Lusty Men...

     Well, that is an assumption, but I was looking over the Bulera brothers today and between them they had 33 children!  That is beyond good Catholic!
     Our ancestor is Frank M. Bulera.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Franciska Bauza.  They were married in 1884 in Poland and emigrated on 12 Mar 1884, leaving Hamburg and arriving in New York on 27 Mar 1884.

Hamburg Ship List, The Moravia, departed 12 Mar 1884

Buleras in the 1885 Census, St. Paul

They were in the Minnesota State Census in 1885 in St. Paul, Ward 4.
         Frank and Franciska had 4 known children: Joseph, George F. (Adalbert), John Walter (Wadge), and John.  Joseph must have died as an infant.  He was born on 5 Feb 1885 but does not appear with the parents in the 1885 census which was enumerated in May. George and John W. (sometime recorded as Walter) both grew to adulthood.  No record beyond the baptismal record in  July, 1889 is found for the 2nd John. It is likely that Franciska died after childbirth.
     Frank and Stanislava (Stella) married on 29 April 1890.  They had 15 children! I have written previously about how much fun it was figuring out Stella's maiden name.  Almost every kid had a different rendition of Lazewski or a hybrid of Lazewski and Strzyrzewski. Here goes:  Sophia, Rose, Martha, Bernice, Mary Ann, John, Franz (Frankie), Andrew, Teresa, Marion (Mike), Margaret, Julia, Valentina (Viola), Leonard and Florian. Whew!
     Frank's brother Joseph and his wife Salomea had 14 children according to the 1910 census.  I have only found 13 records.  It seems that at least 9 of these children died as infants.  Some were unnamed in the records. Joseph and Salomea Nadohy were married on 12 Aug 1891 at St. Adalbert's in St. Paul. There is some confusion about her last name as well, but I am using the name that appeared in the marriage record.
According to the Poznan Marriage Project, he was previously married as well.  His first wife was Appolina Jurek.  She must have died before Joseph emigrated.
     On the 2nd marriage records for both Frank and Joseph, their parents names are given as Valentin and Catherine.  There is a marriage record on the Posen site for them as well.  They were married in 1853 and Catherine's maiden name is Wyt. I'm going to have this researched further.  We'll see what happens.
     I'm including the married names of the women in the labels.  Not going into all those kids today!
     Out of this bunch, our ancestor was Mary Ann Bulera.  She was born 23 Jan 1897 and baptized 7 February 1897 at St. Adalbert's. Her godparents were John (Orzewski) Lazewski and Rose Wilisek. John was Stella's brother.  I don't know if Rose is related.
     Mary Ann married Emil Blaha, son of Vaclav and Mary Henych Blaha.

Henych

     For kicks, I emailed a guy on Facebook named Michal Henych.  What the heck!  He could be related.  There are not many Henychs in the Czech Republic.  He responded, but we don't know if there is a connection. In getting ready to tell him about our Henychs, I was revisiting info I had on Ancestry.com, and lo and behold! Look what popped up! (And I had put this family in MANY times recently.  It was like magic!)

Henych Family on the Ship List of the Hansa, departing Hull on 9 June 1882.

When I tried to find the date of immigration, a search resulted in a list of the whole family plus one person I haven't seen in records in St. Paul. The new person on this list is John/Jan.  He does not appear in any censuses with the family. The ship list gives their last place of residence as Jiřice.
     The censuses for this family are confusing. In one census, though living at the same address, the parents were listed separately from the children on a different page.  I was so happy to find this list as it helps clarify the family configuration.  In census records, there was often James and Joseph.  Then there was Vincent and James.  There is a death record for Vincent. There are still a few details to be sorted out.

Emilie Henych Plaster, Barbara Forst Henych, Joe Henych, Augusta Henych Masek, Josef Henych

     According to the list, the family consists of the parents:  Joseph Henych and Barbara Forst.  The children are Mary (our ancestor), Jan, Vincent, Emilie, Joseph and Augusta.
     Barbara and Joseph had a home at 750 Logan St. in St. Paul.  Joseph died on the 21st of February 1908.  Barbara Forst Henych died on the 2nd of January 1918. They are buried at Calvary.
     As far as I can tell, Vincent and Joseph never married. I don't know about Jan.

     In 1932, Vincent committed suicide.  He jumped off the high bridge in St. Paul. 

     Searching for them in the records is a lot of fun.  The name has been rendered as:  Henyck, Henek, Hanek, Henick, Henicke, and Henig.    

Jim Blaha, Emil Blaha, Vaclav Blaha, Emily Blaha, Mary Henych Blaha, Joseph Blaha, Louie Blaha

     Mary married Vaclav or James Blaha on the 16th of February 1885 at St. Stanislaus in St. Paul. They had 2 other children besides those pictured above:  John Venceslaus (1886-1886) and Emanuel (1889-?).  For a time records confused me since Emanuel and Emil are so close--especially as records go.  There is however a  baptismal record for each.
     Augusta married John Masek.

Emilie Henych & Herman Plaster Wedding

Emilie married Herman Plaster.  They were married on 21 Aug 1906 at St. Stan's, St. Paul.

Just Keep on Trackin'

     Love those Mormons and their work of saving the history of humankind in records and letting us use them for free!!!!
     Recent hunting and pecking has turned up the birth record of Frank Hansen, brother of Charles John Hansen, grandfather of Dot Hansen Blaha.  This is important for a couple of reasons.  Frank was the only one in his family born here in Minnesota. The record gives the name of his mother and father.  This helps loads, as it helps to confirm a 1880 census of a family in St. Paul. The thing is, you'd think they were Irish!  John and Mary were given on the birth record. 

 

      They also appear in the 1885 Minnesota State Census in St. Paul.  This time Seagur is called Herbert. Frank isn't on the scene yet. 

     Stepping back a few years, a ship's list is found with their passage to America.  They arrived in New York on 27 November 1878.  This jives with later reports of immigration.  

     The Norwegian Archives has a record of an emigrant family leaving Oslo on 3 November 1878 heading for St. Paul, Minnesota. The record is somewhat confusing because it looks like Marie is traveling alone with the children. On the passenger list, it appears that Carl C. is her husband.  On the Norwegian emigrant record, Carl C. is going to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. It is possible that she traveled without John since Hakon/Henry is not on the passenger list.They may have come ahead to establish a residence.

     The 1875 Norwegian Census has a record of the John and Marie Hansen family living in Christiania. The children are listed as:  Hakon Bernart, Karl Johan, Sigur Sevrin, and Alma Johane. I could not locate the family on the 1865 Norwegian Census.  

     In later US Census records, Hakon becomes Henry.  Karl Johan is known as Charles J.; Sigur is known as Sidney and Alma is Alma. 

     Once I spoke to Alma Hansen Young, who is the daughter of Sidney Hansen.  She mentioned that a brother of her father disappeared.  This seems to be true.  I have not been able to find Henry, as he was known here, after the 1895 Minnesota Census.  John (the father) died sometime between 1885 and 1895 as he does not appear in the 1895 census.  By 1900, Marie is probably dead as well since she is not in the 1900 census. 

     There are possible birth records on the FamilySearch.org site. Alma Johane Marie Hansen was born 30 October 1874 in Oslo, Norway. Her parents are given as Johan Hansen and Marie Andersen.  She married John E. Triese, Jr. in April 1896.  She died on 1 Feb 1900.  She had 2 children:  Walter and John Triese.

     There is a record for Sigurd Sevrin,born on the 31st of August 1872.  His parents are given has Carl Johan Hansen and Marie Anderson.

     Sigrud known as Sidney married Stella Marie Williams.  Their children were Marie Hansen Few; Irene Hansen Muraski; Gladys Hansen Tysk; Alma Hansen Young and Sidney Joseph.  

     Frank married Stella's sister Florence Williams.  I love their kids names:  Frank and Florence.  Florence married Clarence Godfrey.

Uncle Jack telling Uncle John Stories...

  Uncle Jack is Clarence John Hansen.  He is the son of Clarence Hansen and Rose Švec. Uncle John is Rose's brother.  Their parents are Frank J. Švec and Mary Vrkocova.  Uncle John was born in Vlastibor (then Lastibor) Bohemia in 1888.  He came to America in 1890 with his parents and also on the same ship was Mary's sister Annie.
     Uncle John was a cigar maker. When he decided to marry, he thought he should have a more secure job so took a railroad job--at about half the pay.  He married Florence Minnie Schultz who was born in Ohio.  She went by Minnie.

     Once, while in Osakis, he fell on his stairs and broke his back.  The stairs were very narrow and the medics couldn't get him down the windy stairs, so John got up off the stretcher, walked down the stairs and then got back on the stretcher.  He had a full body cast applied.  Uncle Jack offered to pick him up from the hospital when it was time to be discharged.  One day, John turned up on Rose's doorstep--he had taken the train and then the bus and walked a couple blocks to Rose's house.  He was supposed to wear this cast for a while. One day he asked Clarence where his (John's) tools were.  He went down to the basement and after a bit they heard pounding and buzzing.  John came up the stairs with the body cast in hand. He told Rose that he would put in her garden in the spring and he did.
     Minnie worked at a tea house in St. Paul.  This was in the time of the Weyerhausers and the Hills.  She was very good at remembering names and birthdays.  Her savvy garnered tremendous tips from her patrons. Minnie was also quite a fisherwoman.  It was one of John and Minnie's favorite things to do.
     I remember Uncle John telling us he could pick up 3 bricks with one hand.  He also called me "Mrs."  I think he didn't remember my name, but I thought that was so sweet.
     John lived on his own for a long time after Minnie died in 1957.  One of the things he did for himself was make sugar cookies.  (Dot's recipe).  Cindy said he also tried his hand at rye bread.

The Woman of Many Maiden Names...

     Stella Bulera, Arnie's grandmother, is Polish.  I think that helps explain why it was so difficult to pin down her real maiden name.  Of course, there were a few red herrings thrown in there to make matters more confusing.
     When looking for the records of her children's births or deaths, confusion reigned.  Her last name was rendered:

• Lozinski (with a slash through the L)
• Lazewski (may have a slash)
• Laszewska;
• Lejeski
• Laezi
• Laziske
• Lazuski
• Oreswki
• Orzewska
• Legewski and....
• Wyjeski

To top that off, in the church marriage records, her name was given as Orzewska. The notice in the St. Paul Pioneer Press and actually in the marriage record itself in Ramsey County, her name was recorded as Stina Lozewska.

     A lucky break came when I started tracking down the baptismal sponsors of Frank and Stella's children. The sponsors for Andrew Bulera baptized December 10, 1900 at St.Adalbert's, St. Paul, the godmother was recorded as Katherine Stryzewska. 

     I followed this name out in census and death records. Katherine Strzyzewska died on 31 January 1932.  The certificate says she was 96 years old.  She was born in Poland and her father's name was given as Michael Kiszka.  I went to see if an obituary would shed any light on her relationship with Stella or Frank Bulera, because baptismal sponsors are often family members. 

     The obituary in the St. Paul Pioneer Press read thus:

STRZYZEWSKA--Katherine.  In her 97th year at 848 Case street, January 31st.  Survived by her husband, Thomas.  Mother of Stanislava Bulera, John Lazewski and Stanizlaw Strzyzewska (sic), also 20 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.  Funeral from the home of John Lazewski, 850 Case street, Wednesday, February 3d, at 8:30 A. M. Services at St. Casimirs church at 9 A. M. Interment Calvary.  

     Wa-hoo!  This was totally new information in terms of the family tree. It added two generations. It begins to solve the name confusion.  It turns out that Katherine was married previously to Andreas/Andrew Lazewski.  After his death, she married Thomas Strzyzewski.  

     Sometimes in the census records, John Lazewski was recorded as Strzyzewski since Thomas was the head of household.  I'm not sure how Lazewski morphed into Orzewska, but this just shows how creative you have to be in deciphering the Polish names.  Sorry, Polish relatives, but it is much worse than anything I have seen in Irish records! One thing I did learn about the Polish L with a slash through it is that it has a soft w sound. See this Omniglot page for more pronunciation fun!

     The fact that Stella's brother's name is given as Lazewski in their mother's obituary was a big help.  He later muddies the waters by changing his name to Lasky.

     On Stella's death certificate, her father's name is given as Thomas Lazewski.  This is so much easier to understand now.  The first name of her step-father Thomas Strzyzewski and the surname of her father were combined.  This points out how records are not always accurate!

     Stella's death certificate also says she was born in Warsaw, Poland.  This also turns out to be incorrect.  We now have much more information on Stella's origins thanks to Patti Kiszka Metsch.  A couple of years ago I posted Katherine Kiszka Lazewska Strzyzewska's obituary online.  Patti responded to me that she had Kiszkas in her tree and they were from the area of  Poznan. This was a wonderful random act of genealogical kindness!! If I had ever gotten to looking for Stella's origin's, I would have started out searching far from her place of origin. 

View Larger Map

     Stella's baptismal record, courtesy of Patti, says she was born in Trzek on 22 April 1872.  Her parents are Andreas Lazewski and Catherina Kiszka.  Her godparents are Antonius Malecki and Victoria Kiszka (Catherine's sister).
     Thanks to Patti, there is much more to be shared about the Kiszkas.
     Maiden name mystery solved!!!
     And now, Stella Lazewski Bulera has a serendipitous namesake!  Though not intentional, there is now a Stella Marie Blaha--great, great, great granddaughter of Stella Bulera!

Wedding Bells...

     Dorothy Marie Hansen and Arnold Frank Blaha were married on 22 November 1947 at St. Luke's Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. (The church building still exists, but the parish has been reconfigured and the church is now called St. Thomas More).

     In this photo are Arnie, Dot, Jack Hansen, John Blaha, Josephine Hansen, and I think peeping from the back, Bernie Blaha.  If that is Bernie, this photo includes the siblings from both families. Don't the bride and groom look happy!!!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day...Really

Thanks to Irish, the Hansen-Blaha clan can officially celebrate St. Patty's Day. Before she joined the family we had rather feeble claims to the day. Of course there was always green jello to celebrate and an occasional grasshopper pie to add a hint of green. And one of our family gained special status on that day since he had chosen Patrick as his confirmation name. But, then Irish came along and we had a real reason to celebrate. And we still do 41 years later... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Help Wanted...

     Even though I have been hanging around the Blaha family for 41 years, I felt like I couldn't flesh out the people whose names will appear here.  I've heard stories, like Cindy getting a swirlie from her brothers, but I haven't soaked it all up like someone who has been within the family since birth!  So I'm inviting Cindy to collaborate with me on this blog. I'll supply some records and she'll supply the heart!

Definitely not Irish....

     Coming from a mostly Irish Heritage myself, entering the world of the Czechs, Norwegians, Polish, and Germans is a whole new ball came.  Once in grade school, the students were asked to share their ethnic backgrounds.  I was fascinated by the French, English, and Germans among us.  Some kids had 3 or 4 countries of origin!!  My eyes were green...and not because I was Irish.  ONLY Irish.
     Well, my kids can't claim to be so one-sided!  Matt, Mic, Tim and especially Stella Marie!  This is for you!