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TedMack

Joined: 12 Jun 2020
Replies: 480
Location: Sydney, Australia
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2022 6:15 am Post subject: Poles in USA for work

dnowicki
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Replies: 2782
Location: Michigan City, Indiana
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 7:32 am Post subject: Re: Poles in USA for work

TedMack wrote:

Hi Ted,

As far as I know, in the early 20th Century there was no special category for immigrants to the USA who came with the intention of working and then returning to Europe. It was not like today… no visas, no work permits required, just decent health and a willingness to work. Such persons would be found on regular passenger manifests. Sites for passenger arrival manifests at Ellis Island are https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/ and Steve Morse’s one step search pages https://stevemorse.org/ Of course he may have entered through another port. Baltimore would be a likely place for immigrants who were heading for Chicago. There is probably little to no trace of him in Chicago. The 1900 Federal Census was taken in June so unless he was in Chicago at that time he would not appear in that Census. The next Federal Census was taken in 1910. A very slim possibility would be to look in the online Chicago City Directories for 1900. 1902, and 1905 but since he likely was a border in someone’s residence it is extremely unlikely that he would appear in a City Directory. It would be likely for him to have been employed in either the Blast Furnace Division or the Open Hearth Department in what at the time was known as the South Works of Carnegie Illinois Steel Corporation. However, no employee records from that era survive.

If you haven’t looked for Ignacy and his sister Władysława on Family Search in a while there is now quite a bit of data about them. Władysława and her family settled in the South Chicago neighborhood where her husband was employed at the South Works of United States Steel in the open hearth department. Here is a link to the Witulski-Szmajdzińska family https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9V87-RY7
Ignacy dropped the first z in his surname and eventually adopted the given name James. His family first lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood and eventually settled in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Choicago. Here is a link to the Ignacy aka James Smajdzinski family https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LK7J-6V4 Attached is a photo of Ignacy/James, his wife Mary and two daughters from Family Search.

Wishing you success,

Dave

Ignacy aka James Smajdzinski, wife Mary Szczepanska & 2 daughters.jpg

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Trish
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Joined: 23 Sep 2020
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:53 pm Post subject: Re: Poles in USA for work

TedMack wrote:

Hi Ted and Dave,
I found this information on Geneteka about some of the Szmajdziński children. There is a scan on Kazimierz, but the link is not working for me.

https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&lang=pol&bdm=B&w=15wp&rid=B&search_lastname=Szmajdzi%C5%84ski%20&search_name=&search_lastname2=&search_name2=El%C5%BCbieta&from_date=&to_date=&rpp1=&ordertable=

Trish

Trish
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Joined: 23 Sep 2020
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 4:04 pm Post subject: Re: Poles in USA for work

TedMack wrote:

Hi Ted and Dave,

I found Jozef's manifest. He is on line #20. He going to visit an Uncle in Chicago.

Josef Smajdzinski
In Baltimore, Maryland Passenger Lists, 1891-1943
Save this record and choose the information you want to add to your family tree
Josef Smajdzinski
Save this record and choose the information you want to add to your family tree

Name Josef Smajdzinski
Gender Male
Marital status Single
Birth Circa 1879
Arrival Apr 12 1902
Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Age 23
Origin Russia
Ship Dresden
Nationality Russian
Departure from Bremen
Destination Chicago, Illinois
Relatives
Name Relation
Joe Sma??? Uncle

Jozef Smajdzinski Manifest..jpg

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dnowicki
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Joined: 28 Dec 2011
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Location: Michigan City, Indiana
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2022 5:27 am Post subject: Re: Poles in USA for work

Trish wrote:

TedMack wrote:

Hi Trish & Ted,

The North German Lloyd Steamship Company (Norddeutscher Lloyd) had entered into an agreement with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1867 as a joint marketing venture to facilitate the immigrant trade. The North German Lloyd Company agreed to send ships to the two new piers built by the B&O at Locust Point in the Port of Baltimore The B&O terminal was at the end of the piers and the railroad built special new and larger passenger cars designed for the immigrant trade. Shipping company agents made the rounds of villages in German and Russian ruled Poland offering "package deals" for both steamship and railroad transportation from Europe to cities in the United States—especially those in the northern Midwest served by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Some North German Lloyd passenger ships departed from Bremen, Germany and sailed to the Port of New York, where passengers who had purchased tickets for that destination disembarked. The ship then departed from New York and sailed down the Atlantic coast bound for Baltimore. Other ships sailed directly to Baltimore. As those ships entered the Chesapeake Bay immigration officials boarded and usually were able to process the immigrants through customs before the ship docked in the Port of Baltimore. The immigrants then disembarked and walked through the pier to the B&O terminal at the land end of the pier. There they were either able to board a train for their ultimate destination or would wait in the terminal until the train they needed was ready to depart. All in all this system provided immigrants with a relatively smooth and easy travel experience and it was a good marketing strategy for both companies. I suggested a possible arrival via Baltimore since many immigrants took advantage of these “package deals”. Since Chicago was one of the most important destinations for Polish immigrants and since the B&O Railroad had a direct line to Chicago which entered the city on the Southeast Side aka South Chicago which happened to be the location of the sprawling (600 acre with over 12,000 employees) South Works of Carnegie-Illinois Steel (later known as US Steel) it made sense that Józef may very well have immigrated via Baltimore.

Attached are pics of the piers and railroad terminal at Locust Point and a map of B&O rail routes in 1891.

I hope that you find this info interesting and helpful.

Dave

1891 B&O Railroad.jpg

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B&O Terminal Locust Point, Baltimore.jpg

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Trish
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Joined: 23 Sep 2020
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2022 2:26 pm Post subject: Re: Poles in USA for work

dnowicki wrote:

Trish wrote:

TedMack wrote:

Hi Dave and Ted,
Dave, I love history! So I really enjoy all the detailed information you add to the posts. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge!
Trish

TedMack

Joined: 12 Jun 2020
Replies: 480
Location: Sydney, Australia
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 6:38 am Post subject: Re: Poles in USA for work

Trish wrote:

dnowicki wrote:

Trish wrote:

TedMack wrote:

Hi Dave and Ted,
Dave, I love history! So I really enjoy all the detailed information you add to the posts. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge!
Trish

G'day Dave & Trish

Thank you so much for the wonderful information and documents. At first I thought that the Ignacy link provided was to the incorrect Ignacy as his brother is listed as Franz (probably Franciszek) but his Brother in Law Antoni Jedynak is listed on the second page and the age is correct. I also had doubts as the town he was from is listed as Wozonca (maybe it's the scribes interpretation of Wrząca) not sure.

Trish you're a marvel, how did you find the manifest for Jozef? I tried to find it myself just now on FamilySearch with no luck - is there another location to search? Thanks for the link to Kazimierz on Geneteka, I did know about him (and at least 14 other siblings of Jozef) but szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl has been down for over a week and I'm still searching for documents for this family line. Of interest is that Jozef was going to his uncle Jozef Szmajdzinski's who was already in Chicago, but I'm not sure who this might be and it involves some further research.

Thanks again to you both.

Cheers
Ted

Trish
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Replies: 299

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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: Poles in USA for work

TedMack wrote:

G'day

I need some guidance as to the best locations for finding travel records of Poles travelling to the USA for work and then returning to Poland.

I have tried to locate some records for my Grandfather but have been unable to find anything. The story goes that my GF Józef Szmajdziński (b.11 Mar 1879) travelled to Chicago to work as furnacemen in order to make his "fortune" so he could return home and marry his sweetheart, who remained in Kiełczew Smużny, par. Wrząca Wielka, buy a farm and have a family. As he married on 12 Nov 1907 he would have been in America sometime between 1900 and 1907 - probably more likely 1905 to 1907ish based on my GM's birth date (06 Oct 1886). Also his brother Ignacy (b.1892) migrated to Chicago (probably much later) but other than that I have no details.

He also had 2 sisters who married and migrated to Chicago after marriage - Wladyslawa (b.1881 - married Stanislaw Witulski in 1904) and Helena (b.1888 - married Antoni Jedynak). I was able to find the sisters on a family tree in FamilySearch but there is very limited information.

Just hoping that someone could share some locations where to best start my search for Józef.

G'day Dave & Trish

Thank you so much for the wonderful information and documents. At first I thought that the Ignacy link provided was to the incorrect Ignacy as his brother is listed as Franz (probably Franciszek) but his Brother in Law Antoni Jedynak is listed on the second page and the age is correct. I also had doubts as the town he was from is listed as Wozonca (maybe it's the scribes interpretation of Wrząca) not sure.

Trish you're a marvel, how did you find the manifest for Jozef? I tried to find it myself just now on FamilySearch with no luck - is there another location to search? Thanks for the link to Kazimierz on Geneteka, I did know about him (and at least 14 other siblings of Jozef) but szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl has been down for over a week and I'm still searching for documents for this family line. Of interest is that Jozef was going to his uncle Jozef Szmajdzinski's who was already in Chicago, but I'm not sure who this might be and it involves some further research.

Thanks again to you both.

Cheers
Ted

Hi Ted,
I was able to find the manifest on MyHeritage.com website. Jozef came into the USA through the Port of Baltimore. (Thanks to the information that Dave provided.)

Do you have all the names of the children of Jozef? I saw a tree on MyHeritage with Jozef being married to Stanislawa Michalak. They had the following children: Helena, Zuzanna, Cecylia, Marta, Zofia, Kazimierz, Maria, and Jozef. Is this your family? There aren't any dates listed. The only thing listed is the married names of the daughers. I can post the married names if you need it.

Trish

TedMack

Joined: 12 Jun 2020
Replies: 480
Location: Sydney, Australia
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2022 12:20 am Post subject: Re: Poles in USA for work

[/quote]

Hi Ted,
I was able to find the manifest on MyHeritage.com website. Jozef came into the USA through the Port of Baltimore. (Thanks to the information that Dave provided.)

Do you have all the names of the children of Jozef? I saw a tree on MyHeritage with Jozef being married to Stanislawa Michalak. They had the following children: Helena, Zuzanna, Cecylia, Marta, Zofia, Kazimierz, Maria, and Jozef. Is this your family? There aren't any dates listed. The only thing listed is the married names of the daughers. I can post the married names if you need it.

Trish[/quote]

G'day Trish

Thanks for the confirmation that you found the record on MyHeritage - after I wrote my reply I was able to locate the record I think on FamilySearch. I've downloaded the one you provided so all is good, although in that record he was to stay with his Uncle Jozef Szmajdzinski in Chicago - that's another mystery to research.

Yes, that tree that you see on MyHeritage is my family (Maria is my Mother) although it is missing a sibling (Sylvester) who drowned just before the outbreak of WW2 - my Mother often reminisced and spoke of him. That tree is posted by the wife of my second cousin who I believe currently resides in Holland. I have full details from Jozef and Stanislawa to now courtesy of a cousin in Poland.

Cheers
Ted

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