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Ute
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Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 2:30 am Post subject: Unidentified wedding picture Szot or Obryk family, Chicago?

One of my cousins sent me a wedding picture that had no information about whose wedding it was and when or where it was taken. It was most likely taken in Chicago in the 1910's or 1920's and the people in the wedding picture could be members of either the Obryk or Szot/Sord families of Chicago. Since we were so lucky in identifying old photographs before, I'm hoping that somebody might recognize the photo or even have a copy of it. Or perhaps one of our Chicago experts has an idea where the photo might have been taken when looking at the background.

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MDuplaga
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Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 5:39 am Post subject: Unidentified wedding picture Szot or Obryk family, Chicago

Hello Ute,

I may be able to help you tighten up the date of your photo. My Aunt & Uncle married in 1933, and your photo shows many similarities to their photo. The women's hair styles are the same, waves that are tight to the scalp and the headbands are similar. The bride has the extended long veil drawn to the front of her, as she is also seated in a chair. The bridesmaids bouquets are quite large as well. The men's suits and hair styles are similar. My Aunt & Uncle were married in Cleveland, Ohio so obviously a different photographer was used-however, my photo also shows a large carved out item as part of the background setting as well.

I hope this helps a bit,
MaryAnne

Ute
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Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 7:18 am Post subject: Re: Unidentified wedding picture Szot or Obryk family, Chica

MDuplaga wrote:

Hello MaryAnne,
These are very helpful hints! Thank you! It is well possible that the picture was taken later than I thought and perhaps not even in Chicago. I don't think there were family connections to Ohio, but I know that quite a few of my ancestors lived in Wisconsin. Just to compare the pictures, I'm attaching another family wedding picture that I was told was my grandmother's brother's wedding picture. If this is correct, it was most likely taken in 1922 in Royalton, Frankling, Illinois (that's at least where the marriage took place). It looks like it was taken earlier than the one I posted first (the people's looks, their hair, and the way they were dressed ....) What do you think?
Just wondering why they always look so serious on these pictures?

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MDuplaga
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Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:46 pm Post subject: Unidentified wedding picture Szot or Obryk family, Chicago

Hi Ute,

Your second wedding photo looks to be in the 1920's. The women have the shorter style dress and those white stockings. So we can see there were some definite style differences between the 1920's & the 1930's.

I had read that the people did not smile in photos, because the process of taking the photos took several minutes. So I guess it would be difficult to hold a smiling pose. Whether that is accurate or not, I have decided that I am grateful they did NOT smile, as it makes it much easier to see exactly what the person looked like and this makes it much easier to compare facial features, as I try to figure out who is who in my old photos.

Another consideration is that the Great Depression in America started in 1930 and lasted to the late 1930's or to the middle 1940's. So when we view our Old photos, it is a wonderment to me that what are most likely the first generation of Polish American children of the immigrants have been successful in putting together rather nicely dressed Wedding Parties and even have the professional photos taken.
The Aunt that I referenced in my previous message was the first child for my grandparents. My Grandfather worked at Sampson & Sessions Bolt & Nut factory and my Grandmother worked in a Silk factory. From 1910-1933 the date of the wedding they had a total of 8 children born and times were economically bad-yet the wedding party looked very nice!

I have one old wedding photo and eventually was able to figure out who everyone in the front row was, beside my grandparents. The discoveries came through a lot of hard work and comparing and learning more and more about the people who were in my grandparents life over all the years. These little tidbits of information led to good success. However, the whole back row is still unknown.

My Grandparents were given a 50th Wedding Anniversary Party by their children, and photos from that event in 1960 and the names written on the back of those photos added to my success of other older photo identifications.

MaryAnne

rsowa
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Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 4:44 pm Post subject: Re: Unidentified wedding picture Szot or Obryk family, Chica

MDuplaga wrote:

Hi Ute,
I had read that the people did not smile in photos, because the process of taking the photos took several minutes. So I guess it would be difficult to hold a smiling pose.

Hi MaryAnne...I don't think that true for photography in the 1920's or 1930's. In fact, the first Kodak "Brownie" camera was released in 1900. By the 1920's silent films were very popular. So cameras with shutters and fast exposures were readily available to the public (and professional photographers) probably as early as 1890 or even earlier.

I think they didn't smile for a whole host of other reasons, but the main one was that formal photographs were rarely taken, and when they were, it was often for some solemn occasion (wedding, funeral, etc). Not smiling was considered very "formal" and appropriate for such photos. I have several family group photos that were taken around 1900 where all the people were smiling. But when it came to formal portraits of the same people, they never smiled.

As Mark Twain said "A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever." Smile

Richard

Ute
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Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 6:12 am Post subject: Re: Unidentified wedding picture Szot or Obryk family, Chica

Hello MaryAnne,
Thank you very much for your comments on the two wedding pictures!
I really appreciate your estimation regarding the fashion style during these years (I must admit I'm not good at that at all.) I looked at the faces and asked myself what they felt about getting married. I know men often feel a bit uncomfortable about taking pictures -- I think that's not much different nowadays -- and prefer to keep a straight face, but I also have two or three family wedding pictures taken in the 1930s with the bridesmaids and best men having a slight smile on their face. Even the bride is slightly smiling. They all look kind of happy in the picture.
Ute

rsowa
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:52 am Post subject:

One more item that could help narrow down the search. Try to get another copy of the same photos, but this time include anything on the borders or back that can identify the photographer, or photography studio.

I ran across an old photo that was similar, and the only hint I had was the logo on the frame "Peters" from Chicago. I then looked at an old city directory, and discovered there was a George W. Peters photography studio between 1892-1900, about a block from where my ancestors were living in the 1900 census. That enabled me to zero in on who was probably in the picture, when it was taken, and maybe the reason the photo was taken. My photo wasn't for a wedding, but most likely was taken after the funeral of one of their husbands in 1895. The funeral would have been one of the few times the entire family was together and dressed up in formal attire.

So while it's not a perfect way to identify folks in the photo, it can help narrow the field to only a few possible individuals.

Richard

Henryk
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:46 pm Post subject:

http://eliasz.com/DziennikPolski/DP_search.htm
1 30224 Szot Ewa 7/9/1908(newspaper date) MARR. 22 (Jan Gawron) PGSCTNE9INDEXER0

Ute
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Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 12:20 am Post subject:

Henryk wrote:

http://eliasz.com/DziennikPolski/DP_search.htm
1 30224 Szot Ewa 7/9/1908(newspaper date) MARR. 22 (Jan Gawron) PGSCTNE9INDEXER0

Richard and Henryk,
Thank you very much for the hints, I'm going to check them out as soon as I get around. At the moment I'm very busy packing, renovating, cleaning the house, and so on and all my genealogy files are packed up in boxes and waiting for the move to a new home in April. We are moving to a new area where I have to get a new internet service provider, so I have no clue when I will I be able to get internet back running ....

bunny

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Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 7:39 pm Post subject:

Sorry for te late post. My parents were married in May 1932 in Chicago, My Moms Vail is exactly the san style as in your posted picture. The length is to the ankle. They are alone in the picture, so I do hope my info helps,

carolradke

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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 1:48 pm Post subject: Unidentified Wedding Photo

It is possible/probable that this is a photo of my great uncle's, Stanley Orbick, wedding. The people in the wedding look like my Orbick family, are the exact people who would be attendants and the ages for everyone are appropriate for the year they were married. I

Stanley Orbick (from Iron Wood, MI) married Blanche Glowinski (from Milwaukee, WI) on July 26, 1938 at St. Helen's Church in Milwaukee, WI. There were only 4 Orbick siblings and all 4 appear to be in the photo - Stanley, Vincent, Helen and Minnie (and Minnie's husband). See attached is a photo with names attached. The Orbicks traveled to Milwaukee for the wedding.

Stanley and Blanche were older when they married and they adopted 2 orphans from Milwaukee, Gustav Buczek and Harriet Buczek.

The other Orbick family who were present at the wedding was Stanley's father, Felix Orbick, and Helen's husband, John Drozdowski. John was age 51 at the time of the wedding (Stanley and John worked together as railroad engineer's for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad). John would have been one of the attendants - standing behind his wife Helen. However, John is not there. Note, there are 4 bridesmaids, but only 3 male attendants. John was most likely staying with Felix at the hotel. Felix was age 73 at the time of the wedding.

Do you have the original of this photo? if yes, is there a name of the photographer on the back or front edge. I live in the Milwaukee area and could further research this for you.

Carol Radke

Ute
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 4:05 am Post subject: Re: Unidentified Wedding Photo

carolradke wrote:

Carol,
Thank you! Your response was a big surprise! I'm attaching a photo that shows my great-grandmother Agata Obryk (born 1865 in Jaslo, daughter of Wincenty Obryk and Maria) that I assume was taken about 1904. My great-grandmother married Jakub Szot and lived in the village of Blaszkowa. Since she and the groom in the wedding photo (your great-uncle Stanley Orbick???) look alike, and the names Orbick and Obryk sound similar, my first guess was that there is a connection between your Orbick and my Obryk ancstors.

Unfortunately, I have very little information on the Obryks that is backed up by records. The only Obryk family member I have records for is my grandmother Julianna Szot's uncle Joseph Obryk who was her mother's brother. He was born on March 19, 1877 in Jaslo. He was indexed as 'Joseph Obick' when he immigrated to the US on May 30, 1906. His destination in the US was his sister in Chicago (name not given) who lived at 328, Carpenter St at the time. A Magdalena Obryk married a Maciej Penksa on Nov. 11, 1906 in Chicago, she may have been the sister Joseph Obryk joined. I got their church marriage record but it did not give her parents' names, so I'm not sure. Joseph Obryk married Tekla 'Tillie' Kozubal, born abt. 1880 in Blazkowa, who returned to Poland with their two daughters. Joseph Obryk died in Chicago.

Many Obryks came from the same region (Jaslo, Pilzno, Przeczyca, Blazkowa) and settled in Chicago resp. East Chicago. I've been trying to find out if and how they were related to each other and if and how they fit in my family tree, but it is very difficult. When we tried to trace back in Poland, we hit a brick wall as far as our Obryk ancestors are concerned. I also don't have the originals of the photos that were given to my cousin by an aunt some years back.

If you think the photo is of your great-uncle Stanley Orbick's wedding, and my family in Chicago had that photo as well, there HAS to be some kind of connection between our families. But, if so, how are they connected??

We just moved to a new apartment, some of my files are still unpacked, and I don't really have time for family research at the moment, but let's stay in touch and see what we can find out. It would be great if we could find a connection between our families.

Ute

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