Zawada Family History
A portrait of Victoria Zawada
Frank's wife and her family
Frank Zawada arrived in the U.S. in 1892 and somehow made his way
to Calumet, Michigan.
Within two years of his arrival in the
U.S., he had met Victoria Szatkowski, marrying her in Calumet on
September 18, 1894.
Frank was just 21 years old when he married.
His bride, Victoria Szatkowski, was a tender 15 years old.
Ten months after their union, Victoria bore their first child,
Frank Anton Zawada, Jr.
Victoria had been in Calumet since 1881 with her immediate and extended
family, having emigrated from Poland like Frank did. I'm told that
Victoria had an accent, and/or that she never spoke a word of English.
Victoria Szatkowski was born on September 14, 1879 in Radzewo, Bnin (Srem),
Poznan, Poland. She was one of nine children born to Tomasz and Catherine
Szatkowski.
In October, 1872, Tomasz Szatkowski left Hamburg on the ship "Holsatia" bound
for New York. He traveled alone at the age of 32. It is not known if Tomasz
had joined relatives already in the U.S. or if he was the first to come over,
but he somehow found his way to Calumet, Michigan.
Tomasz had returned to Poland, and then left again, returning to New York
on the ship "Lessing" on June 25, 1879. His purpose of travel was, "Staying
in USA, but not a citizen of USA".
In 1880, Tomasz brought his wife Catherine and their family from Poland
to the U.S., again on the ship "Lessing", but it appears he did not travel
with them. Catherine came alone with 6 children in tow; all of them under
age 13. They arrived on May 26, 1880, when Victoria was only 8 months old.
Five years later, Tomasz was hurt in a mining accident, and in 1888 he died
of consumption (Tomasz is buried in the Calumet & Hecla cemetery in Laurium,
Michigan, but the cemetery has suffered severe neglect and vandalization over
the years, and the family can no longer find Tomasz's plot).
In 1888, Catherine was left a widow with nine children to look after, and
it is likely that her 18-year-old son Franz was already working as the
breadwinner for the family in his father's place.
Victoria herself was only eight years old when her father died.
Seven short years later, in 1895, at the age of 15, Victoria gave birth to her
first child, Frank Anton. She had married Frank Zawada just ten months earlier,
four days after her 15th birthday. Frank was 21 years old.
Victoria's older sister Apolonia had also married at the age of 17 and had
her first child a month later. Her husband was Stephan Baranowski, and
together they had a total of 14 children.
This is important to note, because some of the photos in the Zawada family
album show Victoria's second son, Joseph Zawada, with his cousins.
They appear to be Baranowski cousins.
A third-cousin by the name of Kathy Atwood is a Baranowski descendant,
and she has graciously sent me some Baranowski photos which also contain
some Szatkowski relatives. These photos can be found here.
The rest of Victoria's family line can be found here.
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Last updated October 19, 2004
© Copyright Steph Wades, 1999 - 2022
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