Matkowski, Anna (b. 1871, d. 7 JUN 1943)

Event: Type: Address (Facts Page)
Date: BET 1888 AND 1943
Place: 31-Obertyn, Galicia, Austria(Poland / Ukraine)

Cause: Coronary thrombosis

Event: Type: House number 31
Date: 15 OCT 1912

Note: Karolina Holowiecki had two small children when she left Obertyn to join her husband Marcin in Detroit. Fifteen-year old Michal was sent along to help his sister with the children. When they arrived in Rotterdam Karolina said to her brother,"Michal don't go back to Obertyn, come to America with me." A ticket was purchased for him and he was on his way. This sudden change in plans probably explains why they had only $1.50 between them when they arrived at Ellis Island. (As told to Elizabeth Baranski by Anna Holowiecki.)

Note: STEFANIA KILAR BARANSKI -

I was 20 years old when I left my home in Obertyn, Poland and arrived in this country in May 1921. Helen, my older sister had been here since 1912 and arranged for me to come. I was traveling from Obertyn to Antwerp with my cousin Caroline, who was also joining her sisters in Detroit. Unfortunately, we were separated before we arrived in Antwerp and did not complete the journey together. I was the last of my family to immigrate. Besides my sister Helen, another sister Catherine, had also come to this country in 1913. My widowed mother, two brothers and two sisters remained behind. It was always known that no matter how difficult it might be to adjust to life in America, it was a better life than the life that I would have had in Obertyn. Shortly after I disembarked from the SS Corsican in Quebec City, I purchased a banana from a street vendor. Never having seen a banana before, I took a bite never thinking that it needed to be peeled before eating. WOW! I thought, this tastes very bad and I immediately threw it out. After I arrived in Detroit, I lived with my sister Helen and her family until I married in 1923.

My first job was washing dishes at a restaurant not far from where I lived. It was close enough to my home so that I could walk to work and not have to spend my earnings on transportation. I was just starting to learn to understand and speak English, when, as the Fourth of July approached, I overheard my co-workers talk of how they planned to celebrate their day off. Wanting very much to fit in as a newly arrived, soon to be American, I too asked for the day off. Rudely my request was denied, being told that, Greenhorns (a frequently used derogatory term used to describe newcomers to this country), don't celebrate holidays, because they are not Americans. So I quit! I was never one to suffer insults, nor would I let anyone put me down. My advice to my daughters and grandchildren was always - "Don't let anyone push you around!"

Soon after I was married, I attended classes in English for the foreign born at the local elementary school in my neighborhood.. Learning English was difficult, but necessary. Ultimately, I was able to speak well enough to co,,communicate with my English speaking friends and neighbors, but I always found reading and writing to be very difficult. I made friends very easily in the workplace and in the neighborhood where I lived. Many years later I would run into friends I had worked with many years earlier.

My first trip back to Poland was in 1930. I travelled with my two daughters, Irene and Elizabeth who were 6 and 4 years old at the time. My mother was still living at that time as were my two brothers and one of my sister. As nice as it was to be back with my family, I knew that I would never want to return there to live again. I returned again in the late 1960's and 70's to visit my family. However, by that time they were no longer living in Obertyn. After the War the Polish people were relocated to Poland and the land was given to the Ukraine people who were relocated to that area. Things had changed so much I could never consider living there again. I had become and AMERICAN!

The climate here was not much different than what I remember in Poland. Maybe the winters in Michigan were more severe with a lot more snowfall. The soil in the area where I lived was very good, producing wheat and rye in abundance. The farmland in southeast Michigan was not nearly as fertile. In Poland I lived in town, population of Obertyn was about 6,000.

As difficult as the transition to life in this country had been, I never regretted my decision to leave home and come to America. My children and grandchildren have had opportunities never possible in Poland.

Source: (Name)
Title: Obertyn-Roman Catholic Birth Records
Call number: #2037642
Media: Microfilm
Note: LDS Family History Library

Event: Type: House number
Place: 130 - Rymanow

Source: (Birth Field)
Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from M through Z, Date of Import: Jan 10, 1997, Internal Ref. #1.112.4.89200.26

Event: Type: Address (Facts Page)
Date: BET 1889 AND 1915
Place: Number 31, Obertyn Galicia, Austria, ( Poland / Ukraine)

Event: Type: House number
Place: 31-Obertyn

Note: Jacob made two trips to America. His first visit was July 2,1909. He sailed from Hamburg to Ellis Isle. NY aboard the SS Pennsylvania. His second trip was on May 24, 1913. He sailed from Hamburg to Ellis Isle, NY aboard the SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. He remained in the states until after the 1st World War and then returned to Poland.

Reference: 195-160-023

Note: Anthony left his home in Obertyn for Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1912. He set sail from Antwerp on May 15, 1912 arriving in Quebec on May 27, 1912 at 4:00 o'clock (am) landing at 8:20 o'clock (am). His ship was called the SS Montfort owned by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The total number of passengers was 894, all in steerage. He was 18 years old. Upon his arrival he was recruited to work on railroad construction in Manitoba. When the train arrived at the end of the line, he took one look at the wilderness before him and decided that this was not the life for him. So he immediately re boarded the train and returned to Toronto. He worked as a blacksmith for the Grand Trunk Railroad. He became a naturalized citizen of Canada the 30th of December 1914. On the 22nd of June 1918 Anthony registered under the Military Service Act 1917. Anthony made a trip back to Poland in 1920 intending to buy land and remain. Upon discovering that both his parents had passed away he decided to return and at that time came to the U.S. He came to Detroit and obtained a job at Ford Motor Company, in Highland Park, MI. He remained at the company until 1952 at which time he retired.

Anthony's great love was the automobile. He purchased his 1st car shortly after he began working at Ford Motor Co. and was the 1st among his friends and family to own one. It was a Green Model-T 4 Door Touring car with black fenders and a black top. He was taught to drive the car by the salesman who took him out and explained how the car functioned; a short drive around the block followed. He was a hit in the family. When he began courting Stefania Kilar, she was so impressed with the car that she accepted Anthony's proposal over her other suitor who was an accordian player.

Anthony Baranski had many spellings of his name. In 1894 he was baptized Antonius (Latin for Anthony) Baraniecki in Obertyn, Austria (Poland). When he arrived in Canada in 1912 his manifest listed him as Antoni Baraniecki. In 1914 he registered for the Military as Thomas Baramiski. In 1919 when he came to the U.S. his border crossing read Tomas Barinsky. I recognized the name as that of Anthony Baranski since he was going to the address of Frank Krzywkowski a friend of the family. In 1932 when he became a citizen of the U.S. he was Thomas Anthony Baranski. In November of 1933 he was Antoni Baraniecki when he applied for a loan. In 1964 his death certificate read Anthony (Thomas) Baranski and on his SS card he was Thomas Baranski. Anthony was a mild gentle man with many alias with no criminal intent.

Religion: Place: Catholic

Event: Type: House number
Place: 1064 - Obertyn

Source: (Name)
Title: Obertyn-Roman Catholic Church Census
Call number: #2037640, #2037642
Media: Microfilm
Note: LDS Family History Library

Event: Type: House number 1064
Place: Obertyn Galicia, Austria (Poland)

Event: Type: House number
Place: 225 Za Czerniawa

Source: (Birth Field)
Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from M through Z, Date of Import: Jan 8, 1997, Internal Ref. #1.112.4.102756.72

Source: (Birth Field)
Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from M through Z, Date of Import: Jan 8, 1997, Internal Ref. #1.112.4.102756.76

Note: Edward Marion Walerych served in the Coast Guard from September 1942 - March 1946. He served outside the continental limits of the U.S. America A Campaign, Asiatic c-Pacific Area Campaign, World War II Victory Medals and Occupation Nagasaki.

His service Vessels and stations were as follows:

Detroit; ManBch Trasta; Northport Station; Freeport Station; USS PETTIT (DE-253); COTP New York; CGRS EINY; COTP Los Angeles; USS CAMBRIA; DCGO Cleveland; Detroit Base; CG Personnel Separation Center No. 9, Detroit, Michigan

Source: (Birth Field)
Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from M through Z, Date of Import: Jan 8, 1997, Internal Ref. #1.112.4.102756.70

Source: (Birth Field)
Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from A through L, Date of Import: Jan 8, 1997, Internal Ref. #1.111.4.115981.64

Source: (Death Field)
Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from M through Z, Date of Import: Jan 5, 1997, Internal Ref. #1.112.4.119784.156

Cause: Dementia, (Semi vegetative state)

Reference: 322-03-3223