Steve’s Genealogy Blog

In years past, a road ran by the main house on the Chmielewski farm in Likiškės, Lithuania, and on that road, close to the house stood this shrine. One of the neighbors told us that, on their way to the local cemetery, the villagers would stop at this shrine to pray.

Shrine at the Chmielewski Farm
SOURCE: Shrine […]

On Wednesday, 24 October 2007, our cousin Vitas drove Liliana and me to the farm where our grandmothers were born. The farm is located in the small village of Likiškės, just to the northeast of Alytus, Lithuania.

While in Vilnius, I visited the Rasos Cemetery where many famous Lithuanian, Polish, and Byelorussian writers and artists are buried.

While in Lithuania, I visited the graves of my grandmother’s sister Ona Chmielewska, Ona’s husband Jonas Samsanavicius, Ona and Jonas’ daughter Elena Samsanaviciute, and Elena’s husband Jonas Sarakauskas.
The cemetery is located in Alytus, Alytaus County, Lithuania. All were buried from St. Ludwig’s Roman Catholic Church (Šv. Liudviko bažnyčia) built in 1818.
It was appropriate that I visited […]

While examining the parish records in Lithuania, my cousin and I found the birth and baptismal record for Władysław Chmielewski, born on 25 November 1883 and baptized on 27 November 1883.

According to documents in the United States, Józef Chmielewski was born on 03 April 1874, but his birth and baptismal record on file with the Lithuanian State Historical Archives states that he was born on 19 March 1874.

Birth and Baptismal Record of Józef Chmielewski - 1874 (Left)

Birth and Baptismal Record of Józef Chmielewski - 1874 […]

One of the goals of my trip to Lithuania was to visit the Lithuanian State Historical Archives at Gerosios Vilties g. 10, LT 03134 Vilnius, Lithuania. I had learned from the Archives’ website that the reading rooms were open Monday-Thursday 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, Friday 9:00 AM-3:30 PM, and Saturday  8:30 AM-13:30 PM, although this information did […]

On the day I arrived in Vilnius, my cousins Liliana and Aidas met me at the airport, brought me to Aidas’ apartment in Vilnius where I stayed the entire week, and then took me on a brief tour of the Old Town in Vilnius. We stopped for dinner in Užupis, a section of Vilnius known […]

I only just returned home from Lithuania. The trip home took about 18 hours but, before calling it a night, I wanted to briefly recap my week there.

Statue of King Mindaugas
Lithuanian National Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania
SOURCE: Statue of King Mindaugas at the Lithuanian National Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania. Photographed by Stephen J. Danko, 25 October 2007.
My itinerary in Lithuania […]

As I write this, I’m making last minute preparations for a trip to Lithuania.
My maternal grandmother, Helena Chmielewska, was born on 15 February 1897 in Trakai, Wilno Gubernia, Russia. The area is now part of the Republic of Lithuania. Historically, Lithuania controlled a large region of central Europe and the present republic is located very close to […]