Steve's Genealogy Blog

A Day at the New York State Library

Posted on July 7, 2007 by Steve

I spent Friday at the New York State Library. Most of the stacks at the New York State Library are closed and require a wait of up to an hour before the requested books, microfilm, or other materials are retrieved.

The staff gave me a brief overview of how to use the catalog, and I was on my way. My main goal was to look up some obituaries in New York State newspapers on microfilm. Luckily, the Albany Times Union and some other newspapers are in open stacks, so they were readily accessible. I ordered one microfilm for the Cohoes American from 1928 and the microfilm was available exactly when promised.

I found obituaries for:

Paul Charron, Jr. who died on 26 Jan 1943
Maryanna Danko who died 08 Sep 1969
Laura C. Schroll Engel who died 06 Sep 1988
Frances M. Iwaniec who died 19 Jan 1951
Annette Girard Charron who died 28 Apr 1984

The obituary searches took longer than I expected because, in some cases, I only had a month and year of death from the Social Security Death Index andÂ I had to searchÂ an entire month’s microfilm to find the obituaries . On the upside, I now have exact dates of the deaths and, in most cases, I now have exact locations of the deaths.

IÂ also searched some City Directories and the 1925 New York State Census with great success. The searches of the New York State Census records were slow because the New York State Census has not been indexed.

The New York State Library seems to cater to genealogists. Many of the holdings in open stacks are genealogically relevant materials, including D.A.R. Records, New York State Bible Records, New York Census Records, City Directories, and New York State Genealogies. The New York State Library even has a Volunteer Genealogist on hand to help answer questions and give research advice.

Posted in Charron, Daily Journal, Dańko, Engel, Iwaniec | Comments Off

Photos from Albany, New York

Posted on July 6, 2007 by Steve

The Empire State Plaza was built between 1965 and 1978 in a historical part of Albany and required that a number of historical neighborhoods be demolished.

The Cultural Education Center

The New York State Archives, the New York State Library, and the New York State MuseumÂ are housed in the Cultural Education Center. The Cultural Education Center is part of the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza.

The Egg

The Egg is the Performing Arts Center in the Empire States Plaza.

The New York State Capitol

The New York State Capitol Building is located across the street from the Empire State Plaza and is connected with the plaza by underground tunnels. The building was completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million and was the most expensive government building ever built up to that time.

Posted in Daily Journal | Comments Off

A Day at the New York State Archives

Posted on July 5, 2007 by Steve

I don’t have a whole lot of time to write tonight, but I thought I’d at least provide an update on my activities.

I spentÂ a rainyÂ Fourth of July at my sister’s house with aboutÂ fifteenÂ other relatives. With the rain, it was a cozy bunch inside the house!

Thursday, I went to the New York State Archives, where I spent about six hours looking through the New York State vital records indexes.

New York State has a fairly restrictive policy for access to vital records for genealogy purposes:

To obtain birth records for genealogy purposes, the record must be 75 years old and the person named must be deceased; to obtain marriage and death records for genealogy purposes, the record must be 50 years old and the persons named must be deceased.

The time limits for genealogy requests may be waived if the person requesting the record is a direct-line descendant. The person named in the record must be deceased.

Certified copies of vital records may be obtained without time restrictions and without the requirement that the named individual be deceased, but very few people qualify to receive certified copies of vital records:

Those entitled to obtain a certified copy ofÂ a birth certificate are the person whose birth is recorded on the certificate and the parents of the named individual. The parents must be named on the certificate themselves. Anyone else who wishes to obtain the birth certificate of a living individual must have a New York State Court Order.

Those entitled to obtain a certified copy of the death certificate of someone who died less than 50 years ago are the spouse, parent or child of the deceased, and other persons who have a documented lawful right or claim, documented medical need, or a New York State Court Order.

Those entitled to obtain a certified copy of the marriage certificate are the bride or groom, or other persons who have a documented judicial or other proper purpose, or a New York State Court Order.

Those entitled to obtain a certified copy of a divorce certificate are the husband, the wife, and other persons with a New York State Court Order.

All the same, I examined the indexes to vital records (restricted to birth records at least 75 years old, and marriage and death records at least 50 years old). I had quite a bit of success finding vital records indexed for several births, marriages, and deaths. My next step with the vital records is to order the certificates, themselves.

Posted in Daily Journal | Comments Off

The Family Home on South Allen Street

Posted on July 3, 2007 by Steve

I’m heading back to Albany, New York to spend the Fourth of July with my father and my sisters. It should be an interesting trip.

My younger sister, whoÂ ownsÂ the house on South Allen StreetÂ in which we grew up, has rented out theÂ house for a number of years now. She and her husband have taken care of the place: shoveling the walk in the winter, mowing the lawn and trimming the shrubs in the summer, raking the leaves in the autumn. My sister has decided that it’s time to sell the house, and I agreed with her, although not without some reservations.

I certainly have a lot of memories about that house. I’ve now lived in my presentÂ place in San Francisco longer than I lived in the house in Albany, butÂ I think IÂ could write volumes about my memories ofÂ our family homeÂ in Albany.

When I was born, my family lived on Park Avenue in Albany, a two-familyÂ structure owned by my paternal uncle, John Danko. Uncle John’s great grandson now owns that building.

My family bought the house on South Allen Street in 1961. It, too, was a two-family building. In 1961, my parents actually only bought the lower flat, and a few years later my cousin Al bought the upstairs flat. Al didn’t live there; he boughtÂ it as an investment and rented it out.

Later, and I don’t remember exactly when, my parents bought the upstairs flat from Al and rented it out themselves. I rememberÂ several different families who lived upstairs from us, three of which included children who were the same ages as my sisters andÂ I. Regardless of who owned the upper flat, my father always maintained the yard and shoveled the walk in the winter.

The house included a full basement and a full attic . My sisters and IÂ used to play in the basement. It was cool in the summer (we didn’t have air conditioning) and warm in the winter (the oil furnace was located in the basement).

My father built two model railroad setups in the basement, an O gauge system complete with a tunnel and landscaping, and an HO gauge system. I can still smell odor of the transformers. When we weren’t playing with the trains, we lowered a cover made of plastic sheeting that my father had rigged to the basement ceiling with pulleys.

On two occasions, my sisters and I put on shows in the basement for the neighborhood kids. In one show, we lip-synched to my cousin Al’s 45s from the 1950s. The hit of the show was “Purple People Eater”.

We also spent time playingÂ in the attic, although the attic was mainly used for storage. In the summer, the attic was stiflingly hot and, in the winter, it was bitterly cold. During my senior year in high school, I set up a room in the attic where I could study without being disturbed.

After my sister moved out of the house, she left quite a lot of the family memorabilia in the basement and attic. Now thatÂ she is planning to sell the house, we’ll have to clear everything out . I think we’ll have to rent storage space somewhere; there’s just so much stuff. I know that two sets of my maternal grandmother’s china are stored there, all of our grade school and high school report cards and projects are there, and lots of books, toys, games, furniture, magazines, and LPs, are there, too. I don’t know what else I might find . I could find some real treasures.

While in Albany, I be spending a lot of my time helping to clear out the attic and basement. Going through all those boxes is sure to be a bittersweet experience.

Posted in Daily Journal, Dańko | 4 Comments

The Polish Village and Gmina of Bartołdy

Posted on July 2, 2007 by Steve

After Agnieszka told me that the correct spelling of my Niedziałkowski ancestors’ parish was Pałuki, I learned that my 4th great grandfather, Tomasz Niedziałski, lived in the tiny village of Klonowo. Recently, I translated the brief entries for both Pałuki and Klonowo from the Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavonic Countries). The entry for Klonowo revealed that the village was part of the Bartołdy gmina [municipality], and today IÂ translated the Słownik entry for Bartołdy:

Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Bartołdy

Source: Sulimierski, Filip, Chlebowski, Bronisław, and Władysław Walewski, eds., Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) – Warsaw 1880, Volume I, page 112.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Słownik Geograficzny entry for Bartołdy. Translated from the Polish, the entry states:

Bartołdy, a village in Powiat [District] Ciechanów, gmina [municipality] of the same name, Zielona parish, to the right of the beaten track from Ciechanów to Przasnysz, about 6 versts (0.66 miles per verst) to the southwest of Przasnysz, it has 200 inhabitants, few owners, a windmill. The Bartołdy gmina belongs to the municipal court circle II in Opinogóra, post office in Przasnysz, 14 versts distant from Ciechanów. Three schools in the gmina, population 3648.

I had hoped that the entry for Bartołdy would provide a bit more information about the area around Klonowo. To find more information, I may have to translate the entry for Ciechanów, a prospect that I find a bit intimidating since the Słownik entry for Ciechanów goes on for several pages!

Posted in Daily Journal, Niedziałkowski | Tagged Gazetteers | Comments Off

Learning about the US Naval Armed Guard

Posted on July 1, 2007 by Steve

I spent all day Saturday working on my class assignments for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. One of the assignments for the class in US Military Records was to surf the web and report on interesting and useful websites relating to Military Records. Here is my response:

Since all my grandparents immigrated to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, my interests in military records center on 20th century records, especially about the US Naval Armed Guard. My father and one of my maternal uncles served in the US Naval Armed Guard, a branch of the military service that few people know about.

The World War II U.S. Naval Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine website at http://www.armed-guard.com/ provided me with a whole lot of information about both the Merchant Marine and the now-defunct Armed Guard. The site includes photos, information, and Armed Guard Manuals, including one for the five inch thirty eight gun on the Liberty Ships.

Wikipedia includes a brief article about the United States Navy Armed Guard at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Armed_Guard.

The Naval Armed Guard Service in World War II website at http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq104-1.htm includes pages that describe what Armed Guard records are available and where they are located.

The U.S. Naval Armed Guard Casualties During World War II webpage at http://www.usmm.org/armedguard.html lists the names of those members of the Armed Guard who were wounded or killed in World War II. The companion page for U.S. Merchant Marine Casualties during World War II at http://www.usmm.org/casualty.html provides the names of those members of the Merchant Marine who were wounded or killed in World War II.

When I have a bit more time, I’ll write more about the US Naval Armed Guard and the US Merchant Marine.

Posted in Daily Journal | 1 Comment

The Polish Folwark

Posted on June 30, 2007 by Steve

While reading the Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries), researchers will frequently encounter unfamiliar terms. Many of these words are archaic, and even native speakers of PolishÂ may have trouble with these.

SomeÂ terms are simply untranslatable, and other terms are translated into equally obscure English words. One case in point is the Polish word Folwark, which is commonlyÂ translated as grange . The term grange may beÂ described further as “large, manorial farmstead”. While those descriptions may help, manyÂ genealogists, me included, mayÂ still be left in the dark about what a folwark really is.

The Słownik Geograficzny provides additional help with some of these unfamiliar terms. Even those familiar with the Słownik may not be aware this assistance is there, because the definitions are nestledÂ among the descriptions of the places, in alphabetical order with all the other Słownik entries.

The definition of folwark is located in Volume I on page 396:

Słownik Geograficzny Definition of Folwark

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Słownik Geograficzny Definition of Folwark. Translated from the Polish, the entry reads:

Folwark, [Grange] (from the German Vorwerk) these days denotes the total farming development in which is situated livestock and farm equipment alike, necessary for farming of a certain more substantial cultivated field, generally including here the residence of either just the owner or the manager of the farm and the necessary servants for the conduct of work, the supervision of the dairy cows, etc. Aside from this more detailed meaning, it encompasses the name and the whole area of land which cultivation and harvest concentrate on in the folwark. The same name yet shows that the establishment of granges began with historical times together with the establishment of rural gminas [municipalities] in the German manner and a new social hierarchy was formed by gradually producing a hereditary landowner class, originally making community property of the whole union of settlements with also the village. Folwarks came into being on the land granted by the prince to the clergy, the religious orders, and the lay people. The population of the village cultivated it in part, on that territory designated as a grant, in part, on the other hand, deliberately for settling a colony. The lack of work hands andÂ capital necessary for equipment of a larger farm was the reason that, in the 15th century, the folwark usually had an area that was not very large; indeed, in a single village one encounters several folwarks, but Długosz oversaw a harvest of 116 loads of wheat (in the year 1456) which was unprecedented and incredible. With the increase in the importance of the nobility and their advantage over the commoners, folwarks significantly increased in area by the purchases of the sołtys’ [elected chairmen of the village councils], displacing the peasants from the fields, clearing the forests, etc. In those places where the local circumstances of the time were favorable, such as in Ukraine, folwarks of truly enormous sizes sprung up and have existed up to the present.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Br[onisław] Ch[lebowski]

The Słownik Geograficzny includes many other definitions, all scattered throughout the many volumes of this gazetteer in alphabetical order with the descriptions of the villages. These definitions hellp make the Słownik an even more valuable resource for genealogists researching their Polish ancestry.

Posted in Daily Journal | Tagged Gazetteers | 1 Comment

The Sona River in Poland

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Steve

The Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) described Klonowo, the ancestral village of my Niedziałkowski ancestors, as being on the Sona River. The Słownik Geograficzny also has an entry on the Sona River:

Słownik Geograficzny Entry for the Sona River

Source: Chlebowski, Bronisław, Władysław Walewski, and Filip Sulimierski, eds., Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) – Warsaw 1890, Volume IX, pages 72-72.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Słownik Geograficzny Entry for the Sona River. Translated from the Polish, the entry reads:

Sona, or Sonia, a creek, the origin is under Wola Wierzbowska in the Ciechanów Powiat [District], it flows around Wilków, through Osyski, Długołękę, Mirosy, Kołaczkowo, Łęki, Nieradowo, Obidzino, Ciemniewko, Sońsk, Gościmin, Łopacin, Nowe Miasto, and under Popielżynem in the Płońsk Powiat, falling to the Wkra, flowing about 40 versts (0.66 miles per verst) to Ciemniewko, taking on several inflows, from which the major one comes from Nieradowa; this inflow further passes in a meadow stream, it trickles weakly in the summer, but it reaches as far as the Przasnysz-Ciechanów road, always keeping the name of Sona. Other tributaries likewise spread in a meadow trail, one reaches Przedwojewo, at the above-mentioned road; these trails are also called Sona, so that in the southern part of the Ciechanów Powiat, the Sona is found an almost all sides, where the water flows only in the meadows and leads to difficulty identifying its source. Starting from Sońsk toward its outlet, that is for the length of 25 versts, it has many mills.
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â J. Z.

Posted in Daily Journal, Niedziałkowski | Tagged Gazetteers | Comments Off

The Polish Parish of Pałuki

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Steve

In the 18th Century, my Niedziałkowski ancestors lived in the village of Klonowo in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The parish to which the Klonowo belonged was in Pałuki, just a short distance to the sowthwest of Klonowo. The Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavonic Countries) includesÂ two major entries for villages named Pałuki. The first of these major entries includes the description for the village and parish of Pałuki with which my ancestors were connected.

The First Major Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Pałuki

SOURCE: Sulimierski, Filip, Bronisław Chlebowski, and Władysław Walewski, eds., Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) – Warsaw 1886, Volume VII, page 835.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the First Major Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Pałuki. Translated from the Polish, the entry states:

Pałuki, a village and grange [large manorial farmstead], Powiat [District] Ciechanów, Opinogóra gmina [municipality], Pałuki parish, 8 versts (0.66 miles per verst) not far from Ciechanów, it includes a parish church of brick, a general elementary school, a windmill and an inn, 13 houses, 214 inhabitants, 924 mórgs (about 1.388 mórgs per acre) of territory of which 26 mórgs is unused. The Pałuki grange has 802 mórgs of territory and belongs to the welfare of the Opinogóra estate. In 1781 there were 105 inhabitants here. The parish church has existed here for a long time. Already in the 15th century the local parish priest renovated the ruined wooden church. One of the bells has the date 1581; the reverend Gotard Pałuki, heir to the village and the local rectory, purchased it. The present brick church was erected in 1843 by Count Wincent Krasiński. The Pałuki parish is in the Ciechanów deanery, 4073 souls (see The Century â„– 183 in 1881 and The Catholic Review â„– 49 in 1881).

The village and parish of Pałuki are very small, and the corresponding entry in the Słownik Geograficzny is brief. To learn more about the area, I can translate the entries for the gmina of Opinogóra and the Powiat of Ciechanów. These entries include quite a lengthy description of the area. I’ll have to attempt those translations at some time in the future in order to understand the lives of my Niedziałkowski ancestors better.

Posted in Daily Journal, Niedziałkowski | Tagged Gazetteers | 2 Comments

The Polish Village of Klonowo

Posted on June 27, 2007 by Steve

Now that I’ve found that my Niedziałkowski ancestors lived in the village of Klonowo in the 18th century, I’ve begun to find out what I can about the village. The Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavonic Countries) includes three major entries for villages named Klonowo. The first of these major entries includes descriptions of six different villages, the fifth of which is the correct entry for my ancestors’ village.

First Major Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Klonowo

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the First Major Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Klonowo. Translated from the Polish, the entry states:

Klonowo, 1.) village and grange [large manorial farmstead], Powiat [District] Nieszawa, gmina [municipality] Sędzin, parish Byczyna. The village of Klonowo consists of the Klonowo grange and Tarnówka, as well as the village of that name. The area amounts to 705 mórgs (about 1.388 mórgs per acre); the Klonowo grange: 409 mórgs of arable land and gardens, 50 mórgs of meadows, 17 mórgs of unused land and squares, altogether 476 mórgs; 10 brick buildings, 13-field crop rotation; the Tarnówka grange: 207 mórgs of arable land and gardens, 15 mórgs of meadows, 7 mórgs of unused land and squares, altogether 229 mórgs; 5 brick buildings. The village of Klonowo 16 settlements, with 17 mórgs of land; the village of Tarnówka 5 settlements, with 5 mórgs of land. The grange and village of Klonówek that is also there is extensive with 314 mórgs, 296 mórgs of arable land and gardens, 5 mórgs of meadows, 13 mórgs of unused land and squares; 10 brick buildings, 11-field crop rotation. The village of Klonówek 10 settlements, with 9 mórgs of land.

2.) K[lonowo], a village in the Koło powiat, Sompolno gmina, Lubstówek parish, 24 versts (0.66 miles per verst) not far from Koła, it has 5 houses, 47 inhabitants.

3.) K[lonowo], Łomża powiat, Lubotyń gmina and parish. See Red forest.

4.) K[lonowo], a village on the road of the same name, Rypin powiat, Sokołowo gmina, Działuń parish, 225 versts not far from Rypin. In 1827 there were 11 houses, 92 inhabitants here, currently there are 17 houses, 210 inhabitants, 755 mórgs of land, 29 mórgs of unused land. According to the Land Credit Company, the Klonowo grange extended 789 mórgs, 657 mórgs of arable land and gardens, 79 mórgs of meadows, 23 mórgs of water, 30 mórgs of unused land and squares; 6 brick buildings, 8 of wood, 11-field crop rotation. In 1867 this grange was separated from the village of Wielgie. In 1789 Klonowo belonged toÂ the village of Działyń and brought 190 złoty rent.

5.) K[lonowo], a village on the Sona river, Ciechanów powiat, Bartołdy gmina, Pałuki parish, 13 versts not far from Ciechanów, it has 8 houses, 72 inhabitants, 280 mórgs of land, 2 mórgs unused:

6.) K[lonowo], a village, Maryampol powiat, Jaworowo gmina, Igłówka parish, 16 versts not far from Maryampol, it has 5 houses, 90 inhabitants.
Br[onisław] Ch[lebowski]

Entry number 5 doesn’t say much, but it shows that Klonowo was a very small village, with only 8 houses and 72 inhabitants. A quick calculation shows that each house sheltered an average of 9 residents.

Importantly, this entry confirms that Klonowo belonged to the parish in Pałuki, in agreement with the marriage record for my ancestors Tomasz Niedziałkowski and Cecylia Chotkowska.

Now, I just need to find some time to order the microfilms at my local Family History Center and search for my Niedziałkowski ancestors.

Posted in Daily Journal, Niedziałkowski | Tagged Gazetteers | 2 Comments

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