My maternal grandparents were born subjects of the Franz Jozef, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. For the villages of their birth were within the boundaries of the Austrian Hungarian Crown Lands of Galicia. As several other immigrants from this region, they listed their nationality upon entry to the United States as Polish. These villages are now within the southeastern section of present day Poland. The music that your currently are hearing is the national anthem of Poland. For over nearly a hundred year period there was no Poland on the map of Europe, yet my ancestors held fast to their Polish traditions. |
My grandfather was Stanisl~aw Tomasz Bielawa, the son of Tomasz and Agnieszka Bielawa (z domu Tymul~a). He was born in the hamlet of Ostrowek, in the parish of Gawl~uszowice, near the town of Mielec. Prior to his immigration to the United States, my grandfather was conscripted into the Austrian- Hungarian Army. Shortly after his discharge from the Austrian-Hungarian Army, he immigrated to the United States via the port of Hamburg Germany. He entered the United States on 11 May 1907, via the port of New York on the North German Line steam ship, S.S. Graf Waldersee. His final destination on this journey was the home of his brother, Jakub Bielawa, who lived in Troy, NY. My grandmother was Bronisl~awa Barbara Wojtowicz, the daughter of Jozef and Franciszka (z domu Mroz) Wojtowicz. She was born in the village of Borowa k Mielcu, also near the town of Mielec. My grangmother entered the United States on 10 March 1909 at the port of New York on the North German LIne steam ship, S.S. Graf Waldersee. MY grandmother also left Europe from the port of Hamburg, Germany. She had several sisters and one brother who were already in the United States. Her final destination on this trip was the home of her brother-in-law, Mateusz Smolicha, who also lived in Troy, NY. |
Per oral family traditions, my grandparents had occasionally seen each other in Europe near the river. But it was not until they lived in Troy, New York that they actually meet and courted. On 11th October 1910, my grandparents were married at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, South Troy, New York. At the time, Holy Trinity Catholic Church was a new Polish Catholic parish. The first three children of their family (Frances, Laura and Helen) were born in Troy, NY. In 1916, they moved to Flint, Michigan, for new job opportunities in the new General Motors plant, more commonly known as the "Buick Factory". The remainders of their children (Joseph, Julia and Margaret) were born in Flint, MI. |
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