Uncle John

Using the information from the Lithuanian records I mentioned in the last post, I've been able to make more connections in the Scottish records!!  It wasn't where I was expecting it though.  I was expecting to be able to identify records of Kazimiras's brothers, but I actually found records of his uncle!  (NOTE:  as I said in the last post, I haven't yet seen the Lithuanian documents myself, so even though I'm confident they're accurate, I won't be certain about what's said below until I get them).

On one of my trips to the Scotland's People archive, I indiscriminately downloaded as many Kisielius records as I could in the minutes before closing in the hope that I'd be able to connect them up at home later on.  I wasn't able to at that time, but I decided to have another look today.  What I found was this:

John Kiselius, died 23 May 1928
Widower of Magde Pauziute

It's the death record for a John Kiselius.  His parents are listed as Piotras Kiselius and Ona Mikoliute.  The spellings aren't precise, but they're close enough as to sound almost exactly the same ("Kis-e-l-ius" vs "Kisielius" and "Mikulyte" vs "Mikoliute").  Odds are he's the brother of Mykolas, my 2x-great-grandfather.  I will need to confirm that Petras/Piotras and Ona had another son that matches the age of this John, before I'm ready to be certain though.  But if that's true, I'm connected distantly to something really tragic.

John and Magde had at least 5 children die in infancy.  Another died in her 30s, and another died in his 40s.  It's hard to imagine what that must have been like for them.  And it's hard to imagine that sort of thing happening in the developed world so recently!

I'll need to make a trip back to the archive to look at their records specifically now that I know there's a likely connection.  I don't think I've yet looked at any of their birth or marriage records.  There's a chance the lineage could continue to another living group!

Lithuanian Records

A few months back I came across a Facebook page created by a guy that has been digitizing the vital records for a few towns in Lithuania.  Vilkaviškis, where Chute and Kitty were born, is one of them.  Since Chute has told me that her grandparents, Mykolas and Katarina Kisielius, are buried there, I hoped I would find something about them.  At the moment, the records that he has posted on the page are quite limited, but I did find a match for Mykolas!

Photo #65 from the "Vilkaviškis deaths 1922-1938" album.

The image doesn't show the full thing, but he's listed on the 1938 page.  That seems about right, but there's not enough information there to be sure it's really him.  I sent a message to the guy who manages the page asking how I might find more information.  He referred me to the Lithuanian State Historical Archive in Vilnius.  Out of the blue today, though, he sent me a message with quite a few more details!  He apparently had a look when he was there.  This is what he told me:

Mykolas Kisielius (1861 - 1938 Feb 26)
father - Petras Kisielius
mother - Ona Mikulyte
wife - Katarina Arminaite

children -
Jonas Kisielius (abt 1887)
Andriejus Kisielius (abt 1889)
Marijona Kisieliute (abt 1891)
Kazimieras Kisielius (abt 1893)
Jonas Kisielius (abt 1901)

I always like to see the documents myself rather than take somebody's word for it, but it would have cost him money to take images of it, so I'll have to wait until I go there myself to get copies.  I'm confident he's found the right ones though, because he's come up with information I know to be correct without me mentioning it:  I know from Chute that Mykolas was married to Katarina, I know Kazimiras is my great-grandfather, and I know Marijona is a sister of his from the Scottish records.

What he's told me is really exciting!  Now I know two of my 3x-great-grandparents on the Lithuanian side!  I really didn't expect to get beyond the generation that Chute remembers.  I just assumed most of the Lithuanian records would have been incomplete or lost, given the tumultuous history.  Now that I know some records exist, I'm hopeful I'll find even more.

The other thing that's really great is that I now have some documentation of Kazimiras's siblings.  Jimmy and Kitty were unclear about how many there were (5 brothers and a sister? 5 siblings total?), but it now looks like 5 total.  He's listed the name "Jonas" twice, but I wonder if he meant to write "Jouzas" for one.  I'll need to ask, or otherwise wait until I can get the record myself.  He's used a different spelling for Kazimiras (with an 'e') too, which I think is actually the correct way of writing it.

My next step will be to see if there's records of any of those Kisielius brothers in the Scottish records.  Kitty's story was that the brothers worked in the Scottish mines and saved money to bring their sister here.  I have records of Marijona being here, so presumably there will be some trace of the brothers too.

What a breakthrough!

Matulis Group

Of all the names I'm connected to, the one I've written about the least is the one I carry, Matulis.  I get it, of course, from my paternal grandfather Vacys Matulis, who was born in Lithuania (in the town of Pasvalys, I believe) in 1923.  We always referred to him as Tevuk, which is short for Tevukus, Lithuanian for grandpa.  He was a truly exceptional man with incredible stories (though with a penchant for embellishment!).  He fled Lithuania during World War II and (if my understanding of his stories is correct) was in the German labor camps - a truly horrific experience that left him emotionally scarred and a bit paranoid.  One of my favorite things about Tevuk was how he used to tell of these times.  Unfortunately I was mostly told these stories before I had a real grasp on the history or context, so my memories are mostly vague outlines of what probably actually happened.  I'll refrain from recounting them just yet, as they'd most likely be filled with inaccuracies.  My cousin, Nick, made a fair number of recordings years back, so someday when I can get them from him, I'll be able to make better sense of my grandfather's backstory.

One thing that is absolutely clear in my mind is that Tevuk was just about the hardest worker you could imagine.  He had a work ethic that is just hard to find these days.  It something that is common in immigrant communities regardless of where they come from, probably partly due to the fact that they feel as though they must constantly prove their worth.  He used to tell me about how he would work on the family farm as a kid from dusk to dawn.  I recall him telling me how he worked the night shift at his regular job when he first arrived in the US and then all day renovating the small cottage they lived in.  He saved his pennies and eventually sold the house he fixed up to buy the farm in East Schodack in cash.  That farm is part of some of my earliest memories.  He was a proud farmer that continued to grow an impressive garden into his later years.  Below is a photo of that garden.

Out, standing in his field.

Tevuk met my grandmother while they were in a displaced persons in Germany in the aftermath of WWII.  Her first husband had only recently passed away from a stroke and she was no doubt still in mourning.  But during that era gender roles were very rigid, and I believe she felt as though she needed somebody to support her.  They married and my uncle "Charlie" (Gediminas) was born while they were still in Germany.

Tevuk and Chute (probably just after arriving in USA)

On my most recent visit to New York, Chute gave me the address of a distant relative on the Matulis side who lives in New Hampshire.  Phyllis Ouellet is descended from the Zukauskas / Kemesis line, and her grandparents were the ones who sponsored Chute and Tevuk to come to the US.  I've never met Phyllis, but I wrote a letter and asked what she might know about the Matulis group.  Turns out she knew a fair few things and even had some fantastic old photos.  Using information from Phyllis and some old notes I had taken from Tevuk, I was able to re-create this pedigree showing the connection between us.

Konstantinas "Konstanty" was possibly married 3 times.
It is unclear if death or divorce was the reason.

As it shows above, my great-grandfather's name was Silvestris, which I've always known to be the source my, my father's, and my half-brother's middle name, Sylvester.  Phyllis pointed out, however, she had an uncle Sylvester Zukauskas, who was my father's god-father - no doubt that's part of how my dad got his middle name.  I speculated that maybe Andrew or Peturnelia Zukauskas knew Silvestris Matulis when they were still in Lithuania and that they named their son after him.  Phyllis agreed it was possible.

Phyllis also recalled when Chute and Tevuk first arrived.  They lived with her grandparents (Tevuk's aunt and uncle) briefly in Londonderry, NH along with her parents, her uncle, and her.  She was a about 6 years old, she tells me.  She remembers that Tevuk (who she knew as "Uncle Walter") used to ride a bike to Derry for work.  Being a bike person myself, I really enjoyed knowing that.  She believes he worked doing something with cement blocks.  Then, she adds, "whatever it was, it was hard work.  Your grandfather was not afraid of work."

She remembers that they eventually bought a duplex house on Arlington Street (#42 she believes) in Manchester, NH and that he then worked for Foster Beef (no doubt the meat packing company I recall him telling me about).  After that, she says, they moved to New Britain, CT where he worked in ball bearing manufacturing, and then to the farm in East Schodack, NY.  She's not certain which house it was that he renovated, but I think it must have been the one in New Britain.

She sent along heaps of old photos, which I've sent along to my uncle Mike and Chute to help translate the inscriptions.  My hope is that they will contain some helpful information, though most are damaged from having been glued into an album.

"Uncle Walter" is actually Vacys Matulis, my grandfather.
This is the first picture of Silvestris I've ever seen!  He bears a striking
resemblance to Tevuk as I remember him.  And Tevuk, second from the
right, does resemble the man I remember.

Tevuk and Chute
(probably after arriving in the US)

Back of the photo reads, "Uncle Walter's parents".
That's Silvestris Matulis and Ona Kemesis,
my great-grandparents.

I'm not certain who these people are yet because I can't read the Lithuanian
inscription, but I feel like I'm looking at myself when I see the man in the back left.

This one has mostly Lithuanian writing, but it also says
"Sylvester's Grandfather with third wife" in English.
That would mean it's Konstantinas Kemesis, my
2x-great-grandfather, with two people I'm unsure about.

There are several more photos, but I'll wait for Chute's and Mike's response before speculating who they are.

News From the Slarks

I've been in contact with Sidney ("Jimmy") and Katherine ("Kitty") Slark, my great aunt and uncle, Chute's sister and brother-in-law.  They live in Manchester, New Hampshire and have for most of their lives since WWII.  The letter I just received had some fantastic information in it, including answers to several of my questions.  The whole thing is available here, but I'll go through it piece by piece below (you can see my original letter here).

Jimmy mentions Kitty's mother's sister Anne - that's Zose's (aka Sophie) sister, who I have recorded as Annie (with an 'i') Raulinitis.  I wrote about here once here.  I could only find limited information about her.  I had been told by Ellen Rolwich that Annie had gone to California, but the only records I could find said that she had actually gone to Scarsdale, NY on the S.S. California.  Now it seems that Ellen was right!  Not only did Annie travel on the S.S. California, she did spend some time in California.

It appears that Kitty filled in the family's name, but I'm unsure if she means that their name was literally "Kohler Plumbing" or that they're actually the Kohlers of Kohler Plumbing.  That would certainly make them wealthy enough to have employed Annie as a maid!  Knowing the family's name should make it easier to track them down in the census records.

I do hope they are able to find the photo album that is mentioned!  It would be incredible to see the old photos.

This tree shows Zose (Chute and Kitty's mother, my great-grandmother) and Annie.  Peter is their brother and the patriarch of Rolwich branch that lives here in Scotland.

What he says here is very interesting.  He says that Kitty's mother (Zose or "Sophie") was called "Jessie Rolwich" (not to be confused with Jessie Doyle Rolwich, who was married to Peter).  I had suspected this was possible previously, but didn't have enough to confirm it.  What it means is that little John Raulinaitis was my great-uncle, the illegitimate son of my great-grandmother.  There's clearly an interesting story there, but as he died in infancy, it will probably never be known in full.

It probably sounds odd that they "believe" that Jessie was here name, but bear in mind that names were rather fluid when crossing between different languages - my grandmother is Marija, but usually goes by Mary, sometimes Marie, and who of course I refer to as Chute, which is short for Machute, which is Lithuanian for "grandma".  Heck, Rolwich is a corrupted version of Raulinitis, which is a misspelling of Raulinaitis.  It'll be a nightmare for the next family historian to come along.

The other really interesting thing was that Zose (I'll continue to call her by that) had contact with Peter when they were in Germany!  I didn't realize that Peter had been in the War - should be able to find some military records.  This would have been when Kazimiras Sr., Zose, and Kitty were in the displaced persons camp after the War in the British Zone of Germany.  Maybe he was even in the same battalion as Jimmy, who was an Englishman enlisted in a Scottish regiment.  That's where he first met Kitty.

Sydney "Jimmy" Slark
Black Watch Regiment 1942-1944

Here he says that Annie Raulintis (the one who worked for the Kohlers) had the married name Annie Graham.  I looked back at my messages with Jane Ives (a descendant of Margaret Raulinitis), and she had also said that she believed her married name was Graham, but that she never had children.

Jane had also told me that Annie Raulinitis Graham had taken in her niece, Annie Flanagan, when she was 12.  She also told me that Annie Flanagan became a nun and still lives in New York.  From Jimmy's letter, it appears that they still have contact!  He says he believes she has three sisters.  That's true (Mary, Margaret, and Rose) but she's also got a brother, Joseph.  As far as I know, they all still live here in Scotland, but I haven't had contact with anybody other than Ives sub-group.

I was mistaken when I originally asked if Annie Raulinitis had been a nun.  I knew Annie Flanagan is, but I thought they both were.

I had also asked about the Kisielius brothers - that is, the brothers of my great-grandfather.  Jimmy previously told me there had been 5, but he wasn't certain of all their names.  I have yet to get around to tracking down the Wilkes-Barre group, but I will eventually.

He refers to Kitty's brother "Charlie", which is the Anglicized version of Kazimiras (in this case, Kazimiras Jr.).  I knew he was born in Glasgow because I found his birth record.  And I knew he was in the Lithuanian military because Chute had shown me a photo and told stories about his abduction.

His account of what happened to him differs from what Chute told me.  He says it was the Nazis that took him during World War Two, but Chute was quite clear about it having been the Soviets.  From my understanding of the history, it seems more plausible that it was the Soviets and that he was deported to Siberia before the Nazis even arrived in Lithuania.

We're jumping around in the timeline a little bit.  Now he's talking about how the family ended up back in Lithuania from Scotland, which was towards the end of World War One.  I didn't tell him in my letter anything about my theories, but what he says really confirms it.  He's vague on the details and gets the date wrong (not "early 1900", actually 1917, the tail end of WWI), but we have to bear in mind that he's relaying a story from Kitty that would have been told to her when she was just a girl 70-odd years ago.

He says the ships took the men to Siberia.  From what I've read, they landed in Archangel, around the north of Scandinavia in Russia.  By then WWI had ended and the Bolshevik Revolution had begun.  Some of the Scottish-Lithuanians remained in that port with the British convoy that had brought them there, and some left to join the revolution.  Those that stayed were eventually allowed to return to Britain.  Those that left were not able to "prove loyalty" and were not allowed back in (some had actively fought in the Red Army!).  I believe Kazimiras Sr. was one of the ones who was denied return.  Whether or not he was involved in the revolution, I couldn't know, but I do know that there was radical elements in Scottish-Lithuanian mining community who would have sympathized with the Bolsheviks, and I can only wonder if when Kitty says the men didn't want to fight against their "Brothers", she's remembering a mis-translation, and they actually didn't want to fight against their comrades!  At the time, they couldn't have known what the Soviets would become and what they would do to the Lithuanians, but later, once Stalin's reign of terror began, it would have become something that Kazimiras would never have spoken of again.

He's explaining, as he had previously, that the Kisielius brothers worked in the Scottish coal mines and saved their money to bring their sister Marijona over from Lithuania.  I did some searching and found that there are living descendants of Marijona here in Scotland today, but I haven't been successful in making contact (despite sending a couple letters already).

Just recently, I started looking again for a way to contact Anele "Helen" Tracy, but I hadn't gotten very far.  I don't know how current the address that he provides is, but I'll give it a try.  Hopefully I'll finally make contact!

He's explaining Kitty's recollection of the family's escape from Lithuania as the Soviets were returning at the end of World War II.  Kazimiras Jr had been abducted years earlier (before the Nazis arrived), so there's no doubt they would have been fearful of what would come.  Such was the case for many Lithuanians, especially because many of them had aided the Nazis (treating them as liberators) when they pushed the Soviets out in 1941.

It's also so refreshing to hear somebody refer to a school janitor as "a good job".  Something we lack today is respect for people who do real work, preferring instead to revere the investment class as "job creators" - absolutely disgusting.  It was also quite touching that they were trying to bring their "family cow" along.  I'm sure it was primarily because the cow was their one object of material wealth, but it just feels like they were looking after a pet.

Their escape to Germany is what eventually led to Kitty meeting Jimmy, Chute meeting Tevuk (Vacys Matulis), and their emigration to the United States.  He mentions Chute's first husband, who I know died of a stroke in Germany (buried in Munich - ***photo pending***).  He was called Vytautas Apenavicius, and I believe his family settled in Chicago.  Chute and Tevuk remained in contact with them and even visited them on occasion.  Someday I'll try to make contact myself.

Chute had told me that her parents were buried in Vilkaviskis, but I was always confused because she had also talked about living in Kaunas.  Now I know that both are true.

Scottish Diaspora Tapestry

I just learned of the fantastic Scottish Diaspora Tapestry project.  They're starting a project to chronicle the spread of Scottish heritage around the globe.  I was delighted to find that they plan to include the connection between Scotland and Lithuania on the tapestry and are looking for people with Scottish-Lithuanian heritage to be involved.  I've already offered to play a part.  I'll probably be most useful for the "stories" and "research" steps (if I haven't already missed those parts), but they do say that, for the stitching, "no experience is necessary, only enthusiasm!", so we'll see.

This is what I sent in my initial email:

This is a great project! I viewed the Presontonpans Tapestry a while back and it was fantastic. I'm from Scottish-Lithuanian roots, and I'd be keen to be involved in the project. To give a brief synopsis of my family's story, my Scottish-Lithuanian ancestors lived in Glasgow about 100 years ago before the (scarcely remembered) Anglo-Russian Military Convention. When that went into force, the family was split apart and my branch re-settled in Lithuania. They were displaced again at WWII and settled in the US, which is where I was born. A couple years back I was admitted to study for a PhD at Edinburgh Uni without any knowledge that my Lithuanian ancestors had been here. It was just by chance that my elderly gran mentioned that we might still have relatives here, which (after a fair bit of family history research) turned out to be the case. I've since reconnected with the Scottish branch of the family, who were equally surprised and delighted to learn they had Lithuanian-American relatives.