ANNA SZUKALSKI STACHOWIAK

       I don't know much about my great grandmother Anna Szukalski Stachowiak.  Most of what I know I have gleaned from documents or other sources.  I do know that she was born on 18 Aug 1871 in Newton, Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Paul Szukalski and Constance Budzbanowski Szukalski.  I never realized until I did some more research for this blog post that she was a twin.  Her twin sister was Catherine.  Okay, how strange is that -- two of my great grandmothers were twins and both had twin sisters?   Anna also had three older brothers -- John (who became a priest), Theophil and Thomas.  There was also a brother Damazy who died when he was about 4 years old.  The baby of the family was Mary, who was born in 1874.

      In the 1880 census, 8 year old Anna was living with her parents and siblings in Newton, Wisconsin.  Her father Paul was a farmer.  Her maternal grandfather John Budzbanowski was also living with them.  John started living with the family before the birth of the twins Anna and Catherine. He was with the family in the 1870 census.

      Anna married Charles Stachowiak on 3 Jul 1894 in Manitowoc County.  In the 1900 census, Anna and Charles were living with their 3 children (Eugene [Leon], Theresa and Clara) in Milwaukee.  In the 1905 Wisconsin State census, another child had been born  (Clementine) and so there was 4 children in the home. By the 1910 census, there were two more children -- Leonard born in 1906 and Rosie, who was born in 1909.  Another daughter Helen was born in 1912, followed by another son Chester in 1913.

        What doesn't show up in any census is the birth and death of Anna and Charles' daughter, Lucy.  Lucy Konstancya Stachowiak was born on 24 Mar 1904 and died less than 3 months later on 19 Jun 1904.  Anna and Charles moved to Van Nuys, California just before 1930 and their kids followed them out west.  Clara, Rose, Helen and Chester were living with Anna and Charles in Van Nuys according to the 1930 census.  Their daughter Theresa, who was a widower, was also living with them with her son Harry. Daughter Clementine was married and living in Los Angeles.

          I can't find two of the sons -- Eugene and Leonard -- in the 1930 census.  Eugene was divorced from his wife Victoria and she was living with their 3 children in Milwaukee. So Eugene may have either stayed in Milwaukee or was living separately from his family in California.  I have a feeling Leonard was still living in Milwaukee since he met my grandmother in Milwaukee.  Both Eugene and Leonard would soon join their family in Southern California in the early 1930's.

         Well perhaps, I know more about Great Grandma Anna Szukalski than I thought before writing this post.