PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: Help with the manifest

dnowicki — Mon Aug 04, 2025 9:24 am

Author: dnowicki

Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 9:24 am

looking for clues wrote:

Dave, yes church records can be a very helpful, especially in Polish parishes - and Polish names are actually spelled correctly:)

And thank you for the 1907 map. It is a great visual I can use to explain to my family members why some of our ancestors were correct in saying they were from Warsaw, but that didn't mean the city of Warsaw, just the province.

I had a question on the actual church marriage record bluevervain posted. On the line that reads baptizatum in Rzekuń does the dis stand for diocese?

Diane,

The abbreviation dis stands for districtus which means district and stands for powiat in Polish and Kreis in German.

Saying that one was from Warsaw was the same as one saying they are from New York meaning the state and not the city.

All the best,

Dave

Re: Help with the manifest

looking for clues — Mon Aug 04, 2025 2:18 am

Author: looking for clues

Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 2:18 am

Dave, yes church records can be a very helpful, especially in Polish parishes - and Polish names are actually spelled correctly:)

And thank you for the 1907 map. It is a great visual I can use to explain to my family members why some of our ancestors were correct in saying they were from Warsaw, but that didn't mean the city of Warsaw, just the province.

I had a question on the actual church marriage record bluevervain posted. On the line that reads baptizatum in Rzekuń does the dis stand for diocese?

Re: Help with the manifest

bluevervain — Sun Aug 03, 2025 12:44 pm

Author: bluevervain

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 12:44 pm

Here's the church marriage record!

Re: Help with the manifest

bluevervain — Sun Aug 03, 2025 12:22 pm

Author: bluevervain

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 12:22 pm

Wow!!! I am so excited and impressed... Thank you so all much. I am going to try and get ahold of the marriage certificate and then I will share. The information for his wife (my great grandmother) answers a lot of questions/mysteries I had about her!! I though I'd hit a dead end with her, but this opens up whole new paths for both of them!!

-For Rozalia/ Rose: I'd seen these parents' names listed in another ancestry tree with no sources attached. Her obituary, the death index and some index of her childrens' sacraments states her maiden name as Ustaszewski/ Ostaszewski. But on my grandfather's birth certificate she uses the maiden name "Markowskie" which was confusing. But per what Diane shared- it looks like she may have used her widowed name on my grandfather's birth certificate. I have well documented addresses and household members in the US with the census, and I'm so excited to go back further in Poland now. I'll keep you updated!

Re: Help with the manifest

dnowicki — Sun Aug 03, 2025 9:36 am

Author: dnowicki

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 9:36 am

looking for clues wrote:

This may be the church index to your great grandparent’s marriage record. On https://polishfamily.info/ marriage index, searching for John Kendzierski, there is a January 1915 marriage in Boston at Our Lady of Czestochowa church that would fit for the timing of their first child. The link to the record is a paid site but you may also be able to get a copy of the record from the church or through FamilySearch.
The index gives John’s parent’s names – Florian Kendzierski and Frances Sobotka. It also gives the bride’s info.

I was a bit thrown by the location for John of Rzekoń, Ostrołęka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rzeku%C5%84 when I saw that it was in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship instead of the Podlaskie Voivodeship where Łomża is. I found records on Geneteka https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/ for Florian and Frances (Franciszka). I found them located in Borawe which seems pretty close in spelling to Borowy / Borawy.

A variation of the spelling of the Kendzierski name shows as Kędzierski. Florian died in 1900 and Franciszka Kędzierska died in 1901. Note, their parents names are listed. Their deaths could fit with John listing his brother as nearest relative.

Per https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borawe In the years 1921–1939 the village was located in the Białystok Voivodeship, in the Łomża County, in the Rzekuń commune. (At the time of your great grandfather’s petition for naturalization.) I am not sure what the border were at the time of his immigration.

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostro%C5%82%C4%99ka calls Ostrołęka the 8th most populated city in the voivodeship and the 2nd most populated city in the former Łomża Land of historic Masovia

I did not find John Kendzierski’s birth record in either Ostrołęka or Rzekuń (where Borawe is). I see that Rzekuń does not have a lot of the records around his time of birth indexed, but they are online in Russian.

Barb and Sophia and bluevervain – do you think this could be the right track?

Diane

Hi Diane,

The attached 1907 map of the Kingdom of Poland may prove useful to you in the future since it breaks down the administrative districts into both Gubiernias and Powiaty. The attached screenshot is from another map from 1907 which shows places in more detail. Both Borowe and Rzekuń were in powiat Ostrolęcki of Gubiernia Łomżyńska. The relevant places are highlighted in yellow.

The parish in Massachusetts, Our Lady of Częstochowa, is definitely the correct place for the marriage. According to Wacław Kruszka’s Historya Polska w Ameryce the parish was given the care of all the Poles living in Boston. The difference in the spelling of the two locations is simply indicative of the way the pastor of the parish believed the place names were spelled. This would be the parish where bluevervain should search for the B&B records of John & Rose’s children (and probably for the death record of Rose’s first husband, presuming that Andrew died in Boston).

The information you have found from the church marriage record is the reason why I regularly recommend using marriage records in the USA as a guide for doing research across the big pond since the church records usually contain information not found in civil records.

Yes, ę and en sound very similar in Polish. However, strictly speaking, the letter e should not directly follow either of the hard consonants K and G. The letter I needs to be inserted between the consonant and the letter E.

The information you found certainly move the research ahead by light years.

I hope that you find the maps helpful.

Dave

Re: Help with the manifest

BarbOslo — Sun Aug 03, 2025 7:48 am

Author: BarbOslo

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 7:48 am

Hi,
Excellent!
He was born Juli 1st, 1890.
Father: Florian Kędzierska , mother Franciszka nee Sobotka.

-Barb

Re: Help with the manifest

Sophia — Sun Aug 03, 2025 5:43 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 5:43 am

Hi Diane and Barb,

You've got it! Rzekun parish. Birth record 144, from 1890

https://metryki.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=pg&id=1357&se=&sy=3500&kt=5&plik=143-144.jpg&x=517&y=1671&zoom=1.75

Sophia

Re: Help with the manifest

looking for clues — Sun Aug 03, 2025 4:12 am

Author: looking for clues

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 4:12 am

Barb, by pronunciation do Kendzierski and Kędzierski sound similar?

Re: Help with the manifest

looking for clues — Sun Aug 03, 2025 4:10 am

Author: looking for clues

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 4:10 am

Hi Barb,
From the pulldown menu it looks like Rzekuń is well indexed, so I thought the same thing. I then noticed that there were gaps in the indexing per the green bar showing years indexed when left the name in the search blank. See attached. Lots of records showed up but no records for 1890 to 1891. I then specifically put those years in and no records for any name showed up.

I also wondered if by Łomża he meant Łomża Land of historic Masovia as referred to in the Ostrołęka wikipedia article. Or, as the wikipedia article about Borawe implied by saying "In the years 1921–1939 the village was located in the Białystok Voivodeship, in the Łomża County, in the Rzekuń commune." that the borders of Łomża County changed. Do you know of maps to show what the Łomża County borders were when he immigrated?

It should be interesting to see if bluevervain thinks the marriage record index (which showed Rzekoń, Ostrołęka) is his great grandparents and if he can get the church record to see if that is what the handwriting really says.

Re: Help with the manifest

BarbOslo — Sun Aug 03, 2025 3:24 am

Author: BarbOslo

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 3:24 am

looking for clues wrote:

Diane, my first choice was also Borawe, but the place was a bit far from Łomża. In Borawe we can see the surname Kedzierski. Both places are well indexed and I wonder why we can't find Jan?

-Barb

Re: Help with the manifest

looking for clues — Sun Aug 03, 2025 2:15 am

Author: looking for clues

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 2:15 am

Additional attachments

Re: Help with the manifest

looking for clues — Sun Aug 03, 2025 2:12 am

Author: looking for clues

Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 2:12 am

This may be the church index to your great grandparent’s marriage record. On https://polishfamily.info/ marriage index, searching for John Kendzierski, there is a January 1915 marriage in Boston at Our Lady of Czestochowa church that would fit for the timing of their first child. The link to the record is a paid site but you may also be able to get a copy of the record from the church or through FamilySearch.
The index gives John’s parent’s names – Florian Kendzierski and Frances Sobotka. It also gives the bride’s info.

I was a bit thrown by the location for John of Rzekoń, Ostrołęka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rzeku%C5%84 when I saw that it was in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship instead of the Podlaskie Voivodeship where Łomża is. I found records on Geneteka https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/ for Florian and Frances (Franciszka). I found them located in Borawe which seems pretty close in spelling to Borowy / Borawy.

A variation of the spelling of the Kendzierski name shows as Kędzierski. Florian died in 1900 and Franciszka Kędzierska died in 1901. Note, their parents names are listed. Their deaths could fit with John listing his brother as nearest relative.

Per https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borawe In the years 1921–1939 the village was located in the Białystok Voivodeship, in the Łomża County, in the Rzekuń commune. (At the time of your great grandfather’s petition for naturalization.) I am not sure what the border were at the time of his immigration.

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostro%C5%82%C4%99ka calls Ostrołęka the 8th most populated city in the voivodeship and the 2nd most populated city in the former Łomża Land of historic Masovia

I did not find John Kendzierski’s birth record in either Ostrołęka or Rzekuń (where Borawe is). I see that Rzekuń does not have a lot of the records around his time of birth indexed, but they are online in Russian.

Barb and Sophia and bluevervain – do you think this could be the right track?

Diane

Re: Help with the manifest

bluevervain — Sat Aug 02, 2025 8:04 pm

Author: bluevervain

Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2025 8:04 pm

Thank you both for the extra tips and insights! Murawy does sound very close to Burawy! I will also look into Konstanty- I confirmed that the Hyde Park address is an actual location with a home built in the early 1900's!

Re: Help with the manifest

BarbOslo — Sat Aug 02, 2025 5:51 pm

Author: BarbOslo

Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2025 5:51 pm

Hi,
This place is probably called Murawy. Located 10 km from Łomża.
Murawy is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Piątnica, within Łomża County, Podlaskie Voivodeship.

-Barb

Re: Help with the manifest

Sophia — Sat Aug 02, 2025 3:28 pm

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2025 3:28 pm

bluevervain wrote:

Interesting catches, and thank you for the tips! I was able to find p2 of the manifest but I can't seem to download the full resolution image, so I took 2 screenshots. 1. The first column on line 22 looks like the address in Hyde Park with a cousin listed "Jozef Stein." 2. The last columns of p2 for place of birth has Russia at the top of the page with hash marks going down to denote it being the same for everyone, and then it lists the town from p1 that reads like Burowy? (Middle line).

Very helpful, thanks. I will just correct one point. Jozef Stein is not his cousin, he is the cousin of the woman on the next line down, Marianna Stein. Your Jan is going to his cousin Konstanty Kendzierski. I read the address in Hyde Park as 32 Fulton Street. You can look at maps to confirm if that is a correct Hyde Park address.

"Lumzama" sounds like a fantastic place, probably sandy beaches and sunny with a light breeze, certainly some pleasing music and so forth, but as for Jan, I think his naturalization petition was filled out by a clerk who had trouble reading and/or spelling unfamiliar places, and that this is really Łomża. Now your task is to find a Borowy / Borawy / Burowe or some similar spelling, that is in that area. I may also try to take a look.

Best regards,
Sophia

Re: Help with the manifest

bluevervain — Sat Aug 02, 2025 12:49 pm

Author: bluevervain

Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2025 12:49 pm

And here is his naturalization form where he puts "Lumzama" as birth place.

Re: Help with the manifest

bluevervain — Sat Aug 02, 2025 12:38 pm

Author: bluevervain

Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2025 12:38 pm

Interesting catches, and thank you for the tips! I was able to find p2 of the manifest but I can't seem to download the full resolution image, so I took 2 screenshots. 1. The first column on line 22 looks like the address in Hyde Park with a cousin listed "Jozef Stein." 2. The last columns of p2 for place of birth has Russia at the top of the page with hash marks going down to denote it being the same for everyone, and then it lists the town from p1 that reads like Burowy? (Middle line).

Re: Help with the manifest

Sophia — Sat Aug 02, 2025 5:59 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2025 5:59 am

bluevervain wrote:

Is anyone good at reading these old manifests? I can't make out what it says. My great grandfather was Jan Kendzierski (line 22) and I'm trying to make out what city he was from, as well as what's listed under the relative/ friend name and address column (maybe 2 lines on top of one another for Jan)?

It's confusing because this manifest matches the dates and age of his naturalization papers. But naturalization papers have other names for the city he's from. I am guessing it's phonetically spelled but I don't know what it could be referring to "Uzumsla" and "Lumzama" Poland. I want to find out where he's really from! [/img]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

You have posted page 1 of a two-page manifest. While page 1 does say where your Jan was living prior to emigrating, and it provides the address of his nearest relative in his country of origin, the advantage to page 2 is that it asks where he was born.

Where his brother Stanislaw's address is given, the second line begins with "Narew" which I recognize as the name of a river up in the Łomża area, but it is also a place name. I will just add here that there are abbreviations after Narew, which appear to my eye to be something like "Inf Reg [illegible third word] 18 Russia" so perhaps Stanislaw was stationed in Narew, basically east of Łomża. In this instance, I don't think that figuring out Stanislaw's location is going to help much with finding Jan's place of birth. So see if you can post page 2 of the manifest for us.

Best regards,
Sophia

Re: Help with the manifest

bluevervain — Sat Aug 02, 2025 1:44 am

Author: bluevervain

Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2025 1:44 am

Although his brother Stanisław is listed as the contact in Hyde park, I can't find any evidence of him in the census records unfortunately! There is a Stanley Kendzierski in a different part of Massachusetts, but I don't have any evidence to link them.

Re: Help with the manifest

Skowronski — Fri Aug 01, 2025 11:56 pm

Author: Skowronski

Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2025 11:56 pm

Do you know if his brother Stanisław (Stanislaus/Stanley) immigrated to the United States? As far as Russia or Poland being used interchangeably on documents that's normal. Some of my ancestors came from Russian Poland and that's how it is for their documents in America. Russian Poland was organized into guberniyas (governorates) with your Łomża Governorate (Gubernia łomżyńska) being one of them.