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Surname Saturday – Kozminska
Oct 8th, 2011 by Jessica

This week we take a look at the lineage of the Kozminska surname as it pertains to my family’s history.  This is by far the tiniest little tree in the history of family trees.  It reminds of the tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Earliest Known Ancestor

My great-grandmother, Anna Kozminska, was born in Poland on April 26, 1867.  Her maiden name may have been Kozminska, Kozminski, Kozmanski or Buzinski. Her first name has also been documented as Annie instead of Anna.  Various records have indicated multiple possibilities, although I have seen references to “Kozminska” more than any other variation.

Anna arrived to the United States in 1891 according to the 1900 US Census, in 1889 according to the 1910 US Census and in 1888 according to the 1920 US Census.  All of the census records show her living in Otsego County, Michigan in the Gaylord area.  The 1900 US Census says she had been married for 14 years, putting her wedding date circa 1886 prior to her arrival.  Unfortunately, I haven’t found Anna’s or Joseph Dreffs’ ship passenger records.  We know absolutely nothing about her family.

Anna died on April 8, 1926 in Saginaw, Michigan.   Her son (my grandfather) Walter Anthony Dreffs was 26 years old when she passed away.  She died more than two decades before my mother was even born.  We have no other information about her.  She is buried with her husband Joseph Dreffs at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Saginaw, Michigan.

Lineage of the Kozminska Surname

Lineage of the Kozminska Surname

Lineage

Jessica Marie Cole > Diane Marie Dreffs > Walter Anthony Dreffs (1900 – 1958) > Anna Kozminska (1867 – 1926)

Items of Interest

Obituary for Anna (Kozminska) Dreffs, April 15, 1926 in the Otsego Herald Times, Otsego County, Michigan

Mrs. Joe Dreffs Died at Saginaw Thursday

Mrs. Joe Dreffs, a resident of Otsego county for 25 years, died last Thursday, April 8, at her home in Saginaw following a lingering illness. Mrs. Dreffs left Gaylord 13 years ago and has since lived in Saginaw.

Mrs. Dreffs was born in Poland 57 years ago, coming to Gaylord 38 years ago. She leaves to mourn their loss, her husband and ten children, Martin and Vincent of Gaylord; Frank, Walter, Paul, Andrew and Cassimer Dreffs; Mrs. Paul Grabowski, Mrs. Stanley Remyszewski and Mrs. Mary Kolba, of Saginaw; 37 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Funeral services were held at St. Casimers church at Saginaw, Saturday morning, Rev. Fr. Valerlan S. Szymanski officiating.

Family Notes

  • I would love to see the passenger entry for Anna Dreffs or Anna Kozminska.  I am hoping it is with the passenger entry for Joseph Dreffs, which I cannot locate.
  • The death record for Anna has “unknown” listed for the information name and birthplace of both of her parents.

Additional Information

Check out my Ancestry Family Tree for Anna (Kozminska) Dreffs.

See the grave of Anna (Kozminska) Dreffs on Find A Grave.

Treasure Chest Thursday – The Forever Earring
Oct 6th, 2011 by Jessica

In an effort to document my family treasures which cannot be scanned in, I am publishing this series of pictures as part of the Treasure Chest Thursday theme at Geneabloggers.  Someday in the future, I hope to shed some light on these treasures for my family who might inherit them.  What were they for?  Who did they come from? Why were they considered treasures?  Let’s find out.

The Forever Earring

The Forever Earring

This week, we will take a look at the Forever earring.  This earring, owned by me, was part of a pair of earrings.  The left half says “BEST FRIENDS” and is owned by my fifth grade best friend, Jennifer (Strachan) Peck.  We bought these earrings in Junior High School, no doubt at the Saginaw Fashion Square Mall, sometime in the late 1980’s.

This trend of splitting up a pair and giving it to your BFF was very trendy when we were in Junior High.  I wonder if Jennie still has the other half?

Tuesday’s Tip – Advanced Searches on Seeking Michigan
Oct 4th, 2011 by Jessica

If you have ancestors in Michigan, changes are you have searched through all of the wonderful records of SeekingMichigan.org.  The site has some incredible resources for Michigan researchers.  Death records, civil war records including manuscripts and photographs, historical documents, maps and more are just the tip of the iceberg for this genealogical treasure trove.

SeekingMichigan.org Advanced Search

SeekingMichigan.org Advanced Search

Did you know you can search death records by the name of the deceased person’s father?  This is helpful when you are trying to locate daughters in your family who were married and changed their last names prior to their death.  It is also an excellent search method when you want to find children who died very young and may not have been listed on a Census record.

SeekingMichigan.org Advanced Search Fields

SeekingMichigan.org Advanced Search Fields

You might be asking yourself, how do I search by a person’s father?  It’s simple, really!  You just have to dig a little.

  1. Go to the Seeking Michigan website.
  2. Click on the Discover link.
  3. Click on the Death Records, 1897-1920 link.
  4. Click on the Advanced Search link.
  5. Select the drop down menu for All Fields on the right, and choose a helpful search field.
  6. You can further narrow your search by adding more fields and searching them in various combinations.

Good luck in your search!  If you have any tips to share, please leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear how you have been successful in your alternative searching methods.

Sunday’s Obituary – Ruth Charlotte Piper
Oct 2nd, 2011 by Jessica

Obituary for my great grand-Aunt, Ruth Charlotte (Barkley) Piper.  Published in The Times newspaper in Valparaiso, Indiana on October 26, 2007.

Obituary for Ruth Charlotte (Barkley) Piper

Obituary for Ruth Charlotte (Barkley) Piper

RUTH PIPER

RUTH C. PIPER KNOX, IN Ruth C. Piper, age 84, of Knox, IN, passed away Wednesday, October 24, 2007 in her home.  Mrs. Piper was born March 10, 1923 in Wheeler, IN to Charles and Ida (Weddel) [Weddle] Barkley and lived in the Knox area for 29 years, coming from Valparaiso, IN.  On April 14, 1951 in South Bend, IN, Ruth was married to Vernon Piper who preceded her in death in 1980.  She was also preceded in death by her parents; two brothers; and two sisters.  Survivors include one daughter, Jennie Carter of Knox, IN; two granddaughters: Mikaela and Dawna Carter both of Knox, IN; and many nieces and nephews.  Ruth was a retired accountant with the McGill Corp. of Valparaiso.  She attended Eagle Creek Church of Knox and was active in the Ladies Aid.  She was also active in Starke County tourism, was interested in horses and crafts, and owned the Pied Piper Ceramic Shop.  Funeral services will be held Monday, October 29, 2007 and 2:00 p.m. Central Time at Eeagle Creek Church, Knox, IN.  Friends may visit on Sunday from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at Rannalls Funeral Home, Hamlet Chapel, and Monday at the church one hour prior to the funeral service.

On a more personal note, Ruth Piper was very active in Genealogy and contributed greatly to the research that got me started in the family history.  Her contributions to preserving our family’s story are priceless.

Check out my Ancestry Family Tree for Ruth Charlotte Piper.

See more information about Ruth Piper on Find A Grave.

Surname Saturday – Dreffs
Oct 1st, 2011 by Jessica

This week we take a look at the lineage of the Dreffs surname as it pertains to my family’s history.  The Dreffs name has come to be synonymous with BRICK WALL for me.

Wedding Portrait for Mary and Walter Dreffs (November 1951)

Wedding Portrait for Mary and Walter Dreffs (November 1951)

Earliest Known Ancestor

My great-grandfather Joseph Dreffs was born in March 1866 in PoznaÅ„ (Posen), Poland when it was under German occupation.  According to Joseph’s death certificate, his mother’s maiden name was Grayeski.  Joseph married his wife Anna Kozminska in Poland in 1866.  He came to the United States and filed his Declaration of Intent on July 6, 1891.  (I’m still looking for his actual passenger record – it’s my biggest genealogical brick wall!)

Joseph and Anna spent several years in Gaylord, Michigan which is where their eighth child, my grandfather Walter Anthony Dreffs, was born in 1900.  He moved the family to Saginaw around 1910 and lived there until the 1930’s when the family moved to Gilford in Tuscola County.  Joseph Dreffs died 20 Dec 1941 and is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Saginaw.

Joseph and Anna had eleven children: Martin Dreffs (1887 – 1976), Hattie (Ida) Dreffs (1888 – 1960), the elusive Vincent Joseph Dreffs (1892 – ?), Jennie Dreffs (1892 – ?), Veronica (Vera) Dreffs (1894 – 1946), Mary C. Dreffs (1896 – 1973), Francis Stanley Dreffs (1898 – 1959), my grandfather Walter Anthony Dreffs (1900 – 1958), Paul Anthony Dreffs (1902 – 1980), Andrew S. Dreffs (1903 – 1961) and Carl Casimier Dreffs (1906 – 1969).

Lineage for the Dreffs Surname

Lineage for the Dreffs Surname

Lineage

Jessica Marie Cole > Diane Marie Dreffs > Walter Anthony Dreffs (1900 – 1958) > Joseph Dreffs (1866 – 1941)

If this tiny lineage isn’t indicative of a solid brick wall, I don’t know what else is.  I’ve been heavily researching this line for more than a decade.  Unfortunately, my grandfather Walter died when my mother was only six years old.  He was somewhat of a drifter, a gambler and an alcoholic; he left no trace of his family history except what little bits I’ve been able to unearth that were documented in his vital records.

Items of Interest

  • I wrote to the Polish Genealogical Society of America and asked them to send me information on the Dreffs surname.  I received in response a single piece of paper with the following information:  “Drefs 8, ToNa: F. 1, PoSz: M. 1, F. 1, PomPo: M. 2, F. 2, SzmSz: M. 1″  They included no instructions, so I am assuming that means the Drefs family has a grand total of 8 family members in all of Poland.  That’s probably why I am finding the research nearly impossible to conduct for this surname.  Looking on their website under the Dictionary of Surnames in Current Use in Poland, I see this surname is found in either PoznaÅ„ or Szczecin.  Given that the Naturalization papers for Joseph say he is from “Posen” I have to assume he came from the province of PoznaÅ„.
  • My grandfather Walter Anthony Dreffs is missing in action between 1925 when he is listed in the Saginaw City Directory and 1941 when his father’s obituary lists him as living in Saginaw.  I can’t find him at anywhere, including the 1930 US Census.  We believe he may have had another family somewhere during this time.
  • Walter returned to Saginaw after his father’s death and began having children with my grandmother, Mary Rose (Stroik) Karpuk.  The couple had eight children together – two single births and three sets of twins.  Only six of their eight children survived.  The middle set of twins died at birth.  If you look at the wedding portrait for Mary and Walter you will notice that she is 8 months into her final pregnancy with my mother Diane and her twin brother, Daniel.  They had their first six children out of wedlock.

Family Notes

  • The Dreffs family has been my biggest brick wall throughout my first decade of genealogical research.
  • I am desperately seeking Joseph Dreffs’ passenger ship record.
  • I am forever looking for Walter Anthony Dreffs in the 1930 US Census.  Did he have another family before he got together with my grandmother?  They knew each way back in the 1920’s but didn’t hook up until 1941.  I can’t WAIT for the 1940 Census to be released in April 2012.  Grandpa – I WILL FIND YOU!

Additional Information

Check out my Ancestry Family Tree for Joseph Dreffs.

See all of the Dreffs graves I have posted on Find A Grave.

Treasure Chest Thursday – Kalamazoo High School Class Portrait, Class of 1941
Sep 29th, 2011 by Jessica

This is a class portrait from Kalamazoo High School, Kalamazoo, Michigan (1941)

Kalamazoo High School, Class Portrait, Class of 1941

Kalamazoo High School, Class Portrait, Class of 1941

High Resolution Scan: Kalamazoo High School Class of 1941

Velma Bostic, Class of 1941

Velma Bostic, Class of 1941

This is my husband’s grandmother, Velma Isadora (Bostic) Green.  She’s in the middle wearing the glasses.
In the large group portrait, she appears in the upper left corner.

Tombstone Tuesday – Grandma in the Cemetery (Walter Anthony Dreffs)
Sep 27th, 2011 by Jessica

Mary Rose Dreffs, marking the burial site of Walter Anthony Dreffs

Mary Rose Dreffs, marking the burial site of Walter Anthony Dreffs

Recently I was scanning in a few hundred pictures from a box my mother had in the pole barn.  I ran across this photo of my grandmother, Mary Rose (Stroik, Kasper, Karpuk, Dreffs) Romaine.  She is kneeling in a cemetery.

At first I didn’t take much stock in this photo.  Then, I tried to figure out when it might have been taken.  I got to thinking… I’ve seen that style of gravestone before.  A closer look at the image showed that the grave she is next to is one of Andrew Allen Kolba.  I know this because I can compare it to pictures I look of this location on that trip in 2000.  This must have been taken in Floral Gardens Cemetery in Bay City, Michigan.

I took a trip there in August 2000 to photograph the grave of my grandfather, but his grave is not in this picture.  I looked at this picture again and noticed that Grandma was kneeling in a peculiar location.

Grave of Walter Anthony Dreffs (Taken February 1972)

Grave of Walter Anthony Dreffs (Taken February 1972)

Then it hit me!  My Grandma is kneeling at the burial site of her late husband, my grandfather Walter Anthony Dreffs.  The cemetery office told me that my Mom purchased a marker for her father on January 19, 1972.  Grandma must have been showing my Mom where her father was buried so she could buy the marker.

Walter Anthony Dreffs is buried at Floral Gardens Cemetery in the “Garden of the Last Supper”, Lot 209, Space D.

Tuesday’s Tip – Scanning Copies from the Allen County Public Library
Sep 27th, 2011 by Jessica

I was fortunate enough to visit the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana in July 2011.  I had three glorious days to research as much as possible.  All of that research amounted to a massive pile of photocopies from various branches in my family; 259 pages to be exact!  That’s a lot of paperwork.  I knew once I got it home, it would be really difficult for me to scan it all in with my little home all-in-one machine. I was also worried about checking it in at the airport; who knows if I would ever see it again?

Lucky for me (and you) there is a little copy shop called OfficeOne around the corner from the Allen County Public Library that has a high speed scanner.  Simply feed in your stacks of copies (I sorted mine by Surname) and they will scan directly onto your USB thumb drive. I had one PDF file created from each stack and named to correspond to the surname, but you can choose to scan each page as a JPG individually.

Sure it costs money, but what is your time worth?  I made 259 copies at the library at 10 cents each, and promptly had them scanned in at OfficeOne for 10 cents each.  I can say without a doubt that my time is worth way more than $25.90, especially when it equates to immediate digital access to share my research with my family around the country.  I was able to email the PDFs to my family members from my tablet while I was waiting at the airport.

If you’re looking for a place to scan in all of your ACPL research before you get back in the car or head off to the airport, check out this copy shop.  The staff was friendly, their equipment was new and I felt very comfortable working with them. They were able to scan everything in while I waited, and showed me how it all looked, verifying all the files on my thumb drive before I walked out the door.

Office One
1021 S. Calhoun Street
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802
www.officeonesolutions.com
(260) 424-1212

Mystery Monday – Two Lines Crossing
Sep 26th, 2011 by Jessica

I found this portrait along with the Baptism of the girl I wrote about last week on Mystery Monday.  I believe this is a young couple from one of the Karpuk, Stroik or Dreffs families.  I don’t think it is Rose Karpuk and Ed Dreffs.  They were married February 9, 1946. However, Aunt Rose didn’t wear glasses.

My mother believes this is Marie D. Betlinski and her first husband Mr. Dabrowski.  Marie later remarried again and when she died her last name was Augustyniak.  She was born June 26, 1911 and died January 7, 2007 in Bay City, Michigan.  Marie was my grandmother Mary Rose Stroik’s best friend.

This photo seems to be earlier than the 1940’s.  If anyone out there is good at determining the age of a photo by the style or the clothing, please chime in below in the comments!  I need some help with this one.

Happy Couple, Chicago

Happy Couple, Chicago

What really struck me about this portrait is the inscription at the bottom of the beautifully embossed paper frame:

Z. Rozanski, 1073 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

Z. Rozanski, 1073 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

The inscription reads, “Z. Rozanski, 1073 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.”  Now to most people, this is a clue that the couple was married in Chicago.  That got me thinking; I don’t know of anyone from these families who moved to or lived in Chicago during the first half of the 20th century.  Marie M. Betlinski was born in South Chicago, Illinois so it is likely this is her wedding portrait.

Milwaukee Avenue… I have seen Milwaukee Avenue before in my research.  Where did I see it?  EUREKA!  My husband’s family was from Chicago.  Andrew’s great-grandfather Andrew JÄ™drzej Dominik was a portrait photographer in Chicago starting around 1915 until he moved to Arizona in the early 1950’s.  In fact, the 1916 Chicago Polk City Directory lists his place of business at 923 Milwaukee Avenue, just a few blocks down from the studio of Z. Rozanski at 1073 Milwaukee Ave.

By the 1930’s, Andrew’s photography business had moved to a new address.  Scholl Studios was relocated to 1563 Milwaukee Avenue.  We have an original portrait envelope from the studio with the new address printed on the front.  It even says “between Damen and North Avenues” so you can be sure to find it:

Scholl Studio Photographs, 1563 Milwaukee Ave, Chicago

Scholl Studio Photographs, 1563 Milwaukee Ave, Chicago

Milwaukee Avenue must have been Chicago’s Photography Central in the early 1900’s.  It’s just neat to see the family lines crossing like this.  To think that my husband’s family who moved to Arizona in the 1950’s could easily have photographed someone so close to my mother’s family from Michigan in Chicago is just a little crazy to me!  I’m hoping someone out there can tell me who the happy young couple is above, or at least help me date the portrait a little better.

Good luck solving your genealogical mysteries!

Sunday’s Obituary – David Lee Fitzgerald
Sep 25th, 2011 by Jessica

Obituary for David Lee Fitzgerald

Obituary for David Lee Fitzgerald

Obituary for my great Uncle, David Lee Fitzgerald.  Published in The Times in Valparaiso, Indiana on March 5, 2009.

DAVID L. FITZGERALD
DAVID L. FITZGERALD, PORTAGE, IN.  David L. Fitzgerald age 65 of Portage passed away Wednesday March 4, 2009.  He was born on September 22, 1943.  David worked at Main Street Body Repair in Griffith.  He was also a member of Grace Baptist Church, and the Sons of the American Legion #502, and loved to play horse shoes.  David is survived by his daughters: Candice and Barbara; brothers: Lewis (Joann) of Lima OH, Richard of Chesterton, Robert (Irene) of Portage, Delmar (Thelma) of Fruitland Park, FL, Charles “Larry” (Theresa) of South Haven, Thomas of Maine and Bryce (Maryann) of Indianapolis; sisters: Katherine Kimmerly [Kemmerly] of Crown Point and Florence Cole of Valparaiso; neices: Dawn (Felder) of IA and Cristal (Earl) Tapley of Portage; and many other nieces, nephews, family members and friends.  David was preceded in death by his parents: Voredell [Vondall] and Jennie Fitzgerald; and son, Richard Scott.  A visitation for David will be held from 10:00-11:00 a.m. on Friday March 6, 2009 at Rees Funeral Home – Brady Chapel, 3781 Central Ave., Lake Station.  A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday immediately after the visitation.  Burial will be at McCool Cemetery in Portage.  For further information please call Rees Funeral Home at (219) 962-1606 or online at: www.reesfuneralhome.com.

Check out my Ancestry Family Tree for David Lee Fitzgerald.

See the grave of David Lee Fitzgerald on Find A Grave.

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