The Beginning.......And The End.....

    

“Move Along !” came the cry of the ship’s steward. A river of human beings pushed and shoved their way up the sagging gang plank.  Third class accommodations aboard the Saale was obviously going to be crowded. Each passenger was an emigrant heading off to a land they did not know with only what belongings they could carry.

People were grumbling in all sorts of languages. Screams and sobs were mixed in along with the barely audible wailing of a very small infant. His name was Bernard and he was but six weeks old. Bundled in a woven bag that would serve as both carrier and cradle he dangled around his mother’s neck. His father Juljan could not get his mother to relinquish him so that her husband could hold him higher in the fresh air.  So he did what he could by placing himself as a barrier between his family and possible miscreants or diseased in the group. His one arm tightly held her waist so they could not be separated. His other arm and back were loaded as a pack mule with as many supplies as he could carry for his wife and first born son.

Suddenly there came loud crash from farther up the gangplank.  Another passenger’s suitcase which he had been carrying on his head tumble down toward the little family and out of instinct Juljan covered his wife and son with his own body.  The case lost its’ momentum and landed on the back of an old German man who went to his knees in pain. Only the quick arms of fellow passengers kept him from falling overboard.

Maryanna could feel Julian’s grip on her waist just under Bernie tighten and surprisingly it calmed her just a bit. She was forced to admit herself that her own Father had been right. A woman traveling alone to America was a very dangerous thing to do.

 “Mrs. Kurzynowski...  I want to ask you one last time if you are sure you want this? Your husband has gone to extraordinary measures to save your marriage.” Her lawyer translated for her just as he had done through two years of litigation. She looked directly at the judge and pronounced as firmly as she could, “Yes”. Maybe now Julian would stop asking her to remarry him and she could go on with her life as the independent woman she was born to be. 

 The divorce was granted and a notation was placed on the paperwork requesting to keep this news out of the local paper. Being labeled a “divorcee” in 1920 carried a stigma that gave energy to wagging tongues and inspiration to small minds. All of which Maryanna hoped would disappear with the healing salve of time. As for all the pain, arguments, and secrets, their memory would fade too.  She would surround herself with her children and grandchildren and run her  store. Julian would have to just move on alone.

Author's copyright 2012

 

Smile ! ..........Evolution Part 2

SMILE !  Family photos have been the source of great pride and angst since the invention of the camera.  Usually at the same time.

Just behind Joe Brezinski, with her hand on his shoulder is Helen Kurzynowski.  Dangling his hand over Helen's shoulder is Joseph Kurzynowski, and to the right is the eldest brother Bernard Kurzynowski. 

   

Joseph Kurzynowski moved to Grand Rapids.  Became a Labor Lawyer married and had one son.

Helen Kurzynowski married, was widowed, became a nurse.  She had two children.

Bernard Kurzynowski served in WWI, started his own business, married and had two children.

Definitely appears to be a family get together.

*Take special note of the beautiful lady seated at the bottom corner of the photo.  

                                          

 

PUZZLES.....DON'T YOU JUST LOVE THEM??????????

 

This is the backdrop for my Blog.  The photos below help to solve the mysteries surrounding it.

Try to identify as many folks in the picture above by using the photos below.  Hints and Facts to Come.....

                                                          FOLLOW FOR ANSWERS........

First Puzzle Pieces

This is part of the photograph that makes up the backdrop for this blog. The photo that has "haunted" me for over a decade. I have copied it.  I have dissected it. Thanks to some good people who are both family and friends that I made along the way; I can now say, "I think I have the photo's origins and surrounding story." Or at least most of it. 

The couple seated left of center is Stella and Andrew Brzezinski and since the photo was found in the attic of a member of the Brzezinski family it seemed a safe assumption that this was a celebration surrounding their wedding. 

Stella Kurzynowski was born November 28, 1897 in Jackson, Michigan.  She was the eldest daughter of Juljan Kurzynowski and Mary Chlebus Kurzynowski, Russian Poles from Suwalki who came to the U.S. in May of 1892 with their infant son Bernard.

Andrew Brzezinski was born in Poland on November 22, 1892 and arrived in the United States on August 8 1907.       * Note the reference to Blackstone St. in Jackson, Mich.

They were married on December 28, 1913 making her 16 and him 21.  They lived long happy lives and produced many children, Grandchildren, and Great-Grandchildren.

The rest of the individuals will be identified as time goes on and I can add more facts that have led to my ultimate conclusions about not only this photo but others and the amazing story of my family behind it.

Just a quick side note;  I had the good fortune to visit with the Brzezinski's son, Joe when I first started my dive into my family's past in Jackson. (2007)  This is what he had to say about his mother:  

Me:  Your Mother was very beautiful.

Joe:  Yes, yes she was and she knew it. LOL

Me:   How About your Grandmother?  What do you remember about her?

Joe:  I was told that Grandma Mary owned the first car north of Michigan Ave and she drove me in it to my Baptism at St. Joe's.

Other than that she didn't like us kids leaving the neighborhood.

Stop by again for more unraveling of the story behind the "photo from the attic".

Clue to take note of.....The year of their wedding......

Blurred Lines For Some....

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_City_of_Danzig  

When researching Jackson Polish genealogy you will find that there are many variations of places that family members were born.  It can get real confusing.  The same individual can carry a "Germany", "Poland", and or "Russia" birthplace label depending on the document you find it in.  This is because depending on the year, parts of Poland were declared parts of other countries.  Plus the Ports of call emigrants left from actually changed hands which would not seem a problem unless they were born in the Port before sailing. Add to that the laboriously confusing Polish surnames, lazy record keepers, and horrible handwriting. Pretty muddled mess for sure. 

There is one thing that I can say with certainty.  Jackson County was a "Polish Settlement".  It was settled overwhelmingly with families from Suwalki and its surrounding area. Someone knew someone who knew someone to help them get to the Port of New York and to Jackson. Those Poles created a community here that is just as much of our heart and soul as any other. 

Second Thoughts....

           The biggest problem I have had with doing my familial genealogy is assuming records, newspapers and photo identifications are correct.  The third one is the topic of this post.

This is a portion of the photo that sits as the backdrop to this blog.  I had assumed that the gentleman with the moustache was my Great Grand-Father Julius and the figure on the floor I could not identify.  However since then I have discovered these two photos.  That would be Jan Chlebus with the moustache and Great-GrandFather Julius on the right. So what do you all think?  Is that Chlebus on the left and Julius sitting on the floor?  (There is more to this story believe me.)

Be Open To All The Possibilities !

 

    Shortly before my Father’s passing I began working on his genealogy.  I asked him all sorts of questions. I interviewed some of his oldest relatives. They offered many stories, some photos and answered some very pointed questions. His family’s story expanded exponentially the more research that I did. It became obvious that I needed a singular focus.

    His grand-parents, Marianna and Julian Kurzynowski emigrated from Poland and came to settle in Jackson.  The story from my Dad was that they came here because my Great-Grandmother Marianna Kurzynowski had two uncles who were already settled here. Their names were John Chlebus and Stan Laski.

    My Dad’s family is very large and intertwined with many other families in Jackson’s Polish community. Tracking all those families through the generations became overwhelming pretty quickly. So when I discovered that John Chlebus was identified in several different places as the first Polish immigrant to permanently settle in Jackson, I decided to focus my work on him and his story.

   Many of those early immigrants were related in one way or another.  Poles saved their money and sent for their family members or others from their village in Poland. They knew each other.  Prominent Polish families got their start in what was considered an area of the city filled with derelicts and “foreigners”.  "Muttonville" was made up of the neighborhoods that surrounded and were north of what is now the Keeley Park. Somewhere behind the Park, near the railroad tracks and the river there was a meat processing plant. Hence the nickname.

   John Chlebus is, part of my family’s history, part of Jackson's and part of Jackson Catholic's as well.  Complex, courageous, trusting and empathetic to a fault.  John Chlebus changed the DNA of Jackson forever.

"John Chlebus was a practical man.  He was ignorant at first of the peculiar methods of business and society employed here.  Fortunately, he was blessed with plenty of shrewdness which eventually made him the most outstanding pole in the city.  He arrived in 1877 and started a grocery on the corner of Blackstone and the northern Polish community of Jackson was in the first period of formation.

   Chlebus was a plunging pioneer who quickly learned the ways of eking out an existence.  Within 10 years he had a solid group of Polish families living around him.  His grocery business had prospered and he started a saloon. A few years later he established a bakery a few blocks from his home.

   Now he was the motivating factor in the social, political and business life of his community.  New Polish residents went to him for advice. He gave it freely.  They wanted money to build their homes.  He loaned unselfishly.  He got new arrivals jobs in factories, in coal mines, in business places.

   He was a philanthropist. No charitable cause ever suffered because John Chlebus was among the first to contribute.  Broken down, homeless poles in the city were always certain of a warm spot in Chlebus’ home. He fed them and sent them away with money to buy clothes." 

William Kulesa 1937