BALBINA KORCZ
Part of being a genealogist and researching one's own family is the opportunity to collect photos of ancestors. The further back one goes in their research the more difficult it is to obtain photos. If one is fortunate, photos will come from unexpected sources.
I, of course, have many photos of my parents and also many photos of my four grandparents. I was blessed to have known all of my grandparents and while I was only 12 when my maternal grandfather passed away, I was an adult when I lost my other three grandparents. Thus, many photos, many memories!
In the course of my 40+ years of research I have been able to uncover photos of my eight great-grandparents. Some were easier to find than others but it is always a joy when a new photo emerges.
Going back to one's 2nd great grandparents the search is exceedingly difficult; after all there are 16 2nd great-grandparents and in my case all 16 were born either in Germany or Poland. To make it even more difficult five of my 2nd great-grandparents stayed in their homeland and never immigrated to the US.
However, photos can emerge from the least expected source. Such was my good fortune in being able to obtain a photo of my 2nd great-grandmother, Balbina Korcz.
I have had this genealogy blog since 2008. In addition I do have my family tree on Ancestry.com. Occasionally I will receive e-mails from either source when someone has come across a person in my tree that they feel is part of their tree as well.
Some years ago I had an e-mail from a gentleman in Arizona who told me he was from the family of my 2nd great-grandmother's son from her second husband. Together we compared our data as follows:
Balbina Korcz was born about 1828 in Poland.
On 1 October, 1854 in Tulce, Poznan, Poland she married Thomas Kijak (1812-1865).
Together, they had 5 children:
Michael Kijak (1855-1857)
Hedwig Kijak (1857-1920)
Joannes Albert Kijak (John) (1861-1945) - my great-grandfather
Adalbertus Kijak (1863-1871)
Laurentius Kijak (1865-1866)
Thomas Kijak passed away on 13 January, 1865 in Taniborz, Poznan, Poland.
Balbina then married a second time to Casparus (Casper) Kowalak (1830-1900) on 10 February, 1867 in Tulce, Poznan, Poland. She brought her three remaining children, Hedwig, John and Adalbertus, with her into her new marriage.
On 18 October, 1868, Balbina gave birth to son, Martinus (Martin) Kowalak, with new husband, Casper. Martin would become the ancestor of my newly found correspondent from Arizona.
Eventually Balbina, Casper and son, Martin, immigrated to the US and settled in Bay City, Michigan. At separate times Balbina's two adult children from her marriage to Thomas Kijak - Hedwig and John - immigrated as well to Bay City.
One day I had an e-mail from this Arizona correspondent and discovered he had attached a photo. He explained that he had been visiting family in Detroit and a photo was shared with him. He, in turn, shared the photo with me. This was a family group photo taken in Bay City, Michigan undoubtedly in the late 1880's/early 1890's and showed Balbina and Casper Kowalak with their blended family.
To be able to see a photo of my 2nd great-grandmother, Balbina, was an unexpected pleasure but to also see a youthful photo of my great-grandfather, John, as well as a photo of his sister, Hedwig, was really exciting. For some reason I had always pictured Balbina as a large woman with a stern face but she was definitely not those things. She had the loveliest and sweetest smile and I do believe my own mother inherited her personality from her great-grandmother.
I would have to call this my favorite photo as it certainly was one that I never expected to find.
Standing Back Row L-R: John and sister, Hedwig Kijak, Martin Kowalak
Seated Front Row: Balbina Korcz Kijak Kowalak and Casper Kowalak
Bay City, Michigan
My Kijak ancestors were very short in stature and it is easy to see that John and sister Hedwig definitely had the Kijak genes. Then there is half brother, Martin, who is obviously very tall - obviously a Kowalak trait. Also interesting is the fact that Balbina is sweetly smiling which is not often seen in photos from that period of time. Most photos seemed to show stern faced women - perhaps evidence of the hard life they had.
Pictures are a treasure to have but also another tool in our research. When we are fortunate enough to find a new photo it adds to our history and brings that person to life in our thoughts. This photo does just that!
2 comments:
Lovely story and photograph! What a pleasure to have such treasures fall unexpectedly in our laps.
Thank you for your kind comment, Jenie. I enjoyed writing this post. Have a good day!
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