Family Tree: Wozek-Kopec-Stadniczenko-Kleczka Family HistoryHome to 50 Wozek family members, 40 Weber descendants, 24 members of the Jarzabkowski family and family histories of 87 other surnames; this website was created on Jan 07 2008 and last updated on Mar 09 2013. The Family Trees on this website contain 502 relatives and 1150 photos. If you have any questions or comments you may send a Message to the Administrator of this site.
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Site Content Update - January 2011
**Updated site to reflect 2H2010 family events.
**Added descendents of Louis Case and Rose Stadniczenko based off family tree provided by Chris
Ellis (great grandson of Louis and Rose).
**Added new information for the Scranton, PA John Koldjeski family shared with me by his grandson
Ted and found in his wife Frances Koldjeski's 1931 obituary and 1930 US census. John Koldjeski was
Magdalene Sieracki's younger brother. Magdalene was my mom's maternal great grandma.
Photo Update - November 2009:
**Received from Joanna Jarzabkowski - Jarzabkowski family pics; Steve & Ally
Jarzabkowski Wedding.
**Uploaded from Wozek family photos - Family pics 1974-1977; family weddings 1974-
1975.
**Received from from Kimberly (Wozek) Woodin – Duane Wozek family photos; Kimberly &
Matt Woodin wedding
Welcome!
The title of this site reflects the given names of my four grandparents: Michael
Wozek, Bernice Kopec, Emil Stanley (nee Stadniczenko) and Susan Kleczka. At the end
of 2007, I started documenting our family history, with my primary goal being to
understand when our ancestors immigrated and from what towns they came. Along the
way, I have also been trying to update the family trees and to document family
photos, most of which can be found on this site.
With our immigrations more or less documented (see below), I am turning my attention
to the old country, searching for church records and other municipal records (e.g.
local census data) that might shed more light on family and life back in the old
country. I included a brief description of our possible ancestral churches below as
well. I’d also like to make connections with family lines where I currently have
little information, especially descendents of Helen Bresnyan, Joseph Sieracki,
Pete Kolodzieski, John Kolodziejewski, Joseph Hetman, Xavier Kleczka, Adam Piszczek,
and Helen Stima. Overtime, I hope to identify existing family in Poland and/or
family lines in the US that we didn’t know about.
What you can do!
I hope the site serves as a resource for members in my immediate and extended
family. Please enjoy it. Keep in mind that this site is a work in progress; and it
can only get better if visitors contribute in the form of vital information,
important dates, stories, and pictures. We all have pieces of the puzzle that tell
our collective story. If you wish, please send that information to me via phone,
email, or regular mail. All can be found on this site. I look forward to hearing
from you.
Our Pre-US Origins
My research over the past two years has gone down five different paths, two on my
dad's side of the family and three on my mom's. Below is a brief history of each
line given information gathered to date. More detail on the individuals can be found
within their pages on the tree.
On my dad's side of the family, both of his parents emigrated separately as young
adults. His dad, Michael Wozek, arrived at Ellis Island at the age of 18 on April
16, 1907 on the SS Finland which departed from Antwerp. He emigrated from Chojnik
(pronounced Hoy - nek), which is in the present-day Polish province of Malopolskie
(Tarnow County/local administrative district of Gromnik). That region, in the
rolling hills leading into the Carpathian Mountains, is sparsely populated and
agricultural. Pre-WWI, this area was part of the Austrian Empire. In terms of his
immediate family, it is believed he was the only member to come over, although
arrival records listed a brother-in-law named "Julius Lefrin" (possibly misspelled)
in Chicago. Upon arrival, he settled in the Washington Heights neighborhood of
Chicago. He became a naturalized citizen on February 25, 1925.
My dad's mom, Bernice (Kopec) Wozek, emigrated from the small town of Ruda, which is
adjacent to the town of Dabrowa Tarnowska. Ruda is in the present-day Polish
province of Malopolskie (Dabrowa Tarnowska County). Bernice may have emigrated as
early as 1909 and possible as late as 1913. It is believed her oldest brother Walter
was the first of the Kopecs to come over in 1906, followed by four of his younger
siblings. Their migration was preceded by their cousin, Joseph Hetman who came from
Zazamcze (a neighboring town to Ruda). The Kopecs settled in the present-day Pilsen
neighborhood. Bernice became a naturalized citizen on February 25, 1925 with her
husband.
My mom's mom, Susan (Kleczka) Stanley, was born in Chicago to Frank and Mary Kleczka
(nee Sieracki), who both immigrated separately as minors. Her mother Mary arrived
in the Port of Baltimore in August of 1903, at the age of 15, sailing on the SS Rhein
from Bremen with her mother Magdalene and father Walenty. Mary was born in the
province of Posen (possibly the town of Dzierznica), which is in west, central
Poland. Historically, Posen was under German-rule until WWI and has been part of
Poland since. Upon arrival, she and her parents traveled directly to the Washington
Heights neighborhood to live with her brother Josef. She also had a sister Salomea
and may have had other half siblings from her father's first wife. Her mother
Magdalene descended from Martinus Kolodziejewski and was probably born in or near
Giecz, Poland. Kolodziejewski descendents were also immigrating to the US during
that time period, including Pete who landed in Chicago and John who landed in
Scranton. Mary became a US citizen when she married Frank in 1905.
Frank Kleczka probably immigrated in February of 1892 as a 16 year old, arriving in
the Port of Baltimore. He was born in the town of Jadwiga in Poland. According to
indexed Catholic church records, Frank's parents Albert and Catherine (Ozga) also had
roots in Poznan in the town of Szczerbin in the County Wirsitz (Gromaden Parish).
Their presence in that area probably can be documented back into the 1700s. Frank had
a number of siblings who came to the US, including a sister Nellie (Adam) Piszczek,
Michelina (Anton) Stima, and Xavier.
My mom's dad, Emil Stanley (nee Stadniczenko), immigrated as a young child (age 5),
arriving on May 12, 1910 in Baltimore on the SS Cassel. He arrived with his mother
Cecilia and sisters - Mary (Weber), Rose (Case), Helen (Bresnyan), and Elizabeth
(Jansen). They joined his father Nicholas, who arrived at the Port of Baltimore on
August 27, 1908 on the SS Rhein sailing from Bremen. They joined Nicholas, and
Nicholas’ brother Jedrej (Andrew), in Neffs, Belmont County, Ohio, where they worked
in the coal mines. The Stadniczenkos had a daughter while in Ohio - Marge (Schramm) -
before moving to Chicago in August 1912. Their son Andrew was born in Chicago.
Geographically, the ethnically-mixed Kolomea region was part of Austria prior to WWI,
then part of the restructured Poland between the wars, and finally becoming part of
Ukraine post WWII. Nicholas was born there, and Cecilia (nee Michalewicz) was born
in Pistyn, which is about 12 miles south of City of Kolomea. Ethnically, the
Stadniczenkos considered themselves Polish, but ancestrally may have been considered
Ruthenian -- people of that region whose ancestors historically migrated over the
Carpathian mountains from Greece and practiced Orthodox or Greek Catholic rites.
Ancestral Churches
With our ancestral towns generally identified, the next step is to identify our
ancestral churches. Assuming our families have been Catholic for generations, the
Catholic Church records in Poland will be an important, rich source of
information. While the borders and governments of Poland have changed over the
centuries, the Catholic Church has been pretty constant in its record keeping of key
life events that a typical Catholic today, or hundreds of years ago, would have
participated in (baptizing their babies, getting married, and celebrating their
dead).
Coming from the town of Chojnik in Tarnow County in Malopolskie, it is likely my
grandfather Michael Wozek and his family would have worshipped in the Catholic parish
in the neighboring town of Siemiechow - Ofiarowania w swiatyni i Wniebostapienia Pana
Jezusa (i.e., Offering in the Temple and Assumption of Lord Jesus). Microfilmed
records for this church exist back to 1657.
My paternal grandmother Bernice Kopec and her family would likely have worshipped in
All Saints Church in present-day Dabrowa Tarnowska. Her hometown of Ruda is located
next to Dabrowa Tarnowska. Today, wooden All Saints Church built in 1771 has been
superseded by a new masonry church, Our Lady of the Scapular, built after World War
II. Microfilmed records for this church exist back to 1611.
My great grandmother Mary (Sieracki) Kleczka was likely born and raised in Dzierznica
and thus would have worshipped in the Catholic Church in the nearby town of Giecz.
Mary’s mother and father Magdalene (Kolodzieski) and Walenty Sieracki were married in
that church. Marriage records go back to 1801, birth records to 1817, and death to
1831.
My great grandfather Frank Kleczka was likely born and raised in Jadwiga. While I
don’t have a lead on the parish in which he was raised, I do know his parents
Adalbert and Catherine Osga were married in the church in nearby Gromadno and the
Osga family probably had roots in the town of Szczerbin. Birth, marriage, and death
records for Gromadno go back to about 1750.
Finally, my grandfather Emil Stadniczenko’s family came from Pistyn and likely
worshipped in either the local Roman Catholic Church, records back to 1773, or the
Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, records back to 1767.
Archive of Site Changes
Photo Update – End-October 2009:
**Received photos from Jenny (Jarzabkowski) Mondy – Steve & Ally Jarzabkowski Wedding
78 Deceased Ancestors- BOCHENCZAK -Bochenczak, James, Born ABT Mar 29 1939, Died ABT Nov 21 2005 - BORAWSKI - Borawski, Antoni, Born Jul 30 1892, Died Oct 16 1989 in Illinois Borawski, Eugene, Born Jun 15 1926 in Cook County, Illinois, Died Jan 21 1979 in Cook County, IL Borawski, Mary, Born Feb 02 1905, Died Dec 05 1986 in Cook County, Illinois Borawski, Mary Rose, Born , Died Dec 2007 Borawski, Richard, Born Jul 08 1928 in Cook County, Illinois, Died Oct 16 1987 - BRESNYAN - Bresnyan, Charles M, Born ABT 1921, Died ABT 2008 Bresnyan, Rosalie, Born ABT 1923, Died ABT 1989 - BRYCE - Bryce, Olga M, Born Jan 29 1925 in Cook County, Illinois, Died Oct 08 1996 in Cook County, Illinois - CASE - Case, Adele Sophie, Born Nov 19 1915, Died May 16 1981 Case, Arnold Jospeh, Born Jun 25 1917, Died Feb 28 1970 Case, Rose Gertrude, Born EST 1898, Died Jul 17 1957 - DOJKA - Dojka, Josephine, Born May 22 1921, Died Jan 06 1996 - DROZDOWICZ - Drozdowicz, Ann M, Born Nov 25 1911 in Cook County, IL, Died Dec 14 1989 in Cook County, IL - GREGG - Gregg, Anton, Born Dec 25 1913, Died Sep 07 1975 Gregg, Eugene, Born May 22 1936, Died Dec 31 1992 Gregg, Mary, Born Jun 01 1913 in Cook County, IL, Died Aug 24 1999 in Cook County, IL - JANSEN - Jansen, Elizabeth, Born Apr 08 1908, Died Apr 27 1976 - JARZABKOWSKI - Jarzabkowski, Henry B, Born Jan 1924 in Poland, Died Oct 30 1980 in Cook County, IL - KANE - Kane, John M, Born ABT 1932, Died ABT Nov 2007 - KLECZKA - Kleczka, Frank, Born Dec 08 1876 in Poland, Died Feb 19 1955 in Chicago, Illinois Kleczka, Jean, Born Aug 04 1926 in Kent, England, Died Oct 13 2005 in Cook County, IL Kleczka, Mary, Born ABT 1889 in Poland, Died Aug 13 1967 Kleczka, Stanley, Born Oct 16 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, Died Nov 25 1981 in Cook County, Illinois - KOHNKE - Kohnke, Otto, Born ABT 1920, Died Oct 22 1976 - KOLDJESKI - Koldjeski, Frances, Born ABT 1868, Died Jun 30 1931 in Scranton, PA Koldjeski, John, Born ABT 1862 in Giecz, Poland, Died BEF 1930 Koldjeski, John, Born Oct 23 1892 in Scranton, PA, Died ABT 1943 in Scranton, PA - KOLODZIEJEWSKI - Kolodziejewski, Helen, Born Jul 07 1910 in Chicago, IL, Died ABT 1992 in Chicago, IL Kolodziejewski, Leocadia, Born ABT 1909 in Chicago, IL, Died BEF 1920 in Chicago, IL Kolodziejewski, Magdelena, Born ABT 1885, Died ABT 1972 Kolodziejewski, Peter, Born ABT 1881, Died ABT 1976 Kolodziejewski, Stanley, Born ABT 1889, Died ABT 1932 - KOPEC - Kopec, Chester, Born Dec 1921, Died BEF Nov 1991 Kopec, Mitchell, Born Oct 1915, Died Dec 1968 Kopec, Walter (Wladyslaw), Born 1881, Died Nov 30 1954 - OLEJNICZAK - Olejniczak, Anna, Born Jul 25 1906, Died Nov 19 1998 in Cook County, Illinois Olejniczak, John F, Born Jun 13 1912, Died ABT May 25 1992 in Cook County, Illinois Olejniczak, Lorraine, Born Mar 11 1937, Died Aug 23 2002 Olejniczak, Robert, Born Oct 26 1945, Died Nov 10 1988 Olejniczak, Sally (Salamea), Born ABT 1881, Died Nov 08 1946 Olejniczak, Theresa C, Born Oct 03 1907, Died ABT Dec 08 1993 in Cook County, Illinois Olejniczak, Viola G, Born Jul 11 1911, Died Oct 07 1994 in Cook County, Illinois - RADA - Rada, Rose M, Born Jul 10 1921, Died Aug 05 2000 - RIVA - Riva, Helen B, Born ABT Sep 02 1923 in Chicago, IL, Died Oct 15 2000 in Milwaukee, WI - ROHALY - Rohaly, Barbara, Born Jul 10 1938, Died Aug 17 2003 - SCHRAM - Schram, Margaret M, Born Mar 11 1911 in Ohio, Died Jul 01 2000 Schram, Mary, Born ABT Nov 16 1940, Died Feb 18 1998 Schram, Robert William, Born Jan 08 1956, Died Sep 07 2004 in Michigan Schram, William, Born Jul 29 1905, Died Nov 30 1984 - SIERACKI - Sieracki, Joseph S, Born Nov 17 1917 in Illinois, Died Feb 25 2002 Sieracki, Magdaline, Born ABT May 15 1856 in Poland, Died Aug 15 1941 in Chicago, Illinois - STADNICZENKO - Stadniczenko, Andrew, Born Sep 20 1913 in Illinois, Died Feb 22 1992 in Cook County, Illinois Stadniczenko, Cecilia, Born Nov 22 1872 in Pistyn, Kolomea, Ukraine, Died Dec 21 1969 in Chicago, IL Stadniczenko, Harriet B, Born Dec 30 1918, Died Dec 18 1994 Stadniczenko, Nicholas, Born ABT 1871 in Poland, Died ABT May 01 1933 in Chicago, Illinois - STANLEY - Stanley, Emil, Born May 20 1905 in Poland, Died Jun 21 1987 in Blue Island, IL Stanley, Susan C, Born Mar 16 1911 in Chicago, IL, Died Nov 19 1994 in Cook County, IL - VINICKY - Vinicky, George, Born Apr 20 1917, Died Feb 22 1999 Vinicky, Nora, Born Apr 20 1919, Died Oct 30 2001 - WEBER - Weber, Anna, Born ABT May 01 1894, Died Apr 30 1981 Weber, Gerald, Born Feb 07 1943, Died Jan 27 2004 - WENZOWITZ - Wenzowitz, Mary, Born Jan 01 1891, Died Mar 02 1980 Wenzowitz, Michael, Born ABT 1889, Died Dec 25 1941 in Cook County, Illinois - WIELGORECKI - Wielgorecki, Anna, Born Sep 25 1926, Died Feb 19 1994 wielgorecki, Michael, Born Dec 06 1928, Died Mar 09 2006 - WOZEK - Wozek, Bernice (Bronislawa), Born Sep 03 1895 in Poland, Died Oct 31 1973 in Worth, IL Wozek, Edward S, Born Jan 12 1929 in Chicago, Illinois, Died Aug 15 1985 in Worth, Illinois Wozek, Frank, Born ABT 1922 in Chicago, Illinois, Died May 17 1929 in Chicago, Illinois Wozek, Helen Marie, Born Jul 31 1921 in Chicago, Illinois, Died Dec 27 2007 in Palos Heights, Illinois Wozek, Julius J, Born Jan 07 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, Died Jan 09 1998 in Aurora, Illinois Wozek, Marilyn, Born Sep 13 1935 in Cook County, Illinois, Died Jan 13 1976 in Cook County, IL Wozek, Michael, Born May 25 1888 in Chojnik, Poland, Died Jan 23 1967 in Chicago, IL Wozek, Michael D, Born Nov 17 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, Died Feb 15 1991 in Cook County, Illinois Wozek, Theodore Joseph, Born Jan 04 1931 in Chicago, IL, Died Oct 26 2009 - ZATOR - Zator, Bernice, Born Sep 07 1913, Died May 04 1999 Zator, Frank, Born Aug 28 1912, Died Jan 20 1981 Zator, Frank J, Born Feb 28 1938, Died Sep 29 2001 |
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