Wednesday
Month: September 2020
Jakob Gulczewski
If you follow me on twitter you may recognize the Jakob Gulczewski. Or you may have seen the picture below as my avatar on many social media.
Jakob was born in Poland around 1853. He immigrated in 1878, two years later he was living at 377 Peckham in Buffalo, New York. He was married to Catharina 42. Their children are Anthony 4 and Vicanty 2. Jakob was a laborer.
In the 1892 New York Census the family is now Jacob and Katarzyna with children; Anthony 13,
Vincent 13, Lawrence 9, and Mary 7. Anthony and Vincent are listed as born in Poland.
In 1899 Jakob was granted a permit to build a dwelling at 12 Newton Street. This is significant because my great grandmother was born in December of 1899 at 12 Newton Street.
The 1900 US Census shows Jakob a day laborer owned 12 Newton without a Mortgage. Jakob and Katarzyna were married 25 years. Their children still in the home were Vincent 21, Lawrence 17,
Mary 15, Stanislawa 7, Albert 5, Ignatz 2, and Johanna 11/12.
In 1910 they were still living at 12 Newton Street. Jakob worked as a laborer at the coal dock. The census says he was a naturalized citizen. Still at home were Stanislawa 17, Albert 15, Ignatz 12, and Johanna 11, and Jozefa 8. At 59 he still had school age children living at home.
Sometime before 1914 the family moved to 316 Curtiss Street. This home was at the end of the block an a quick right turn.
1920 shows them still at Curtiss Street. Adalbert 24, Ignace 22, and Joanna 20 were still living at home. Five years later Jakob died at age 72. He was buried at Saint Stanislaus Cemetery plot Sec N. The home on Curtiss Street was demolished within a coupe years as it was on the location of the soon to be constructed New York Grand Central Terminal in Buffalo that opened in April of 1929.
Source:
- Family photo collection
- Year: 1880; Census Place: Buffalo, Erie, New York; Roll: 829; Page: 454B; Enumeration District: 136
- Year: 1900; Census Place: Buffalo Ward 11, Erie, New York; Page: 35; Enumeration District: 0085; FHL microfilm: 1241027
- Year: 1910; Census Place: Buffalo Ward 8, Erie, New York; Roll: T624_942; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0075; FHL microfilm: 1374955
- Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 August 2020), memorial page for Jakob Golczewski (1853–6 Dec 1925), Find a Grave Memorial no. 125430642, citing Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery, Cheektowaga, Erie County, New York, USA ; Maintained by gravefinderStStans (contributor 47637865) .
- Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1892 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
- City of Buffalo; Buffalo, NY; Index to Deaths in Buffalo, New York
- Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
- Buffalo Building Permits Index, 1887-1906
- Buffalo, New York, City Directory, 1881
- Year: 1920; Census Place: Buffalo Ward 10, Erie, New York; Roll: T625_1102; Page: 24B; Enumeration District: 80
Wednesday Translated
Died on December 6, 1925
The funeral took place on the 10th of December from the house at 312 Curtiss Street, to St. Stanislaus Church and then to the cemetery of the same name.
Prayer
God, from whose mercy the souls of the faithful have rest, give your servants and servants, here and wherever in Christ the Lord, merciful forgiveness of sins, so that they may be freed from all sins and rejoice endlessly.
Hail Mary etc
Eternal rest etc
S. E. Wojtkowski
Funeral
379 Peckham St. Buffalo, N.Y.
Wednesday
Charlotte Paprocki
Last week I did the prayer card for Charles Paprocki and found very little on him. This week I have his wife’s prayer card. I found even less on her. In 1956 she lived with her husband at 41 Ruhland Ave, in Buffalo, New York.
Without her maiden name the search is difficult. Perhaps someday someone will see this and update me.
Sources:
- Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
The Tragic Fatality at Lower House Farm Part 2
Not all the stories that we uncover, whilst researching our Family Trees, are happy ones, take this incident involving the fatal shooting of a 6 year old boy and the part that my Ancestor, William Wootton played.
This is the second part of the story surrounding the fatal shooting, Part 1 of the story can be found Here
This story has so many twists and turns, it’s almost unbelievable and good enough to be a book. As I have unravelled each layer, the story has really grown into a truly remarkable tale, filled with lots of sadness, but also lots of wonderful moments, that I would never have discovered, had I not looked below the surface of the bare facts. You just never know what you will discover once you start off down a Genealogy road, but whether it’s good or bad, it’s part of the fabric that makes us who…
View original post 2,533 more words
Wednesday
Charles J. Paprocki
This has been a difficult search. Charles Paprocki was born September 23, 1914 in Buffalo, New York. The 1915 New York census shows his parents were Joseph 41 and Katherine (unknown) Paprocki 25 both born in Poland. Katherine’s age is possibly listed wrong, several sources show a 5 year age difference. His siblings are Josephine 17, Frederick 16, Henry 8, and Edwin 4.
In 1920 the family lived on Sycamore Street in Buffalo’s Polonia East Side.
Joseph 47 and Katharine 42 still had the five children living with them; Josephine 22
Thadeus 21, Henry 12, Edwin 9, Charles 5.
He disappears until 1940 where he is a border at 825 Fillmore Avenue.
Then he is gone again until 1956. He is living at 41 Ruhland Ave. with his wife Charlotte.
There are a lot of Paprocki but not much on the life of Charles.
Sources:
- Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
- U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
- The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Pennsylvania, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 1908
- “United States Census, 1920,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ2G-BC7 : accessed 10 August 2020), Charles Paprocki in household of Joseph Paprocki, Buffalo Ward 15, Erie, New York, United States; citing ED 119, sheet 2B, line 98, family 38, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1103; FHL microfilm 1,821,103.
- “United States Social Security Death Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VSN5-3PF : 21 July 2020), Charles Paprocki, Aug 1986; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
- “United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQ5M-6XY : 22 December 2019), Charles Paprocki in household of Leonard Stankiewiez, Ward 9, Buffalo, Buffalo City, Erie, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 64-206, sheet 63A, line 8, family 105, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2829.
- New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 05; Assembly District: 06; City: Buffalo Ward 15; County: Erie; Page: 102
- Year: 1920; Census Place: Buffalo Ward 15, Erie, New York; Roll: T625_1103; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 119
- New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Birth Index
- Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File
- Year: 1940; Census Place: Buffalo, Erie, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02829; Page: 63A; Enumeration District: 64-206
- Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 16 August 2020), memorial page for Jozef Paprocki (28 Dec 1874–6 Jan 1922), Find a Grave Memorial no. 126594467, citing Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery, Cheektowaga, Erie County, New York, USA ; Maintained by gravefinderStStans (contributor 47637865) .
Wednesday
John F. Switkowski
This is another prayer card where I do know the family connection, this is my great great uncle; John Switkowski. This is my great grandfather’s youngest brother.
John was born on February 18, 1908 in Buffalo, New York to Polish parents. Wladyslaw Switkowski and Ludwika Szymanska came to the United States from Galicia in the Polish section of Austria.
In 1910 Wladyslaw 49 and Ludwika 46 had 9 children: Bronislawa 18, Joseph 17, Anna 14, Mierzyslaw “Matthew” 12, Anthony 10, Bronislaw 8, Stanislaus 6, Sophia 4, and John 2. The home also had room for two borders; Andrew Slombouski 45 and John Sterner 36. They lived at 103 Clark Street just down the street from the Corpus Christi Church campus. The home is now gone as part of Buffalo’s plan to clean up old homes.
He is not on the 1905 New York State census. John and Sophia were skipped on the census, the rest of the family is listed.
Some time after 1905 they moved to 50 Lombard in Buffalo’s east side near Corpus Christi Church. The home is now part of a large area of torn down homes. The household in 1920 is Walter Switkowski 59, Ludwiga Switkowski 56, Anna Switkowski 23, Matthew Switkowski 22, Stanley Switkowski 16, John Switkowski 12 The two oldest siblings having moved on.
By 1930 most of the siblings had moved on to start their own family. Walter Switkowski 69, Ludwiga Switkowski 66, Anna Switkowski 43, Matthew Switkowski 42, Stanley 26, John Switkowski 22. They were still living on Lombard.
I don’t have an exact date but John became a paper hanger. This is a professional wall paper hanger. I expect he may have hung the wall paper in my family home at 18 Newton Street for his brother. The home had a lot of wall paper and is the reason I have a dislike of wall paper.
His father Wladyslaw died in 1936. The home now was much less crowded than before; Ludwika and son’s Matthew and John were all that’s left in the home. Later in 1944 Ludwika died leaving the brothers all alone.
I don’t have much information yet on these family member after this until John’s death in May 1958 in Buffalo, New York of a very Buffalo style death.
I am not kidding when I say Buffalo has an issue of cars hitting homes.
Map of cars hitting buildings around Buffalo
Sources:
- Year: 1910; Census Place: Buffalo Ward 8, Erie, New York; Roll: T624_942; Page: 22B; Enumeration District: 0073; FHL microfilm: 1374955
- Year: 1920; Census Place: Buffalo Ward 10, Erie, New York; Roll: T625_1102; Page: 29B; Enumeration District: 81
- Year: 1930; Census Place: Buffalo, Erie, New York; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0063; FHL microfilm: 2341160
- Year: 1940; Census Place: Buffalo, Erie, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02826; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 64-120
- Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Pants free Genealogy 
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