Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 9:53 am
Post subject: Strange surnames...help!
Hello,
I would appreciate some help with some surnames from U.S. marriage certificates. I believe one, at least, was translated incorrectly, and the other is just a name I can find no information on. Both of these names came from Onondaga County, NY, marriage licenses, and are the surnames of mothers back in Poland.
The one for my great-great grandmother says that her mother's maiden surname was "Kozywonosiunka." My g-g grandmother's sister's license said their mother's last name was "Kozywana." These were written by some New York county official, and I believe both the spellings for this name are most likely incorrect. Is there some light that can be shed on what this name might really be? I can find nothing similar to it.
I was reading something about adding "ówna or -'anka" as a suffix to an unmarried female name. Might this be what is going on here, and if so, what is the main name without the suffix?
The other surname is "Miusik." I think this must be a translation for "Music," but I am wondering about this name being a real Polish surname. Is this another mis-translation into English?
Any thoughts? Thanks!
Boppagirl
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Cheri Vanden BergPO Top Contributor & Patron
Joined: 16 Oct 2011
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 11:38 am
Post subject:
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Cheri Vanden BergPO Top Contributor & Patron
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dnowickiPO Top Contributor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
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Location: Michigan City, IndianaBack to top |
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 1:12 pm
Post subject:
Boppagirl & Cheri,
The suffix -anka or the variation -onka is most likely what is going on in the marriage record. There is also a Polish surname, Musik, but rather than speculating about the correct spelling of the Polish surnames recorded by a county clerk who most likely was not Polish I would suggest contacting the church where the marriage took place and requesting a photocopy of the entry in the parish marriage register. There were 2 R.C. Polish churches in Syracuse, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and Transfiguration. There was also a Polish National Catholic church there---Holy Cross PNC. Presuming that Maryanna was Roman Catholic and had not joined the Polish National Church and given her address and the fact that Catholic marriages usually took place in the parish of the bride the most likely church where the marriage took place would be Sacred Heart Basilica (0.1 mile from where she lived). The chances are much greater that the Polish surnames in the register would have been correctly spelled by the Polish priest who entered the data of the marriage.
Anyway, that is my suggestion.
Wishing you success,
Dave
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 4:48 pm
Post subject:
Would the parish register include the names of the parents of the bride and groom? (Yes, they were married at Sacred Heart.) Both my g.g. grandmother, her sister, and her husband were all new immigrants so they would be the first of the family in the register, unless the parents' names were recorded, too.
Contacting the church sounds like a good idea.
Cheri, I guess it's just the way that Miusik is spelled that made me wonder what the right spelling must be. The name you mentioned seems like a good lead. It seems so many times the clerks copy the names the way they sound to their own ears.
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dnowickiPO Top Contributor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Replies: 2781
Location: Michigan City, IndianaBack to top |
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 5:24 pm
Post subject:
[quote="Boppagirl"]Would the parish register include the names of the parents of the bride and groom? (Yes, they were married at Sacred Heart.) Both my g.g. grandmother, her sister, and her husband were all new immigrants so they would be the first of the family in the register, unless the parents' names were recorded, too.
Contacting the church sounds like a good idea.
Boppagirl,
By 1909 most parishes in the USA were using registers which were "fill in the blanks" in form and those registers had spaces for the names of the parents of the bride and groom and usually most priests were good about entering that data. Often there were also spaces for the date and place of baptism of both parties as well as other helpful information. How many blanks were filled in, of course, depended on the priest who was entering the data. The information which is usually found in the register is the reason why you should request a photocopy of the entry rather than a marriage certificate. Usually certificates don't contain all the information which is in the actual register.
Since both your gg grandmother and her sister were married at Sacred Heart, it would be good to request copies of both marriages.
Good luck in your quest.
Dave
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:40 pm
Post subject:
Dave,
Thanks.... I will update later about what I find. These names are my first real links back to Poland so I need the correct versions, I think.
Boppagirl
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Iwona Lubczyńska
Joined: 16 Mar 2016
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Location: PolandBack to top |
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:46 pm
Post subject:
It's hard to say what it names as were written in phonetic wording. I can write you why you see 2 different names.
Suppose that it is a name of "Muzyk" and "Krzywonos" (a phonetic similarity I see). Old Polish language distinguishes the names of the status of women (single, married, a widow), and so we have:
single (panna)- to add the names of -ówna or -anka (Muzykówna, Krzywonosówna)
married (mężatka) / widow (wdowa) - to add the names -owa, -ina, -yna (Muzykowa, Krzywonosowa). That suffix will be used depends on how the letter ends with a name (first version for consonants, vowels for the second).
So, if you are looking for the basic form of the name (now old used very rarely) that you subtract these suffiks
Muzyk-owa, Muzyk-ówna
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 10:21 pm
Post subject:
Thank you for the explanation of the suffixes... it does make sense as far as the differences in the two spellings of the same name. It also tells me that one of the mothers was probably a widow by that time (1909).
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Elzbieta PorteneuvePO Top Contributor
Joined: 09 Nov 2012
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:09 am
Post subject:
Boppagirl,
I think that you arrive at the end of your search. The name "Kozywonosiunka" is in fact Krzywonosianka, with feminine suffix for daughter of Krzywonos. That is your name, Krzywonos. Etymology is from "krzywy nos" = crooked nose.
See https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polskie_nazwiska
section "Tradycyjna odmiana nazwisk żeńskich"with old suffixes.
Best,
Elzbieta
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 10:16 pm
Post subject:
Thank you so much for you reply! Although I am somewhat experienced in other genealogy, learning about Polish is rather new to me. I will try double-checking with the church, but this name sounds promising....
Boppagirl
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