The Wrong Kapuścińska Sister?
Both Maryanna and Agnieszka Kapuścińska came to America and settled in Buffalo, New York.
Maryanna came first, on the S. S. Chemnitz sailing from Bremen, Germany, on January 13th, 1912 and arriving in New York on January 27, 1912.
In the ship’s passenger manifest from Ellis Island, Marya Kapuscianska is described as 22 years old, female, single, maid or servant, 4 feet 10 inches tall, with fair skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. She can read and write, is a “Russian citizen or subject” of “Polish race or people”, last residing in Nieszowice, Russia. The place of her birth is spelled Gnieszowice, Russia.
Her mother Marya Kapuscinska is listed as her nearest relative in Gnieszowice, Radom, and her final destination is Buffalo, New York.
She has a ticket to her final destination, $18, and paid for her passage herself. She was not in the United States before and is going to her brother-in-law, Jozef Prus, at 482 Fillmore Street in Buffalo, New York.
The following year, Marya paid for passage for her sister Józefa Kapuścińska
on the S. S. Kroonland, which sailed from Antwerp, Belgium, April 26th, 1913, and arrived in New York on May 7th, 1913.
In the ship’s manifest, Jozefa Kapuscinska is described as a 19 year old single female servant 5 feet tall, with fair skin, light hair, and blue eyes. She is a “Russian citizen or subject” of “Polish race or people”, last residing in Nieszowice, Russia. It is also the place of her birth.
Her mother Maryanna Kapuscinska is listed as her nearest relative in Nieszowice, and her final destination is Buffalo, New York.
She has a ticket to her final destination, $27, and her passage was paid by her sister. She is going to join her sister, Maryanna Kapuscinska at (unreadable, perhaps Seneca st) 817 in Buffalo, New York.
But Józefa never joined her sister. Family lore is that she decided not to go, and rather than waste the ticket, their mother decided to send Marya‘s younger sister Agnieszka in her stead. The story is that Marya was not pleased to see Agnieszka instead of Józefa, and it was a continuing source of friction for the sisters in America.