Forum | PolishOrigins :: View topic - Polish Greatgrandparents from Galicia, Poland

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JoelKosciak

Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Replies: 15
Location: Springfield, MA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:25 am Post subject: Polish Greatgrandparents from Galicia, Poland

Hello,

I have been researching my family history for several years now, and am wondering if the name Kosciak has come up in anybody's research. ... My great grandparents were Michael Thomas Kosciak and Helen Mary (Bieganski) Kosciak. They were married in Poland, and Helen I believe was an orphan at a young age.

One weird thing is that when they came over, the ships log said her name was Agata, which doesn't make me second guess that its her, because everything else on the log and manifest tells me that it is really her.

Now I now my great grandfathers parents name, they were Tomasz and Zofia, and on that boat when Michael and Helen came over, Tomasz was also on the boat and was listed as a widow. Yet I don't know what happened to Tomasz after.

It'd be really so easy if there were more online databases like Ancestry.com with tons of information. Or if there were nice people back in Poland who can send me stuff via e-mail, yet this probably isn't that simple.

I live in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.

~ Joel Kosciak

Shellie
PO Top Contributor & Patron

Joined: 18 Feb 2009
Replies: 1000
Location: Atlanta, GA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:05 pm Post subject:

Hi Joel,
I'm glad that you joined Polish Origins and posted your message here. Many of us are in the same situation as you - we've been working on our family history for a little while and find that there just are not enough sources at our fingertips! Would you like to share any more information with us, like:

When did they come over and what ship?
Did their ship manifest show their birthplace? Where were they from?
Where did they settle?

If you would like to share more information - you will find that others here are glad to help you in any way they can.
I will check my records and post anything that I might have.

Shellie

JoelKosciak

Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Replies: 15
Location: Springfield, MA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:20 pm Post subject:

Here ... LoL ... straight from there profiles on my family tree site at geni.com Smile

1st ... MICHAEL:

In Poland his named would of looked like: Michal Tomasz Kosciak ... Michael would of been pronounced "MEE-khahw".

BORN IN GALICIA:

It included the northern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains and the valleys of the upper Vistula, Dniester, Bug, and Seret rivers. ... When Poland was partitioned, beginning in 1772, the territory passed to Austria. ... Then after World War 1 it was restored to Poland. ... Eastern Galicia was taken by the Soviet Union in World War II and united to the Ukrainian S.S.R. After the war, eastern Galicia remained a part of the U.S.S.R. (after 1991, part of Ukraine), and western Galicia was attached to Poland. ... ... ... Therefore, Michael was Born in Austria in 1889, but after World War I he could say he was born in Poland.

* Where the three Kosciak brothers came from:

1.) The village of Raczyna

2.) In the Gmina (administrative district/municipality) Kanczuga

3.) Within the county of Przeworsk (created in January 1999)

4.) That is located in the province of Subcarpathian Voivodeship (created in January 1999)

5.) In the region of Galicia (In 1918 at the end of WW1, became a division between Poland and Ukraine)

6.) In the country of Poland.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Michael and Helen left the port city of Bremen, Germany on the "Seydlitz" on April 25th, 1914, and arrived in New York on May 6th. (Helen was put down as Agata.) ... They were to be going to Worcester, MA to meet up with Michael's brother John. ... Michael was put down as a farm laborer, and Helen was put down as a housewife. He had 40 dollars when he arrived.

Michael's father Tomasz was also on the boat. He too was heading to Worcester, MA to see John.

John paid for Tomasz, Michael, and Helen to travel from Poland to America.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

WW1 Registration (June 5, 1917) - Living in Worcester, MA as a Blacksmith at the Norton Company (presently is Saint-Gobain today) in Greendale. ... He was an alien, with wife and 3 children.

Norton Company -> http://www.worcesterhistory.org/nortoncompany.html

Draper Corporation -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draper_Corporation

He eventually moved to Milford, MA and started working at the Draper Corporation.

Also on his WW1 registration it says for 3 and a half years, he was apart of the Austrian (now Poland) cavalry as a private.

1921 Milford, MA Directory - Employed at Draper Corporation in Hopedale, MA

1930 Census - Molder at the Draper Corporation Mill

1931 Milford, MA Directory - Employed at Draper Corp

Became a naturalized citizen on February 20th, 1933.

1936 Milford, MA Directory - Employed at Draper Corp

1939 Milford, MA Directory - Employed at Draper Corp

WW2 Registration (1942) - Living in Milford, MA at Prospect Heights, and working for the Draper Corp. His wife Helen is the person who will always know him.

1942 Milford, MA Directory - Employed at Draper Corp

1948 Milford, MA Directory - Employed at Draper Corp

He used to get live chickens and chop their heads off in the basement, and get them ready for cooking.

He also began a shoe repair business in the same basement.

He had bad diabetes. He wasn't always good at doing what he should to help himself out, and was sick a lot. His wife Helen would try, but sometimes he would hide what he did wrongly. ... Later in life, he became unable to work because of his raging diabetes. He had toes removed because of the illness.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Michael is buried with his wife Helen and son Walter at St. Mary's Cemetery in Milford, MA.

Last edited by JoelKosciak on Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

JoelKosciak

Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Replies: 15
Location: Springfield, MA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:21 pm Post subject:

HELEN:

Helen was an orphan around the age of 6 or 7. When she was older she would work at a rich peoples homes and cook for them. She was a very good cook.

Helen would host the annual Christmas Eve parties for her family. Later on her son Theodore and his wife Delia would take over the Christmas Eve duties, and then eventually they gave the hosting duties to their son John.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Michael and Helen left the port city of Bremen, Germany on the "Seydlitz" on April 25th, 1914, and arrived in New York on May 6th. (Helen was put down as Agata.) ... They were to be going to Worcester, MA to meet up with Michael's brother John. ... Michael was put down as a farm laborer, and Helen was put down as a housewife.

Michael's father Tomasz was also on the boat. He too was heading to Worcester, MA to see John. His wife Zofia was not living, and had died in Poland at a young age.

John paid for Tomasz, Michael, and Helen to travel from Poland to America.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

By June 1917, she was living in Worcester, MA with the family . Then they eventually moved to Milford, MA by 1930.

Became a naturalized citizen on January 25th, 1943.

Helen would host the annual Christmas Eve parties for her family. They were large family gatherings. Later on her son Theodore and his wife Delia would take over the Christmas Eve duties, and then eventually they gave the hosting duties to their son John.

From Grandson Ken Boyce: says "I remember her cutting rye bread by holding it between her breasts and slicing the bread with a knife that she wrapped around the loaf. It's a wonder she didn't cut herself in half..or worse."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

She lived to be 92 years old from the years 1890 to 1982.

Helen is buried with her husband Michael and son Walter at St. Mary's Cemetery in Milford, MA.

JoelKosciak

Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Replies: 15
Location: Springfield, MA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:27 pm Post subject:

As you can see I have a lot of information on them ... Same for all my great grandparents and grandparents. Smile

Michael and Helen had: Jennie Rostkowski, Sophie Tomaso, Irene Boyce, Lillian Ferguson, Theodore Kosciak, Sr. and 1 other, and Walter Kosciak

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