened to the young son.

Sunday, March 26, 2017

The Czachorowskys | From Prussia to Chicago: Anton Czachorowsky

ANTON CZACHOROWSKY 1835 ~ 1908
his life and times

Anton first appears on a ship's list departing Hamburg, Germany. He was emigrating with his young family to America. The family consisted of Anton and his wife Maria, son Franz who was 7 1/2, daughter Paulina, aged 3, daughter Maria aged 2, and baby son Bernhard, just 3 months old! Also traveling with them were Anton's sister Paulina and an older woman named Anna Jenczynske* (maybe - really hard to read).

The trip took a month.

They departed Hamburg on August 6th 1868 aboard the Shakespeare, a large sailing vessel. They were most likely traveling in steerage, the level between the belly of the ship (cargo) and the crew/passenger quarters level. It would have been an awful journey. Worse with tiny children I would imagine. (You can read about traveling in steerage here.)

One more very important piece of information was found on this document. Can you see it? It's their residence prior to departure!!! Thanks to the German Genealogy group on Facebook I was able to decipher it. Neu Szwederowo, Prussia! We finally have a hometown for Anton!

Anton and Family Departing Germany

The ship Shakespeare
Oil painting, by J. & F. Tudgay, 1864.
Focke-Museum, Bremen

They traveled aboard a sailing ship named the Shakespeare - I can't even imagine. The image to the right is of a painting of that very ship. It hangs in a museum in Bremen.

Below is a cut-away of life inside one of these large sailing ships. Let's just say is wasn't a Disney cruise!

the Steerage - where most immigrants traveled

Prussia c 1878

Here is a map of Prussia from Anton's time, and below is one of today. You can see when Anton and his family left Europe they resided in the center of what was then West Prussia. The boundaries changed often as the result of war. What made the family leave their home and travel to America, specifically Chicago, we most likely will never know. (You can read more about the kingdom of Prussia here.)

Modern Day

As you can see, their home today sits smack dab in the center of Poland. Perhaps further research into Catholic church records in Poland might uncover additional information. If those records still exist.

Here is the intake list. Their arrival into the port of New York 34 days later. September 9th 1868.

Anton and Family Arriving in New York

The next time we see Anton is in the Chicago City Directory for the year 1870. Anton would have to have been in Chicago in 1869 to make the 1870 edition of the printed directory. Travel from New York to Chicago by train would have been possible in 1869, but would it have been too costly for this family of 8? Water travel was also common, and quite likely, the Erie canal to the Great Lakes offered affordable westward travel.

At any rate, by 1870 Anton and family were tucked into their new American home on south Morgan in Chicago. Anton began his house-moving business and the family settled in.

Less than two years in their new country the family witnessed a devastating tragedy, the Great Chicago Fire, which started not far from their doorstep and raged for several days. What panic must have this caused? Did they know people affected by the fire? We're they able to help, or did they just watch in fear and uncertainty? Fortunately they were spared and life went on.

Anton Naturalization

In 1872 Anton and Mary had their first American-born child. A daughter named Mary.

In 1873 Anton petitioned the court for citizenship.

Anton and Mary would have at least 3 more children in the decade between 1870 and 1880. And they would bury a few, too.

Little Maria who came on the ship from Prussia died sometime before 1880, and more likely before daughter Mary was born in 1872. There was a daughter named Elizabeth who died in 1876, age unspecified, but she was not on the passenger list so I presume she was born in Chicago. And in 1887 their oldest daughter Paulina died. She was 22 years old.

Sometime around 1880 the family moved from S. Morgan to Maxwell St.

Weddings were celebrated on three occasions. Oldest son Frank was married in 1888, followed by second son Bernhard who married in 1892, and finally daughter Mary wed in 1893.

Anton consistently can be found in the City Directories, although he eluded the census takers his entire life. Not one time did he show up on a Federal census! By trade Anton was a house-mover, his sons Bernhard and Anton joining the family business when they became of age.

Anton buried his wife on July 16th 1896. She was just 59 years old.

Nine years later Anton sadly buried another one of his children. His son Anton who died January 17th 1905.

Anton followed shortly thereafter. He left this earth March 12th 1908. He was 73 years old.

Anton is buried in St Boniface Cemetery in Chicago with his wife, his children and his mother-in-law*, the graves are all unmarked except for Paulina.

*After further study I have concluded that the older woman traveling with them from Prussia must certainly have been Maria's mother. She is buried in the family plot in St Boniface.

GENEALOGY

Anton Czachorowsky b. Jan 1835 Prussia
d. 12 Mar 1908 Chicago
m. abt 1860 Maria Jenczynske
(name variations found including Glowinsky,Glowginsky
and Klawinski - a mystery for another day!)

children include:

Franz 'Frank' b. May 1860 West Prussia d. 15 Apr 1928 Chicago m. 7 Feb 1888 to Rosa Redeker
Paulina b. abt 1865 West Prussia d. 5 Jul 1887 Chicago
Maria b. abt 1866 West Prussia d. abt 1871 Chicago
Bernhard 'Bernard' b. 11 Sep 1867 West Prussia d. 22 Oct 1926 Chicago m. 18 May 1892 to Margaret Oerter
Mary b. 8 Feb 1872 Chicago d. 3 May 1935 Chicago m. 6 Sep 1893 to Peter Wagner
Anton F b. 5 Jan 1878 Chicago d. 17 Jan 1905 Chicago
Elizabeth b. UNK d. 28 Jun 1876 Chicago

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

catch up with all the posts here:

INTRO - 1870 to 1880 - 1880 to 1890 - 1890 to 1900 - Bernard

Friday, February 17, 2017

Photo Friday :: Dr Parsons

This series was birthed from the large old photo album I rediscovered in the back of my closet. Many of the photos are from my grandmother's side of the family. There are also unknown photos that came with the album. Story goes my dad, an avid garage saler, picked up a celluloid covered Victorian era photo album on one of his scavenges. It already contained photos of an (as yet) unidentified family. My parents put our own vintage family photos in the album alongside the mystery family's. As children we marveled at the old fashioned clothing and settings, often wondering who these people were and what their lives were like. Of course, we thought that ALL the people in the photos were our relations! It wasn't until my mom passed the album on to me after my dad died that I learned of the mystery family residing alongside our own!

I plan to share these photos over time, sometimes they will be my family, and identifiable, others will be of the mystery family. Thanks to the world wide web, they may find their way home yet!

Enjoy!

Do you know me?

Dr Parsons
'friend of E. W. Twining"
1880's

E.W. Twining lived in Corning IA
~the back of the photo is marked Williams & Thomson, Kansas City~

Sunday, January 1, 2017

The Czachorowskys | From Prussia to Chicago, An Introduction

Brand new year, brand new series!

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!

Family One (primary family)

I had some basic information from a hand-drawn family tree, done by an in-law of the Czachorowsky clan. It became my starting point. None of it was sourced (of course!), so I set out to prove/disprove the documented information. This tree had been circulating around the family for several generations, and was generally taken as truth. The original immigrant was Leo F. Czachorowsky. Sometimes known simply as L. F. He married a woman by the name of Anna Marie Junk according to the family tree. It was reported that the couple married in West Prussia in November of 1869. The date of arrival was not mentioned, nor were the birthplaces of the children of Leo and Anna. But it was a commonly held belief that most of them were born in Chicago, IL.

So, I began.

Using the U.S. census records, Chicago city directories, known burial information and the unsourced information supplied on the family tree I began to dig. This was by no means a linear search! I had to jump from census to census, then backtrack to city directories and other sources of information.

I found no record of the family in Chicago, or anywhere, in 1870.

The 1880 census revealed that the children were born in Chicago, it actually says 'Chicago' not Illinois, the first child being born in 1870 (in Chicago). Additionally, the 1880 census records Leo as 'F Louis' just to make it more fun! And Anna is recorded as 'Mary'. Both Leo and Mary report their birthplace as 'Prussia'.

OK. Prussia 1840's? That's fun too! Seems we have a bit of a brick wall building here.

The 1900 census revealed that Mary (Anna) had been in Chicago since 1861. 1861?! Leo had died in 1898 so there was no info on him, unfortunately. That census also revealed that Mary had been married for 31 years. That agrees with the 1869 marriage date - but perhaps not the marriage location.

On to city directories!

L. F. first appeared in the 1868 edition of the Chicago city directory. He was listed as a clerk for Adolph Huebner and was boarding on south Jefferson St. Searching for JUNK revealed a variety of misspellings, mostly YOUNG, but the city directories proved the family was in Chicago as early as 1861.

The YOUNG family was operating several businesses in early Chicago. Both Mary and her mother (also Mary) were milliners and dressmakers, a son was a distiller of highwines in partnership with his uncle, his mother's brother.

Leo 'gos missing' from the directories between 1869 and 1871, Mary disappears in 1870, reappearing in 1871 in the business directory still using her maiden name - but at the correct residence, as listed on the 1880 census.

So, did they return to Prussia to marry? Great question! Still don't know the answer. Or why Mary used her maiden name for the 1871 listing.

By 1872 L.F. is listed as the milliner, and the trail grows warm again.

Families Two thru Five

As I was searching the city directories for Leo I noticed two other Czachorowskys that appeared about the same time. I was curious. It is an unusual name. Nowadays you can find it spelled with an 'i', but the 'y' has all but disappeared. As Leo just magically appeared in Chicago, maybe I would have luck researching these other two men. The first to appear was Bernard, followed by Anton. I would later discover Frank and Pauline. I can prove Anton and Pauline are brother and sister. The rest are currently unrelated as I have uncovered nothing to link them together, other than they all came from Prussia within a decade of one another. And all were born within a decade of one another. And, curiously they all came to Chicago.

Family Two

Headed by Bernard Czachorowsky. Listed as a carpenter residing on Mitchell. Born in August 1832, he sometimes reported Prussia and other times Germany. Bernard was the first to emigrate, arriving in New York in December of 1856. It would be another decade before he showed up in Chicago.

Family Three A

Anton or Anthony Czachorowsky, a house mover living on S. Morgan. He was born January 1835, mostly reported his birthplace as Prussia, but Germany occasionally shows up too. He was married to Maria "Mary" Glowinsky. The couple married in Prussia and immigrated together with four young children and Anton's sister Pauline. Arriving in New York in September of 1868.

Family Three B (four)

Pauline Czachorowsky was the sister of Anton. But as she came to Chicago as an adult I decided to treat her as her own family unit. Pauline would marry Nicholas Ballmann in Chicago.

Family Five

Frank Czachorowsky. The biggest mystery of all the mysterious Czachorowskys ... as you will discover.

Over the coming weeks and months I plan to dig deeper into each Family, exploring all the documents I can find, and hopefully begin to put the pieces together to learn more about the Czachorowskys.

First up: A look at the decades and a who's who. Fasten your seat belts, this might be a bumpy ride .....

to be continued .......

Friday, November 4, 2016

Photo Friday :: The Mystery Boys of Champaign IL

I plan to share these photos over time, sometimes they will be my family, and identifiable, others will be of the mystery family. Thanks to the world wide web, they may find their way home yet!

Enjoy!

Here's the first "mystery photo"! This could be three brothers or it could be a father and two sons, the man on the left looks older to me. Anyway - complete mystery! Not related to my family so I'd love to find them a proper home. Only hint is Champaign IL, unfortunately. Look familiar to anyone?

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Relook Early and Often: You Just Might Solve A Mystery!

Last January 2015 I wrote my first 52 Ancestors bio about my 2nd great grandmother Jennie Whitford Faulkner. I felt I had exhausted my search for the time being and was resigned to be content with not knowing the answers I was seeking. I put Jennie aside and moved forward with other ancestors.

Last week, to my utter surprise, I was contacted by a second cousin's wife. She had come across a letter I had written to him several years earlier and was curious if he had ever made contact with me. Short answer was no. But I had moved on and made significant discoveries in the time since I had first penned the letter.

Eager to share my new discoveries I began taking a relook at the family we have in common.

Fresh eyes (quite literally) and a year of intense genealogical immersion allowed me to see things in a new light.

I revisited Jennie and laid out all the facts I had amassed. I created a new working tree in Ancestry dot com and titled it "Jennie Whitford Mystery". I plugged in everything I knew, the things I suspected, and a few questions. Then I went to work.

I kept coming back to the 1860 census. As I wrote previously, I was really curious as to who the 10 year old boy named James Nichols was who was living in Jennie's household. A little brother perhaps? Did her mother remarry? (And who was her mother?) So I was a little surprised when the second hint that appeared when I hit the "search" bar was for a marriage between Jane Whitford and Daniel Nichols in 1849. (I knew that in later life Jennie had gone by Jane, and I had included that in the search.)

Clicking on it got me this:

Drat! Ok. I jumped over to Family Search and plugged in the info from the record and ......... Bing, Bing, Bing!!! Found this!

Oh. Jane. You were only sixteen! And who were the witnesses? E. M. Whitford and Elizabeth Whitford. I would suspect that at least one parent had to witness to give consent for a minor. Elizabeth may well be her mother, E. M. could be male or female. Father? Brother? Sister? Add that to the "to solve" list for now.

If this is my Jennie/Jane, then the 10 year old James living with her in 1860 was most certainly her child! (Happy dance ensued)

But before I got ahead of myself I wanted to check this new theory, so I utilized the aid of PFTs (public family trees). Normally I have these "hints" turned off, but now I wanted to see if other researchers had these people in their trees too.

FamilySearch had one entry with the right "keyword" for me: Faulkner. But no detail.

Ancestry brought me zip. So I searched through James Nichols and found this:

Opening it and then clicking on James' mother Jennie gave me this!

On the right track indeed!! But the "sources" were merely notations of people's names and email addresses. Messaging the tree owner brought no better results.

BUT, I have solved the James Nichols mystery and have some new leads to follow.

And a new mystery afoot.

Jane, now Jennie, married my 2nd great grandfather in 1856 and went on to have three more children. Her first husband Daniel also remarried in 1856 and had another seven children.

Ironically, Jennie divorced her second husband in 1878 and went back to being Jane shortly thereafter.

Oh, to have a time machine!!

Monday, August 10, 2015

Jesse Thomas Sr.: Might As Well Be John Doe (52 Ancestors #21)

Jesse Thomas Sr.

An infuriating Quaker.

Might as well be John Smith or Doe. Seems Thomas was a very common surname among the Quakers in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Very common. Hair pulling frustration common. And (of course) there are (at least) two Jesses.......

Now, I'm sure my 3rd great grandfather didn't mean to be so difficult, and buried somewhere deep in the tomes of Quaker history lie the answers. Alas, a trip to Swarthmore is not in my future any time soon.

So today, as I write this short sketch, the answers I seek remain buried.

I admit I do have ulterior motives for this post. A little fishing expedition. The more we all can get out onto the world wide web, the more chance there is for someone; anyone, anywhere; to stumble across it and perhaps supply a missing piece of the puzzle. Genealogy appears to be a solitary pursuit, you know, with the Cave and all, but it is only successful with collaboration.

Also I might add, that I have avoided this for a while. Quaker genealogy really is a study unto itself and I must admit that it boggles my mind and makes me cranky.

So here is what I know.

Jesse Thomas Sr. was born about 1786* in Chester Co., PA. His parents UNK to date. FYI there are 41 heads of household in Chester County in the 1790 Federal Census with the Last name of Thomas. Forty One! Thirty two of those households report male children under 16. (Jesse would have been 4 at the time) By 1800 there are 30 heads of household, by 1810 (eureka!) there is but one Jesse listed in Chester County with 2 young adults and one child. (The 1786 Pennsylvania Census of Taxpayers lists 52 Thomas'.... but let's not go there)

He married Rebecca (or Rebecah) Hampton in 1808* in Chester Co., PA They were members of the Fallowfield Monthly Meeting in Chester Co., PA.

Rebecca (Rebecah) was born May 12, 1790 in Bucks County, PA, the daughter of Jonathan Hampton and Elizabeth Phillips. This is one case where there is actually more recorded info on the woman than the man!

The couple had at least 11 children, according Quaker records. You'd think with 11 descendants there would be numerous people looking for Jesse, wouldn't you?

In 1820 the family requested removal from the Fallowfield Monthly Meeting in Chester Co., PA. in preparation to move to Ohio. They requested admittance to the Stillwater Monthly Meeting in Belmont Co., OH.

In 1839 the family is listed in the Deerfield Monthly Meeting records in Morgan Co., OH.

In 1842 Jesse is listed in the Chesterfield Monthly Meeting in Athens Co., OH, having died in February. He is recorded as being buried at Plymouth. Could that be Plymouth, Washington Co, OH? There is a Jesse Thomas listed in the 1840 census residing in Westley Twp, Washington Co, OH - Plymouth is in Westley Twp. Plus my grandmother (the Genealogy Queen) has in her notes that the family was from Westley Twp.

*Dates are from other family trees. I usually don't use this type of information as I have not been able to source it, but I am including it this post as a stepping off point.

As I mentioned above, there are a few records for a Jesse Thomas born in 1791 to a Phillip and Hannah Thomas. He was born in Chester but the family attended the Goshen Monthly Meeting - probably not our guy.

There is a record of a Jesse Thomas "accomplishing" his marriage in 1806, but it was recorded in the Philadelphia Northern District Monthly Meeting - probably not our guy.

And that is it. That is all I know. If only my Genealogy Cave was equipped with a time machine .......

Well, a girl can dream.

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