Dad’s 100th Part 4:The 1940s

Note: Documentation backs up these facts. Sorry if the truth offends anyone, it is part of our family history, warts and all..

Dad never talked about the 40s. Many of us have a dark period in our lives we would rather forget and, for the most part, the 40s were his.

The decade begins with 27 year-old, Leo still working at Western Electric, making a decent wage, having made $1,300 in 1939, according to the 1940 census. He does not have a place of his own and boards with his sister, Bernice’s in-laws at 907 North Keeler Avenue in Chicago. 

Seemingly his luck changes when he meets a young lady about 10 years his junior. How and exactly when they met is a mystery. Leo lived in Chicago, she in Downers Grove. The distance in miles was not so great but it was a world of difference from city to country, factory worker to counter girl at a Walgreens. Leo Szczudlo and Margaret Sagen were married on September 6, 1941, beginning a tumultuous 6 years of married life and years of custody/visitation issues. Sometime between their marriage and June of 1942, Szczudlo became Studlo and sometime after that Margaret began calling Leo, Lee.  

A short three months after their marriage the United States is drawn into WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We don’t know why Leo did not serve in the military during the war and I am not sorry for selfish reasons. What kind of exemption could he have had? Did he just not get drafted? Who knows?

However, apparently men in uniform were an attraction for Margaret. After nine months of marriage Margaret began receiving letters from servicemen. Not platonic letters either. Whether or not there was any unseemly activity, we will never know for sure. But some of the letters alluded to meetings between Margaret and suitor(s). It appears she told a couple of these men that she was going to divorce Leo.

Did Leo know what was going on at the time? Who knows? Their union did produce a son, my half- brother, Jack on January 7, 1945.  At that time Leo, according to Jack’s Birth Certificate, was a tool and die maker at Western Electric, Co.

 

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There were a series of court dates prior to the final decree.  On one such date, Margaret lied in under oath as to whether she received letters from solders.  Leo produced a couple of those letters and Margaret was found in contempt of court and sentenced to 10 days in Cook County Jail.  Custody of little 17 month old Jack was temporarily awarded to Leo.

On December 1, 1947, Leo and Margaret’s divorce was finalized after a very lengthy process.  After the divorce Leo went to live with his sister Frances and her family according to Dolores Kozyra, Frances’ daughter.

A series of letters from Margaret discussing visitation time show that she was still trying to manipulate Leo.

Our Last Living Aunt Has Passed

 

While we weren’t together often and even less in the past few years, I remember Aunt Mary as a warm, caring and happy woman.  This is a sad milepost for us.

 

Obituary--Mary Bernice (Szczudlo) Kowalkowski

 

Kowalkowski, Mary Bernice (nee Szczudlo) Age 93. Beloved wife of the late Walter "Wladyslaw"; loving mother of Darlene and Elaine; daughter of the late Caroline and Joseph Szczudlo; sister of the late Frances (Anthony) Korcz, the late Bernice (Louis) Havlovic, the late Sophie (John) Zelesko, the late Leo (Julia) Studlo, the late Joseph (Rose) Szczudlo and the late Theodore "Teddy" Szczudlo; aunt to many nieces and nephews; Godmother of Sandra (Brian) Meloy and Christine (Walter) Kwak. Longtime member of the Polish Highlanders Jana Sabaly Kolo # 1. In lieu of flowers, Mass Memorials would be appreciated or contributions to St. Simon the Apostle Church, 5157 South California, Chicago, IL 60632 or to Holy Cross Hospital, 2701 West 68th Street, Chicago, IL 60629. Funeral Wednesday 8:45 am from Richard J. Modell Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 5725 S. Pulaski Rd. proceeding to St. Simon the Apostle Church 9:30 am Mass. Entombment Resurrection Mausoleum. Visitation Tuesday 3-9 pm. 773-767-4730 or www.rjmodellfh.com.

Published in Chicago Sun-Times on August 4, 2013

- See more at: http://legacy.suntimes.com/obituaries/chicagosuntimes/obituary.aspx?n=mary-bernice-kowalkowski-szczudlo&pid=166210443&fhid=2150#fbLoggedOut

Technorati Tags: Kowalkowski,Mary Kowalkowski,Mary Szczudlo

Things I Remember About Dad

By Sharon Gibson

Something I remember about my Dad was that he was a very conscientious about his job. He was a chauffeur for Western Electric and had to drive the bosses around. Most of the time he knew exactly where he was going, but if he was unsure he would go on a “dry run” to make sure he didn’t get lost. I remember once we all took a ride to Milwaukee just so he could check out where he was supposed to go.

Also, I do not remember him missing work, except for the blizzard in 1967 when we received 27 inches of snow. Even on that day he tried to get to work but wound up getting the car stuck in the snow. Another time he sustained a second or third degree burn to his hand, the back of his hand was one huge blister and still went to work instead of a doctor. They sent him to the company nurse and she treated it and bandaged it for him.

Another thing I remember about my Dad was when we did something wrong he would make a big show of being angry. He would pretend to be taking his belt off to spank us. He would stand there and move his feet and start to unbuckle it. We would take off running. Funny thing is I don’t remember him ever spanking us.

Another memory had to do with some pigeons we had. These pigeons just flew in one day and never left, as a matter of fact as time went on more showed up and they even had babies. Of course as kids we thought this was great. We named them, fed them and at some point Dad even made a coop for them. As you know pigeons are kind of messy birds and Dad was getting tired of the mess so one day he decided to catch them and bring them into the city and release them under one of the viaducts. So off he went with the birds but by the time he got back they had already found their way home.

Dad

Guest post by James D. Studlo

My father would have been 100 years old on July 22^nd so I thought it would be appropriate to commemorate the occasion in by writing what I knew about him.

I thought it would be best to start with what the world was like that he was born into and how he was fortunate to have been born here in the United States.

• The year saw the birth of some famous people including Gerald Ford, Jesse Owens, Vince Lombardi, Rosa Parks and Jimmy Hoffa.
• Some of the news stories were very similar to ours today. The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect income taxes. The populace protested vigorously,
• The Woolworth building opens in New York City. Designed by Cass Gilbert, it is the tallest building in the world at this date and for more than a decade after.
• The US was fighting a war overseas: Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippines concludes with U.S. troops under General John J. Pershing taking Bug Bagsak from defending Moro rebels, killing at least 500. 39^th street in Chicago is named for General Pershing, most people who ride on it don’t have a clue as to who he was.
• The 50th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Gettysburg draws thousands of American Civil War veterans and their families to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, needless to say there were no veterans at the 150th just celebrated .
• The Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across the United States is dedicated; I still drive on parts of it today.
• U.S. President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, ending construction on the Panama Canal, it has since been turned over to the Panamanians.
• The Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line, reducing chassis assembly time from 12½ hours in October to 2 hours, 40 minutes; it takes just under six hours today.
• Surprise, the Jews and Palestinians were fighting in the Middle East, Israel was then known as Palestine.

The Polish people had fallen on hard times in Europe in the 1700 and 1800s. There was no Polish state and many of the Poles were scattered around parts of Germany and Russia. Although they were often tradesman and hardworking they found themselves to be the subject of discrimination so many of them sought better conditions. This resulted in several waves of emigration to the US. My grandfather a bricklayer and grandmother were in one of those waves shortly after the turn of the century and came to the US settling in the Chicago area. There they stated a family. The city was growing rapidly then and there was plenty of work especially for a mason so things were apparently going to plan. My father was born in 1913 and spent some of his younger years in Chicago, times of which he never spoke about perhaps because he was too young to remember. Then my grandmother then became ill with some type of respiratory disease and my grandfather was told by the doctor that it would be best if the family was to move into the country. I presume the city air at that time was filled with smoke and soot. So he bought a farm in Wisconsin near a small town called Necedah. There it was that my dad grew up.

Farm life is tough today but even more so then, especially for children. The children were expected to do many chores including milking cows tending to animals and fields there wasn’t much in the way of mechanization. Then occasionally there was time for school. My dad said when they were able to attend school he and his siblings would walk several miles to the school in town. Sometimes they had to endure hot sun, sometime the rain, sometimes cold and snow of the Wisconsin winter. Often times thought the biggest obstacle to getting to school was human; in this case the German boys. Unfortunately the bigotry of Europe had found its way to northern Wisconsin, old hatred is difficult to eradicate even in a new generation on a different continent. Most of the time he was able to get through to school with only a few bumps and bruises. Despite these obstacles he was able to complete through 8^th grade. He was able to read and write but I always felt bad for him because I could see that he didn’t have much confidence in those abilities.

Life wasn’t all work on the farm and when he was free he would do a number of things depending on the season. In the winter they would fashion skis from pieces of wood bending the front tip upward by heating the wood in boiling water over and over again. Then they would fasten them to their boots with leather straps. From what he said they used them more like what we would refer to as cross country skis. They also created their own ice skates which they used on frozen parts of the river.

In the summer he liked to fish and since the farm was situated with the Wisconsin River a short distance to the east and the Yellow River to the west there were many good fishing sites. On occasion he would set his lines in the morning and returned later in the day to retrieve his catch. His favorite fish to catch was the sunfish pictured below. Along the way he would eat berries which grew wildly along the roads and in the woods. It may have been on one of these trips that he was bit in the leg by a poisonous snake and his friend saved his life by removing the venom the old fashion way. He also said he and his father would hunt sometimes along the river or along the edge of the fields to supplement what food they had.

As my father grew older he set his sights on returning to the city, a goal which was going to take some preparation. He never said how but he got his hands on an old Model T Ford which had fallen into disrepair and didn’t run. With a large dose of ingenuity and some old spare parts he was able to collect he was able to get the thing running again. Then one day he decided it was time and he headed off to the big city with a few dollars in his pocket in the hopes of finding a job. Apparently this was in the winter because he said he nearly froze to death on the trip and if he hadn’t installed a gas heater in the car he most likely would have, I guess the model T did not come with a heater as original equipment. At one point he was really snowed in and had to wait for a plow to come along and he then followed that to safety.

He arrived in Chicago when he was about 18 or 19 years which would have been around 1931 or 32 which was not a particularly good time to look for a job as this was in the middle of the Great Depression. I believe he stayed with relatives and in boarding houses when he first arrived. One of the more colorful stories he told was about a guy he met in one of these places who told my dad about a lead on a job. This job was at a gang distillery somewhere in the Chicago area near a river. For this he was paid 5 dollars a week and a gallon of alcohol. He was positioned near the entrance of the road and his job was to watch for any unusual activity from a tree house lavishly appointed with a wired doorbell button and an old chair. Well as the story goes one day a number of large black cars came speeding down the road a couple of them stopped and were guarding the entrance and the rest went speeding down to the distillery. He pressed the doorbell buttin frantically a number of times and then thought he should get out of there. So he climbed down from the tree house and started walking down to the road and toward home. As he walked past the cars left at the entrance one of the armed men there asked him where he was going he replied in Polish hoping to distance himself from the largely Italian operation. He said that he was going home and they just waved him on. His thought was that they let him go because he was just a young kid.

For a number of years he worked odd jobs and did carpentry while trying to get a job at one of the large manufacturing companies in the Chicago area. Finally after about 6 years he was able to secure a job at Western Electric in Cicero where he began work as a truck driver.

It was during this time that he decided to change his last name from Szczudlo to Studlo. Once I asked him and he said he made this change because it was simpler and that there was a lot of discrimination against Poles at the time and he felt it would make it easier to get a job.

He liked to dance and once told me that he on the weekends he would go to dance halls which were around the Chicago area. The most popular of these was the Willowbrook Ballroom which is still in existence today.

He also liked music and played a concertina and the trumpet by ear. He never said how he learned to play. Occasionally when we were young he would take out his concertina and play polkas on it, a great memory!

This brings us up to outbreak of WWII and he never spoke very much about his life during that time, so someone else may be able to fill in the details.

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Dad’s 100th Part 3: The 1930s

1930 U.S. Census Federal for Josef Szczudlo, Necedah Township, Juneau Co., WI

1930 U. S. Census Federal for Josef Szczudlo shows that the family own the farm they live on and Josef is working on his own account (for himself). Were they still living on the original 118 acres in Section 27? By this time Frances and Bernice both no longer live at home. Bernice was married to Louis Havlovic, Jr. on February 8, 1930. 

Name	Age on Apr 8	Attending School	Can Read/Write	Citizenship
Josef	48	No	Yes	Papers Filed
Carolina	38	No	Yes	Papers Filed
Leo	16	No	Yes
Joseph	15	Yes	Yes
Sophia	13	Yes	Yes
Theodore	12	Yes	Yes
Mary	10	Yes	yes

The economic boom-times of the 1920s came to a screeching halt with the stock market crash of 1929, that began what we now call the Great Depression.  At it’s peak in 1933,  almost half of the banks in the U. S. had failed and  it left nearly 15 million Americans without jobs.  It was not until 1939 that the U.S. economy regained it’s momentum, however the stock marked did not reach pre-crash levels until the early 1950s. Add to that the effects of a prolonged drought in the 1930s that devastated the Nation’s Great Plains. However, in 1934, severe drought conditions plagued 80% of the nation.  (Wessels Living History Farm, York, Nebraska, has a very interesting article and interactive map depicting the effects Drought in the 1930s.)*

Difficult times may have driven the children to relocated to Chicago, where prospects for employment were more promising.  Even Theodore (see page 35)  who was the only child to remain at home, sought work in the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] which began in 1932. 

“Young men flocked to enroll. Many politicians believed that the CCC was largely responsible for a 55 percent reduction in crimes committed by the young men of that day. Men were paid $30 a month, with mandatory $25 allotment checks sent to families of the men, which made life a little easier for people at home.“ Pasted from <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1586.html>

Leo did not join the CCC as he had already left home for Chicago. When asked by son, James Studlo, about how old he was and what he did when he came to Chicago, Leo’s response was--He left home as soon as he turned 18.  His first job was as a lookout for bootleggers.  He was paid $5 and a bottle of booze a week to sit in a “tree house” in a wooded area, and lookout for anyone suspicious. The tree house was rigged with a doorbell setup that he was to ring if anyone suspicious showed up.  Apparently that job ended after 6-months, when a suspicious car did show up, and after ringing the doorbell, Leo wisely took off.

We loose track of Leo for about five years.  However, on November 16, 1936, he began his nearly 39 years of employment at Western Electric’s Hawthorn Works in Cicero, Illinois.

*I know I am over simplifying the causes and events leading to the Great Depression.  My intent is to show how the economic climate in the U. S. may have affected the Szczudlo Family.

Technorati Tags: Szczudlo,Great Depression,CCC,Bootleggers,Hawthorn Works,Western Electric

Dad’s 100th Part 2

Leo Joseph (Szczudlo) age 16 or 17

Map of area where Dad grew up.  The two yellow highlighted areas indicate land the family owned as of 1940. The original 118.66 acres on 19th Ave. and Hwy G, purchased in 1913 and 40 acres on Hwy G near Hwy 21.

I located these postcards taken during the 1910s and 20s and have included them in this post as I have only three photos of the Szczudlo family

Necedah, WI 1910

Dedication of the Hwy 21 Bridge, Necedah, WI 1919

Memorial Day Parade Necedah, WI 1927

Fish Lake near the original 118 acre farm.

Following the marriage of Leo’s father, Josef came three more siblings—Sophie in 1918, Theodore in 1919 and Mary in 1920. 

Left to Right—Bernice, Theodore, Louis Havlovic, Jr., Mary, Leo*, Sophie and Josef, Jr.*   * Leo and Josef, Jr. look so similar in this photo it’s difficult to tell who is who.

Left to right—Carolina, Theodore (Teddy), Louis Havlovic, Jr., Josef, Sr. Leo , Josef, Jr.

This photo shows Mary on the right and Frances on the left in the garden on the farm.

I have been unable to locate a record of the 1920 census, so the next record I have is children attending Hales Prairie School, Necedah District #3. 

School Year	Student	Grade	Age
1917-18	Frances
1919-20	Frances	1	9
1920-21	Frances		9
1921-22	Bernice	1	9
1922-23	Frances	3	13
	Bernice	2	11
1923-24	Joe		8
1924-25	Bernice		13
	Frances		15
	Joe		8
	Leon		11
	Sophie		6
1925-26	Leon	4
	Bernice	6	11
	Sophie	2	8
	Theodore	1	6
	Joe	1	10

Then beginning in 1926 the children attended Rock View School, Necedah District #4.

School Year	Student	Grade	Age
1926-27	Leon	5	13
	Theodore	2	6
	Mary	1	6
	Sophie	2	8
	Joe	2	11
1927-28	Theodore	2	8
	Joe	3	12
	Leon	6	14
	Mary	2	7
1928-29	Joe	4	13
	Sophie	5	10
	Theodore	3	9
	Mary	2	8
	Leon	7	15
1929-30	Leon	8	16
	Sophie	6	11
	Joe	5	14
	Teddy	4	10
	Mary	3	9
1930-31	Sophie	7	12
	Joe	6	15
	Teddy	5	11
	Mary	4	10
1931-32	Joe	7	16
	Sophie	7	13
	Teddy	6	11
	Mary	5	10
1932-33	Sophie	8	14
	Mary	6	12
	Teddy	6	13
1933-34	Mary	7	13
	Teddy	7	14
1934-35	Teddy	8	15
	Mary	8	14

As these were the transcribed enrolment records, I cannot attest to the accuracy  of the original transcriber or mine as I hurriedly jotted the information down. It might warrant a second look someday. 

The 1930 U. S. Federal Census taken on April 8, 1930, does not list Frances and Bernice living with the family. It shows Leo age 16, no longer attending school  The remaining four children, Joe, Sophie, Teddy and Mary are attending school.

1930 U. S. Federal Census

I remember Dad saying that the county used a half-track in the winter, I believe, for plowing the roads.

Dad told me that he learned Polish because that was all that was spoken at home.

Dad told, my Brother Jim that they would use boards as skis to get around in the snow.

I recall the story of Dad’s crooked arm.  It involved a hornet’s nest, a bull and a veterinarian.  The exact details are fuzzy but but the best I can remember is a bull got into a hornet’s nest and poor Dad was nearby and got his arm broken by the bull. A local veterinarian set it for him.

While I think times were hard on the farm, Dad did enjoy music and knew how to play polkas on the concertina.

Boy could Dad polka.  I remember going to weddings and he would polka, but not with Mom—she wouldn’t or couldn’t polka.

Petenwell Rock/Dam

The Petenwell Dam was built in the 1940s, after Dad left home for the big city so the area would have been very different when he lived there than it is today.

This postcard of Petenwell Rock reflects the way it would have looked when Dad lived in Necedah.

The legend of Petenwell Rock holds that an Indian man and Indian princess named Clinging Vine fell in love. Clinging Vine's father frowned on the match, so the two lovers ran off. Pursued by the Chief and a band of warriors, Clinging Vine and her lover climbed the tall rock on the banks of the Wisconsin river.  Rather than be captured and separated, the lovers leaped from the rock, into the water, never to be seen again.  In fact, the Rock is named after Peter Wells, an early settler who owned it.

The Petenwell Flowage consists of 23,040 acres and is the second largest inland body of water in Wisconsin. It was built in the late 1940s for hydroelectric generation and flood control. The flowage is on Wisconsin's Central plain or Central Sand, the ancient bed of Glacial Lake Wisconsin that was a prehistoric one-million-acre body of water.

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Dad’s 100th Birthday Part 1

 

1910 U. S. Federal Census for Josef Szczudlo (ZZudlo on form) address is 1741 18th Place, Ward 11, Chicago, Illinois Enumerated on 20-26 April 1910

Leo Joseph Szczudlo was born on Tuesday, July 22, 1913 at 1741 18th Place, Chicago, IL, the home of his parents.  Leo was the 4th child of Josef  (29 yrs.) and Mary Stuczka Szczudlo (28 yrs.), joining  sisters Francis (b 1909) and Bernice (b 1911).  Leo’s brother Anton (b 1907) died at age 3yrs 7mos. after a one-week bout of measles that turned into pneumonia. At the time of Leo’s birth, his father, Josef, worked as a bricklayer and mother, Mary, was a stay-at-home mom. Leo was Baptized at St Adalbert’s Church, 1650 W 17th Street in Chicago, on August 3, 1913.

 

 

 

 

 

                                      Anton Szczudlo Death Certificate

 

Mary Stuczka Wedding Photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In February of 1913, Josef and Mary had purchased land in Section 27 of Juneau County, Wisconsin for the amount of $1,375. I remember being told that the decision to relocate to Wisconsin was because of Mary’s frail health.

See southwest corner of section 27.  Jozef Szczudlo 118.66 acres.

It is not known when the family made the move to Wisconsin, but by December 30, of 1915, when Leo’s brother Josef was born they were residents of Necedah.  On February 29 1916, Mary died of tuberculosis, leaving Josef with four children under the age of  7, one a two-month old infant. 

 

Birth Certificate of Josef, Jr 30 Dec 1915 and Death Certificate of Mary Szczudlo 29 Feb 1916

How did Josef, Sr. manage with 4 small children?  We will never know.  Did he have the help of neighbors, or the church?  Did he get help from his brother Julian (he lived with them in 1910, per the census)? Was Julian still in the USA? How much help could he have been?  Perhaps the children went to live Franciscous (Frank) and his wife Kasmira, who had five small children of their own.  That does seem a likely option, however, I have no way to prove that scenario.  

The next major event in the life of young Leo was the marriage of his father to Carolina on September 10, 1917. Where did Carolina come from?  I cannot find any immigration for her, but I must say that I don’t know if I have the correct spelling of her name.  I have two spellings for her surname. First was from the marriage certificate—Szynaszik.  Oddly, the surname of the priest that married Josef and Carolina was very similar to hers—Szynerzak.  Was she related to the priest or was this a coincidence?  Second was from Carolina’s death certificate—Szymaczski. 

Josef had three more children with Carolina:  Sophie born 22 Jan 1918, Theodore born 9 Jan 1919 and Mary born in 1920.

More to come in part 2.

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The Old Homestead, Part 1

My parents (Leo and Julia Studlo) lovingly cared for their home on Midway Drive, in Willowbrook, Illinois for 18 years. Much has changed in the old neighborhood since the family sold it around 1973. There are now sidewalks, ditches along the street are gone (I assume there are now storm sewers) and the huge field where we spent countless hours playing, has been developed into a park.

The property has sold several times since. When last we saw it several years ago, we were in town for a multi-year high school reunion and Tom and I visited the old place with sister, Sharon. There was a man outside and, having safety in numbers, we boldly went where we hadn’t been in years.  The man had recently purchased the property and was planning to fix it up. (I found the purchase information on zillow.com and the now 1949 sq. ft., 3 bedroom, 1 bath home on 2.3 acres, was purchased for $550,000.  I’m sure most of the value was in the land itself.) The new owner kindly allowed us inside.

It was in a bad state of disrepair. Although a previous owner built a very large “great room” addition, nothing had changed in the original part of the house. The roof had leaked and the 3rd floor bedroom had water damage, the kitchen cabinets, while fine in 1955, looked shabby and the garage my dad built also was in bad shape.  Very, sad.

One of the interim owners installed a wooden picket-style fence with red brick uprights across the front of the property.

In light of recent storms here in southern Wisconsin, (There has been much flooding as the rainfall has been as much as 12” in a 24-hour period in some places. Yesterday, as we received 4.6” in about 6 hours) I am reminded a particular of a storm when I was a kid. We watched as the water edged closer and closer to our house on Midway. Much like it did here, yesterday.

We lived at the bottom of what seemed, at that time, a huge hill.  I remember the ditch in front of the house overflowing it’s banks.  The house was maybe 75 ft. from the ditch and I would say the water came within 20-25 ft. of the house, maybe closer. For an innocent kid, it was all very exciting.  Not so for my parents, Dad in particular.   I remember the family gathered in the living room looking out the big window and with each flash of lightening we could see the water encroaching on our home . . . and my Dad praying.

I can’t say for sure if we had water in the basement that time or not.  We relied on our sump pump to keep the water at bay. I know we did have water in the basement at least one time due to a power outage.

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More on Vincenzo James Giunta

 

As you may remember from my last post, this photo of my Great-Grandfather, Vincenzo James Giunta and his daughter Mary was sent to me by my Cousin, Bette.

I was Skyping with brother, Jim, the other day. I was screen-sharing some of the photos and documents that I have collected, scanned and saved on my computer. 

We were discussing Vincenzo and his birth year.  As you can see below, in the various documents his birth year varies.  Without an actual birth certificate we will never know for sure.

7 Jun 1891 Marriage-age 24 (1867)

1910 US Census states age as 38 (1872)

1930 US Census states age as 63 (1867)

1940 US Census states age as 76 (1864)

Death certificate lists birthdate as June 5 1879-69 yrs, 8 mos, 6 days

Obituary states he was 83 1866

US Census taken on 11 Jun 1900

6719 S. Page St. Chicago, IL, Ward 31, Enumeration District: 982, Sheet:11A

Line 28--Junta, Jim, Head, White, Male, Date of birth-unknown, Age at last birthday -unknown, Married 10 years, Place of birth-Italy, Father's place of birth-Italy, Mother's place of birth-Italy, Immigration year-1886, 14 years in U. S. Occupation-Peddler, Months not employed-4, Cannot read, write or speak English, Rents home.

US Census taken on 29 Apr 1910

624 S. May Street, Chicago, IL, Ward 19 (part of Tract 52)

Line 76--Giunte, James, head, male, white, 38 yrs, married-18 yrs., immigration-1891-AL, speaks English, Occupation-peddler, Industry-wholesale fruit wagon, works on own account, rents-house.

1930 US Census taken on 15 Apr 1930

5918 S. Kenneth Avenue, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Ward 15, Block 18. Sheet # 10A, Enumeration District: 16-578.

Line 1--Ganta, James, head, owns home valued at $5,000, owns a radio, male, white, 63 yrs., age at first marriage-20 yrs., not able to read or write, immigration year 1887, naturalized, speaks English, Occupation-common labor, Industry-can factory.

1940 US Census taken on  10 Apr 1940

Address 1230 S Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Ward 24, Block 1, Page 9A, Enumeration District: 103-1564.

Line 33, Ganta, James, Head, male, white 76 yrs, married, grade completed-8, naturalized citizen, rents home for $15.
*Line 34, Alvia, wife, female, white, 65 yrs, married, grade completed-8, naturalized citizen

*I have included the listing from the 1940 Census for “wife,” Alvia from Line 34 for “wife” Alvia, age 65. Who is Alvia?

Certificate of Death
Giunta (Ganta), Vincenzo, (James), Date of Death: 11 Feb 1949.
Place of death: Sisters of the poor 5148 S Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Cook, Illinois. 
Length of stay: 2 days.
In community where death occurred: 15 years.
Place of residence: 7324 S. Laflin Ave, Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
Widowed, white, male.
**Name of wife: Salvatora
Birthdate 5 Jun 1879; age of deceased: 69 yrs., 8 mos., 6 days
Birthplace of deceased: Termini, Italy
Usual occupation: labor
Industry or business: retired
Father's name: Angelo Giunta, Birthplace: Termini, Italy
Mother's name: Clara Scorta. Birthplace: Termini, Italy
Date of Death: 11 Feb 1949, 3:30 a.m.
Immediate cause of death: arteriosclerotic heart disease, duration: 1 yr.
Place of burial: Queen of Heaven, Location: Proviso, Cook, Ill; Burial date: 14 Feb 1949.
Funeral Director: Frank Granata, 900 S. Sacramento Ave, Chicago, IL

**Vincenzo’s Death Certificate indicated his wife was Salvatora, however, Salvatora seems to have been written in a different hand.

Obituary

GANTA, James Ganta, 83 late of 7324 S Laflin Street, husband of the late Salvatora, nee Scolaro, loving father of Pearl Petorella, Emily Cozzi, Mike, Frank Edward, Charles, James, Phillip, Rose Kolodziej, Josephine Cerceo and the late Mary Marchese, brother of Joseph. Funeral Monday 9 a.m. from chapel, 900 S Sacremento Blvd, to Our Lady of Sorrows Church.  Internment Mt. Carmel, Sacramento 2-4747.

Technorati Tags: Giunta,Ganta,Vincenzo Giunta,James V. PetorellaGanta

Vincenzo James Giunta

I received this photo, a copy of a copy, of my Great-Grandfather last week.  It was sent to me by cousin Bette.  It had a note with it that said “Grandpa Giunta and Aunt Mary.” 

Bette could not remember who sent it to her.  Hmmm.

Looking through some old correspondence I discovered a letter dated February 2000 from Gloria Klir.  In that letter Gloria mentions having sent Bette some photos and after checking the photo and letter handwriting, I determined they were written by the same hand.

What a find.  What are they up to in this photo, sampling some homemade hooch.  Could be.  Whatever they are up to, I am glad it was worth taking this photo. (c 1930s)

Technorati Tags: Giunta,Ganta,Vincenzo James Giunta,James Ganta,Mary Ganta,Mary Marchese

Pearl Giunta Petorella’s Siblings

 

Mary (Giunta) Marchese and husband David c 1930.

Mary, b 1894 and died 2 Nov 1943. Mary was the 2nd child of James and Salvatora.  Mary and David had three children.

 

 

 

 

 

Emma born 2 May 1911, died 14 Sep 2006.  Emma married Robert Marchi and they had one son Lucien born 1929

 

 

David, Jr. born 17 Sep 1913, died 8 Nov 1915

 

 

 

 

 

Melba Violet born 26 Feb 1920.  Melba is known as Violet.

 

 

 

 

 

She married Carmen J. Presco May 1940.  Violet and Carmen had two sons: Albert born 15 Dec 1943 and David born 27 Sep 1945, died Aug 1981.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This picture was taken at Albert Presco’s wedding. Left to right: David, Violet, Albert and Carmen Presco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Camille “Emily” was the 3rd child of James and Salvatora. (See post “Photos-Camille “Emily” Giunta b 1895”

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Jenny Giunta,  born 6 Jan 1897 and died 21 Oct 1912, age 15 years, 9 months, 15 days of lobar pneumonia resulting in myocardial infarction.  Jenny was the 4th child of James and Salvatora Giunta.  This is here 1st Holy Communion photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Angelo “Mike” Giunta with John J. “James” Giunta on his lap.  Angelo went by Mike.  Mike was the 4th child of James and Salvatora Giunta and was born 13 Apr 1898 and died Feb 1970. Mike was married to Anna Pascente and had a daughter Jennie.

Julia states, “Uncle Mike had a coal & moving business.”

 

(John J.-see below)

 

 

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Frank Giunta born abt Dec 1900 and died 1 Jul 1901 of bronchial pneumonia, contributing cause-measles. Frank was the 6th child of James and Salvatora.

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Frank A. Giunta. was the 7th child of James and Salvarora Giunta and was born 1 June 1902 and died 29 Jul 1999.  Frank was married to Anna Anderson.  They had no children

 

 

 

 

 

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Rose Giunta was born 27 Dec 1904 and died 24 Dec 1960. Rose was the 8th child of James and Salavatora Giunta. Rose married John Kolodziej and they had 4 children. 

Richard was born 15 Jul 1926. Richard married Grace Scogalione and they had a daughter Corine. 

Grace was born 2 Sep 1929.  Grace married Irving Hazard and they had two Children Gary and Bryant.

Gloria was born 15 Jun 1932 and married Harold Klir and had two children James born 1967 and Stephen born 1969.

Adrian born 15 Jun 1939 and married Linda Stengle

Rose Giunta Kolodziej and daughter Gloria Kolodziej Klir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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James Giunta  was born 7 Mar 1906 and died 31 Jul 1910 at the age of 4 years , 4 months and 24 days of diptheria. James was the 9th chld of James and Salvatora.

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Fillippe Phillip Giunta (Ganta) was born 27 Jun 1908 and died Jul 1970.  Phillip was the 10th child of James and Salvatora. 

Phillip was married to Doris Irene Madsen in 1933.  Phillip and Doris had four children: Phyllis born 1934, Doris b 1935, Glen born 1937 and Greg born 1939.

In 1949, Phillip married Beatrice. Phillip and Beatrice had eight children: Robert, Cynthia born 1951, Edward born 1953, Elizabeth born 1955, William born 1958, Frank born 1959, Caroline born 1963 and Dennis born 1966.

According to Julia’s notes, Phillip had a coal and moving business. (It is unknown if Mike and Phillip were co-owners or if they each had their own business.)

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Vincenzo James born 24 Aug 1910 and died 5 Oct 1910. Vincenzo James was the 11th child of James and Salvatora.

Baptism Record Holy Guardian Angel Church 1910

 

 

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Josephine was born 25 Sep 1911 and died 17 Occt 1987.  Josephine was the 12th child of James and Salvatora.  Josephine married Alfred Cerceo and they had three children:  Alfred born 1938, Thomas born 1931, died 1995, and John.

 

 

 

 

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John James Giunta known as Jim Ganta was born 12 Oct 1913 and died 17 Oct 1987. Jim was the 13th Child of James and Salvatora.  Jim married Eva Geancouteri and they had two children, James and Theodora.

 

 

 

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Charles Paul Giunta (Ganta) was born 20 Apr 1915. Charles was the 14th child of James and Salvatora. Charles married Leona Guthrie in 1941. After Leona’s death, Charles married Cleo May Hall on 30 Apr 1877.

Charles was a master sergeant in the Air Force during WWII. Charles remained state-side. Later Charles worked for the Space Center.

Charles had no children.

 

 

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Edward Giunta (Ganta) born 29 Aug 1918, died 7 Jan 2012.  Edward was the 15th child of James and Salvatora.  Edward never married.

 

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