Marcin (Martin) Domagalski & wife Agnieszka (Agnes) Gotowacirca 1898
This picture is of my 3rd-great-grandparents, Martin Domagalski and wife Agnes Gotowa. This couple had been a brick-wall for me for so many years, when I first began my research. I knew so little about their beginnings and where they came from prior to moving to Chicago. Lack of finding any information continued to make them more and more of a mystery over the years, which drew me to them even more. It didn't hurt that their headstone in Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Cook County, Illinois, was huge and absolutely beautiful! It was and still is, the first place I stop every single time I go to this cemetery.. even if I'm doing look-ups for people not related to me. I always stop at their grave.
A few years ago, I finally cracked a piece of the brick-wall down and found that they had moved to Chicago from Medina, Orleans County, New York. Their first child, Josephine, whom I descend from, was the only child of theirs that was born in Medina. Sometime during the 1 1/2 year gap between the birth of Josephine and their next child, they moved to the "Back Of The Yards" area of Chicago. I believe they went to join Martin's sister Anna/Antonia Domagalska, married to Peter Paluszek. Along with Martin and Agnes, came the sister of Agnes and her husband: Apolonia Gotowa and Michael "Asher" Popiolek. Apolonia and husband Michael are buried in the plot to the south of her sister Agnes and husband Martin. They have an equally beautiful stone, although not as large.
After moving to Chicago, Martin and Agnes had eleven more children.. eight of them surviving (not including Josephine) to adulthood. Martin died rather young, at the age of 52, on 05 May 1917. The cause of his death is listed as "chronic interstitial nephritis", with a contributing cause of "Broncho pneumonia". Five months later, Agnes passes away, too. Her cause of death is a bit tragic and upsetting to even think about: "Shock and injuries jumped out of window", with a contributing cause of "temporarily insane". As sad as this is, I like to believe it was grief and caused by the death of her husband, five months earlier. A tragic but romantic ending.
A few years ago, I finally cracked a piece of the brick-wall down and found that they had moved to Chicago from Medina, Orleans County, New York. Their first child, Josephine, whom I descend from, was the only child of theirs that was born in Medina. Sometime during the 1 1/2 year gap between the birth of Josephine and their next child, they moved to the "Back Of The Yards" area of Chicago. I believe they went to join Martin's sister Anna/Antonia Domagalska, married to Peter Paluszek. Along with Martin and Agnes, came the sister of Agnes and her husband: Apolonia Gotowa and Michael "Asher" Popiolek. Apolonia and husband Michael are buried in the plot to the south of her sister Agnes and husband Martin. They have an equally beautiful stone, although not as large.
After moving to Chicago, Martin and Agnes had eleven more children.. eight of them surviving (not including Josephine) to adulthood. Martin died rather young, at the age of 52, on 05 May 1917. The cause of his death is listed as "chronic interstitial nephritis", with a contributing cause of "Broncho pneumonia". Five months later, Agnes passes away, too. Her cause of death is a bit tragic and upsetting to even think about: "Shock and injuries jumped out of window", with a contributing cause of "temporarily insane". As sad as this is, I like to believe it was grief and caused by the death of her husband, five months earlier. A tragic but romantic ending.
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