Stanczyk writes to entertain and inform. Perhaps one day I will corral these thoughts into a genealogical book in some media — so I guess that is another reason I blog. To be sure though, I have said this blog is my family magnet. I am trying to draw distant cousins or people with affiliated families who may have pictures or clues to my family history — so I publish info and original research to draw, magnet-like, to me those who are “connected”. Today I will give a Sunday appeal, by listing the churches/parishes where my family has congregated. Let me know if any of these are also yours…
I will start with my paternal grandparents since I know their parishes in Poland. In Biechow, my grandmother Walerya’s parish is named: Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints). This is the parish where my grandparents were married in 1907. It is also the parish where their first child (Wladyslaw Jozef) was born in 1908 and probably Aleksandra (aka Alice) was born in that parish too. Aleksandra came with my grandmother in 1913 to the USA as a four year old.
My grandfather, Jozef Elijasz, was born in Pacanow, in the sw. Marcin (St Martin) parish. Once Jozef and Walerya came to the USA, they left a trail of churches, with family notations to dot the landscape across this great nation of ours.
1913-? Depew, NY – St. Augustine. Jozef & Walerya had their third child, Casimiera (aka Catherine) in 1914.
?(post 1914, but before 1916)-1920 Toledo, OH – St. Anthony. In 1916 Their fourth child, Stefan (Stephen Edward) was born. Followed by Joseph in 1919 and Boleslawa/Bernice in 1920. Stefan and Joseph were christened at St Anthony, but Bernice was not christened in the diocese of Toledo. So I think that almost immediately after Bernice was born they moved to Detroit and I suspect Bernice was baptized in Detroit.
Detroit, MI – So many parishes. In Detroit, December 1922 Henry was born. Henry was born and died a month later in January 1923. In 1924, Theodore was born in Detroit. Finally, In 1926 their last child, Chester, was born at home. His baptism was at Corpus Christi Church (2291 E. Outer Driver, Detroit) in 1928. My grandfather Josef built the steeple on Corpus Christi Church. Chester’s God Mother Janina Leszczynska is a mystery. Was Janina a sister or a sister-in-law of my grandmother (Walerya z. Leszczynska) ? We have no record of Janina Leszczynska — perhaps the 1940 US Census will shed some light. Chester attended Immaculate Conception Church in Hamtramck as a boy. His 1st Holy Communion was at St Johns Church on East Grand Blvd, Detroit.
So that is nine children born and seven who survived infancy. My grandparents had children in two different countries, and in three states in the US. Two churches in Poland and at least a half dozen churches in the US document my father and his siblings births/baptisms.
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