Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 10:24 am
Post subject: Village of Great-Great Grandmother -- Last Brick Wall
Hi all. I've received incredible help through this site in the past. I'm hoping for assistance locating the village/region of origin of my final brick wall: my great-great-grandmother, Anna Skonieczna.
Despite years of research, I've found little information about her. She died in Jersey City, New Jersey, on July 19, 1910. Her death certificate identifies her date of birth as June 15, 1870. Her husband served as the witness, which suggests it should be correct. However, the 1900 US census lists her birth month and year as June 1869, the 1905 New Jersey census lists her birth month and year as December 1871, and the 1910 US census gives her age as 38, indicating a birth year of 1871/72.
The only indication of her birth region throughout the records is "Russian Poland." The death certificate lists her father as Marcin. Her mother's name is much harder to read -- but it appears to be Justyna in my best guess.
She appears to have married her husband -- Wladyslaw Witkowski -- after arriving in the US in the early 1890s, but I have never been able to track down a marriage record (either through New Jersey or churches in Jersey City).
A few years ago, some extremely helpful members of this site solved the mystery of Wladyslaw's birth village -- Tadajewo in Rypin. (The link to that posting string is here: https://forum.polishorigins.com/viewtopic.php?t=17147&view=next&sid=6ef7c387611d32d2a97ebf4b98dab81d). My best guess is Anna came from the same region as Wladyslaw (an older family member once remembered she came here separately from him to marry him, which supports that theory).
I've searched every website and source I know of -- I even tried combing records from the Rypin region, but the language and handwriting are insurmountable obstacles for me. Does anyone have any suggestions, websites, etc., for me to try? I'd love to figure out this final mystery. Thanks for all ideas and assistance!!
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1625
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 11:42 am
Post subject: Re: Village of Great-Great Grandmother -- Last Brick Wall
| davidckane wrote: | Hi all. I've received incredible help through this site in the past. I'm hoping for assistance locating the village/region of origin of my final brick wall: my great-great-grandmother, Anna Skonieczna.
Despite years of research, I've found little information about her. She died in Jersey City, New Jersey, on July 19, 1910. Her death certificate identifies her date of birth as June 15, 1870. Her husband served as the witness, which suggests it should be correct. However, the 1900 US census lists her birth month and year as June 1869, the 1905 New Jersey census lists her birth month and year as December 1871, and the 1910 US census gives her age as 38, indicating a birth year of 1871/72.
The only indication of her birth region throughout the records is "Russian Poland." The death certificate lists her father as Marcin. Her mother's name is much harder to read -- but it appears to be Justyna in my best guess.
She appears to have married her husband -- Wladyslaw Witkowski -- after arriving in the US in the early 1890s, but I have never been able to track down a marriage record (either through New Jersey or churches in Jersey City).
A few years ago, some extremely helpful members of this site solved the mystery of Wladyslaw's birth village -- Tadajewo in Rypin. (The link to that posting string is here: https://forum.polishorigins.com/viewtopic.php?t=17147&view=next&sid=6ef7c387611d32d2a97ebf4b98dab81d). My best guess is Anna came from the same region as Wladyslaw (an older family member once remembered she came here separately from him to marry him, which supports that theory).
I've searched every website and source I know of -- I even tried combing records from the Rypin region, but the language and handwriting are insurmountable obstacles for me. Does anyone have any suggestions, websites, etc., for me to try? I'd love to figure out this final mystery. Thanks for all ideas and assistance!! |
Hello,
Could you please share some documents with us. Manifest, the death record...Everything where her Polish place of or other is mentioned.
Regards,
-Barb
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 11:58 am
Post subject:
Absolutely. I should have noted most documents are at the following FamilySearch page: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/vitals/KG3Q-3YZ
I’m also going to upload the death certificate as an attachment. Thanks for any suggestions!!
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1625
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 12:36 pm
Post subject:
Thanks David,
Sophia, Trish, are you able to get the wedding records?
I found Anna, born in 1869, daughter of Marian and Justyna. She was born not far from Tadajewo (4km.) Need mother's maiden name which may be noted in the wedding record.
-Barb
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1625
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 1:06 pm
Post subject:
Sophia,
Yes, Anna's maiden name was Skonieczna. I think that in Anna's wedding record we can see her mother's maiden name.
-Barb
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SophiaPO Top Contributor
Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1540
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 1:47 pm
Post subject:
| BarbOslo wrote: | Sophia,
Yes, Anna's maiden name was Skonieczna. I think that in Anna's wedding record we can see her mother's maiden name.
-Barb |
Hi Barb,
Sorry about the confusion.
I realize that you were asking for a wedding record in order to see Anna's mother's maiden name. I looked at the death certificate that David posted, and where it asks for Anna's mother's name I read it as Justyna Skonieczna, so I posted that, and right away I realized that Skonieczna probably was not Justyna's maiden name listed there, but rather it is her married name, so at the same moment that I was deleting my post, you were replying to me.
For NJ marriages, I know how to find indices but not actual records, so I cannot help with this.
Sophia
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TrishPO Top Contributor
Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Replies: 552
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 2:09 pm
Post subject:
Hi David, Barbara, and Sophia,
I am not finding any records.
Per the NJ State Archives, I did find a few gentlemen with the surname Witkowski who married in New Jersey. There is a Jan Witkowski who married in Jersey City. I am not finding Wladyslaw marrying. However, the surname could be mis-spelled and why it is not being found.
https://wwwnet-dos.state.nj.us/DOS_ArchivesDBPortal/Marriage1867.aspx
David, Did you try to contact the church where the children were baptized? Maybe the church has Wladyslaw and Anna's marriage record. Did you obtain the baptismal records of the children? Maybe a town is listed on the records for Wladyslaw and Anna.
Regards,
Trish
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1625
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 2:16 pm
Post subject:
Okay. It does not solve the problem. Anna Skonieczna that I have found had at least 4 siblings. 3 of them married in Poland. Would help if any of them emigrated to the US before or after Anna.
David do you know anything about that?
Franciszek Skonieczny (after 1895), Jozef Skonieczny (after 1910)+ possibly Ignacy Skonieczny and Franciszka Klonowska nee Skonieczna (after 1886).
Thought we could check Manifest or census.
-Barb
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1625
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 2:27 pm
Post subject:
Anna's obituary could contain some information about her family in Poland or US.
-Barb
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 2:28 pm
Post subject:
Wow. This lead looks very promising. Thank you all so much for the efforts. I really appreciate it!
I have no knowledge about any siblings of hers. I’ll definitely search the censuses. Ive tried churches in past with no luck, but I just reread the thread about Wladyslaw from a few years ago and realized I should try St. Anthony’s. I don’t believe I ever went back to that after Wladyslaw was located. So I’ll do that!
Would you mind sharing the surname of the mother in the birth record you found?
Thanks again all!
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1625
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 3:04 pm
Post subject:
The mother's maiden name was Justyna Lendzion, also in some places Lendzionowska / Lendzinska. Father's name is Marian. Looks like Marcin. In contrast, Anna Skonieczny's date of birth is 24.08.1869. The dates you stated were different. I don't know if it is Anna we are looking for, but something is in common.
-Barb
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Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2024 12:33 pm
Post subject:
Thank you all again. I'm working on tracking down the leads in this thread.
In the meantime, I searched more on Geneteka. I found an Anna Skonieczna listed as born in 1869 in a village only minutes north of Tadajevo (just north of Rypin), where Wladyslaw came from. Unfortunately, the entry does not provide the parents names or the scan:
1869 Anna Skonieczna Osiek (pow. brodnicki)
To the extent the link works, the result is here: https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&rid=B&search_lastname=skunieczn&exac=&from_date=1868&to_date=1873&w=02kp
It appears the records for Osiek are on FamilySearch, but I simply struggle to find anything comprehensible in them. Does anyone have a recommendation for someone reliable I could retain to try to find this record? Thanks!
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BarbOsloPO Top Contributor
Joined: 19 Nov 2022
Replies: 1625
Location: NorwayBack to top |
Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2024 12:44 pm
Post subject:
| davidckane wrote: | Thank you all again. I'm working on tracking down the leads in this thread.
In the meantime, I searched more on Geneteka. I found an Anna Skonieczna listed as born in 1869 in a village only minutes north of Tadajevo (just north of Rypin), where Wladyslaw came from. Unfortunately, the entry does not provide the parents names or the scan:
1869 Anna Skonieczna Osiek (pow. brodnicki)
To the extent the link works, the result is here: https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&rid=B&search_lastname=skunieczn&exac=&from_date=1868&to_date=1873&w=02kp
It appears the records for Osiek are on FamilySearch, but I simply struggle to find anything comprehensible in them. Does anyone have a recommendation for someone reliable I could retain to try to find this record? Thanks! |
| Description: |
Hi,
She is the Anna I mentioned to you. Here is her birth record.
-Barb |
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Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2024 12:59 pm
Post subject:
You're always steps ahead of me. I thought this might be a different person since the parents' names were not listed. Thanks so much for finding it for me.
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Posted: Wed May 07, 2025 10:16 am
Post subject:
I just wanted to circle back on this thread to thank everyone for the help. I confirmed the Marion and Justyna theorized above as Anna's parents actually are my ancestors. I located a living descendant of one of Marion's and Justyna's other children and we matched through DNA testing. I likely wouldn't have resolved this without the help of those on this page.
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