Sharing My Family History Research in 2022
While I have enjoyed writing about my family history research and sharing these stories online, I have learned that not everyone has the time or inclination to read about our ancestors. So this year, in addition to writing stories about “My Family History Research,” I have tried something new: inviting relatives and friends to Zoom presentations about family history, recording them, and sharing them online with interested relatives.
Persh, Mastykarz, Skrok, and Solowski Family History
In October, I made a presentation of “Gnieszowice Women,” about my grandmother, her sister, and their cousins:
- Urszula Gach Pruś (Persh)
- Maryanna Kapuścińska Mastykarz
- Agnieszka Kapuścińska Skrok Kiec
- Maryanna Witoń Solowski
These four related women were born in the small village of Gnieszowice in the parish of Koprzywnica, near Sandomierz, in Russian occupied Poland in the late 1800s. Separately, they left their families of origin to travel to Buffalo, New York, in 1912 and 1913.
I cannot imagine being a young woman from a small rural village in central Europe, making my way across the continent to a seaport, boarding a ship and traveling across the Atlantic Ocean in steerage for a week or two, arriving in New York City, and making my way to Buffalo, New York. It seems… daunting. I so admire these women. Today they have numerous descendants in America.
Maciejewski Family History
In November, I presented “Maciejewski Family History,” about Jan, Weronika, and my grandfather Antoni Maciejewski, the small family who immigrated from West Prussia to Buffalo, New York in 1883.
- Maciejewski Immigrant Family
- Family in Buffalo
- Back in the Old Country
- DNA Connections
- Other Maciejewski Families
We addressed some questions, including
- Who were our immigrant Maciejewski ancestors?
- Where did they come from?
- Who were their children and grandchildren?
- What do we know about our DNA relatives?
A few of the mysteries we explored:
- Jan Maciejewski was 39 years old, and Weronika Lewandowska Maciejewska was 35 years old, when they arrived in New York in 1883 with their baby Antoni. Who were the people they left behind?
- DNA shows Tadeusz Jurek was a grandchild of Jan and Weronika Maciejewski. Who was his father?
- How did Maciejewski become Warner?
- How closely related were the Maciejewski and Stefański families?
- Michał Wilczewski was the husband of Weronika Lewandowska Maciejewska‘s younger sister Anastazja Lewandowska. Family lore says that Michał also went to America in the 1880s, but he did not send for his wife and children. What happened to him?
- Although a DNA match from Poland and I identified Jan Maciejewski‘s father Tomasz Maciejewski as a common ancestor, we share more DNA than would be expected for half third cousins. How else are we related?
The more you look, the more you find. Each solution leads to more questions, like a puzzle that never ends.
2022 Blog Posts
This list of articles written in 2022 are about people from my family lines, as well as some of the families of related DNA matches.
Maciejewski/Lewandowski Family Line
Skrok/Kasprzyk Family Line
- One Hundred Years Ago: Uncle Wincenty Skrok in Poland
- Jan Skrok was born 22 Jun 1892 in Kaliszany, Wojciechowice, Radom, Russia
- Chester J. Skrok Joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Kapuściński/Witoń Family Line
- Aniela Witoń Wilk, Sister of Maryanna Witoń Solowska
- Pruś / Persh Family from Koprzywnica, Radom, Russian Poland, to Silver Springs, Wyoming, New York
- Four Young Women from Gnieszowice, Koprzywnica, Sandomierz, Radom, Congress Poland, Russia, to Western New York
Allied Families
- Zięcina Siblings from Galicia
- Finding Death Notices with DNA Matches
- “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!”
- Letters were Clues to Solowski Family Origins in Poland
- Brothers Józef and Stanisław Solowski from Piotrków, Krzczonów, Lublin, to Buffalo, New York
I am indebted to family and friends who have generously shared photographs, documents, and stories of our ancestors and support me in these endeavors. I hope that by doing presentations and posting in my blog we get to share these stories and illustrations more widely.
Continuing to Share My Family History Research
While I enjoy the challenges of solving genealogy puzzles and fitting in pieces over time, I really want to share what I have learned in a way that is interesting and enjoyable. In 2023, I plan to write more blog posts and do more presentations about family history, including my mother’s Skrok and my father’s Szczepanski ancestors.
With best wishes for the new year!
My Family History Research 