SophiaPO Top Contributor
Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 958
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2023 6:54 am
Post subject: Re: Would be so grateful for help on Great Grandparents
| Shannon207 wrote: | Hello Everyone,
I've been researching the Nick in Connecticut extensively. Including his wife. But am not finding any real connection to Andrew or similar parents names. And I couldn't find a ship list for him. And no connection to Ohio.
But, I was wondering what you guys thought about this passenger list.
I've added the images for the passenger list, along with Andrew's for comparison, and info breakdowns. So you wouldn't have to search through this post. Andrew is line 18 and Nick is line 13. No 2nd page for him.
There's also another smaller document that shows more clearly the info on Nicks list. I don't know what this document is.
The last name is far off, but when compared to the name of brother on Andrews Passenger list, not so far.
He is going to Cleveland also. He is probably 8-10 years older than what Andrew might be and lists Wilna as a last residence. 1906 arrival. Going to see a friend called Wasili Ribka.
I did a quick search of Rybka just for the fun of it and did find a male child with no first name listed with parents of Rybka and Nowak born in Poland. Nowak is suppose to be Andrew's Mothers last name. I've included that screenshot. I know this means nothing, but was interesting to add to the many ideas. Maybe a relative of Andrew's Mom.
Anyway, would love your thoughts. Don't feel bad if you think it is unlikely  |
Hi Shannon,
I thought we had come about as far as we could with research on this family, but I see you have been busy finding interesting documents. Very interesting!
I think there has to be a connection between your Andrew and this Nicolai Sawitzky who arrived in 1906. I cannot see a connection between the surname Szadulski and the surname Sawitzky, but these two men must be related somehow (he shows up as Nikolai Szadwiski on Andrew's manifest). Did you notice, on Nicolai's manifest, the person on line 20? He is Stanislaw Sawitzky, also from Wilna, but headed to Philadelphia, to his brother Jan Sawitzky. (For Polish spelling, I might go with Sawicki). You might want to add those two names to a file that I might label "Who Are These Guys?" for random researching when you have the time.
You asked about the smaller document with Nick's immigration info - - this is just an index card that made it easier for officials to find people on ship manifests, when a certificate of arrival was requested. Turns out, they are handy for genealogists, but really none of these documents were originally designed with the delight of genealogists in mind.
Regarding the surname Nowak, it is one of the most prevalent surnames in all of Poland (maybe a quarter of a million people, out of a population of 38 million). Take a look at this surname distribution map for the name Nowak:
https://nazwiska-polskie.pl/Nowak
Compare that to Sawicki:
https://nazwiska-polskie.pl/Sawicki
Researching a Nowak in Poland is like researching a Smith in North America.
Thanks for sharing these interesting documents. And thanks for always replying to people who contribute - - that is very inspiring to those who volunteer here.
Best wishes for a happy weekend,
Sophia
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2023 8:35 am
Post subject: Would be so grateful for help on Great Grandparents
Thank you Sophia!
Definitely will add that extra passenger on the list to my research. Again an extra passenger that might be a small lead.
I had looked through the Nick list for such names but didn't on Andrews!
And, Yes, I learned quickly that that Nowak name was super common. That's ok, I'm determined!
Thank you very much for your input. Oh, and I have been attempting to search through those Lipniki church records.
Nothing yet, but maybe with a new name version, I might get lucky.
I hope you also have a wonderful weekend!
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SophiaPO Top Contributor
Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 958
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2023 11:08 am
Post subject:
Hi Shannon,
I meant to add a few words about Nikolai. I think that you are dealing with two different men named Nikolai, one in Ohio (Sawitzky) and one in New England (Sadulsky).
For the New England Nick, I know you already have a stack of documents on him, but let me just add some thoughts. In the 1930 census, it is "Nicholas Sidulsky" and he is a laborer for the Boston & Maine Railroad Construction Crew. As such, he might have been fairly mobile, living in different places at different times as required by the job. In the World War I Draft Registration document, he was working for the Hunter Machine Company in North Adams, Berkshire, Massachusetts. That could well have drawn on the same skillset. I found a lovely historical book about North Adams, here:
https://ia904500.us.archive.org/7/items/northadamsmassac00nortrich/northadamsmassac00nortrich.pdf
If you use your browser's "Find in page" function, you can find things in this book about both the Boston & Maine Railroad and the Hunter Machine Company. I like this sentence, "The company has a reputation all over the country for the excellence and superiority of its work, and there are few woolen mills that do not contain machines made at the Hunter plant." I thought it might interest you, given your family's connection to weaving.
Also note on Nick's WWI registration form this wording about his birth year, "did not know for sure." How refreshing! And it does help make sense of his changing answers to questions about his age, throughout these documents.
Enjoy!
Sophia
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2023 11:30 am
Post subject: Would be so grateful for help on Great Grandparents
Hi Sophia,
I totally agree that these are 2 different men.
I did dig very deep into New England Nickolis and was imagining what a difficult life he came to.
If he was a professor in St. Petersburg, it makes me sad how much his life would have changed. Even as a older man he was working difficult jobs and moving a lot. During the steam railroad time, it appears, without his family.
But such is the story for so many.
And the connection to weaving is spread so far across the paternal side of my family.
Thank you for the link. I really love looking at history like that.
Even if it ends up not being my immediate family, it is the story we all are part of in this country. Very interesting.
And thank you for the "find in page" hint. Things like that are so helpful. Wish I'd used it sooner!
It's beginning to become very obvious that many immigrants did not know their exact birth dates!
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