Frank Zawada, Page 1

Zawada Family History

Frank Zawada's Emigration from Poland

Frank Zawada, born Dec. 21, 1872, died 1936

Frank grew up in turbulent times in Poland.

Frank Zawada Sr. was born and raised in Wongrowic, Posen, within the German Empire at a time when there was no Poland.

Poland was invaded and occupied many times over the centuries, and its border size has changed repeatedly.
Starting in the 1770's, Russia, Prussia and Austria had taken the Kingdom of Poland and divided it up amongst themselves. During the time that Frank grew up, Poland was part of Prussia and was called the "Province of Posen".
However, with the unification of Germany, the Province of Posen became part of the German Empire (1871-1918) under Emperor William II. Posen from that point on would be the headquarters for the Third Reich.

In 1871, with Posen now part of the German Empire, Kulturkampf (cultural war) was initiated against Poles. Germany, a Protestant country, sought to reduce the influence of the Catholics in Posen, who were perceived as a threat.
Catholic clergy was not allowed to discuss politics or be jailed for 2 years, and Jesuits were banned from Germany. In 1872, it was mandated that all schooling of children be done in German ONLY. In 1875, Germany removed from the church the right to marry people. In 1888, Germans moved into Polish space, bought land from Poles and resold it to Germans. Land was denied to Poles who applied to build homesteads.

It was in this sort of environment that Frank Zawada left his town of Wongrowic (a.k.a. Wongrowitz; Polish spelling is Wagrowiec) in Posen, at the age of nineteen.

Wongrowic, Posen
Frank would have had to take a train to Antwerp, Belgium, where he says he sailed from to get to the U.S..
On March 28, 1892, Frank set sail with thousands of other passengers, and the trip lasted almost a month.

Emigration in 1892 - Ellis Island

Frank arrived in New York harbor on April 15, 1892.

Unfortunately, Frank had forgotten the name of the ship he sailed on by the time he filed for immigration in Calumet in 1914.

To complicate research efforts on Frank's passage to the U.S., I discovered that on June 15, 1897, a fire broke out on Ellis Island, and all immigration records dating back to 1840 were destroyed. So we have no tangible proof of Frank's passage to America. But the fact that he got here remains solid.

Once the ship had docked in New York harbor, immigrants were herded onto a barge to make the trip to Ellis Island for inspections at the Immigration Station.

The barges were overcrowded and stifling, and it could take hours and sometimes even days before the barge was allowed to depart for Ellis Island.

This is the way Ellis Island would have looked to Frank as the barge approached:

In 1892, the buildings on this island were brand new, as the old Immigration Station had been located at Castle Garden at the southern tip of Manhattan in Battery Park.

The year before Frank arrived in New York harbor, changes were made to the Immigration Law, such as adding inspectors to weed out "idiots, insane persons, paupers, or persons likely to become public charges, persons suffering from a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease, persons who have been convicted of a felony or other infamous crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude", and polygamists, among other things.

Changes were also made to the 1885 Contract Labor Law to exclude immigrants who might enter the country at the request of American companies; it even became illegal for American companies to advertise work to people living abroad. - http://www.libertystatepark.com/

If it was illegal for American companies to advertise work to people living abroad, then either Frank had no idea he would end up as a copper miner in Calumet, Michigan, or he knew someone working in the mines in Calumet who advised him to sail abroad for a better life.

The following is an excerpt from "The Illustrated American", July 23, 1892:

When a transatlantic steamer arrives at its dock in New York, a tug or barge is sent to bring the immigrants to Ellis Island on which is a huge building of pine, faced with slate, for their accommodation. Here they can remain, but at the expense of the steamship company which brought them over, until their relatives or friends call for them. Each immigrant is thoroughly examined as to whence he came and whither he is going, and particularly questioned as to whether he is under contract. If so, he is returned to his native heath at the cost of the steamship company. If it is found that he is penniless, or likely to prove a burden to the State, or has any noxious disease, or is an idiot or a lunatic, or is a convict, back he goes to the old world.

At the door to the Immigration Receiving Station on Ellis Island, Frank would have been greeted by uniformed men speaking only in English, who told the crowd to keep moving. Then he would have entered an area called the Baggage Room to check his belongings. From that point, Frank would have climbed the slate stairs into the Great Hall.

The immigrant was given a stamped identification card. As he examined the card, he was observed by physicians to check for defective eyesight . His eyelids might then be checked for trachoma. This painful examination invol ved the use of a glove buttonhook to turn the immigrant's eyelids inside out. - "The Huddled Masses: The Immigrant in American Society 1880-1921", by Alan M . Kraut

Waiting for inspection
Inspection Card

The Great Hall

Eye test!

At some point, Frank would have had to go to the money exchange. He would have to show at least $25 worth of U.S. currency to prove that he was cleared off the island.

According to Alan M. Kraut, 80% of immigrants passed the inspections without any problems, and the entire process usually took about five hours. Once approved, Frank would have received a pass stamped "admitted", and he finally would be allowed to leave the Great Hall. He went back down to the 1st floor of the station, collected his baggage, pushed open the green door marked PUSH TO NEW YORK, and got aboard a double-decker ferry which took him that last mile to a new promised land. - assistance for this historical re-enactment garnered from http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/ellisisle/reborn.html

Aboard the ferry to Manhattan

Once ashore in New York, most immigrants found themselves at Battery Park.

Along Bowling Green, facing the Battery, are numerous hotels and mission houses, supported by philanthropic Catholics and Protestants, where the newly arrived immigrants can find board and lodging, and every precaution is taken by the government officers that they shall not be fleeced. A body of men , who can between them talk almost every language under the sun, is provided, an d the immigrant, so long as he is under Uncle Sam's care, is thoroughly taken ca re of. - "The Illustrated American", July 23, 1892

From that point on, Frank's journey to Calumet, Michigan is a mystery.

Calumet, Michigan

It is not known how Frank Zawada got to Calumet, Michigan, but he arrived there sometime in or after the year 1892.

Upon Frank's arrival to Calumet, (still known as Red Jacket at that time - named after a Native American Chief of the Seneca tribe), he went to work in the copper mines for the company called Calumet & Hecla. We do not know if Frank knew anyone in Calumet already. Records show that he had a brother, Jacob, and that Jacob immigrated in 1895, three years after Frank did. So who sponsored or urged Frank to come over, or did he just up and do it all himself?

The town of Calumet sits at 1208 feet above sea level, and is 0.2 miles wide (roughly only 126 acres!). The county seat is Houghton, which is home of Michigan Technological University, a school originally set up to study mining techniques. The nearest cities to Calumet are: Laurium, MI (1.2 miles), Lake Linden, MI (4.8 miles), Copper City, MI (5.3 miles), Hubbell, MI (5.4 miles), Houghton, MI (11.7 miles) and Hancock, MI (12.7 miles).

5th Street

Winter In Calumet

The average snowfall in the UP is 220 inches per year, with the temperature averaging anywhere from 7 - 30 degrees. Even in the summertime, temperatures rarely get above 65 degrees. Calumet's climate, including snowfall, is similar to Posen in Poland.

5th Street in the winter.
Snow Roller, 1893.

The snow-plow train in Calumet, Michigan.
Frank Zawada's youngest son Ray, about age 3 or 4, playing on Bridge Street. Calumet, MI.

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