AMANUENSIS MONDAY

I found this lovely tidbit in the Van Nuys News archives.  It was printed in the September 5, 1949 edition of the newspaper.  Clara Stachowiak Christy was one of my maternal great aunts.  Clara married Ivan Wohlk Christy (Christiansen) in 1934.  Ivan was born in Frederikshavn, Nordjylland, Denmark.  Ivan died in May of 1949 in Burbank.

A month after his death, Clara went to visit her husband's relative.  It doesn't say in this story whether or not she stayed the entire time in Denmark.  It does say that she did stay with her brother-in-law in Denmark.  The part of this story that I love (besides having a 3 month trip to Europe) is that her brother-in-law owns an oleomargarine factory.  Do they even make oleomargarine anymore?  I am thinking this must have been some sort of status symbol.  I am guessing with all those Danish pastries, one should also have some "margarine".

It was very nice of her brother-in-law to host Clara during her grief after her husband's death.  I wonder if this was Clara's first trip to her husband's homeland.  The more information I find, the more questions I have ...

AMANUENSIS MONDAY

KONSTANCJA SZUKALSKI

FORMER WELL KNOWN RESIDENT DIES; MILWAUKEE
Mrs. Constancia Szukalski, for many years a resident of the town of Newton died at the home of a son in Milwaukee Sunday. Mrs. Szukalski was born in West Prussia 89 years ago and came with her husband to America and to Newton 45 years ago. For the past few years she has been with her son at Milwaukee. She is survived by two sons, Thomas and Marion, both prominent business men in the Mitchell street district and two daughters, Mrs. Stackowiak and Mrs. Kaminske, all of Milwaukee. Mrs. Szukalski was a woman of Christian graces and in her generation had a wide circle of (words missing) to Nordheim and the funeral will be held Thursday morning.

Manitowoc Herald News, Tuesday, January 21, 1919 Page 1

In a previous post, I wrote about Constance's husband Paul (my 2nd great grandfather) who was killed when his horses fell into a ravine on the way home from church in 1900.  My 2nd great grandmother Constance Budzbanowski Szukalski lived for 19 more years. 

Constance was the daughter of John and Catherine Budzbanowski.  She married Paul Szukalski on 16 Mar 1862 in Swiekatowo, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland.  She immigrated to the US in 1869.  Her obituary mentions that she has 2 surviving sons and 2 surviving daughters.  Constance had 3 additional sons and one daughter that preceded her in death.  One of her surviving daughters, Anna Szukalski Stachowiak, was my great grandmother. 

AMANUENSIS MONDAY

How often these days do we read in the newspaper about someone hosting a bridge party at their house?  Now, maybe they still do in some small town newspapers.  It got me thinking about how times have changed and not just about playing bridge.  Today, Rose would have posted her status on Facebook -- "bridge party at my house", probably included a photo or two and then "tagged" her guests.  Rose probably would also be on Twitter and would send out a tweet with #Stachowiak Sisters.

Will our descendants be researching the archives of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google +) to see what we were doing, to collect photos and dates of our activities and to find the relationships between relatives?  What will they find and how accurate of a portrayal will it be?

I probably met Great Aunt Rose one time during my childhood (most likely at a family funeral) but from her newspaper articles, it seems like she was very talented, knew how to grow a great party and how to enjoy life.

AMANUENSIS MONDAY

The Stachowiak Sisters (Rose, Helen and Clementine) had only been in Van Nuys (Los Angeles City) for a few months and they were already in demand for their entertainment talent at meetings, banquets and other gatherings.  On this occasion, they were performing readings and songs for the Van Nuys Realty Board banquet.

This article was posted in the Van Nuys News -- 25 January 1928 edition.

AMANUENSIS MONDAY

It's amazing what you can find!  So, I am researching on Findmypast.ie yesterday and after awhile I get bored with the "historical records" section so I decide to research the "newspaper" section.  After finding some leads on my Sherlock side (yes, I am getting to how this relates to my Polish roots), I think perhaps that I can find some information  on my Polish "Stachowiak" line even though this is an Irish site.

Lo and behold, I find a lot of news articles on Stachowiaks.  Who knew it was such a popular name?  My Stachowiaks are from Milwaukee so I did save the articles on Stachowiaks from Racine and Stevens Point, Wisconsin although I haven't yet figured out if they are truly related to my Stachowiaks and where the link is. Another project for another day!

But I did find some information on my Grandpa Leonard's sisters.  That is the great thing about newspaper articles -- yes, sometimes it will give you exact dates of events (like birth and death) but often times they talk about the person's hobbies, passions or every day events.  I just love those types of details.

I never knew exactly when my Great Grandparents (Charles Stachowiak and Anna Szukalski Stachowiak) moved to Los Angeles (Van Nuys to be exact) from Milwaukee, but knew it was after 1920 and before 1930.  Thanks to the above article and another article I found, I think that they probably moved in the year 1927.

I was curious when I read that the Stachowiak ladies "came from Milwaukee with their mother".  What about their father?  I know that he moved to Van Nuys too, but perhaps he had to stay behind to sell his tin business before moving out west.  The article does mention that the Stachowiak misses "are talented in dramatics and have appeared in a good many productions".  Who knew we had dramatic talent on both sides of my family tree?  There will be more about those Stachowiak sisters in future posts ...

**  Article is from the Van Nuys News, August 24, 1928 edition

AMANUENSIS MONDAY

In researching my ancestors, I just don't want to find out their birth date and death date, but I want to find out about the dash (the life they lived between their birth and death).  While knowing their occupation is nice, I really want to know what were their hobbies, their interests and their passions.  Yes, I know this might be a pipe dream (what exactly does that mean?) but I won't give up trying.

Sometimes it may be easier than you think.  If you have an ancestor who was newspaper "friendly", you may be in luck.  As I peruse the Van Nuys News, the same names pop up from time to time.  Now, I don't know if this means they know the editor or they are someone that the newspaper deems "newsworthy" but when it is one of your relatives, who really cares why?

Chester Stachowiak, referred to in this article (16 Jul 1943 of the Van Nuys News) and others as "Chet", was my grandpa Leonard Stachowiak's baby brother.  So besides his birth and death date, what do I know about him?  All I can recall is that he never married and lived for a long time with his parents' home on Van Nuys Boulevard.  But as I am reading the Van Nuys News from 1943, I learn that he is a talented singer, whether or not that was his occupation.  Chet singing is mentioned in various Van Nuys News articles.

In another article from 1943, I learned that his sister Theresa Stachowiak Schultz was a former opera singer.  Wow, we have the singing gene in our family!  I don't ever remember hearing my Grandpa Leonard, their brother, singing, although his wife, Little Grannie (Lillian Braciszewski) did love to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Park".