Where'd they go? My people left Lithuania and went to Pennsylvania

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Permalink Reply by Richie C. on December 31, 2009 at 12:01pm

This is an area where I'm so weak, but as I always tell other people (without them asking me for advice!), this is where it's really important to know the history, occupations, etc., even though I can't recite all that info myself. From this map, you can see that that area was Prussian going back to the year 1200. And from 1867 to 1914, Pavistytis maybe bordered on the Kingdom of Prussia, hard to tell.

So it makes sense, even if the name "August" wasn't a big clue(!), that your g-grandparents were German speaking. But I think you do yourself a disservice focusing on "Germany" vs. "Prussia". I think you have to be flexible.

There are some films from the Mormon's that you might want to order through your closest Family History learning center here and here. However, as the records will be in German, Russian and Polish, they'll be challenging. Another option might be to contact the Polish Archives in Suwalki at zluksza@suwalki.ap.gov.pl. When I've written to Archives in Poland, I've had a friend write my email for me in Polish. You could probably piece together a short somewhat coherent email using Google Translator.

An estimated birthyear of 1877 for Helena Myszkus together with her parents' names seems like it'd give you a pretty good chance of the Archives finding her baptism, or you finding it on the microfilms...assuming the records survived war and fires.

As far as August is concerned, the "-ski" in his name is a Polonization of Dombrow (or maybe even Dombrau, I dunno). So if I were searching in Prussia, I'd go with August Dombrow. How would you find out where in Prussia August came from? I dunno. FamilySearch.org lists a bunch with different towns (one of them is Schurow, Pommern, Preussen). But Dombrow was also the name of the coal basin that included present-day Katowice, Poland.

You have your work cut out for you, but there's always some new search to try!

Permalink Reply by Tanya Breese on December 31, 2009 at 12:06pm

Wow, thank you! I'm going to digest some of this and see what I come up with. Thanks again!

Permalink Reply by Marcie Gerlach on June 5, 2010 at 12:52pm

I'm looking for information on my great-grandfather Peter Deltuva/Dalto. He was came from Lithuania in 1913 and married my great-grandmother Mamie Bell/Baltitski in 1918. I have their 1920 census in Coaldale and then their 1930 census in Detroit. I have their marriage docket number but I'm not sure how to order the record. However, what I'm really interested in are his parents names, naturalization info and I would LOVE to eventually be able to request any records from Lithuania. Any help or advice you can offer would be wonderful! Thanks

Permalink Reply by Richie C. on June 8, 2010 at 10:12am

Marcie,
I couldn't find the 1920 & 1930 Censuses. What spelling did you find them under? Because of that, other records I found, I don't know if it's your Peter. To get to the point of requesting records from Lithuania, you'll have to know birthdate and village of origin, at a minimum. Find the village seems to be one of the toughest hurdles. You might find this info on Draft Cards, Naturalization paperwork, or through family history.

There's a WW I draft card for a Peter Deltova, born 26 June 1893, from Detroit. It lists his birthplace as Suwalki, Russia, which is a big gubernia in southwestern Lithuania and neighboring Poland. The city of Suwalki is actually in Poland today. But, if this is your Peter, where in Suwalki is he from? You'd hope to find his ship manifest which might tell you. Where did you get 1913 as the year of immigration? I've found that dates taken from the census are ofter off by a year or two. There is a Petras Deltuwa, born 1893, who arrived in Phila. in 1911. He was from Zugowauki/Zugowanki. His father is also listed as Petras, and he was headed to Scranton, PA to be with a Felix Deltuwa. I'm guessing this is the Suwalki one, and this village is somewhere in Suwalki.

Also, there was a Petras Deltuwas arriving in New York in 191, born 1889. This one was from Pataszyny (Patašinė). There are two villages with this name, one near Marijampole (which would have been in Suwalki) and one halfway between Marijampole and Kaunas, near Kazlu Ruda. This one listed Andras Deltuwas as his nearest relative, and this Petras was headed to Rumford Falls, Maine, where his step-brother, Josas Degutis, lived.

Then there could be others with badly misspelled names that didn't come up on the radar screen.

The marriage record, if you're talking about a Schuylkill county marriage, can be ordered from the courthouse in Pottsville. They're cheap (like a dollar, I think) and you just send the money after you receive it. A 1918 marriage record might have the parents' names on it. Earlier ones (circa 1900) wouldn't. So, I'd start with getting that marriage certificate. Then try to find immigration and naturalization info (see main page of group regarding naturalizations). Hopefully from that, you can discover the village, and then you can make the jump to Lithuania.

Permalink Reply by Richie C. on June 29, 2010 at 12:55pm

Off Topic: Just thought I'd post the details for Schuylkill County's annual "Lithuanian Days":
Aug 14, 2010 (Sat) - Aug 15, 2010 (Sun)

:: 96th ANNUAL LITHUANIAN DAY Location: SCHUYLKILL MALL FRACKVILLE PA

THEME: MUSIC, LANGUAGE & DANCE

SPONSORED BY: KNIGHTS OF LITHUANIA C-144 ANTHRACITE COUNCIL SCHUYLKILL COUNTY

SATURDAY 11:00 AM TO 6:00 PM SUNDAY 12:00 TO 5:00 PM

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: 570-874-2311 (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM)

570-874-4092 ( AFTER 6:00 PM )

Permalink Reply by Sandra Alley on October 4, 2010 at 7:58pm

My grandparents immigrated to Allentown/Emmaus, Pa. My mother, who was born in Emmaus, knew this but she never knew "Why" they picked that area or if they knew someone there. However, I found some helpful information on the ship manifests that my grandparents names are listed when they arrived at Ellis Island in 1907. Information is noted on where they are going, address, name of person at destination.

Permalink Reply by Ian Singer on October 28, 2010 at 7:48pm

My name is Ian Singer...my family emigrated to Shenandoah from Lithuania in the late 1800's and early 1900's. My family has come together and created a foundation to memorialize the Jewish population of Schuylkill County. As the webmaster/archivist for the foundation (dedicated to the Kehillat Israel Synagogue which no longer exists) please see me website at www.kehillatisraelcemetery.com for jewish genealogy in Shenandoah, Pa!

Ian Singer

ianpsinger@gmail.com

Hope I can learn something from others here!

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