REPLY:
Hi Amanda, I am sorry that I haven't responded sooner. I was prepping for surgery and now that I am recuperating I will try to email you some information on my Adamczyk Family ties hopefully this weekend. Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com (Son of Rose Adamczyk and grandson of Joseph Adamczyk)

REPLY:
Hi Andrew, My great grandfather on my mother's side was named Andrew Adamczyk. The family was from Nowy Targ Poland 83 Kilometers south of Krakow. He was married to Mary Kowalczyk. They had three sons that I know of. My grandfather Joseph Jacob Adamczyk, Michael Adamczyk and Wojciech Adamczyk.
In April 19, 1902 - My great Grandmother, Mary (Kowalczyk) Adamczyk, arrived in New York, City, NY on the Ship Cassel which departed from Bremen, Germany on April 5, 1902. She listed her age as 30, Female, Married,  from Maniowy, Poland to live with her husband, ? Adamczyk on Donay Street,Passaic, NJ.
On December 1, 1903 - My grandfather Joseph Adamczyk, arrived in New York City, NY on the Noordam from Rotterdam, South Holland, The Netherlands. Joseph's last residence was with his brother Wojciech Adamczyk. He went to live with his mother Mary (nee Kowalczyk) Adamczyk at 55 2nd Street in Passaic, New Jersey. He worked in the textile industry. Joseph Jacob Adamczyk (Red hair and Blue eyes) was born in Nowy Targ, on Oct 14, 1887 and died Oct 24, 1975 at age 88. Around 1907, he married my grandmother Sophia (Zofia) Slodyczka (Blonde hair and Blue eyes) was born in Poland in April 1892 and died Apr 8, 1946. She was the daughter of Michael and Mary Slodyczka.

Children of Joseph and Sophia:
o Mary Adamczyk b.1910 Passaic, NJ - d. June 18, 1914 [died as a child of Diphtheria (age 4) Per records at St. John of God Parish, Located at 1234 W. 52nd St. Chicago, Illinois in Sherman Park (Back of the Yards).
o John Adamczyk b. about September, 1912 Passaic, NJ- d. June 23, 1914 [died as a child of Diphtheria] (age 1 year - 9 months) Per records at St.John of God Parish, Located at 1234 W. 52nd St. Chicago, Illinois in Sherman Park (Back of the Yards).
o Rosalie "Rose" Adamczyk b. Sep 10, 1914, Chicago, IL
o Marie "Faye" Adamczyk b. Jan 8, 1917 Chicago, IL
o Josephine "Red" Adamczyk b. Dec 7, 1919 Chicago,
o Sophie "Blondie" Adamczyk b. Apr 8, 1921 Glen Robbins, OH
o Anna "Honey" Adamczyk b. July 26,1923 Glen Robbins, OH
o Joseph John "Joey" Adamczyk b. Jul 1, 1925 Glen Robbins, OH - - d. Nov10, 1981
o Agnes Adamczyk b.1927? Chicago, IL - d.? (died as a newborn)

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About 1911-1912 - The family moved to Chicago, Illinois.
1919 - The Joseph Adamczyk family moved to Glen Robbins, Ohio Near County Road 1 & County Road 2 in Jefferson County.
1926 - The coal miners went out on strike and Joseph moved the family back to 4725 S. Ada Street Chicago, Illinois where he worked as a shipping room employee. They then rented apartments: on Elston Ave near Damen Ave. & Fullerton area then on Hervey Street. They later moved to 1921 N. Winchester near Damen Ave. The kids attended Logan School on North Oakley across from Holstein Park in Bucktown. St. Hedwig was the church nearby.
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Wojciech Adamczyk:
February 19, 1909 - Wojciech Adamczyk, age 30, arrived in New York, NY on the Koln from Bremen, Germany. He went to live with his mother Mary (nee Kowalczyk) Adamczyk at 12 4th Street in Passaic, New Jersey. I have not been able to find out anything on what happened to him. Did he marry and stay in the USA or did he return to Poland?
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Michael Adamczyk and Victoria Grabeusz Family
Brother of Joseph Adamczyk
Michael Adamczyk was born in Nowy Targ near Krakow Poland on Jan 15, 1891 and died May 1980.
On December 21, 1911 - Michal age 19, arrived in New York City, NY on the Kronprinzessin Cecile from Bremen, Germany. Michal's last residence was with his brother Wojciech Adamczyk. He went to live with his mother Mary (nee Kowalczyk) Adamczyk at 12 4th Street in Passaic, New Jersey. He worked in the textile industry. He married Victoria Grabeusz and moved to Chicago, Illinois.  In Chicago, Michael worked at Chicago Junction NYC RR.

He was married to Victoria Grabeusz b. Dec 23, 1892 - d. .Jan 1966. Children;
· Helen Adamczyk b. Aug 11, 1914, married Henry Rabe b. Children;
    o Richard Rabe b?
    o Robert Rabe b? - d?
· Frank "Fritz" Adamczyk b. Sep 17, 1915, married ? b.? Worked at the RR as a Brakeman in a Freight House. Children?
    o
    o
· Josephine Adamczyk b. ? - d. married? b.? Children?
    o
    o
· Lottie Adamczyk b. about 1922 - d married Joe Siergy b.?
Children
   o Pat Siergy b. married ? b? Children?
   o Billy Siergy b.? married ? b.?
· Alfred Adamczyk b. Nov 11, 1928 - d. April 1981 married ? b?
Children?
   o
   o

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As you can see I have many missing pieces because none of the family members remember or don't want to remember.
I also don't know what happened to my great grandmother Mary. She was still in the USA in 1915 or later. I don't know if she died in the Passaic, NJ or returned to Poland. There is also no information about my great grandfather Andrew.
If you feel that there may be a tie, let me know. Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com

It's just too darn easy to sit at this computer and look through all the links. Well, not all the links. Even if I don't find what I'm looking for, I always find so many interesting facts and meet some really nice people.  I just can't understand why relatives are so reluctant to help out. My aunt has a letter from one of my grandmother's sisters from Poland but she won't get a copy made for me! She keeps insisting that she's going to have some friend's sister read it. I think she just wants to be a pain in my butt! Needless to say, I've not spoken to her in a while. 

I'm afraid I'll have to hit the books and film to get more information. Unfortunately, since we don't have any great aunts, uncles, etc., we don't have a lot of photographs either. I have one really nice picture that was mounted on one of those oval stands, but the picture is peeling away from the tin. I'm going to take it to someone to have it restored. I'll send it along when I get it done. I do have a few pics of my Grandmother, aunts, uncles, my sister and myself from years ago. If I can get someone to help me, I'll send those too. As for the photo you sent me, I don't see a trace of family resemblance. Nice looking family though! I love those old photos. I sometimes buy them at antique shops and yard sales just to have them. I have no idea who they are.

Well, it's getting late here on the east coast, so I'll close for now. Please keep in touch and I'll do the same." Fran

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I'm not sure which of her sister's married, but I think her brother-in-law was Josef Boldega, Russian/Polish. I believe he worked in the mines in PA. His contact in 1902 was Sakowski, in Three Rivers MA. with connections to Hastings, PA and Dubois, PA. 

I tend to think that if there were any other relatives of my grandmother, they would have settled in the eastern part of the country. But that's only because I have no other leads at this time. 

Now, according to my family, my grandmother was the only one in her family to come to the US She was born 18 May 1882 her parents were Katarzyna and Jozef.  So, as you can see, I don't have a whole lot to go on, but I plan to keep on plugging. Thank you for your information, there was much more than I expected!: Fran

REPLY:
Fran, Thank you for responding quickly. I was excited to hear from someone inquiring about the Slodyczka name because it seems so rare. It doesn't appear that we are close relatives but may be distant ones. Do you know what town in Poland your grandmother came from? Ellis island was only one of several ports the immigrants entered. There was one in Boston so you may want to make inquiries and search there.

The Ellis Island records really helped me. My grandfather on my father's side came through Baltimore. Many immigrants came through Canada and Texas. 

I started two years ago due to a question from one of my cousins on my father's side. I realized that we had no information at all on the family. So, I found my father's birth certificate and my grandfather's Naturalization papers. Each document lead to a few more and multiplied from there. It can be over-whelming! I traveled to the towns in other states and found many entries birth, death, marriages at the county courthouses. I also traveled to the state capitols and searched the microfilms which resulted in Letters of Intent (to become naturalized), Naturalization papers and birth certificates.

The Roman Catholic church archives also had the original early 1900's actual books off hand-written entries of baptisms, deaths, births and marriages. Many documents showed family and friend's witness names.

I also asked every family branch for any photos, letters, documents for scanning and I returned them promptly. I also purchased the 1910 and 1920 Federal census CD-ROMs for the counties/cities and found a lot of relatives and information. 

I have so many clues now to follow up on that it would take a lifetime to finish. I have thousands of photos scanned into my computer. I even found a cousin that had a photo of my father's family when he was seven years old in 1913. I am satisfied to be able to collect bits and pieces just from public records . It makes those uncooperative relatives unnecessary for input. 

Did you check the photo of my grandmother, Sophia Slodyczka for any family resemblance? Please feel free to keep in touch. Where are you located?"  Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com

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