Adas Family Medical History

Ever since my father had his stroke last February (2013), I've been increasingly curious about my family's medical history and causes of death. Digging into my paternal grandmother's family revealed some scary and shocking information. My own grandmother, Mary Lou (Adas) Gombash, died from a massive heart attack and from what I understand, her brother had some heart and possibly stroke issues. They are the children of Edward Robert Adas, Sr. I've created a family tree to highlight the causes of death in the Adas family, going back to our immigrant ancestors who came over from Putzig (today Puck, Poland). The text in red is the cause of death on their death certificate. You'll notice that every single one of them died from heart related issues.

(click for larger image)

My Genealogical Goals for 2014

With the new year quickly approaching, I decided to make a list of genealogy goals I am going to strive to achieve in the coming year. With having begun researching my family tree well over thirteen years ago, I still have a lot to research. I've intentionally left different branches of my family un-researched, so that I'd continue to have research to do as the years went on. With how much research I have completed on my Hungarian ancestry (the majority of my research), I am far from done. A vast majority of that consists of nobility resources; there's a wealth of information to be found, and I'll likely need to conduct that research on-site in Hungarian archives. With all that being said, here is my list of goals for the new year:


1. Write more. I need to write more. A lot more. I've sorely neglected my several blogs during the year due to medical issues within the family. Things have gotten much better, and I'm regaining the time I'll be able to devote to writing. Apart from my blogs, I'm going to be dedicating a very large majority of my time to writing two books. They're going to be related to Hungarian genealogy, my area of expertise, and completely unrelated to one another. I can't go into much detail about what the books will be about yet, but know that both will be extremely helpful to any research being conducted within the former Hungarian empire.

2. The most important family for me to research this year, is the family of my 3rd-great-grandmother, Martha Ann Miller. She was the wife of James Andrew J. Costilow and died fairly young; 45 years before her husband passed. I was fortunate enough to have found a record that was a crucial breakthrough in Martha's family, which then lead me to her parents and half of her grandparents. I plan to focus a lot of attention on researching these new families.

3. I plan on indexing far more records relating to Győr city and county. It's the sixth largest city in Hungary, and the largest and most important city in northwest Hungary. It's very close to the borders of both Austria and Slovakia and is situated on one of the most important roads in Central Europe. Because of this, it was a large hub for migrants and immigration. There were six Roman Catholic parishes in Győr, comprised of 27 microfilms of data. So indexing marriage records for this city would be extremely beneficial for those researching in this area.

4. There are a handful of military organizations I would like to join. The main ones including the SAR (Sons of the American Revolution), General Society of the War of 1812, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and Sons of Confederate Veterans. My goal is to obtain all the documentation required to apply for membership within these organizations. I could easily piggy-back other applicants with their membership numbers and previous documentation, but I want to do it on my own.

5. My Polish roots are aching to be discovered. I'm more Polish than anything else, yet the majority of the records aren't readily available for research. My lines from Barycz and Osobnica will be extremely difficult, as I'll have to physically write to the church and request information. It's a hit or a miss and I won't make much progress. Hence why I haven't touched at all in all the years I've been researching. Two sides that I do need to focus on, are my Adas and Domagalski families. The Adas' came from the Putzig parish and I've been able to research the family back to the 1750's so far, but the records began in 1593.. so there's LOTS to be discovered! I also need to figure out the collateral line to the Adas family, the Pletzke's. They're from a neighboring parish and there's also lots to be found.

6. I need to research my Stümpges line. Previous researchers had traced the family line back to the 1540's, but I'm not content. I need to research the family in the church records myself, and verify that the direct Stümpges line is correct. Almost all of the maternal lines are completely blank, also. Those need to be researched and known. There's so much information to be found here!

Food & Genealogy: What Did Your Ancestors Eat?

On my way home from the grocery store today, I began to wonder what foods some of my ancestors would have eaten. In our present day and age, we have such an enormous  amount of options to pick from at our grocery stores, some that we didn't have even just a few years ago (like the interesting Ugli fruit that I discovered last year, a native citrus from Jamaica). I started thinking of each ethnic culture of my diverse mutt-like ancestry, and what some of their well-known dishes were of their cuisine. And then I began to think.. which of these dishes existed prior to the discovery of the Americas?

Hungary:

Naturally, I'm going to begin with Hungary. How could I not? :) Whether you're Hungarian or not, you must know of their national dish known all around the world: goulash (gulyás in Hungarian); you can find my recipe here. Two of the main ingredients in gulyás, paprika and potatoes, didn't reach Hungary until well after the discovery of the Americas. Paprika, or peppers, were originally cultivated and found in tropical areas of the Americas, whereas the potato is known to have its origins in Peru.

Italy:
It's extremely hard to think of Italy and not think of pasta with homemade tomato sauce, or pizza with that bright red tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. But neither existed prior to the discovery of the Americas; tomatoes are originally from the Andes mountain region. And then there's also polenta. That smooth, rich and creamy corn-meal dish made famous in Italy. Prior to the Old-World's discovery of corn/maize, they used various grains to make polenta; it sometimes included different kinds of flour, millet and spelt.

Poland:
Our dear, dear pierogies. I don't know anyone that doesn't like a good potato and onion pierogi; it's making me drool just thinking about it! As I mentioned above, the potato originated from Peru and was first cultivated by the Incas. So we must thank the ancient Incas for being the first to cultivate and hybridize the ancestors of our common potato. Did you know there's almost 4,000 varieties of potatoes?  Yum!

Ireland:
And the Irish! A genealogist hears potato, and they think of the Great Famine in Ireland, which spanned from 1845-1852. Many of you reading this article may be descendants of Famine emigrants; I know my uncle is!

If it weren't for the Incas, my uncle never would have been born.. and my grandmother may have never met my grandfather. Interesting to think about, huh?

FamilySearch Find Of The Day: Naturalization Card of Amelia (Stec) Bogusz

The other day, I was pretty excited to see the addition/update of the FamilySearch database "Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977"! I was able to locate the index card for my 2nd-great-grandmother's naturalization papers. I'll be heading to the National Archives sometime next week, after the holidays are over, to retrieve copies of her naturalization papers. I'm kind of excited to see what's listed on them, even though I know everything that they'll state. But you never know!


Date Recorded: 17 November 1953
Office Number: 187417
Name: (Mrs.) Amilia Bogusz
Address: 9003 Leisy Ave.
City: Cleveland
County: Cuyahoga
State: Ohio
Subject of: Poland
Date Naturalized: 21 November 1952
Court: U.S. District
Remarks: Naturalized Herself
Born: 05 June 1887
Age When Naturalized: 66
Age When Recorded: 66
Certificate Number: 7080201
Vol. ~
Number: 114648
Official Attestor: C. B. Watkins, Clerk
Wife's Name: ~
Minor Children: ~
Signature or Holder: Amilia Bogusz (her signature)
In State: 32 years
In County: 32 years
In City: 32 years

Surname Saturday #20: Kiełtyka

I don't know too much on my Kiełtyka line from Osobnica, Poland. This is the little that I do know, thanks to a good friend of mine:

1. Katarzyna Kiełtyka
b. abt 1855, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
d. unknown
m. Szymon Czarny; 27 Apr 1875, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*Anna Czarny, b. 26 May 1876, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*Jozef Czarny, b. 30 Jan 1878, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*Marcin Czarny, b. 1880, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*Agata Czarny, b. 1882, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*Sophia Czarny, b. Abt 1885, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*Wojciech Czarny, b. 24 Apr 1888, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*Marianna Czarny, b. 30 Apr 1892, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*Anna Czarny, b. 28 May 1896, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland

2. Szymon Kiełtyka
b. unknown
d. unknown
m1. Marianna Gierut
m2. Marianna Ladka
*m1: Stanislaw, b. abt 1853, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
               m. Maria Chudzik; 21 Nov 1916, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*m1: Katarzyna, (above)
*m1: Zofia, b. abt 1858, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
               m. Jakub Majcher; 10 Feb 1897, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
*m2: Anna, b. abt 1871, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland
               m. Piotr Czechowicz; 21 May 1894, Osobnica, Jasło County, Rzeszow Province, Poland

Surname Saturday #10: Stec

Amelia Stec is my 2nd-great-grandmother. She immigrated to America via Ellis Island with her daughter, Katarzyna (Catherine) Grządziel on 27 Nov 1908. This is the little I know on her family:

1. Amelia Stec
b. 29 Jun 1887, Barycz, Brzozów, Lwów, Poland
d. 12 Apr 1968, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
m1. Franciszek Grządziel; 23 Nov 1904, Barycz, Brzozów, Lwów, Poland
m2. Franciszek Bogusz; 20 Feb 1922, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
*Catherine Anna Grządziel, b. 05 Nov 1906, Barycz, Brzozów, Lwów, Poland
*Thomas Grządziel, b. abt 1909, Joliet, Will County, Illinois
*Joseph Grządziel, b. 01 Mar 1910, Joliet, Will County, Illinois
*John Grządziel, b. 12 Jun 1912, Joliet, Will County, Illinois
*Mary A. Grządziel, b. 24 Jun 1914, Joliet, Will County, Illinois
*Walter Grządziel, b. abt 1917, Joliet, Will County, Illinois
*Walter Kenneth Grządziel, b. 31 Mar 1919, Joliet, Will County, Illinois

*Frank L. Bogusz, b. 23 Nov 1922, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

*Stanley R. Bogusz, b. 23 Nov 1922, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

*Anna Virginia Bogusz, (information omitted for privacy reasons)

2. Jan Stec

b. unknown

d. unknown

m. Sophie Swiczek? (indexed as Kostancya Snirzek on daughter Mary Stec Karnas death record)

*Amelia Stec, (above)

*Katarzyna Stec, b. 11 Oct 1892, Barycz, Brzozów, Lwów, Poland; m. Franciszek Wojewoda

*Mary Stec, b. 10 Apr 1893, Barycz, Brzozów, Lwów, Poland; m. George Karnas

*Tekla "Tillie" Stec, b. unknown; m. ____ Domaradzki

*Jan Stec, b. unknown

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Heritage Pie Chart

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings has come up with the following challenge this week:

Your mission tonight, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places).
2) Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death.
3) For extra credit, go make a “Heritage Pie” chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors. [Hint: you could use the chart generator from Kid Zone for this.] [Note: Thank you to Sheri Fenley for the "Heritage Pie" chart idea.]
4) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a post on Facebook or google+.

Here are the 14 I know (plus the states for the two that I do not know based on the information given by their daughter in the census).


1. Sándor Gombás, born 21 Feb 1872 in Büdszentmihály (today Tiszavasvári), Hungary. Died 02 May 1931 in Goff, Butler County, Pennsylvania.

2. Eszter Tóth, born 22 Sep 1874 in Tiszadob, Hungary. Died 04 Apr 1950 in Lore City, Guernsey County, Ohio.

3. Franciszek Grządziel, born 1872 in Barycz, Brzozów, Poland. Died 10 Jun 1927 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

4. Amelia Stec, born 29 Jun 1887/1888 in Barycz, Brzozów, Poland. Died April 1968 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

5. Joseph Adas, born 21 May 1882 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. Died 20 Feb 1939 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

6. Josephine Domagalski, born 04 Sep 1886 in Medina, Orleans County, New York. Died 14 Nov 1958 in Manteno, Kankakee County, Illinois.

7. Wojciech Czarny, born 24 Apr 1888 in Osobnica, Jaslo, Poland. Died Oct 1961 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

8. Rozalia Sophia Wozniak, born 1887 in Osobnica, Jaslo, Poland. Died 22 Oct 1959 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

9. Allen Parks Rodgers, born 29 Jun 1873 in Carroll County, Mississippi. Died 14 Apr 1945 in Duck Hill, Montgomery County, Mississippi.

10. Minnie Josephine Vance, born 03 Aug 1872 in Montgomery County, Mississippi. Died 16 Jun 1919 in Montgomery County, Mississippi.

11. Samuel Christopher Columbus Martin, born 02 Feb 1850 in Gaston County, North Carolina. Died 16 Feb 1922 in Grenada or Montgomery County, Mississippi.

12. Samantha Aylene Costilow, born 02 Dec 1869 in Holmes County, Mississippi. Died 13 Aug 1908 in Carroll County, Mississippi.

13. Johann Philip Julius Stuempges, born 30 Nov 1860 in Newton, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Died 16 Feb 1951 in Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin.

14. Anna Weishaupt, born 06 May 1867 in Graber, Leitmeritz, Bohemia. Died 11 Jan 1951 in Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin.

15. Herman Wilhelm Gustav Martin, born 21 Jun 1882 in Gross Schönfeld, Kreis Greifenhagen, Pommern, Germany. Died 17 May 1968 in Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin.

16. Maria Summ, born 23 Jul 1883 in Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin. Died 06 Apr 1972 in Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin

The Second Marriage of Leon Leśniewski

I was recently told about a website which holds some digitized records from the Poznan area of Poland. The website is called "szukaj w archiwach" and you can find it here: http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/ Not everything is digitized yet, but I was fortunate enough to find some records pertaining to my family, the Gotowy's and Leśniewski's.

Although the area is Poland, the records were actually kept in German.. well, these were at least. And if you know me, you know I can read these documents like their English. :-)


Document Number: 41
Registration town and date: Kurnik, 16 Oct 1885

Groom: häusler Leon Lesniewski of the Catholic religion, was born 07 Apr 1825 in Kurnik and is a resident of Daszewice. He is the son of the late (vestorben) maurer (a mason/bricklayer) Melchior and Marianna Kaminska Lesniewski, residents of Kurnik.

Bride: widow (wittwe) Marianna Maczkowiak of the Catholic religion, was born 13 July 1845 in Daszewice and is a resident of Daszewice. She is the daughter of the late (vestorben) häusler Franz and Marianna Smigaj Czubarra, residents of Daszewice.

Witness: Carl Sieben, 59 years old and resident of Kurnik

Witness: Michael Gasinski, 59 years old and resident of Kurnik

Signatures:
Leon Leśneski
+ + + (assumed to be Marianna's signature)
Carl Sieban
Michal Gasinski