The Birth of Harry Chmielewski

Harry Chmielewski was born in the year 1898 at a time when births in Massachusetts were recorded by the state in a register .  These registers were microfilmed by the Massachusetts State Archives and the quality of the microfilm record is rather poor .  For a charge of three dollars, the Massachusetts Archives provided me with a photocopy of the microfilmed record and a certified Copy of Record of Birth .  When I compared the two documents, I found that the Copy of Record of Birth is an accurate and complete transcription of the actual register.

Copy of Record of Birth of Harry Chmielewski

The Birth Register for Harry Chmielewski

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth Record for Harry Chmielewski – 1898 .  The record states that:

• Harry Chmielewski was born at 8 Oliver St., Holyoke, Massachusetts on May 3, 1898
• Harry was a white male
• His father was Joseph Chmielewski, a laborer from Russia
• His mother was Katie Varchol from Austria
• The record is from the Register of Births for 1898, Volume 475, Page 735, Number 577

SOURCE: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts State Archives. Record of Birth. Worcester County. 1898. Volume 475, Page 735, Number 577. Harry Chmielewski.

While the Copy of Record of Birth is a complete and accurate transcription of the register, other documents indicate that the correct spelling of Harry’s mother’s maiden name is Warchol, not Varchol.

Harry’s father was Joseph Chmielewski, my grandmother’s half brother and Stefania Chmielewska’s full brother .  Harry is my half-first cousin, once removed.

Harry Chmielewski’s surname was later changed to Meleski.

Copyright © 2006 by Stephen J. Danko