Helen Kozlowski Kaminski 1892-1978, my maternal great-grandmother

My great-grandmother Helen Kozlowski - taken shortly after she immigrated in 1909. Helen or Lena as she was called in her native language, was born May 14, 1892 in Dzierwany, which is a little town in Poland that sits at the top of Lake Hanzca, almost on the border of Lithuania. When she was born the town was part of Germany. Helen's mother did not want her to go to America, and they had harsh words about it. Helen remember's telling her "but everyone is going!". When she got to the ship in Bremen, she was allowed to board without payment, providing her passage was paid on the other side.  Her mother's brother, Gottlieb Korban, had immigrated earlier, and was living in Jersey City, NJ. He agreed to be her sponsor, pay her passage, and pick her up at Ellis Island.  Unfortunately he never showed up. Her passage was paid by a wealthy family who lived on Amsterdam Ave in NYC, who needed someone to cook and clean for them. Off she went with total strangers, and stayed there until her debt was paid. This photo was taken in front of their home. Helen then went on to her Aunt's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she met and married my great-grandfather, Frank Kaminski, who was also an immigrant. She was barely 17 when she arrived at Ellis Island- alone. She never saw her parents again. I can't imagine how frightened she must have been to not have a friendly face waiting for her on the other side. When I was just about the age she was in this photo, she gave it to me and told me the story. How lucky I was to have her in my life for 22 years. She was a very terrific great-grandmother, and I miss her dearly. 

Frank Kaminski, my great grandfather. 1887-1960

Frank Kaminski, my maternal great-grandfather. The picture on the left was taken about 1910, shortly after he arrived in this country, and the right was taken with his two youngest children, Mildred and Ervin, about 1933. Frank was born April 5, 1887 in Jozefowo, Suwalki, Poland to John Kaminski and Eva Holzman. Frank immigrated to this country before 1910. I have not been able to locate him on a ship manifest, - and the family rumor (not proven) is that he left Poland because his mother died, and he was not happy with his new stepmother. He may have been a stowaway on a ship, and entered the country in Detroit, Michigan. He came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and worked in the coal mines as a blaster. He joined the Immanuel Lutheran Church, and his marriage to my great-grandmother (also an immigrant) was arranged by her family. When I asked her why she would marry a man she did not pick for herself, she said “because he was a good man”. Frank was a self-taught fiddle player, and from what I have been told, he was very good at it. He married my great-grandmother in 1911, and their first home was an upstairs apartment that they rented from her uncle. It was next door to the church on Reese St. in Scranton. Four children were born in Scranton, and Frank developed lung problems caused by coal dust. In May of 1920, he traded his life as a coal miner for the farming life. They bought a farm in South Gibson, Pa., and four more children were born there. I was 3 ½ when he passed away from colon cancer on March 26, 1960. I remember that he carried chicklets in his front pocket, and that I loved to wait until he was napping, when I would try to sneak those chicklets out of his pocket. He always caught me, and I remember laughter and hugs. His funeral was held at the home of his oldest son, and I have been told that when they lifted me up to see him in the casket that I whispered “Oh, he’s sleeping”. Sleep well, Frank. You left a wonderful legacy and your family misses you dearly. 

Happy DNA Day!

Happy DNA Day! Pictured here are the women who passed their mitochondrial DNA on to me. Seated on the left is my great-grandmother, Helen Kozlowski Kaminski. She is holding me (on the right) and my cousin Kathy on her lap. Seated to her right is her daughter, Helen Kaminski Horn, my maternal grandmother. Standing behind her is her two daughters, my mother is on the right, and my mother’s sister is on the left. Did you know that a mother passes her DNA on to all her children- male and female, but only females can pass it on to the next generation? A Mitochondrial DNA test can give you clues about where your matrilineal line was hundreds, and possibly thousands of years ago. 

Julia Kaminski my great-grandfather's sister

This is my great-grandfather’s sister, Julia Kaminski. Julia was born about 1896 in Jozefowa, Poland. Her parents were Jan (John) Kaminski and Eva Holzman. She immigrated to the USA in 1914 with her sister, Amelia's daughter Eva. 

Julia married Otto Engel in 1916 at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

Otto and Julia had at least 3 children together, guessing from the group photo that I have. At some point they made the decision to move their family to Argentina. They continued to communicate with my great-grandparents, and sending pictures of their home in Argentina. Family history says that there was an earthquake in Argentina, and they were never heard from again. From the research I have done, this must have been the San Juan earthquake in 1944, when 10,000 people died. The three pictures on the bottom of the group photo are of their home in Argentina. I am hoping beyond hope that someone from the family survived, and that maybe someday I will have a DNA match to this side of the family.

Mystery photo indentified as Hartman Reunion

I found this picture in my great-grandmother’s photo collection. It looked like a reunion picture to me, but I had no idea who anyone was except for my great-grandparents who were standing in the very back of the crowd. I put it aside, and recently decided to take another look. What I missed the first time was a date written on the back of the picture. August 25, 1917. I started researching newspapers from the area they lived, and discovered that this was indeed a reunion of the Hartman/Hortman family, and it wasn't the first one- it was the 7th annual. Enoch Hortman and Anna Ent were my 5th great-grandparents. They had at least 9 children, my 4th great-grandmother, Sarah Hartman who married Isaiah Mittan was one of them. By the time this reunion was held, Sarah and Isaiah were both deceased. The newspaper article named the attendees of the reunion, and I am slowly working my way through trying to identify all the people in the photo. 

Mary Ann Gilbert 1872-1964

My 2^nd great grandmother, Mary Ann Gilbert was born in 1872 in Tredegar, South Wales. She immigrated to Scranton, Pennsylvania around 1888, and married William Canterbury on January 3, 1890. He was a coal miner, and together they raised 11 children (the last 2 being twins) on a coal miner’s salary. She lived to be 92 years old, and during her long life belonged to many social organizations. She also loved to quilt and crochet. When I was 5, and she was 91, we had a 5 generation picture taken for the local newspaper. Although I don’t remember her, I feel incredibly lucky to have that photo, and to know so much about her life.

Ruth Kaminski 1922-2015

This is my grandmother’s sister, whom I got my love of family history from. Ruth Kaminski was born in 1922 in a farmhouse in a very small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. Her parents were immigrants, coming to Scranton, Pa. from the Suwalki area of Poland. Her father worked in the coal mines, then traded that life for the farm that Ruth was born on. She was one of eight children. She saw how hard the farming life was and dreamed of something different. After her high school graduation, she moved to NYC, where she worked as a dental hygienist. Ironically, she married a young man from her hometown, Franklin Resseguie. She did some modeling to put him through law school at Cornell University. They had 2 children, and life had it’s ups and downs. Ruth was known for being very stylish, and for her love of hats. She gave up eating red meat long before it was popular to do so. She had beautiful skin and always protected it from the sun. When DNA testing became popular she didn’t hesitate when I asked her to take a test. She lived to be 93, and was quite healthy almost till the end.  I miss our visits, and the talks we had about our family.