Jakiela Family – It's All About Family

The Mikula Boys

I wrote about the Mikula Family in April of 2024, and at the end, I said I would tell you about Walter and Stanley, the two oldest boys in the family.

Quick recap, Aniela Liro Mikula was my grandmother Antonia’s older sister. Aniela and her husband, Josef, immigrated to the United States in 1903. Walter was born in 1903, and Stanley in 1904, about 18 months apart.

The Mikula children and the Jakiela children were not similar in age at all. My Uncle Steve was born in 1913, and Uncle Eddie in 1915, and they were the two oldest. The other three Jakiela siblings were born in 1920, 1922, and 1924. So even before Helen was born in 1920, three Mikula boys had died, as well as Aniela. I still marvel that my grandfather and Uncle Steve were able to lean on Josef to take Helen and Walter when their mother died in 1927, and again in 1935 when my grandfather died. The stories from Auntie Helen and Uncle Eddie were invaluable to my research and I’m so thankful that I had those conversations with them.

My Auntie Helen told me that the Mikula brothers lived with their family in Wallingford for a while, but they were “trouble” and her brother Steve told them to leave.

*John, Walter Mikula, Walter Jakiela* *– after 1935, location unknown.*

While searching Newspapers.com, I uncovered several newspaper articles recounting charges against Walter of drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Sometimes alone, and sometimes with Stanley. The most egregious charge was against both of them in September 1934 for drunkenness and assaulting their 54-year-old father and 19-year-old sister, Kazmiera. Just terrible! I found additional articles for Walter’s drunken escapades after that incident.

A copy of Walter’s 1942 Draft Card has six addresses written and crossed out. Two of those addresses are locations in Waterbury, Connecticut. Another Auntie Helen story was that Walter worked for the New Haven railroad and coming back from a wedding he was driving and killed someone. The family attached his wages so he quit his job and took jobs they “couldn’t keep track of”.

Well, karma took care of that. The last article I found was for a car accident that occurred on Route 7 in Georgetown, Connecticut, on August 17, 1946. A man by the name of Walter J. Mikula, age 43, a resident of Bridgeport, died instantly in a car accident when the car went out of control and crashed into a tree. The driver sustained injuries. Take note, the accident occurred at 7:30 am. A subsequent article in the Record-Journal in October said the driver was criminally liable for Walter’s death.

I took the information from the articles, put on my Nancy Drew sleuthing cap, and tracked down where the death certificate would possibly be located. I’d forgotten there was even a Georgetown Connecticut! I made a call to the Wilton town clerk’s office and they had it there. $20 and I had it within the week.

A sad ending for a sad life.

Stanley appeared to get his life together. In 1936, He married Godaline Kowalski. They had a son, Edward, born in 1938, and a son, Ronald, born in 1942. Stanley worked for American Steel and Wire Company for many years, and they lived in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Stanley died at the VA Hospital in Rutland, Vermont, on January 19, 1964, at the age of 59. He had been confined there since September 1963. There is no record that he was a veteran of any war, so I’m not sure why he would have been there.

Early in my research journey, I sent out a lot of letters to names and addresses I found online. People, churches, cemeteries, anyone I could think of. I even dragged my sister and our kids up to the Palmer Library to go through their historical information.

One letter in 2000 to Stanley Mikula somehow made it to Godaline who was now 94 and in a nursing home. She wrote back and we exchanged a few letters but unfortunately, I never went to visit her.

*Stanley, Frank, Walt* – *photo from Godaline*

Godaline passed away in 2006.

This is the end of the line for the family of Aniela and Joseph Mikula but I continue to try and connect to the DNA matches and will keep shaking those family trees!

More On The Mikula Family

Back in April of 2024, I wrote about the Mikula Family and my family’s connection to them. Aniela, the mother, was my grandmother Antonia Jakiela’s sister. Their maiden name was Liro.

I promised more about the sons, Walter and Stanley, but it’s taken a couple of years to get back to them. Which could be a good thing, because new search methods and new information continue to turn up. I’m going to share updates about the family members, but will still do a separate story on the sons.

Aniela, their mother, died in May of 1919 at the age of 48, from Tuberculosis of the bone, which caused gangrene of the spine. I didn’t give that much thought until I started on their story. Tuberculosis of the Bone is considered a serious extrapulmonary infection where the mycobacterium tuberculosis spreads from the lungs or lymph nodes to the bones and joints via the lymph nodes. The spine is the most frequent site and is called Pott’s Disease.

After Aniela died in 1919, Joseph married Anna Cerak, likely to help raise the younger children. My Auntie Helen remembers her as being very nice. Anna died in 1934. Joseph moved to Worcester and lived with Stanley and his wife until he died in 1945 at the age of 66.

This is the only picture of Joseph Mikula I have. When my grandfather, Charles Jakiela, died in May of 1935, my dad John and my uncle Walt went to Thorndike for the summer. John had turned 11 and Walt was turning 13 that year.

*Uncle Joe Mikula with Walt and John Jakiela*

Catherine, born in 1907, third born, and first daughter, was hospitalized for at least four years at the Hampshire County Sanatorium with tuberculosis, where she died in September of 1934. She was an inmate there in the 1930 federal census. Her obituary listed her father and two sisters, Genevieve in Vermont and Kazimiera in Palmer, and two brothers, Walter and Stanley. My Auntie Helen remembered Catherine from the time she spent in Palmer after her mother, Antonina died in 1927. Catherine would have been 27 years old and they, my aunt and uncle Walt, who were 7 and 5 years old at time, called her Aunt Catherine because she was so much older than them.

Bronislaw, born in 1909, the fourth born and third son, was listed in the 1910 federal census, but that was all I could find. Recently, I found a Palmer, Mass. death record for “Bronislaw M??l??R”, Father: Joseph, Mother: Allen Lera. It shows that Bronislaw died in July of 1910, at 18 months old, of gastroenteritis, which can be caused by contaminated food or water.

Genevieve, born in 1911, was the fifth born and second daughter and was the child with the longest life. She married George Blakey in 1930 and moved to Vermont, where he was a farmer. They had five children, 3 girls and 2 boys, between the ages of 12 and 14 months when he died at the age of 34 in 1943 after being in the hospital for 2 weeks “for treatment after a long period of ill health”. Genevieve continued to live in Underhill, Vermont, raising her children, and she died in 1983 at the age of 71 from breast cancer. Those five children produced 20 grandchildren.

Zofia, born in 1913, was the seventh born and third daughter. I have found Zofia in the Palmer birth records. I also have a copy of her baptism certificate. But that’s it. She’s not in the 1920 census, and there’s no mention of her in any family obituaries. I don’t know that I’ll ever find out what happened to her. She would have been about 14 years old when my aunt and uncle were living with them in 1927. My aunt said a daughter was called Tootie and she didn’t like her step mother at all. I wonder if Tootie was Zofia.

Kazimiera, born in 1915, was the eighth born and fourth daughter. I originally found Kazimiera in the 1920 census at 5 years old and in the 1930 census at 15, but nothing after that. When I found Joseph’s obituary online and saw the name “Mary Opielowski” I thought who else could it be but her? It was her.

Kazimiera and her husband, Edward, were married sometime in the early 1930s because the 1940 census says Edward, 26, and “Kay”, 24, were living in the same home as in 1935. I haven’t found any marriage records, but one might pop up. Kazimiera gave birth to a son, David, in 1941.

Kazimiera committed suicide in 1956, leaving behind her husband, son, sister Genevieve, and her brother Stanley. Walter was not listed in the obituary.

*Kazimiera’s obituary (transcribed here)*

Her husband Edward died in 1981, and their son David died in 2001; it appears he never married, but they both remained in Thorndike, Massachusetts.

Antoni, born in 1917, the eighth born and fourth son, died in August of 1918 when he fell down a well. He was 18 months old.

This was not the only tragedy that summer. Mieczyslaw, born in 1918, the ninth born and fifth son, the baby of the family, died one month after Antoni from infant cholera when he was six months old. Cholera, “a disease of poverty”.

Next up – Walter and Stanley

Antoni Jakiela

My great uncle Antoni Jakiela was born in Lubatowa, Poland. Lubatowa is located in southeastern Poland, and from 1772 to 1918 was part of Austrian Galicia. Antoni is my grandfather Charles Jakiela’s younger brother.

Antoni was born on January 17, 1893, to Ignacy and Catherine Murdzek. Charles was three years old when he was born. Their sister Agnieszka was born a year later.

Their mother died in June of 1894, the same year Agnieszka was born. Trying to raise three young children, Ignacy, at only 39, quickly remarried. On October 11, 1894, he married Victoria Borek. There is no record of any children from that marriage, but I continue to scour records.

When his brother Charles left for the United States in 1906 at the age of 16, Antoni was 13.

Both brothers served in World War 1. Charles served for the United States from Southington, Connecticut, through Camp Devens at Ayer, Massachusetts, as part of the 301 Trench Mortar Battery and the 302 Field Artillery.

Antoni served in World War 1 with the Polish Legion based on this picture that has been in the family for many years. I shared the picture with a few Polish Heritage/Genealogy groups on Facebook and was told that it is a uniform for the Polish Legion based on the “maciejówka” cap and the zig-zag design on his collar. The one silver star on the collar is for the rank of lance corporal. The Polish Legion fought alongside Austria-Hungary troops against Russia. The cap was part of traditional folk attire in many regions of Poland and became part of the Polish Legion uniform. After Poland won its independence in 1918, the cap was thought to look too much like the German WW1 garrison hat, so the Polish army moved to a peaked 4 cornered cap.

This is a 12×14 canvas portrait. Portions of the canvas are still attached to the wooden frame but one corner is secured with a nail. There is a piece of cardboard on the back attached to the frame, and two nails with a heavy string between them for hanging.

How and when was it sent to the United States? Was it received when Charles and his family were still living in Southington after the war? If so, where did it hang in their home? Charles died in May of 1935, and the children, ranging in age from 22 to 10, remained in their Wallingford home until Steve married Bertha Liedke in 1937. The family moved to Ward Street and finally to the Liedke family home. At some point, the portrait ended up in the back of the garage. When I began my ancestry work on the family, my cousin passed the portrait on to me.

The next information I found for Antoni was his marriage to Lucia Dereniovoska (sp) on March 2, 1923. I haven’t been able to find any birth records for Lucia in the Lubatowa area with any similar spelling.

*Antoni Jakiela and Lucia Dereniovoska marriage on March 2, 1923*

This marriage record gives me both of their birth dates, and the #70 house number tells me Antoni is still living in the house his family lived in when he was born in 1893. The bottom of the form, in blue writing, says “husband died 23 January 1961, Lubatowa”. I don’t have any information on Lucia’s death.

An amazing treasure that provided information on Antoni and his family was found while cleaning out my Auntie Helen’s apartment after she passed away in February of 2015. It was a letter from Antoni to Steve, Helen’s oldest brother. The information and questions in the letter indicate that there had been little communication between them. The letter was dated January 19, 1947, almost 12 years after their father and Antoni’s brother Charles had passed away. Of course, the letter was in Polish, and evidently, “old style” Polish, which was difficult for a fluent speaker to translate!

I don’t know if anyone ever responded to Antoni, but without this letter, I never would have known of their three children and their ages.

Antoni was 68 years old when he passed away in January 1961. I don’t know if life got any better in the town of Lubatowa. I hope so.

December 7, 1941

Today, like that day 84 years ago, was a Sunday morning.

My uncle, Walter Jakiela, was fresh out of radio school and soaking in the sun of Pearl Harbor, 5,000 miles from his home in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Little did he know what awaited him that day…

I wrote his story as a part of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks back in May of 2024. You can read about his experience in Day of Infamy.

My Veterans

In honor of Veterans Day, I’m sharing the story I wrote in June of 2024 for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. It’s called, The Effects of War. There are links within that story that share the details of their time served.

Beginning with World War I, there was my biological maternal grandfather, Jacob Engram and my paternal grandfather, Charles Jakiela.

My Great Uncle Bronislaw Liro went back to Poland before World War I broke out, fought for the Austrian Army, was captured, and escaped from Siberia.

World War II saw my Uncle Connie and my dad enlist in the Army Air Force and my Uncle Walt and Uncle Mal in the Navy. My Uncle Walt lived through the horror of Pearl Harbor 3 weeks fresh out of Navy radio school.

While cleaning out my aunt’s home, I found a letter from my Great Uncle Antoni written in 1947 describing the aftermath of World War II.

My father in law Harold served in the Korean War as a cook, his brother Ronald as an infantry tank driver, and my step father in law Paul was in the motor pool.

It’s an honor to have these brave men in my family.

Jacob Ingram and His Family

It was a little startling back in January of 2020 to realize the man and family I thought of as my mother’s father and his paternal line, was not correct.

I’ve written about my grandfather, Jacob Engram, Jr., but I thought I’d do some more research and put together a timeline of the whole family. It is going to be long!

Jacob Ingram/Engram

My great grandfather was Jacob Sebastian Ingram. He was born, according to his death certificate on July 7, 1859 in Padew Naraodowa which is a village in Mielec County in south-eastern Poland. At the time of his birth it was in Galicia which was part of Austria due to all the dividing up of Poland.

His birth year ranges from 1859 to 1862. The 1862 dates are reflected on the Ellis Island manifest and census records, so I continue to search a variety of dates for a definitive birth year. Unfortunately the years prior to 1863 are not part of the Geneteka collection. <sigh>.

Even his parents are a mystery. His father’s name is consistently “Sebastian”, however his marriage license lists his mother as Louise (maiden name) Burghardt and his death certificate as Katherine Burghardt. Geneteka records list only Sebastian Ingram and Elzbieta Burghardt in a search. I “know” them because they are the parents of my great-grandfather Ludwig Ingram. Recent information I found said he had a brother John, a brother Frantz (sp), and a sister Juliana.

Jacob left Europe at 24 years old on May 30, 1886 via Hamburg Germany and arrived in New York on June 14th. He traveled in Steerage (“zwischendeck”) aboard the Rhaetia. Records don’t indicate where he was going but wherever he went, he’d be looking for a job as a “schmied” or blacksmith.

At the time of his arrival, Castle Garden, or what we know as Castle Clinton National Monument was the main immigration station for the Port of New York. I was there in June of 2025, and wandered through wondering if any of my ancestors experienced walking through these doors.

Seven years later, on July 23, 1893, Jacob married Katherine Duy. He was 31 years old and she was 28.

*marriage license Jacob and Katherine 1893*

Katherine Duy Ingram/Engram

Katherine was born on August 9, 1965 in Padew as well. Katherine was the 6th born to Johann Jacob Duy and Maria Teresa (maiden name) Duy. According to the 1910 Federal census, she arrived in the United States in 1893 when she was 28 years old. A quick look at a census record for her sister, Barbara, born in 1869, shows she immigrated in 1893, so it could be possible they came together. But that would mean she arrived in the US and almost immediately married Jacob. The 1915 New York State census lists her arrival year as 1887, when she was 22. Another question mark!

Family stories say she had a “withered” arm. The few photos of her don’t show both arms so it’s not known which one or how damaged it was.

Other family members who immigrated included her parents Johann and Theresa and Philip born in 1875 who immigrated with them in 1904. On arrival, they moved to West Springfield Massachusetts. Wilhelm (b. 1867) immigrated and lived in Greenwich Connecticut. Barbara, mentioned above, immigrated in 1893 and lived in Astoria New York. Margaretha (b. 1872) immigrated and lived in South Hadley Massachusetts. One son, Jacob (b. 1858) remained in Austria.

Engram Children Births

More than nine months, but less than a year later, Jacob and Katherine’s first child, a daughter, Barbara, was born on April 27, 1894. Barbara was known as Theresa or Tess and the only indication her name was Barbara is this birth record. Her death certificate says Theresa B.

*Birth record for Barbara (Theresa) Ingram*

14 months later, on July 11, 1895, Katherine gave birth to Jacob Jr. This is the first time I see the spelling of their last name to be ENGRAM and that’s what it remained moving forward.

13 months later on August 19, 1896, Katherine gives birth to her second son, Louis.

Another year, another baby! Second daughter Katherine is born on March 2, 1898. Jacob and Katherine have four children under the age of 4. Whew! Notice these last 2 birth records do not have a first name – maybe they were still deciding.

Dare I say it? Another daughter, Elizabeth was born on November 1, 1899. I don’t have a copy of her birth record, but I trust the family member who has the information in her family tree. This is Jacob and Katherine’s fifth child and 3rd daughter.

On April 19, 1900, Louis died from Acute Meningitis at 3 years and 9 months old. This left Jacob Jr and three sisters.

In 1901, daughter Louise is born. Her name is either a tribute to Louis or to Jacob’s mother Louise (if that was her name!).

Memories written by Jacob and Katherine’s daughter Katherine in 1980, mention a brother who died in infancy. The gap between Louise and Hannah would likely be when it happened but there is not record found to confirm the birth or death.

After a space of five years, the last daughter Hannah is born on July 9, 1906.

Where They Lived 1893-1916

When Jacob and Katherine got married, Jacob was living at 306 W. 69th Street in New York and Katherine was living at 233 W. 80th Street.

1893-1894: After they were married, they continued to live at 306 W. 69th Street and Jacob was still working as a blacksmith. They were living here when Barbara was born.

Per google, the Upper West Side of New York City was a growing, but not yet completely developed, residential neighborhood. 306 West 69th Street and 233 West 80th Street would have been a walk-up tenement or a brownstone rowhouse, likely housing recent immigrants and working-class families who were moving to the area from more crowded parts of the city.

1895: They are now living in Westchester and he is a farmer. You’ll see Westchester was a town in Westchester County New York. In 1895 it was transferred to the City and County of New York, in 1898, it and other areas formed the Borough of the Bronx, and finally in January 1914, the Bronx was split off from New York County and it became Bronx County. This will the area where Jacob continues to farm.

1896-1900: They are living at Ferris Lane but it alternatives between simply Westchester and Union Port, New York City. Union Port appears to have been a village or neighborhood of Westchester. I found a video that talks about the lost villages of the Bronx and took a screen shot when I saw Ferris. Since he is a gardener, perhaps Ferris is the area where he worked and lived.

1906: They are now living on Williamsbridge Road in Westchester, New York City.

My initial thoughts of this area were they must be very rural but research shows me that all of the small towns in the Bronx were rapidly filling up with New Yorkers moving out of the city looking for a plot of their own.

1910: The federal census shows they are living in the Bronx Borough, part of New York City. Wickham Avenue to Astor Estate is the street listing. AI says, “In 1910, the area of the Bronx between Wickham Avenue and the former Astor Estate was rapidly developing from a semi-rural landscape into a residential neighborhood. Jacob, 48, is listed as a Gardener in the farm industry and “working on own account”. Katherine, 44, and the children “Tessie 16, Jacob 14, Kate 12, Elizabeth 10, Louise 8, and Hanna 3” are all at home and I assume attending school.

1915: The state census lists the family at Pelham Parkway in the Bronx County. Jacob the father (54), and Jacob the son (19) were farming. Katherine the mother (49), “Thresia” (21), and Katherine 17I did house work, and Elizabeth (15), Louise (13), and Hannah (9) were in school.

You can see Pelham Parkway as they would have known it on the right, and the present day Pelham Parkway.

During this time period, Katherine’s parents, Johann and Theresa Duy would come and visit. They lived in Longmeadow Massachusetts, but they had Katherine, Barbara, and William in the Connecticut/New York area. The following story comes from their daughter Katherine’s 1980 written memories to her sister Theresa’s (born Barbara) daughter Irene:
My mother’s mother and father (my grandparents) and Uncle Philip were the last members to come to America. I remember my mother telling us how terrible the ocean voyage was and they almost died. And I also remember how my mother longed to see her parents and grieved she would never see them again. They used to come and stay with us for periods at a time and when they left to go back to their eldest daughter’s in Longmeadow Massachusetts…they would cling to each other and it was almost impossible to tear them apart. And they always grieved for the brother and sister who remained in Austria. The family bond was very strong.

Unfortunately, life with Jacob was not always pleasant as he was an alcoholic. Stories passed down mention Katherine leaving Jacob a few times. She would travel to her brother William’s home in Greenwich Connecticut. While away, she would take in laundry. She returned each time because she was pregnant.

October 27, 1916, Katherine Duy Engram passed away after a two year battle with breast cancer. She left behind Jacob and seven children ranging from 22 to 10.

In daughter Katherine’s 1980 memories, she shared this with her niece Irene. Katherine was 18 when her mother died:
”It will be 64 years on the 27th of October 1980 since my mother passed away. She was very, very sick with cancer for 2 years before she died. I stayed on the farm and kept house for the family for 2 years and because of unbearable, alcoholic conditions, we left our father. Your mother (Theresa) was either in nursing training or already doing nursing duty during that time. She always wanted to be a nurse.
I know my mother would be very proud if she came back today and saw the family she created, but I am sure she watched over us and prayed for us and still does. From time to time I wake up thinking of her and recall the bitter, hard struggle she had and can’t go back to sleep for wishing I could take her in my arms and hold her close. Children never know the sacrifices their mother’s make for them. Your heritage is a beautiful one Irene.”

After Katherine died, Jacob Jr. enlisted for World War I and the girls all moved to New York in the care of Theresa. In my next post, I’ll pick up from here.

Gouesnou US Memorial

Marge Donroe Bellafronto’s father, Alfred (Fred) Arthur Donroe, was born in New Haven Connecticut, November 9, 1916. He met and married Dora Barbaresi on September 16, 1940.

Marge was born two years later on September 25, 1942.

Alfred enlisted in the Army in July 1943 in New Haven and he headed overseas in October of that year.

The following is a narrative called “Alfred’s War” from one of his family members attached to another family tree:

“After training in Northern Ireland and Wales from October 1943 to June 1944, the 2nd Infantry Division crossed the channel to land on Omaha Beach on D plus 1, 7 June 1944, near St. Laurent-sur-Mer. Attacking across the Aure River, the Division liberated Trévières, 10 June, and proceeded to assault and secure Hill 192 which was repelled the key enemy strongpoint on the road to Saint-Lô. After three weeks of fortifying the position and by order of Commanding General Walter M. Robertson the order was given to take HILL 192. On 11 July under Command of Col. Ralph W.Zwicker 38th INF with the 9th and the 23rd by his side the battle started at 5:45 am. Using an artillery concept used in World War I (Rolling Thunder) which was the only time during World War II it was used and after 25,000 rounds of HE/WP the hill was taken. The Division went on the defensive until the 26th. July. After exploiting the Saint-Lo breakout, the 2nd Division then advanced across the (Vire) to take (Tinhebray) on 15 August 1944. The Division then raced toward (Brest/France), the heavily defended port fortress which happened to be a major port for German U-Boats. After 39 days of fighting the Battle was won, and was the first place the Army Air Corps used Bunker busting bombs. On August 25th 1944 Private Alfred A Donroe was killed in action.”

You can read more about the Assault on Brest here.

Marge was one month shy of her second birthday when her father died.

Dora married Fred’s brother Albert in 1947 and they had two sons. Marge married my first cousin Mal Bellafronto in 1964.

*Marge Donroe Bellafronto with husband Mal, in-laws Judy and Mal, and my sister Gail (1987)*

Fast forward to July 31st, I received a message through Ancestry from a French genealogist who was looking for the family of soldiers who died in combat during WW2 in Gouesnou France in the summer of 1944. He contacted me because Albert Donroe is listed in my family tree.

“Every year the City of Gouesnou honors the hero soldiers and civilian victims, because here in Gouesnou, we consider that it is our duty to remember the past for the sake of history and transmission, particularly to the youngest generation.”

The city has decided to create a permanent monument to the soldiers and victims with the inauguration of the US Memorial planned for November 2026.

I sent a message to another ancestry member who has a Donroe Family Tree (not sure of the relationship), and he had also been contacted and was able to provide the genealogist with an even closer family member.

It’s good to know that these soldiers continue to be remembered for their heroism during World War II and that this city is preserving the information for future generations.

Walter John Bonk

Walter Bonk (aka Bak or Bunk) was the 13th born and 8th living child of Carolina Straub. His father was John Bonk (Bak), whom she married in 1888 after the death of her first husband Joseph Posluszny in 1887. Carolina gave birth to a baby girl in 1899 who died at birth. Walter was born in Dzikowiec in the Galicia region of Poland on August 29, 1903 when Carolina was 48 years old.

Walter was a month shy of four years old when he made the trip to the United States with his mother, father, and half sister Elizabeth. The Passenger List indicates that his father had traveled to the United States in the past in 1901 and 1906 to Perth Amboy possibly to work and get things settled for them all to come over.

*Walter standing on right in front of mother Carolina late 1907 his father is standing 4th from left*

In 1910, John, Carolina, and Walter are living at 23a Parker Street in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Although Elizabeth would have been only 14, she is not listed as living with them. Perhaps she was working as a live in maid somewhere. During this time period, Walter was attending school and could speak English.

The next time I find Walter, he is 17 years old in the 1920 United States Federal Census. The family has moved to Wallingford Connecticut and his parents owned 30 Geneva Avenue. They are joined by his half-sister Elizabeth, her husband Joseph Łaçź, their two young sons, his half-cousin John Posluchny (spelled phonetically in the census!), and a border, John Ivaninski. It was a full house! The two boarders work at the hardware factory, his father works as a press dropper at the silverware factory, Joseph a packer there, and Walter at age 17, is no longer attending school and is an electrician at the factory.

Only two years later, Walter, Caroline, and John Bonk were now living at 24 East Street in Wallingford. This was one minute walk from the location of the market owned by Elizabeth and her husband Joseph Łaçź and it is a short walk from Clifton Street where his half brother Konrad (my grandfather) and his family will move to in 1925. He is 19 years old.

In March of 1925, his mother Caroline passes away of stomach cancer.

On June 23, 1925, Walter married Beatrice Kasprzycki of New Haven. She was born on September 13, 1905, the fourth of nine children of John Kasprzycki and Anna Tarnowski of Meriden. The family moved to New Haven in 1917 when her father left International Silver for a job at the American Windshield Corporation.

*Walter Bonk and Beatrice Kasprzycki 23 June 1925*

Just over a year later, Walt and Bea’s first daughter Ann Carolyn Bonk was born on July 25, 1926.

Walter, Bea, and Ann lived at 24 East Street in Wallingford with his father, John. This was a 2 family house and I think they must have lived with him based on the listings in the Streets section of the annual directory.

This following information came from a phone conversation I had with their daughter Ann in the early 2000s:

John, Walter’s father, 55 years old at the time, met Viola Weston, a 50 year old widow and they got married. Viola had 23 and 21 year old sons, and an 18 year old daughter who came along with her to live at 24 East Street. So Walter and his family moved to New Haven, close to Bea’s family.

Walter and Bea had another daughter, Dolores LaVerne born in 1931, and another, Joan Beverly in 1933, and their son Henry in 1937.

Walter and his family remained in New Haven until John died in 1933. Ann said they moved back to Wallingford and lived in one of the apartments and Viola, based on a provision in John’s will, continued to live in the other apartment until her death in 1937.

Walter went to work as an electrician for the Wallingford Steel Mill which then became Allegheny-Ludlum Steel and worked there for his entire career.

Walter also became involved in Wallingford politics in 1944 when he was named as an alternate delegate to the state Republican Party convention as well as part of the republican town committee. He continued on for many years and he also served as the Wallingford Assessor and a second selectman.

We would see Uncle Walt and Aunt Bea once a year at the annual Fourth of July family picnic hosted by Aunt Judy and Uncle Mal and Auntie Irene and Uncle Lou. Judy and Lou were my mother’s older siblings.

Uncle Walt and Aunt Bea continued to live in their home at 24 East Street until age caught up to them. They both resided at the Skyview Nursing Home where he passed away in August 1998 at the age of 94 and she in February of 2003 at the age of 97. They had been married for 73 years.

*Gram (front), Aunt Bea, Mom, Aunt Tootsie abt. 1964*

Their children, Ann, LaVerne, Joan, and Henry were my mother’s half first cousins. But if you’ve read about her being born story, technically they’re not related at all?

*Postcard from Ann Bonk to my mom in 1936*

My mother and Ann were 4 years apart but the Poslusznys, Bonks, and Biegas, all lived within a block or two of each other. My mom was friends with all the girls throughout her life. We may not have seen them frequently, but we knew of them all because of my mother.

Ann’s postcard sent from Middletown when she was 10 and my mother 14 says:
Dear Betty,
I am having a swell time. I miss you a lot, I miss going walking on Sunday with you. Please tell the rest of the family I was asking for them.
Your pest, Ann C. Bonk

Ann married Floyd Monroe of East Haven and they had three daughters and 4 sons. They lived for many years in Vermont and we would see them once a year at the annual Fourth of July picnic! After Floyd passed away in 1985, Ann moved back to Connecticut and became a teacher at the Wallingford Community Day Care where she was known as Miss Ann. Something I didn’t know about her until my research was she was a graduate of Yale University School of Music. Prior to that she studied piano and organ with various teachers including a professor at Yale. For two years prior to college she was the organist at St. Peter and Paul Church in Wallingford. Ann passed away in 2011.

Laverne married Ed Dziubinski and lived in Branford. They had 2 children and Ed passed away some years ago and she has since remarried.

*Laverne with Auntie Ann, Aunt Bea, and Joan (back right)*

Joan married Carl Focareto of Berlin Connecticut. He was a loud, gregarious individual and I don’t mean loud in a bad way! “Knock-out” was his nickname. I don’t know why, and it just came to me! They were married in 1954 and they had 2 children who we knew fairly well because they went to the “other” high school in Wallingford. Their daughter, Beverly, married someone from “our” high school who was good friends with one of my brothers in law, so we would see them at parties and softball games. Their son, Peter, lives a few blocks away from us.

Carl and my dad were golfing buddies. When Carl died in 1998, it hit my dad pretty hard. As a tribute to him, dad had the florist make up an arrangement that was a putting green. I wish I still had the picture of it. It was probably something they had never done before! Joan still lives in Wallingford.

My sisters and I didn’t know Henry and his family. I don’t know why. Maybe because he was born in 1937 when my mother was 15, and he was a boy?

Hank as he was known was involved in baseball and lacrosse growing up. He graduated from Tufts University and was a chemist and inventor with 34 scientific patents. He also served in the Army in South Korea. He had his wife had 2 daughters. Sadly, Hank passed away after a long battle from MS in 2021 at the age of 83.

My Behme cousins are far more familiar with Hank and his family most likely because their mother, Judy Posluszny Behme, was 2 years younger than Hank and they might have gone to Holy Trinity together. Being that close in age, they likely had their children in the same range and they too, would have been in school together. I just remember the Behme family heading off to the Bonks house during the holidays and I didn’t quite understand why we didn’t!

When I put these stories together I see so many characteristics within my family today. The scientists and musicians, the cooks and bakers, and overall smarty-pantses in the family! There’s also the “get involved in your town” and take care of people whether their friends or strangers. This is the DNA we carry within us.

As cousin Ann Bonk’s obituary said:
In memory of Ann and how she lived her life, we ask that you honor her by a simple act of kindness.

Elizabeth Eva Posluszny

Elizabeth Eva Posluszny was the 11th born and 7th living adult child of Carolina Straub and Joseph Posluszny. She was born in Dzikowiec in the Galicia region of Poland on September 24, 1896, three years after her sister Mary.

The following year in April of 1897, Joseph Posluszny died at the age of 44. There is currently no record of the cause of death. The following May, her mother Carolina married a/the farmhand John Bonk (aka Bak). He was 26, she was 43.

The following year began the immigration of first John in 1899, followed by Joseph (1901), Konrad (1902), Charles (1905), Mary (1906), and Frank (1907).

Elizabeth was 10 years old when she arrived in the United States with her mother, stepfather, and half brother Walter. The Passenger List on their arrival indicates that John had been in the United States in Perth Amboy from 1901 to 1906. I haven’t found any actual passenger or census record to confirm that but the 1920 census say he immigrated in 1900. More research awaits!

The next record I have for Elizabeth is the 1920 Census and she is married to Joseph Łaçź (One-ch) and living on Geneva Avenue in Wallingford with Carolina and John Bonk and Walter who is now 17. Elizabeth and Joseph have two children, Joseph V born in 1916, and Charles F born in 1920. Also living with them is John Posluszny, the oldest brother John’s son. John Bonk, Walter, and Joseph are working at the Silverware Factory and John Posluszny is working at the hardware factory, both in Wallingford. At 17, Walter was an electrician which is the profession he continued with through his life.

The 1920 Wallingford directory also says Joseph and Elizabeth Łaçź lived on Geneva Street and he worked at the Silverware Factory.

There is no 1921 directory online but the 1922 directory says he is a grocer at – 105 Ward Street. The same grocer that her sister Mary and husband Victor will come to own in 1924, and later their daughter Mary and her husband Otto.

In 1924, Elizabeth disappeared. She left her husband, two children, and family. I told the story about the mental illness that runs through the Posluszny family, and the stories of my grandfather Konrad, and his brother Frank. I was told she had a complete mental breakdown. The 1924 directory says “Joseph Łaçź removed to New Britain” taking his two sons with him.

My Aunt Judy told me the family did not like Joseph. He was 12 years older than her and was 31 years old to her 19 years old at their marriage. Aunt Mary hired private detectives to try and find her but never succeeded.

I have scoured online records for any sign of Joseph or Charles but have come up empty handed. I had possible information on their father, but the information conflicts with another family tree.

*Elizabeth Eva Posluszny Łaçź* *born 1896 – died ?*

Have Patience!

I am working on the next sibling, Charles, in the Posluszny family stories but it’s going really slow! A lot of facts, no stories, and a few grandchildren with not much information of their own. I got spoiled working on my previous stories, digging up still living family, and I’m hoping to have one for Charles by the time I’m done.

His wife Maria’s maiden name is Straub, same as Charles’ mother and I’m working to find out if she is connected through Caroline’s line or through the Straub line that Joseph’s wife Anna comes from.

In case you’ve forgotten who Charles is, he’s the one with the crazy hair.