My paternal grandmother, Anna Blaszko, was 20 years old when she left her parents, sister, and brother in Bastuny (or possibly a longtime Blaszko family farm in Skladance) for a new life in America in 1913. In a journey that took more than two weeks by rail and ship, she apparently traveled alone. Her third-class steamship ticket, which cost about $25, was provided by Wicenty Kulikowski, an older married cousin who had emigrated eight years earlier.
Upon her arrival that October, Anna boarded with Wicenty and his wife, Petronella, in Lowell, Massachusetts, and found work in the Boott Cotton Mill. It appears that Anna’s closest family relationships in the United States were with Wicenty (aka William) and his siblings, particularly his brother Karol (Karl) and sister Aniela (Nellie). Anna’s mother, Teresa Bowszys, and the Kulikowskis’ mother, Ewa Bowszys, were sisters; perhaps these two women fostered strong ties among their children.
It is notable that several other maternal cousins—Martin and Petronella Bowszys and Iwan Bowszys, all from Kiwance—settled in Worcester, Massachusetts, as Anna herself did after her 1916 marriage to Julian Prokopowicz. The extent of her contact with them, if any, is unknown. Similarly, I have no documentation of how close she may or may not have been to her paternal male cousins, Jan, Kasimir, and Andrzej Blaszko of Jatowty, who settled in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. The Bowszys and Blaszko links in this migration chain may be weak, their impact on Anna perhaps limited to the general sense of familiar faces disappearing one by one from the towns and farm villages in the Radun area of Lida powiat (county) in Wilno gubernia (province), Russian Poland.
The earliest ship manifests that I have located for the Blaskzo and Kulikowski families date to 1903 and 1904, respectively. Earlier departures may be traced to friends and relatives with different surnames, as in the case of Kulikowski in-law Josef Bedugnis, who joined a Kuczinski stepbrother in Maynard, Massachusetts, in June 1900. Passenger list data extracted for nearly 20 Blaszko, Kulikowski, and Bowszys family members follow.
June 1900 — Josef Bedugnis
Name on manifest: Josef Bedugnis
Relationship: brother-in-law of Kulikowskis
Ship & shipping line: SS Statendam, Holland America
Departure port & date: Rotterdam, May 24, 1900
Arrival port & date: New York, June 4, 1900
Status: age 25, born ca. 1875, single, laborer, not able to read/write
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a, last residence Birona? Kowno?, Russia
Finances: stepbrother paid for passage, has ticket to final destination, has $2
Destination: stepbrother, J. Kuczinsky, Watson? Street, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
April 1903 — Stanislaw Blaszko
Name on manifest: Stanislaw Blassko
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Bulgaria, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, March 24, 1903
Arrival port & date: New York, April 10, 1903
Status: age 25, born ca. 1878 in Wilno, single, laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a, last residence Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $10
Destination: cousin [“brother” also written in], Jan Jarobski?, Wilmington, Delaware
Traveling companions: none
June 1904 — Karol Kulikowski (aka Karl Kulick)
Name on manifest: Karol Kulikowsky; Ancestry, Karal Kulikewsky
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Pennsylvania, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, June 3, 1904
Arrival port & date: New York, June 16, 1904
Status: age 18, born ca. 1886 [in Jatowty], single, laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a, last residence Marankowy?
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $4
Destination: brother-in-law, Josef Biadugnis [Bedugnis], Box 523, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
Record of detained aliens: Group 41, Number 17, “tel $,” disposition to brother-in-law Josef Biadingus (Bedugnis), Box 523, Maynard, Massachusetts, discharged June 18, 4:30 p.m., 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners
April 1905 — Adolf Kulikowski
Name on manifest: Adolf Kulikowsky
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Statendam, Holland America
Departure port & date: Rotterdam, April 15, 1905
Arrival port & date: New York, April 25, 1905
Status: age 22, born ca. 1883 in Jatowsky [Jatowty], married, laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a
Finances: brother-in-law paid for passage, has ticket to Boston, has $11.50
Destination: brother-in-law, J. Baduginus [Bedugnis], Box 523, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: wife, Marianna Kulikowsky, 17
April 1905 — Wicenty Kulikowski
Name on manifest: Wicenti Kulika
Relationship: cousin? (possibly unrelated)
Ship & shipping line: SS Pennsylvania, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, April 7, 1905
Arrival port & date: New York, April 21, 1905
Status: age 18, born ca. 1887 in Wilno, single, laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $10
Destination: grandfather, Josef Kulik, Box 523, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Osip Safka and Andre Klischowitz, both destination Maynard, Massachusetts
June 1905 — Kasimir Blaszko
Name on manifest: Kasimir Blaschko
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Patricia, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, June 3, 1905
Arrival port & date: New York, June 16, 1905
Status: age 25, born ca. 1880 in Yatowtey [Jatowty], single, laborer, able to read/ not able to write, Lithuanian
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a; last residence Jatowty, Wilno gub.
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $7
Destination: brother, Stanislaw Blaschko, 200 Park? Street, Carbondale, Pennsylvania
Traveling companions: brother, Jan Blaszko
June 1905 — Jan Blaszko
Name on manifest: Jan Blaschko
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Patricia, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, June 3, 1905
Arrival port & date: New York, June 16, 1905
Status: age 20, born ca. 1885 in Yatowtey [Jatowty], single, laborer, able to read/write, Lithuanian
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a, last residence Jatowty, Wilno gub.
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $10
Destination: brother, Stanislaw Blaschko, 200 Park? Street, Carbondale, Pennsylvania
Traveling companions: brother, Kasimir Blaszko
June 1905 — Wicenty Bowszys
Name on manifest: Wicenty Bankschis
Relationship: uncle
Ship & shipping line: SS Patricia, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, June 3, 1905
Arrival port & date: New York, June 16, 1905
Status: age 32, born ca. 1873, married, laborer, able to read/ not able to write, Lithuanian
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a; last residence Skladanzi [Skladance], Wilno gub.
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $6.25
Destination: nephew, Karol Kulikowski, Box 323, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Stanislaw Waschko [Blaszko], last residence Skladanzi; Jan Waranowski, 20, single, last residence Skladanzi, original destination brother-in-law Aleksandr Bokczinowicz?, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, changed to “NYC, Pol Soc”
June 1905 — Stanislaw Blaszko
Name on manifest: Stanislaw Waschko
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Patricia, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, June 3, 1905
Arrival port & date: New York, June 16, 1905
Status: age 23, born ca. 1882, single, laborer, able to read/ not able to write, Polish
Physical description: n/a
Contact in last permanent residence: n/a; last residence Skladanzi [Skladance], Wilno gub.
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $6.25
Destination: originally uncle, Adam? Jodisz, 306 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts; changed to “NYC, Pol Soc”
Traveling companions: Wicenty Bowszys, last residence Skladanzi; Jan Waranowski, 20, single, last residence Skladanzi, has $1.50, original destination brother-in-law Aleksandr Bokczinowicz?, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, changed to “NYC, Pol Soc”
April 1909 — Boleslaw Kulikowski
Name on manifest: Boleslav Kulikowski
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Pennsylvania, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, April 10, 1909
Arrival port & date: New York, April 24, 1909
Status: age 17, born ca. 1892 in Jatowty, single, not able to read/write
Physical description: 5’7”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Vincenty Kulikowski, Jatowty, Wilno
Finances: father paid for passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $5
Destination: brother, Karol Kulikowski, 888 B…ton? Street, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Viktor Iwaszka, 25, Lopatyczki, father Adam Iwaszka, destination Karol Kulikowski, Maynard, Massachusetts
Record of Detained Aliens: Group 2, Number 16; cause of detention “to tel for $,” RRE, brother Karol, Box 885, Maynard, Massachusetts, discharged April 26, 4:30 p.m., 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners
June 1909 — Martin & Petronella Bowszys & infant son Josef
Name on manifest: Ancestry, Cartin, Petronella, & Josef Bowschis
Relationship: cousins
Ship & shipping line: SS Amerika, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, June 2, 1909
Arrival port & date: New York, June 12, 1909
Status: Martin, age 21, Petronella, 30, Josef, 3 months; all born in Kiwance; married; Martin, farm laborer, not able to read/write
Physical description: Martin, 5’5”, light hair, blue eyes; Petronella, 5’, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father-in-law [i.e., Petronella’s father], Wincenty Jodzis, Kiwance, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, have no tickets to final destination, have $4.50
Destination: brother, Piotr Bowschis, 485 Melburre [Millbury] Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none obvious, but several others on page have Worcester destination
Record of Detained Aliens: Bowsckis, Martin, wife, and child; cause of detention “tel $,” RyE, to brother Peter, 481 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, discharged June 14, 3:30 p.m., 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners
Previously in U.S.: Martin & Petronella, 1903-08, in Worcester, Massachusetts
July 1911 — Kasimir Blaszko
Name on manifest: Kasimir Blashko
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Kursk, Russian American
Departure port & date: Libau (Liepaja), June 20, 1911
Arrival port & date: New York, July 3, 1911
Status: age 30, born ca. 1881 in Jadowty [Jatowty], married, farm laborer, not able to read/write, Lithuanian
Physical description: 5’7”, blond hair, blue eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: Weronika Blashko, Jadowty, Wilno gub.
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $20
Destination: cousin Jan Blasko, Box 888, Carbondale, Pennsylvania
Traveling companions: Andzej Shuromsky, 50, married, farm laborer, Lithuanian, contact Anna Shuromska, Skladanze, destination brother Jan Zuromski, 40 Central Street, Central Falls, Rhode Island
July 1911 — Adolf Kulikowski
Name on manifest: Adolf Kulikowsky
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Kursk, Russian American
Departure port & date: Libau (Liepaja), June 20, 1911
Arrival port & date: New York, July 3, 1911
Status: age 27, born ca. 1884 in Jatowty, single, farm laborer, not able to read/write, has not been in U.S. previously
Physical description: 5’6”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: [father] Wincenty Kulikowski, Jatowty, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $20
Destination: brother, Wincent Kulikowsky, Box 885, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Andzej Shuromsky, 50, married, farm laborer, Lithuanian, contact Anna Shuromska, Skladanze, destination brother Jan Zuromski, 40 Central Street, Central Falls, Rhode Island
Notation: 1-267526 9/29/39
July 1911 — Andrzej Blaszko
Name on manifest: Andrey Blaschko
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Lituania, Russian American
Departure port & date: Libau (Liepaja), June 20, 1911
Arrival port & date: New York, July 16/17, 1911
Status: age 17, born ca. 1894 in Yatowtey [Jatowty], single, farm laborer, not able to read/write, Lithuanian
Physical description: 5’6”, dark hair, dark eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: Andrej Blaschko, Jatowty, Wilno gub.
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $4
Destination: brother Jan Blaschko, Box 888, Carbondale, Pennsylvania
Traveling companions: none
Notation: 2-1013409 10/22/42
April 1913 — Aniela Kulikowska (marr: Nellie Zowalki)
Name on manifest: Ancestry, Anelia Kolikopkaja
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Columbia, Anchor Line
Departure port & date: Glasgow, April 12, 1913
Arrival port & date: New York, April 22, 1913
Status: age 17, born ca. 1896 in Wilenska (Wilno), single, farm servant, can read/write
Physical description: 5'4", dark brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father Wikenty Kulikowsky, Krasnoe [Krasne folwark]
Finances: paid by friend, has ticket to final destination, has $10
Destination: friend [brother] Karol Kulikosky, 19 River St., Maynard, Mass.
Traveling companions: none
October 1913 — Anna Blaszko
Name on manifest: Anna Blaschko
Relationship: founded family when married Julian Prokopowicz in August 1916
Ship & shipping line: SS Caronia, Cunard
Departure port & date: Liverpool, October 7, 1913
Arrival port & date: New York, October 15, 1913
Status: age 20, born ca. 1893 in Bastuny, single, servant, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’4”, dark hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: mother, Teresa Blaschko in Bastuny, Kowno [Wilno]
Finances: cousin paid for passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: cousin W. Kulikowsky & wife, 148 Lakeview Street, Lowell, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
Record of Detained Aliens: Group 10, Number 11, “tel $,” disposition RRE to cousin Wincent Kulikowsky, 148 Lakeview Street, Lowell, Massachusetts, discharged October 16, 4 p.m., 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner
Notation: 1-344918 4/5/41
April 1914 — Iwan Bowszys
Name on manifest: Iwan Bowshis
Relationship: cousin
Ship & shipping line: SS Russia, Russian American
Departure port & date: Libau (Liepaja), April 3, 1914
Arrival port & date: New York, April 19, 1914
Status: age 21, born ca. 1893 in Kiwontz [Kiwance], single, farm laborer, not able to read/write
Physical description: 5’6”, dark hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, O. Bowshis, Kiwontz, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: brother-in-law, L. Nadeirs?, 35 Stebbins Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Passenger Ships That Carried My Grandparents to New Lives in America
These vintage postcards and photos depict the passenger ships that carried my Polish ancestors to America. Pictured against a rosy sunset is the Russian American Line's SS Lituania, on which my maternal grandfather, Aleksandr Prokopowicz, sailed from Libau (now Liepaja), Latvia, to New York in March 1910. Launched in 1889 as the Lancashire, the vessel was originally intended as a cargo ship with accommodations for only 12 passengers; it was converted in 1892 to carry 70 passengers.
My maternal grandmother, Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz made the crossing aboard the White Star Line's SS Arabic with her sister-in-law, Maria Prokopowicz, in February 1913. Stefania brought her daughter Pauline, 5, and son Joseph, 2, with her; Maria traveled with her youngest child, another 2-year-old named Joseph. They were among a thousand passengers traveling in steerage (third-class accommodations). In August 1915, the Arabic was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland.
In September 1913, Stefania's 18-year-old sister, Stanislawa Ruscik, sailed from Liverpool to Boston on the Cunard Line's SS Franconia with Aleksandr and Stefania's oldest son, Adolf, 14. He had apparently been ill and unable to make the trip with his mother and siblings earlier that year. He fared better aboard ship than his aunt, who was seasick most of the trip. Throughout her life, Stanislawa spoke of how well Adolf tended to her during the voyage. The Franconia was a relatively new ship, having made its maiden voyage in 1911. Of its 2,850 passengers, 2,200 traveled in steerage.
The Cunard Line's SS Caronia is represented here in two images: a postcard depicting a crowd at the landing stage in Liverpool, and a black-and-white photo of the ship at sea. The Caronia and the nearly identical Carmania were dubbed "the pretty sisters" of the North Atlantic route when they were launched in 1905. My paternal grandmother, Anna Blaszko, then 20 and single, sailed from Liverpool to New York aboard the Caronia in October 1913.
The North German (aka Norddeutscher) Lloyd Line operated the SS Koln, launched in 1899. My paternal grandfather, Julian Prokopowicz, 19 and single, sailed on its Bremen to Boston route, March 25-April 9, 1914. The German shipping company maintained that the Koln and its six sister ships were a significant improvement over earlier models in having portholes installed to afford better light and ventilation in steerage. The Koln could carry 1,850 third-class passengers.
My maternal grandmother, Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz made the crossing aboard the White Star Line's SS Arabic with her sister-in-law, Maria Prokopowicz, in February 1913. Stefania brought her daughter Pauline, 5, and son Joseph, 2, with her; Maria traveled with her youngest child, another 2-year-old named Joseph. They were among a thousand passengers traveling in steerage (third-class accommodations). In August 1915, the Arabic was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland.
In September 1913, Stefania's 18-year-old sister, Stanislawa Ruscik, sailed from Liverpool to Boston on the Cunard Line's SS Franconia with Aleksandr and Stefania's oldest son, Adolf, 14. He had apparently been ill and unable to make the trip with his mother and siblings earlier that year. He fared better aboard ship than his aunt, who was seasick most of the trip. Throughout her life, Stanislawa spoke of how well Adolf tended to her during the voyage. The Franconia was a relatively new ship, having made its maiden voyage in 1911. Of its 2,850 passengers, 2,200 traveled in steerage.
The Cunard Line's SS Caronia is represented here in two images: a postcard depicting a crowd at the landing stage in Liverpool, and a black-and-white photo of the ship at sea. The Caronia and the nearly identical Carmania were dubbed "the pretty sisters" of the North Atlantic route when they were launched in 1905. My paternal grandmother, Anna Blaszko, then 20 and single, sailed from Liverpool to New York aboard the Caronia in October 1913.
The North German (aka Norddeutscher) Lloyd Line operated the SS Koln, launched in 1899. My paternal grandfather, Julian Prokopowicz, 19 and single, sailed on its Bremen to Boston route, March 25-April 9, 1914. The German shipping company maintained that the Koln and its six sister ships were a significant improvement over earlier models in having portholes installed to afford better light and ventilation in steerage. The Koln could carry 1,850 third-class passengers.
Immigration Time Line: Aleksandr & Stefania Prokopowicz & Extended Family
Who began the chain of migration that ultimately led my maternal grandparents, Aleksandr and Stefania Prokopowicz, and their three children, Adolf, Paulina, and Jozef, from Wilno to Worcester? Passenger lists for their siblings and some in-laws and cousins help to establish the time line. To date, I have located the manifests documenting the immigration of the following 19 relatives:
Alexandr’s brother and his family — Jozef and Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz and their children Stefania, Michal, and Jozef
Stefania’s siblings — sister Stanislawa Ruscik and brother Ignacy Ruscik
Alexandr’s cousins — Bronislaw and Bronislawa Nowicki
Jozef’s brother-in-law — Wladyslaw Tomczyk
Maria’s siblings — brothers Ksawery and Jozef Baniukiewicz
Maria’s cousins — brothers Mieczyslaw and Czeslaw Baniukiewicz
The earliest emigrant in this group is Ignacy Ruscik, who left Wilno gubernia in 1909. The latest is Czeslaw Baniukiewicz, who sailed in June 1914, two months before World War I broke out in Europe and effectively shut down emigration. The men left singly, in stages. The women and children generally traveled in groups, and all sailed in 1913. All the women and children, and the single man accompanying children, arrived in Boston, on ships of the White Star, Hamburg-American, and Cunard lines. This total of 12 significantly outnumbered the 7 Ellis Island arrivals of men who sailed on New York routes of the Hamburg-American, Russian American, Holland American, and Red Star lines.
Most members of the Prokopowicz, Baniukiewicz, Ruscik, and Nowicki families ultimately settled in or near Worcester. A notable exception was Stefania’s younger brother, Ignacy Ruscik, who set out initially for Ohio but instead made his home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Brothers Aleksandr and Jozef Prokopowicz were both established in Worcester by the time their wives and children arrived in the fall of 1913. But passenger lists reveal that these immigrants originally set their sights on Maynard, Braintree, Pepperell, and Boston, Massachusetts. Maynard in particular seems to have been a popular destination for emigrants from the Szczuczyn area of Wilno. The Assabet woolen mill had its share of labor issues in those years, and it is conceivable that Poles were being recruited in Europe to replace the workforce’s feisty Finns.
Why the eventual relocation to Worcester? More research would be illuminating here, but it’s obvious that New England’s second largest city had thousands more industrial jobs to offer an unskilled immigrant labor force. It also had a large Polish parish with plans to build an elementary school, and a strong social, retail, and professional network to meet the needs of its substantial Polish-speaking population.
Summarized below are details extracted from the Prokopowicz, Baniukiewicz, Ruscik, and Nowicki passenger lists, presented in chronological order. The given names of girls and single women are followed by the names they later used in marriage. Middle names distinguish two cousins close in age; they were known in adulthood as Joseph Stanley Prokopowicz and Joseph Michael Prokopowicz.
April 1909 — Ignacy Ruscik
Name on manifest: Hamburg Emigration List, Ignaz Rust; Ancestry, Ignaty Rust
Relationship: younger brother of Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Badenia, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, March 16, 1909
Arrival port & date: New York, April 3, 1909
Status: age 19, born ca. 1890 in S. Gernik [Staro Gierniki[, Wilno, single, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’6”, brown hair, gray eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Antoni Ruscik, S. Gernik [Staro Gierniki]
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $5
Destination: friend, Josef Melsosky?, Sandusky?, Ohio
Traveling companions: Bronislaw Leszik, 19; Geronim Kasnady, 31; Antoni Maskewicz, 29; all from Gierniki area
March 1910 — Aleksandr Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Aleksandr Prokapowitz
Relationship: husband of Stefania Ruscik
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Lituania, Russian American
Departure port & date: Libau (now Liepaja), March 15, 1910
Arrival port & date: New York, March 30, 1910
Status: age 31, born ca. 1879 in Kozarezy, Wilno, married, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’7”, fair hair, blue eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: wife, Stefania Prokapowitz, Kozarezy, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $15
Destination: cousin, W. Soroka, Box 1065, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Juljan Czernjak, 29; Jury Stupekewitz-Demid, 19; Awgustin Fisejukewitz, 23; Ossip Primak, 26; Michail Eljorchewitz, 31; all single, from Wilno, with destination Maynard, Massachusetts (27 of 30 passengers on page were from Wilno)
May 1910 — Ksawery Baniukiewicz
Name on manifest: Xavier Baniukiewicz; Ancestry, Haver Baninkiewicz
Relationship: younger brother of Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Potsdam, Holland America
Departure port & date: Rotterdam, May 21, 1910
Arrival port & date: New York, May 31, 1910
Status: age 22, born ca. 1888 in Lapate [Lopaty], Wilno, single, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’9”, blond hair, blue eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Josef Baniukiewicz, Lidzkiego [Lida powiat], Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $30
Destination: friend, Josef Filipczyk?, Box 676, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
Notation: P-1437/1045-Boston 6/4/37 1-141864 1/17/35 (or 38?)
November 1910 — Mieczyslaw Baniukiewicz
Name on manifest: Miceslaw Baunkewicz
Relationship: cousin of Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Grosser Kurfurst, North German Lloyd (Norddeutscher)
Departure port & date: Bremen, October 22, 1910
Arrival port & date: New York, October 30/November 1, 1910
Status: age 19, born ca. 1891 in Szczuczyn, Wilno, single, waiter?, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’6”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Jan Baniukiewicz, Szczuczyn
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $16
Destination: ? Morduch Woronowski, 9 Poplar? Street, Boston, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Anton Baniukiewicz, 28, married, wife Katarzyna Baniukiewicz in Krzynowce, Grodno, destination Boston
Notation: 1-63184
April 1911 — Jozef Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Osip Prokopowitz
Relationship: older brother of Aleksandr Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Zeeland, Red Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, April 11, 1911
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), April 20, 1911
Status: 37, born ca. 1874 in Kosare [Kozarezy], Wilno, married, laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’4”, fair hair, blue eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: wife, Maria Prokopowitz, Morga, Russia (Wilno)
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: K. Basinkiewitz [Baniukiewicz], Box 96 Braintree, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none, but several passengers from nearby villages
Per UK Incoming Passenger Lists: Osip Prokopwitz , laborer, Russian, sailed 3rd class from New York on the SS Caledonia, arriving in Glasgow on December 10, 1911, holding through ticket to Prostken, Suwalki; traveling with Josef Wasiliuk
June 1911 — Bronislaw Nowicki
Name on manifest: Bronislaw Nowitzky
Relationship: cousin of Aleksandr & Jozef Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Birma, Russian American
Departure port & date: Libau (Liepaja), June 6, 1911
Arrival port & date: New York, June 21, 1911
Status: age 22, born ca. 1889 in Kemjany [Kiemiany], Wilno, single, laborer, not able to read/write
Physical description: 5’3”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: Iwan Nowitzky, Kemjany, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: uncle, F.? J.? Mikijanetz (Mikijaniec), Box 751, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
February 1912 — Jozef Baniukiewicz
Name on manifest: Osip Benikewitz
Relationship: younger brother of Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Amerika, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, February 18, 1912
Arrival port & date: New York, February 27, 1912
Status: age 22, born ca. 1890 in Lopaty, Wilno, single, farm laborer, not able to read/write
Physical description: 5’11”, dark blond hair, blue eyes, scar on left cheek
Contact in last permanent residence: father Josef Benikevitz, Lopaty, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to Boston, has $16
Destination: brother, Ksaweri Benikewitz [Ksawery Baniukiewicz, Box 196, Paper Mill (corrected to East Pepperell), Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none, but several on list from Orla
February 1913 — Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Stefania Prokopowitz; Ancestry, Stefenca Sedkopenitz
Relationship: wife of Aleksandr Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 30, born ca. 1883 in Kasarety [note: actually born in Staro Gierniki], Wilno, married, housewife, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’ 4”, black hair, brown eyes [note: had blue eyes]
Contact in last permanent residence: friend, M. Prokopowitz, Kasarety [Kozarezy]
Finances: husband paid for her and children’s passage, has ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: husband, Alex Prokopowitz, 93 Lamartine Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling with children: daughter Paulina, age 5; son Osip (Jozef), age 2
Traveling companions: sister-in-law, Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz, and nephew, Osip Prokopowicz
February 1913 — Paulina Prokopowicz (marr: Pauline Londergan)
Name on manifest: Pawlena Prokopowitz
Relationship: second child of Aleksandr & Stefania Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 5, born ca. 1908 [note: actually born July 1906] in Kasarety [Kozarezy], Wilno
Physical description: none (child)
Contact in last permanent residence: M. Prokopowitz, Kasarety
Finances: father paid for passage, has ticket to final destination
Destination: father, Alex Prokopowitz, 93 Lamartine Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: mother, Stefania Prokopowicz; brother, Jozef Prokopowicz; aunt, Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz; cousin, Jozef Prokopowicz
February 1913 — Jozef Prokopowicz (Joseph Stanley Prokopowicz)
Name on manifest: Osip Prokopowitz
Relationship: third child of Aleksandr & Stefania Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 2, born ca. 1911 [note: actually born July 1909] in Kasarety (Kozarezy), Wilno
Physical description: none (child)
Contact in last permanent residence: M. Prokopowitz, Kasarety
Finances: father paid for passage, has ticket to final destination
Destination: father, Alex Prokopowitz, 93 Lamartine Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: mother, Stefania Prokopowicz; sister, Paulina Prokopowicz; aunt, Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz; cousin, Jozef Prokopowicz
February 1913 — Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz (2nd marr: Mary Golubowski)
Name on manifest: Maria Prokopovitz; Ancestry, Maria Peskaponeitz
Relationship: wife of Jozef Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 36, born ca. 1877 in Kasareti [note: probably born in Lopaty], married, housewife, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’ 4”, black hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: daughter, Stefania Prokopowitz, Kasareti [Kozarezy]
Finances: paid for her and her son’s passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $6
Destination: husband, Josef Prokopowitz, 15 Lamartine Street, Box 6, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling with child: son Osip (Jozef), age 2
Traveling companions: sister-in-law, Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz; niece, Paulina Prokopowicz; and nephew, Jozef Prokopowicz
February 1913 — Jozef Prokopowicz (Joseph Michael Prokopowicz)
Name on manifest: Osip Prokopowitz
Relationship: third child of Jozef & Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 2, born ca. 1911 [note: actually born August 1910] in Kasarety [Kozarezy], Wilno
Physical description: none (child)
Contact in last permanent residence: older sister, Stefania Prokopowitz, Kasareti
Finances: mother paid for passage, has no ticket to final destination
Destination: father, Josef Prokopowitz, 15 Lamartine Street, Box 6, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: mother, Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz; aunt, Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz; cousins Paulina & Jozef Prokopowicz
May 1913 — Bronislawa Nowicki (marr: Bessie Kozlowski)
Name on manifest: Ancestry, Bromslawa Novicky
Relationship: cousin of Aleksandr & Jozef Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Franconia, Cunard
Departure port & date: Liverpool, April 29, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (B.&A.R.R. Wharves, East Boston), May 7, 1913
Status: age 22, born ca. 1891 in Schzuzin [Szczuczyn], single, servant, not able to read/write
Physical description: 5’4”, black hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: friend Nowiski? in Schzuzin [Szczuczyn], Wilno
Finances: passage paid by brother, has ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: brother, Bronislaw Novicky, Box 751, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Marie Harbin, 26, of Schzuzin, father Michal Sobol?, destination cousin Michalina Jabielskaya, Box 751, Maynard, Massachusetts
September 1913 — Stefania Prokopowicz (marr: Stella Nadolny)
Name on manifest: Stefania Prokopowicz
Relationship: first child of Jozef & Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Cleveland, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, August 26, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Commonwealth Pier, South Boston), September 5, 1913
Status: age 10, born ca. 1903 [note: actually born March 1901] in Kasarety [Kozarezy], Wilno
Physical description: dark blond hair
Contact in last permanent residence: grand-uncle, Jozef Tomczik, Kazarczyn
Finances: father paid for passage
Destination: father, Jozef Prokopowicz, 89 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companion: uncle, Wladyslaw Tomczik, age 24
September 1913 — Michal Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Michal Prokopowicz
Relationship: second child of Jozef & Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Cleveland, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, August 26, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Commonwealth Pier, South Boston), September 5, 1913
Status: age 9, born ca. 1904 [note: actually born September 1903] in Kasarety [Kozarezy], Wilno
Physical description: dark blond hair
Contact in last permanent residence: grand-uncle, Jozef Tomczik, Kazarczyn [Kozarezy]
Finances: father paid for passage
Destination: father, Jozef Prokopowicz, 89 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companion: uncle, Wladyslaw Tomczik, age 24
September 1913 — Wladyslaw Tomczyk
Name on manifest: Wladyslaw Tomczik; Hamburg Emigration List, Wladislaw Tomchik
Relationship: brother-in-law of Jozef Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Cleveland, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, August 26, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Commonwealth Pier, South Boston), September 5, 1913
Status: age 24, born ca. 1889 in Kazarczyn [Kozarezy], single, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’6”, dark blond hair
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Jozef Tomczik, Kazarczyn [Kozarezy]
Finances: brother-in-law paid for passage
Destination: brother-in-law, Jozef Prokopowicz, 89 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: niece and nephew, Stefania & Michal Prokopowicz
September 1913 — Adolf Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Adolf Prokopowicz
Relationship: first child of Aleksandr & Stefania Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Franconia, Cunard
Departure port & date: Liverpool, September 16, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (B.&A.R.R. Wharves, East Boston), September 24, 1913
Status: age 9, born ca. 1904 [note: actually born March 1899/1900] in Gernika [Staro Gierniki], Wilno
Physical description: none (child)
Contact in last permanent residence: grandfather, Antoni Rusz in [Staro] Gerniki, Wilno
Finances: father paid for passage, has ticket to final destination
Destination: father, Aleksandr Prokopowicz, 6 Bigelow Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: maternal aunt, Stanislawa Ruscik, age 18
September 1913 — Stanislawa Ruscik (marr: Statia Budnik)
Name on manifest: Stanislawa Rusj
Relationship: younger sister of Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Franconia, Cunard
Departure port & date: Liverpool, September 16, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (B.&A.R.R. Wharves, East Boston), September 24, 1913
Status: age 18, born ca. 1895 in Gerniki [Staro Gierniki], Wilno, single, servant, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’4”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Antoni Rusz in Gerniki, Wilno
Finances: brother-in-law paid for passage, has ticket to final destination, has $4
Destination: brother-in-law Aleksandr Prokopowicz, 6 Bigelow Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: nephew, Adolf Prokopowicz
July 1914 — Czeslaw Baniukiewicz
Name on manifest: Czeslaw Baninkiewicz
Relationship: cousin of Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Kroonland, Red Star
Departure port & date: Antwerp, June 20, 1914
Arrival port & date: New York, July 1, 1914
Status: age 19, born ca. 1895 in Serneczyn (Szczuczyn), Wilno, single, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’8”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Jan Baniukiewicz, Szczuczyn, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $17
Destination: brother, Mieczyslaw Baniukiewicz, 65 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
Alexandr’s brother and his family — Jozef and Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz and their children Stefania, Michal, and Jozef
Stefania’s siblings — sister Stanislawa Ruscik and brother Ignacy Ruscik
Alexandr’s cousins — Bronislaw and Bronislawa Nowicki
Jozef’s brother-in-law — Wladyslaw Tomczyk
Maria’s siblings — brothers Ksawery and Jozef Baniukiewicz
Maria’s cousins — brothers Mieczyslaw and Czeslaw Baniukiewicz
The earliest emigrant in this group is Ignacy Ruscik, who left Wilno gubernia in 1909. The latest is Czeslaw Baniukiewicz, who sailed in June 1914, two months before World War I broke out in Europe and effectively shut down emigration. The men left singly, in stages. The women and children generally traveled in groups, and all sailed in 1913. All the women and children, and the single man accompanying children, arrived in Boston, on ships of the White Star, Hamburg-American, and Cunard lines. This total of 12 significantly outnumbered the 7 Ellis Island arrivals of men who sailed on New York routes of the Hamburg-American, Russian American, Holland American, and Red Star lines.
Most members of the Prokopowicz, Baniukiewicz, Ruscik, and Nowicki families ultimately settled in or near Worcester. A notable exception was Stefania’s younger brother, Ignacy Ruscik, who set out initially for Ohio but instead made his home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Brothers Aleksandr and Jozef Prokopowicz were both established in Worcester by the time their wives and children arrived in the fall of 1913. But passenger lists reveal that these immigrants originally set their sights on Maynard, Braintree, Pepperell, and Boston, Massachusetts. Maynard in particular seems to have been a popular destination for emigrants from the Szczuczyn area of Wilno. The Assabet woolen mill had its share of labor issues in those years, and it is conceivable that Poles were being recruited in Europe to replace the workforce’s feisty Finns.
Why the eventual relocation to Worcester? More research would be illuminating here, but it’s obvious that New England’s second largest city had thousands more industrial jobs to offer an unskilled immigrant labor force. It also had a large Polish parish with plans to build an elementary school, and a strong social, retail, and professional network to meet the needs of its substantial Polish-speaking population.
Summarized below are details extracted from the Prokopowicz, Baniukiewicz, Ruscik, and Nowicki passenger lists, presented in chronological order. The given names of girls and single women are followed by the names they later used in marriage. Middle names distinguish two cousins close in age; they were known in adulthood as Joseph Stanley Prokopowicz and Joseph Michael Prokopowicz.
April 1909 — Ignacy Ruscik
Name on manifest: Hamburg Emigration List, Ignaz Rust; Ancestry, Ignaty Rust
Relationship: younger brother of Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Badenia, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, March 16, 1909
Arrival port & date: New York, April 3, 1909
Status: age 19, born ca. 1890 in S. Gernik [Staro Gierniki[, Wilno, single, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’6”, brown hair, gray eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Antoni Ruscik, S. Gernik [Staro Gierniki]
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $5
Destination: friend, Josef Melsosky?, Sandusky?, Ohio
Traveling companions: Bronislaw Leszik, 19; Geronim Kasnady, 31; Antoni Maskewicz, 29; all from Gierniki area
March 1910 — Aleksandr Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Aleksandr Prokapowitz
Relationship: husband of Stefania Ruscik
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Lituania, Russian American
Departure port & date: Libau (now Liepaja), March 15, 1910
Arrival port & date: New York, March 30, 1910
Status: age 31, born ca. 1879 in Kozarezy, Wilno, married, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’7”, fair hair, blue eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: wife, Stefania Prokapowitz, Kozarezy, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $15
Destination: cousin, W. Soroka, Box 1065, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Juljan Czernjak, 29; Jury Stupekewitz-Demid, 19; Awgustin Fisejukewitz, 23; Ossip Primak, 26; Michail Eljorchewitz, 31; all single, from Wilno, with destination Maynard, Massachusetts (27 of 30 passengers on page were from Wilno)
May 1910 — Ksawery Baniukiewicz
Name on manifest: Xavier Baniukiewicz; Ancestry, Haver Baninkiewicz
Relationship: younger brother of Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Potsdam, Holland America
Departure port & date: Rotterdam, May 21, 1910
Arrival port & date: New York, May 31, 1910
Status: age 22, born ca. 1888 in Lapate [Lopaty], Wilno, single, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’9”, blond hair, blue eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Josef Baniukiewicz, Lidzkiego [Lida powiat], Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $30
Destination: friend, Josef Filipczyk?, Box 676, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
Notation: P-1437/1045-Boston 6/4/37 1-141864 1/17/35 (or 38?)
November 1910 — Mieczyslaw Baniukiewicz
Name on manifest: Miceslaw Baunkewicz
Relationship: cousin of Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Grosser Kurfurst, North German Lloyd (Norddeutscher)
Departure port & date: Bremen, October 22, 1910
Arrival port & date: New York, October 30/November 1, 1910
Status: age 19, born ca. 1891 in Szczuczyn, Wilno, single, waiter?, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’6”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Jan Baniukiewicz, Szczuczyn
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $16
Destination: ? Morduch Woronowski, 9 Poplar? Street, Boston, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Anton Baniukiewicz, 28, married, wife Katarzyna Baniukiewicz in Krzynowce, Grodno, destination Boston
Notation: 1-63184
April 1911 — Jozef Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Osip Prokopowitz
Relationship: older brother of Aleksandr Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Zeeland, Red Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, April 11, 1911
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), April 20, 1911
Status: 37, born ca. 1874 in Kosare [Kozarezy], Wilno, married, laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’4”, fair hair, blue eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: wife, Maria Prokopowitz, Morga, Russia (Wilno)
Finances: paid for own passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: K. Basinkiewitz [Baniukiewicz], Box 96 Braintree, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none, but several passengers from nearby villages
Per UK Incoming Passenger Lists: Osip Prokopwitz , laborer, Russian, sailed 3rd class from New York on the SS Caledonia, arriving in Glasgow on December 10, 1911, holding through ticket to Prostken, Suwalki; traveling with Josef Wasiliuk
June 1911 — Bronislaw Nowicki
Name on manifest: Bronislaw Nowitzky
Relationship: cousin of Aleksandr & Jozef Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Birma, Russian American
Departure port & date: Libau (Liepaja), June 6, 1911
Arrival port & date: New York, June 21, 1911
Status: age 22, born ca. 1889 in Kemjany [Kiemiany], Wilno, single, laborer, not able to read/write
Physical description: 5’3”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: Iwan Nowitzky, Kemjany, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: uncle, F.? J.? Mikijanetz (Mikijaniec), Box 751, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
February 1912 — Jozef Baniukiewicz
Name on manifest: Osip Benikewitz
Relationship: younger brother of Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Amerika, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, February 18, 1912
Arrival port & date: New York, February 27, 1912
Status: age 22, born ca. 1890 in Lopaty, Wilno, single, farm laborer, not able to read/write
Physical description: 5’11”, dark blond hair, blue eyes, scar on left cheek
Contact in last permanent residence: father Josef Benikevitz, Lopaty, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to Boston, has $16
Destination: brother, Ksaweri Benikewitz [Ksawery Baniukiewicz, Box 196, Paper Mill (corrected to East Pepperell), Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none, but several on list from Orla
February 1913 — Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Stefania Prokopowitz; Ancestry, Stefenca Sedkopenitz
Relationship: wife of Aleksandr Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 30, born ca. 1883 in Kasarety [note: actually born in Staro Gierniki], Wilno, married, housewife, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’ 4”, black hair, brown eyes [note: had blue eyes]
Contact in last permanent residence: friend, M. Prokopowitz, Kasarety [Kozarezy]
Finances: husband paid for her and children’s passage, has ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: husband, Alex Prokopowitz, 93 Lamartine Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling with children: daughter Paulina, age 5; son Osip (Jozef), age 2
Traveling companions: sister-in-law, Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz, and nephew, Osip Prokopowicz
February 1913 — Paulina Prokopowicz (marr: Pauline Londergan)
Name on manifest: Pawlena Prokopowitz
Relationship: second child of Aleksandr & Stefania Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 5, born ca. 1908 [note: actually born July 1906] in Kasarety [Kozarezy], Wilno
Physical description: none (child)
Contact in last permanent residence: M. Prokopowitz, Kasarety
Finances: father paid for passage, has ticket to final destination
Destination: father, Alex Prokopowitz, 93 Lamartine Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: mother, Stefania Prokopowicz; brother, Jozef Prokopowicz; aunt, Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz; cousin, Jozef Prokopowicz
February 1913 — Jozef Prokopowicz (Joseph Stanley Prokopowicz)
Name on manifest: Osip Prokopowitz
Relationship: third child of Aleksandr & Stefania Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 2, born ca. 1911 [note: actually born July 1909] in Kasarety (Kozarezy), Wilno
Physical description: none (child)
Contact in last permanent residence: M. Prokopowitz, Kasarety
Finances: father paid for passage, has ticket to final destination
Destination: father, Alex Prokopowitz, 93 Lamartine Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: mother, Stefania Prokopowicz; sister, Paulina Prokopowicz; aunt, Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz; cousin, Jozef Prokopowicz
February 1913 — Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz (2nd marr: Mary Golubowski)
Name on manifest: Maria Prokopovitz; Ancestry, Maria Peskaponeitz
Relationship: wife of Jozef Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 36, born ca. 1877 in Kasareti [note: probably born in Lopaty], married, housewife, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’ 4”, black hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: daughter, Stefania Prokopowitz, Kasareti [Kozarezy]
Finances: paid for her and her son’s passage, has no ticket to final destination, has $6
Destination: husband, Josef Prokopowitz, 15 Lamartine Street, Box 6, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling with child: son Osip (Jozef), age 2
Traveling companions: sister-in-law, Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz; niece, Paulina Prokopowicz; and nephew, Jozef Prokopowicz
February 1913 — Jozef Prokopowicz (Joseph Michael Prokopowicz)
Name on manifest: Osip Prokopowitz
Relationship: third child of Jozef & Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Arabic, White Star
Departure port & date: Liverpool, January 28, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Hoosac Tunnel Docks, Charlestown), February 8, 1913
Status: age 2, born ca. 1911 [note: actually born August 1910] in Kasarety [Kozarezy], Wilno
Physical description: none (child)
Contact in last permanent residence: older sister, Stefania Prokopowitz, Kasareti
Finances: mother paid for passage, has no ticket to final destination
Destination: father, Josef Prokopowitz, 15 Lamartine Street, Box 6, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: mother, Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz; aunt, Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz; cousins Paulina & Jozef Prokopowicz
May 1913 — Bronislawa Nowicki (marr: Bessie Kozlowski)
Name on manifest: Ancestry, Bromslawa Novicky
Relationship: cousin of Aleksandr & Jozef Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Franconia, Cunard
Departure port & date: Liverpool, April 29, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (B.&A.R.R. Wharves, East Boston), May 7, 1913
Status: age 22, born ca. 1891 in Schzuzin [Szczuczyn], single, servant, not able to read/write
Physical description: 5’4”, black hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: friend Nowiski? in Schzuzin [Szczuczyn], Wilno
Finances: passage paid by brother, has ticket to final destination, has $25
Destination: brother, Bronislaw Novicky, Box 751, Maynard, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: Marie Harbin, 26, of Schzuzin, father Michal Sobol?, destination cousin Michalina Jabielskaya, Box 751, Maynard, Massachusetts
September 1913 — Stefania Prokopowicz (marr: Stella Nadolny)
Name on manifest: Stefania Prokopowicz
Relationship: first child of Jozef & Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Cleveland, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, August 26, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Commonwealth Pier, South Boston), September 5, 1913
Status: age 10, born ca. 1903 [note: actually born March 1901] in Kasarety [Kozarezy], Wilno
Physical description: dark blond hair
Contact in last permanent residence: grand-uncle, Jozef Tomczik, Kazarczyn
Finances: father paid for passage
Destination: father, Jozef Prokopowicz, 89 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companion: uncle, Wladyslaw Tomczik, age 24
September 1913 — Michal Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Michal Prokopowicz
Relationship: second child of Jozef & Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Cleveland, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, August 26, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Commonwealth Pier, South Boston), September 5, 1913
Status: age 9, born ca. 1904 [note: actually born September 1903] in Kasarety [Kozarezy], Wilno
Physical description: dark blond hair
Contact in last permanent residence: grand-uncle, Jozef Tomczik, Kazarczyn [Kozarezy]
Finances: father paid for passage
Destination: father, Jozef Prokopowicz, 89 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companion: uncle, Wladyslaw Tomczik, age 24
September 1913 — Wladyslaw Tomczyk
Name on manifest: Wladyslaw Tomczik; Hamburg Emigration List, Wladislaw Tomchik
Relationship: brother-in-law of Jozef Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Cleveland, Hamburg-American
Departure port & date: Hamburg, August 26, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (Commonwealth Pier, South Boston), September 5, 1913
Status: age 24, born ca. 1889 in Kazarczyn [Kozarezy], single, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’6”, dark blond hair
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Jozef Tomczik, Kazarczyn [Kozarezy]
Finances: brother-in-law paid for passage
Destination: brother-in-law, Jozef Prokopowicz, 89 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: niece and nephew, Stefania & Michal Prokopowicz
September 1913 — Adolf Prokopowicz
Name on manifest: Adolf Prokopowicz
Relationship: first child of Aleksandr & Stefania Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Franconia, Cunard
Departure port & date: Liverpool, September 16, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (B.&A.R.R. Wharves, East Boston), September 24, 1913
Status: age 9, born ca. 1904 [note: actually born March 1899/1900] in Gernika [Staro Gierniki], Wilno
Physical description: none (child)
Contact in last permanent residence: grandfather, Antoni Rusz in [Staro] Gerniki, Wilno
Finances: father paid for passage, has ticket to final destination
Destination: father, Aleksandr Prokopowicz, 6 Bigelow Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: maternal aunt, Stanislawa Ruscik, age 18
September 1913 — Stanislawa Ruscik (marr: Statia Budnik)
Name on manifest: Stanislawa Rusj
Relationship: younger sister of Stefania Ruscik Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Franconia, Cunard
Departure port & date: Liverpool, September 16, 1913
Arrival port & date: Boston (B.&A.R.R. Wharves, East Boston), September 24, 1913
Status: age 18, born ca. 1895 in Gerniki [Staro Gierniki], Wilno, single, servant, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’4”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Antoni Rusz in Gerniki, Wilno
Finances: brother-in-law paid for passage, has ticket to final destination, has $4
Destination: brother-in-law Aleksandr Prokopowicz, 6 Bigelow Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: nephew, Adolf Prokopowicz
July 1914 — Czeslaw Baniukiewicz
Name on manifest: Czeslaw Baninkiewicz
Relationship: cousin of Maria Baniukiewicz Prokopowicz
Passenger ship & shipping line: SS Kroonland, Red Star
Departure port & date: Antwerp, June 20, 1914
Arrival port & date: New York, July 1, 1914
Status: age 19, born ca. 1895 in Serneczyn (Szczuczyn), Wilno, single, farm laborer, able to read/write
Physical description: 5’8”, brown hair, brown eyes
Contact in last permanent residence: father, Jan Baniukiewicz, Szczuczyn, Wilno
Finances: paid for own passage, has ticket to final destination, has $17
Destination: brother, Mieczyslaw Baniukiewicz, 65 Millbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
Traveling companions: none
Sunday, August 23, 2009
From Wilno to Worcester
Why did my grandparents leave Wilno, and why did they settle in Worcester? Despite all the research I’ve done over the past 12 years, I don’t have satisfying answers to these basic questions. I never will. The only people who could have spoken from the heart about their life experiences, beliefs, aspirations, and motivations were my grandparents themselves, and it is decades too late to ask them.
When I began tracking their emigration from Russian Poland to the United States, locating their names on passenger lists was challenge enough. Not impossible, thanks to Soundex codes and National Archives microfilms. My cousin/genealogy mentor John had already found the manifests for our shared grandparents, Aleksandr and Stefania Prokopowicz. Hours spent at the Worcester Public Library (which had the Boston passenger lists on microfilm) and more hours at an LDS Family History Center in Oxford, Maine, successfully turned up the documents for my paternal grandparents, Julian Prokopowicz and Anna Blaszko.
“Chain migration.” “A better life.” In Polish, emigracja za chlebem—literally, “emigration for bread.” These facile phrases sum up the how and why of the “second great wave” that carried millions of immigrants across the world to American shores between 1870 and 1920. About 2 million Poles, most from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires, immigrated to the United States between 1890 and 1920 (or, perhaps more accurately, between 1897 and 1913). The Polish “wave” crested in 1913 with the arrival of nearly 175,000 immigrants, my two grandmothers among them.
Seeking context
I have scanned images of passenger ships and ports to illustrate my grandparents’ immigration experiences. The manifests provide the basic details: ship names, dates and ports of departure and arrival, some personal data recorded in various columns, and even the names of apparent travel companions (my conjecture, based on their having the same birthplaces and/or destinations). But I want to give my grandparents’ experiences the context they deserve and give substance to those two well-worn phrases, “chain migration” and “a better life.”
To that end, I have also located passenger lists for my grandparents’ known relatives, as well as for friends who may have some still-to-be-revealed family connection. I mull my grandparents’ personal motivations for leaving their parents and (some) siblings behind in their quest for whatever “a better life” meant to them. This has me analyzing fragments of family stories and cobbling them together with facts gleaned from my ongoing (and admittedly inadequate) study of their era in Russian Poland and the early-20th-century United States. The fact remains that I will never uncover their inner drives, though I may better understand their circumstances.
Links in the migration chain
The experiences of my maternal grandparents, Aleksandr and Stefania Prokopowicz, are intertwined simply because they had been married for more than a decade before they emigrated. Sometimes in-laws traveled together. Sometimes aunts or uncles shepherded youngsters to parents already in America. Chain migration introduces these families to the story: the Ruscik, Baniukiewicz, and Nowicki surnames are prominent.
My paternal grandparents may be treated separately, since they were both single young adults when they set out for America. Julian Prokopowicz was 19, and Anna Blaszko, 20. One thing they had in common was that they both left their parents and all their siblings behind, and never saw them again. To me, this seems like an unspeakably heart-wrenching reality. To my knowledge, Julian had not even a cousin in the United States. His closest relationships in his newfound home in Massachusetts were with the Linga family, who had been friends and neighbors in Kiwance. Anna was a link in a migration chain initiated by the Kulikowski family of Jatowty, who were her maternal cousins. Some of her paternal Blaszko cousins also immigrated, but settled in Pennsylvania, and I have no evidence that they maintained any close connection in this country.
A migration chain is somewhat like a set of Russian nesting dolls—each character reveals the next. With nesting dolls, however, the number is finite. With chain migration, each character reveals another, who reveals another, who reveals another, who reveals another. Someday when I run out of ancestors to research, I would like to determine exactly who the first person was to leave Szczuczyn for America. But even if I accomplish that, I will still never really know why.
When I began tracking their emigration from Russian Poland to the United States, locating their names on passenger lists was challenge enough. Not impossible, thanks to Soundex codes and National Archives microfilms. My cousin/genealogy mentor John had already found the manifests for our shared grandparents, Aleksandr and Stefania Prokopowicz. Hours spent at the Worcester Public Library (which had the Boston passenger lists on microfilm) and more hours at an LDS Family History Center in Oxford, Maine, successfully turned up the documents for my paternal grandparents, Julian Prokopowicz and Anna Blaszko.
“Chain migration.” “A better life.” In Polish, emigracja za chlebem—literally, “emigration for bread.” These facile phrases sum up the how and why of the “second great wave” that carried millions of immigrants across the world to American shores between 1870 and 1920. About 2 million Poles, most from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires, immigrated to the United States between 1890 and 1920 (or, perhaps more accurately, between 1897 and 1913). The Polish “wave” crested in 1913 with the arrival of nearly 175,000 immigrants, my two grandmothers among them.
Seeking context
I have scanned images of passenger ships and ports to illustrate my grandparents’ immigration experiences. The manifests provide the basic details: ship names, dates and ports of departure and arrival, some personal data recorded in various columns, and even the names of apparent travel companions (my conjecture, based on their having the same birthplaces and/or destinations). But I want to give my grandparents’ experiences the context they deserve and give substance to those two well-worn phrases, “chain migration” and “a better life.”
To that end, I have also located passenger lists for my grandparents’ known relatives, as well as for friends who may have some still-to-be-revealed family connection. I mull my grandparents’ personal motivations for leaving their parents and (some) siblings behind in their quest for whatever “a better life” meant to them. This has me analyzing fragments of family stories and cobbling them together with facts gleaned from my ongoing (and admittedly inadequate) study of their era in Russian Poland and the early-20th-century United States. The fact remains that I will never uncover their inner drives, though I may better understand their circumstances.
Links in the migration chain
The experiences of my maternal grandparents, Aleksandr and Stefania Prokopowicz, are intertwined simply because they had been married for more than a decade before they emigrated. Sometimes in-laws traveled together. Sometimes aunts or uncles shepherded youngsters to parents already in America. Chain migration introduces these families to the story: the Ruscik, Baniukiewicz, and Nowicki surnames are prominent.
My paternal grandparents may be treated separately, since they were both single young adults when they set out for America. Julian Prokopowicz was 19, and Anna Blaszko, 20. One thing they had in common was that they both left their parents and all their siblings behind, and never saw them again. To me, this seems like an unspeakably heart-wrenching reality. To my knowledge, Julian had not even a cousin in the United States. His closest relationships in his newfound home in Massachusetts were with the Linga family, who had been friends and neighbors in Kiwance. Anna was a link in a migration chain initiated by the Kulikowski family of Jatowty, who were her maternal cousins. Some of her paternal Blaszko cousins also immigrated, but settled in Pennsylvania, and I have no evidence that they maintained any close connection in this country.
A migration chain is somewhat like a set of Russian nesting dolls—each character reveals the next. With nesting dolls, however, the number is finite. With chain migration, each character reveals another, who reveals another, who reveals another, who reveals another. Someday when I run out of ancestors to research, I would like to determine exactly who the first person was to leave Szczuczyn for America. But even if I accomplish that, I will still never really know why.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, aka St. Mary's
Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, also known as St. Mary's, was founded in Worcester in 1903. My Prokopowicz families have belonged to this parish for nearly a century, since their respective arrivals in Worcester. My parents and all their U.S.-born siblings were baptized here (nearly all by Rev. Boleslaw Bojanowski, pastor for about 40 years), as were many of my cousins and I. Many of our weddings and funerals have been held here as well. These postcards and photographs depict our beautiful church over the course of its first century.
The church was built on Richland Street, a gracefully tree-lined street that ran uphill between Millbury and Vernon streets. Interstate 290 construction in 1959-60 altered this setting dramatically. Richland Street was truncated and cut off from Millbury by the highway, which runs so close to the church that priests complained to officials that heavy traffic was causing the stained-glass windows to vibrate. The rectory was moved from Richland to Ward Street, the original outdoor shrine was destroyed, and the graves of the first two pastors were transferred from the churchyard to Notre Dame Cemetery.
The parish used the timing of the expressway project to its benefit in expanding the church to increase seating to 1,200 and build new meeting rooms and other facilities in the basement. Some of the exterior's original architectural detail was lost to modernization. A large new outdoor shrine was designed by then-pastor Monsignor Charles Chwalek, a man of considerable artistic talent.
While many ethnic parishes have closed in the past few decades, Our Lady of Czestochowa has remained strong and vibrant. New generations of Polish immigrants have joined longtime member families in maintaining Polish traditions here, and English and Polish alternate as the languages in which Masses are held.
The vintage postcards depict the church in its early years. The black-and-white photo, taken from behind the chain-link fence of Ward Street School, dates to about 1950. In the other black-and-white photo, the graduates of St. Mary's High School Class of 1964 and the parish priests pose before the new shrine. I took the color photos in 2003, during the parish centennial celebration. Visible in the lower left corner of the exterior shot is green signage for Interstate 290 Kelley Square Exit 13. On the right side, trees hide the parish rectory from view. The interior, shown from the choir loft, displays some banners of parish organizations, flags, and anniversary signs.
The church was built on Richland Street, a gracefully tree-lined street that ran uphill between Millbury and Vernon streets. Interstate 290 construction in 1959-60 altered this setting dramatically. Richland Street was truncated and cut off from Millbury by the highway, which runs so close to the church that priests complained to officials that heavy traffic was causing the stained-glass windows to vibrate. The rectory was moved from Richland to Ward Street, the original outdoor shrine was destroyed, and the graves of the first two pastors were transferred from the churchyard to Notre Dame Cemetery.
The parish used the timing of the expressway project to its benefit in expanding the church to increase seating to 1,200 and build new meeting rooms and other facilities in the basement. Some of the exterior's original architectural detail was lost to modernization. A large new outdoor shrine was designed by then-pastor Monsignor Charles Chwalek, a man of considerable artistic talent.
While many ethnic parishes have closed in the past few decades, Our Lady of Czestochowa has remained strong and vibrant. New generations of Polish immigrants have joined longtime member families in maintaining Polish traditions here, and English and Polish alternate as the languages in which Masses are held.
The vintage postcards depict the church in its early years. The black-and-white photo, taken from behind the chain-link fence of Ward Street School, dates to about 1950. In the other black-and-white photo, the graduates of St. Mary's High School Class of 1964 and the parish priests pose before the new shrine. I took the color photos in 2003, during the parish centennial celebration. Visible in the lower left corner of the exterior shot is green signage for Interstate 290 Kelley Square Exit 13. On the right side, trees hide the parish rectory from view. The interior, shown from the choir loft, displays some banners of parish organizations, flags, and anniversary signs.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Notre Dame Cemetery: Alexander Prokopowicz Family
When Alexander Prokopowicz died in 1939, he was buried in Notre Dame Cemetery Section B, Lot 90, alongside his brother Joseph, who died in 1927. The large plot, owned by Joseph's family, marks the graves of several of his descendants. Stefania Prokopowicz was buried, in accordance with her wishes, in a single grave, St. George Section Lot 702. The cremains of son John were deposited there in 1986. In niches near the entrance of the Notre Dame Mausoleum are the cremains of son Joseph, who died in 2001, and daughter Josephine, who died in 2008. Son Adolph, who died in 1952, is interred at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Webster, and daughter Pauline, who died in 1985, in Brockton.
Notre Dame Cemetery: Julius Prokopowicz Family
A family plot at Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester, is the final resting place of Julius and Anna Prokopowicz and several of their descendants. Their youngest child, Annie, age 5, died from injuries sustained in a tragic traffic accident in July 1940. When Julius passed away suddenly in July 1951, Annie's remains were moved to join his in St. Theresa's Section, Lot 168, pictured here. Anna was buried here in 1976, and son Julius in 1998. Another marker notes the loss of son Lucien in 1982. Son Alphonse, who died in 1989, and other family members have niches in the cemetery's mausoleum. Also pictured are family, friends, and other mourners attending Julius's burial services, which were arranged by the Isador S. Mikoloski funeral home.
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