Robert S. Bartloszewski was born on March 15, 1921, in LaSalle, Illinois. His parents were John G. and Helen Lisewski Bartloszewski. Robert’s father, John, was a cashier at the State Bank—a local financial institution located in downtown LaSalle. Both of his parents were born in Illinois—the children of Polish immigrants who left their homeland in the 1870s. However, Robert was never able to meet his paternal grandparents as they both died before he was born. And he most likely did not see his maternal grandparents much because they moved to Chicago before he was born as did many of his…
Author: familyhistorian
PFC John Frank Barsztaitis, Service Number 36002814
John Frank Barsztaitis was born on September 22, 1919, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Frank and Sophie Jozwiak Barsztaitis. His father, Frank, was born in Jurbakas, Lithuania, and left his country at age 25 to travel to America with his 17-year-old sister Petronnela. Their older brother, Izidor, had made the same journey not long before. Frank married Sophie on April 30, 1912—five years after arriving in America. Frank and Sophie had their first child, Emily, about a year or so after marrying. They had three more daughters before John was born in 1919. Prior to John’s birth, Frank had been working…
PFC Samuel Phillip Baratta, Service Number 36437817
Samuel Phillip Baratta reported he was born on April 14, 1922, in LaSalle, Illinois. His parents were Dominic and Grace Spalino Baratta. His birth certificate agrees he was born at home in LaSalle, but lists a birth date of August 14, 1922. Perhaps his birth was registered a few months after it occurred, and the person typing it up assumed the birth took place the same month it was reported. Sam was the last of nine children born to Dominic and Grace although at the time of Sam’s birth, three were no longer living. Dominic also had four other children…
T SG William Louis Aplington, Service No. 36765437
William Louis “Bill” Aplington, was born on May 11, 1925, to William J. and Elizabeth Lavanway Aplington, in LaSalle, Illinois. His father was a local attorney who had served in the Army in World War I. By the time Bill was 15, he had five brothers and three sisters. He and at least three of his brothers attended St. Bede Academy—a local Catholic high school. Bill was interested in music and joined his high school’s band becoming president his senior year. He was also successful in his studies having made the honor roll his sophomore year. Other activities he enjoyed…
S SG Gilbert Edward Amos, Service No. 36430298
Gilbert Edward Amos was born at home on October 22, 1921, in Peru, Illinois, to Edgar Robert and Bertha Wobrock Amos. Edgar, who was crippled since birth, worked as a bookkeeper at Vollmer Furniture Store—a local business owned by his mother’s family. Bertha also worked as a bookkeeper, but at L&B Wobrock—her family’s dry goods store in Peru. Throughout his life, Gilbert lived with and close to his extended family. In 1927, when Gilbert was six years old, his mother passed away. With his father apparently unable to care for him, his aunt and uncle, Lena and Fred Sibley, were…
How to Find Streams, Creeks, and Rivers Named in Old Deeds
In trying to figure out exactly where Joseph Patterson purchased land in Hall county, Georgia, in 1823, I suspected the district noted in the deed as “tenth” might be incorrect. Instead I thought it should have said “twelfth” as that is where he later sold land, and it was where his mother and brothers owned land. But to know for sure, I needed to find Wahoo Creek which is the body of water mentioned in the deed. So for a moment I considered what resource could help me find the location of Wahoo Creek in Hall county, Georgia. Initially I…
Another Surprise Discovery in My Marfell Family
When I research families I am always asking myself questions like why did they move there, why are they doing that, where did they meet their spouse? Usually I do this to better understand their lives, but many times this curiosity helps me unlock new facts about their lives I probably would have otherwise missed. And today that is exactly what happened when I was recently re-doing the research of my mom’s uncle, Howard Marfell. Howard left England in 1920 when he was about 15 years old to travel by ship to the United States. My grandfather, Louis Marfell,…
Genealogical Research Easily Proves Jeffree Star’s Grandmother is 103 years old
The other day I read an article: “Jeffree Star says his 103-year-old grandmother is real, but here’s why some YouTube sleuths are still suspicious.” For those wondering who Jeffree Star is and why anyone would care how old his grandmother is, he is a celebrity in the makeup world. Wikipedia describes him a “an American entrepreneur, YouTuber and singer, and the founder and owner of Jeffree Star Cosmetics.” As a mother of a cosmetologist, he is a topic of discussion in our home at times so I was intrigued to find out about his family. In reading the article I…
The Great Eight!
I came across a blog post today, “The Theory of Eight Surnames,” in which the writer shared some advice he received while overseas. They told him everyone should be able to recite what I’m referring to as “the great eight” or the eight surnames of your great-grandparents. For me, I have two sets since I was adopted so I would need to shoot for 16 to remember. If you add in my husband’s line, I’m up to 24. Instead of taking up the challenge and trying to list them, I thought it would be interesting to see it more visually…
Meet Dennis Wolf – #whyivax
Meet Dennis Wolf, my mom’s only maternal cousin, who was born on July 9, 1945. My mother was 13 at the time of his birth so definitely old enough to understand just how much this new baby boy meant to everyone, especially his parents. The story of his birth and the happiness it brought to everyone was constantly talked about in our family. Dennis was the only child of Aunt Frances, my grandmother’s sister, and her second husband, Henry “Bear” Wolf. Frances had lost her first husband when he passed away only a few years after their marriage – they…