Stanisława Paprocka Buszkiewicz (6 Feb 1890 - Apr 1977)
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| Stanisława Paprocka Buszkiewicz in 1947, New Jersey, USA |
Born on 6 February 1890, Stanisława (Stasia) Paprocka was ten years older than my grandmother Emilia and fourteen years older than my second grandmother Maria, so they probably didn't know each other terribly well. Especially since Stasia emigrated to the United States in 1910 when Emilia was 9 and Mania about 5 or 6. From stories Helena told, I heard that before Stasia left for North America, she was the "Keeper of the Keys" for a manor house owned by the Serwatowski family, but in the passenger manifest she is listed as a maid servant. Apparently Stasia emigrated with a friend named Julia Weber, also 20 years old, and according to the ship manifest for the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (line 23), they were headed to Passaic, NJ to stay with a cousin of Julia's. They departed Bremen on 31 May 1910 and arrived June 8.
Here you can see that Stasia's closest relative in Galicia is Marceli Paprocki, her father, who is listed as living in Lasny. I have not been able to determine where exactly that place is just yet! Neither of the girls had a ticket to reach their final destination at 119 Passaic Street in Passaic, NJ, but both had paid their own passage. Julia had in her possession $26, while Stasia had $18. Stasia is listed as having been born in Wiśniowczyk, Galicia, had blonde hair and grey eyes, and stood 5 feet 2 inches tall.
After her arrival, the paper trail goes cold. She missed the 1910 census which occurred in April and even though she should be in the 1920 census, I have not yet been able to find her. When she finally does reemerge in the 1930 Census, she is already married, goes by the name Stella and has a young daughter named Matilda...my mothers' first cousin.
She, Matilda aged 6, and her husband Martin Buszkiewicz, who emigrated to the US in 1912, lived at 106 Orchard Street, in Garfield, Bergen County, New Jersey. They paid $18 rent a month and shared the house with another family, a widower Polish immigrant named Constantin Sayor and his three daughters Emily 10, Jeannette 6, and Florence 4. (Now I know that these were the husband and children of her sister Stefania who tragically died of an abortion gone wrong in 1928!) That must have been nice for Matilda, an only child, to have such close playmates! According to the census, Stasia and Martin were 38 and 37 years old respectivley and they were 25 and 24 when they were married. So, according to the ages given (which are off since Stasia was born in 1890, so in 1930 she should have been 40 already) I can surmise that they were married sometime between 1914 and 1917, which makes me wonder why I can not find either of them in the 1920 Census!
Martin worked as a finisher in a silk factory, and as of 1930, neither he nor Stasia had become naturalized citizens. At that time, nearly half of the nation's silk was being produced in hundreds of mills lining the Passaic river. A couple years ago I read a book called Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart which happens to be set in the same time and place! I was excited to be able to get a feel for what life was like for Stasia and her sister Stefania Paprocka who joined her in 1913, and I wondered if perhaps they even followed the newspaper headlines about Constance Kopp, the protagonist of the detective series. I encourage everyone who enjoys mysteries to check out this series here!
Sometime between 1930 and 1935 the family moved to 31 Bergen Street in Paterson, NJ placing them much closer to the silk mills, where Martin still worked as a finisher in a dye house. They shared the house with a 71 year old widow named Marion Gannin and paid $16 monthly rent.
Both listed as 49 years of age in the 1940 Census, Martin is stated as having had 7 years of schooling and first papers toward citizenship, while Stasia is said to have 5 years of schooling. Martin had worked 26 weeks in the last year and had earned $520. Makes one wonder why he only worked half the year... Matilda is listed as being 15 years old and in her second year of high school.
In 1947, at the age of 57, Stasia sent the photo seen at the top of this page to her remaining family in Poland, whom she had tried to bolster by sending them parcels of much needed clothing. Not forgetting her native tongue, she wrote this endearing message on the back. "As a remembrance I am sending a likeness of myself to my most dear family (signed) Stanisława age 57 year 1947"
This is the only photo that we have of her from her younger years. Other than her sister Stefania, who settled close to her but died young in 1928, I don't think she saw any of her family again, except for her sister Maria, who at the age of 69 emigrated to the US in 1974. Some 64 years passed before the two sisters were reunited. How incredible that must have been! I believe they saw each other a few times over the next few years, and even I got to meet her before she passed away in April 1977.
Stasia's daughter Matilda in time had 4 children of her own, Mark, Lori, Gail and Alan, most of whom eventually moved to Colorado. My mom Helena and Matilda corresponded sporadically until her death in 2009. It is my hope that I will be able to get in touch with either her children or grandchildren and reconnect with the only family that I know of, from my mother's side in the US! Perhaps this post will help me find them!
April 2020 update! -- I did find Matilda's children through an Ancestry DNA test and my cousin Gail shared photos of Stella and Stefania that I had never seen before. And a year later, I finally found a grandchild of Stefania, Bill Wolf, when I contacted the funeral home that held Stefania's last daughter's funeral, Jenny Sayor. More posts I need to write!
Next week's topic is Favorite Name...
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| Stasia Paprocka line 23 (Ancestry.com, Passenger Lists 1820-1957, Year: 1910; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 1495; Line: 23; Page Number: 67) |
Here you can see that Stasia's closest relative in Galicia is Marceli Paprocki, her father, who is listed as living in Lasny. I have not been able to determine where exactly that place is just yet! Neither of the girls had a ticket to reach their final destination at 119 Passaic Street in Passaic, NJ, but both had paid their own passage. Julia had in her possession $26, while Stasia had $18. Stasia is listed as having been born in Wiśniowczyk, Galicia, had blonde hair and grey eyes, and stood 5 feet 2 inches tall.
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| Stasia Paprocka line 23 (Ancestry.com, Passenger Lists 1820-1957, Year: 1910; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 1495; Line: 23; Page Number: 67) |
After her arrival, the paper trail goes cold. She missed the 1910 census which occurred in April and even though she should be in the 1920 census, I have not yet been able to find her. When she finally does reemerge in the 1930 Census, she is already married, goes by the name Stella and has a young daughter named Matilda...my mothers' first cousin.
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| Ancestry.com, United States Federal Census Year: 1930; Census Place: Garfield, Bergen, New Jersey; Roll: 1313; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 87; Image: 20.0; FHL microfilm: 2341048 |
She, Matilda aged 6, and her husband Martin Buszkiewicz, who emigrated to the US in 1912, lived at 106 Orchard Street, in Garfield, Bergen County, New Jersey. They paid $18 rent a month and shared the house with another family, a widower Polish immigrant named Constantin Sayor and his three daughters Emily 10, Jeannette 6, and Florence 4. (Now I know that these were the husband and children of her sister Stefania who tragically died of an abortion gone wrong in 1928!) That must have been nice for Matilda, an only child, to have such close playmates! According to the census, Stasia and Martin were 38 and 37 years old respectivley and they were 25 and 24 when they were married. So, according to the ages given (which are off since Stasia was born in 1890, so in 1930 she should have been 40 already) I can surmise that they were married sometime between 1914 and 1917, which makes me wonder why I can not find either of them in the 1920 Census!
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| 106 Orchard Street, Garfield, NJ as it looked in 2012 courtesy of googlemaps |
Martin worked as a finisher in a silk factory, and as of 1930, neither he nor Stasia had become naturalized citizens. At that time, nearly half of the nation's silk was being produced in hundreds of mills lining the Passaic river. A couple years ago I read a book called Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart which happens to be set in the same time and place! I was excited to be able to get a feel for what life was like for Stasia and her sister Stefania Paprocka who joined her in 1913, and I wondered if perhaps they even followed the newspaper headlines about Constance Kopp, the protagonist of the detective series. I encourage everyone who enjoys mysteries to check out this series here!
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| A view of the mills on the Passaic River |
Sometime between 1930 and 1935 the family moved to 31 Bergen Street in Paterson, NJ placing them much closer to the silk mills, where Martin still worked as a finisher in a dye house. They shared the house with a 71 year old widow named Marion Gannin and paid $16 monthly rent.
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| 31 Bergen Street, Paterson, NJ as it looked in 2014 courtesy of Googlemaps |
Both listed as 49 years of age in the 1940 Census, Martin is stated as having had 7 years of schooling and first papers toward citizenship, while Stasia is said to have 5 years of schooling. Martin had worked 26 weeks in the last year and had earned $520. Makes one wonder why he only worked half the year... Matilda is listed as being 15 years old and in her second year of high school.
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| Ancestry.com, United States Federal Census Year: 1940; Census Place: Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; Roll: T627_2429; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 26-4 |
In 1947, at the age of 57, Stasia sent the photo seen at the top of this page to her remaining family in Poland, whom she had tried to bolster by sending them parcels of much needed clothing. Not forgetting her native tongue, she wrote this endearing message on the back. "As a remembrance I am sending a likeness of myself to my most dear family (signed) Stanisława age 57 year 1947"
This is the only photo that we have of her from her younger years. Other than her sister Stefania, who settled close to her but died young in 1928, I don't think she saw any of her family again, except for her sister Maria, who at the age of 69 emigrated to the US in 1974. Some 64 years passed before the two sisters were reunited. How incredible that must have been! I believe they saw each other a few times over the next few years, and even I got to meet her before she passed away in April 1977.
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| Sabina Potaczek's First Communion, May or June 1976, Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa, Doylestown, PA L-R: Me in the Pink dress, Helena Skalska-Potaczek, Stanisława Buszkiewicz, Marian Potaczek, Sabina Potaczek, Dr. Tołscik and daughter, Józef Duda, and Maria Skalska |
Stasia's daughter Matilda in time had 4 children of her own, Mark, Lori, Gail and Alan, most of whom eventually moved to Colorado. My mom Helena and Matilda corresponded sporadically until her death in 2009. It is my hope that I will be able to get in touch with either her children or grandchildren and reconnect with the only family that I know of, from my mother's side in the US! Perhaps this post will help me find them!
April 2020 update! -- I did find Matilda's children through an Ancestry DNA test and my cousin Gail shared photos of Stella and Stefania that I had never seen before. And a year later, I finally found a grandchild of Stefania, Bill Wolf, when I contacted the funeral home that held Stefania's last daughter's funeral, Jenny Sayor. More posts I need to write!
Next week's topic is Favorite Name...
