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| The latest design sketch. |
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| My great-grandfather's side. |
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| My great-grandmother's side. |
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| As far as I got. |
20 December 2014
Tapestry Update
As I mentioned, I was very disappointed to learn last June that the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry did not include the panel to which I contributed parts of my family story. Several months later, though, I learned that it was only delayed, not abandoned, and work was continuing! I was really pleased to get that news. Today I met with one of the other contributors who is doing much of the actual stitching so that I could stitch in my family names, Kisielius and Raulinaitis, myself. I only had a short time, so I didn't actually get to finish (and some of my work was a bit dodgy so might need repaired), but at least I got to put a hand in. I'm looking forward to seeing it complete.
14 December 2014
A Connection?
I also found several further entries in the Glasgow poor books connected to the Kisielius name, including this one: Mariona Zatareckaite / Kisieliene. I'm, as yet, uncertain if she is connected to the family, but there a some things that make me think it is possible. First, she lived at 54 Rose Street. Second, her mother's name was Marianna Adomaityte, which could mean that she was related to Konstantinas Adomaitis (the first husband of Marijona Kisieliute).
Her 1917 application for poor relief states that her husband, Antanas Kisielius "died about 11 years ago in Russia". She had married him "about 15 years ago in Russia". In the residences section it says "about 6 years from Russia", which I take to mean that she arrived in Scotland in 1911. Does she turn up on the census? Who is she with?
There was no Antanas Kisielius listed in the immediate family group on this 1938 death certificate. So that could mean he was more distantly related. Or that he wasn't listed because he was already deceased. Or it's also quite possible there's no connection at all!!
Her 1917 application for poor relief states that her husband, Antanas Kisielius "died about 11 years ago in Russia". She had married him "about 15 years ago in Russia". In the residences section it says "about 6 years from Russia", which I take to mean that she arrived in Scotland in 1911. Does she turn up on the census? Who is she with?
There was no Antanas Kisielius listed in the immediate family group on this 1938 death certificate. So that could mean he was more distantly related. Or that he wasn't listed because he was already deceased. Or it's also quite possible there's no connection at all!!
Political Separation
When I was looking through the poor books at the Glasgow City Archive, I came across the following letter. It was in the file of another Lithuanian dependent whose husband had been sent away under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention. It's not connected to my family at all, but in a way, I feel like it represents the plight of all the families that had men who were denied re-entry after the Convention.
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| Page 1 |
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| Page 2 |
Glasgow Poor Books, Marijona
Marijona Kisieliute was the sister of my great-grandfather, Kazimiras Kisielius. She lived in Scotland at the same time as him, and married Konstantinas Adomaitis (aka Adomaviczia, Adomaviezic). Her application to the Parish of Govan (Glasgow) came later because she was initially on the poor role of Bothwell Parish, where she resided with Konstantinas. By the date of this application, 22 April 1920, she had moved in with Sofija's side of the family (at 178 Rose Street) just a few months before Sofija was repatriated. Very interestingly, the Raulinitis group had started using "Ralwitch" by this point. Given that the "special roll" ended around this time April or May 1920, I suspect she was trying to save money by moving in with family.
The home visit was on 26 April 1920. The language saying that she is "separated" and that her husband "left to join [the] Russian army" is misleading. He was forced to leave and they were only "separated" because somebody else did the separating. Konstantinas appears to have been with Kazimiras when he was sent away in Sept 1917.
Marijona apparently worked in a distillery on Muirhead Street (Glasgow?) and was on the (special roll) for Govan from 24 June 1919 to 27 April 1920. 8 Pitt Street and 3 Pitt Street are listed as previous residences, and there is a note that one of both was a company house. Presumably it was miner housing, which should would have been kicked out of when her husband was sent away. Perhaps this is why she had to move in with the Rolwichs? It's also noted that she might have stayed with the "Yankilunas" family. What's the connection there? Her husband was apparently "known in Mossend as 'Adam White'". I assume this was derived from him saying his name was Adomavicius, which was heard as "Adam Avicius" and then just assigned an easier surname.
An interesting note shows that they (Konstantinas and Kazimiras) were in contact from Lithuania after their deportation. A letter from Kazimiras states that Konstantinas was with him at his and her parents. Strangely, the sentence is unfinished, stating that "she is willing to go there as soon as she can get _____". I wonder what kept her from going. I would assume it was money, but I think others (including Sofija) were "repatriated" (read: deported) at government expense. Marijona eventually does re-marry in 1936 to Juozas Valaitis, having had a child with him in 1926. On her second marriage certificate she is listed as a widow. Did Konstantinas die? Or was she just not willing to go back and join him?
Some additional, duplicate information:
The full document is here.
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UPDATE: I contacted the archivist at the North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, which holds the poor books for Bothwell Parish, and requested that a search be done for Marijona. She found a match in the index, but told me that the book has unfortunately not survived. This is the information she had in the index:
Ref Book: CO1/23/115
Marijona Adamavegia
Record No. 10,723
Date of Application – 19th October, 1917.
She also checked the index for Kisielius/Kisieliute and Raulinitis/Raulinaviciute from 1916-1923, but found no matches.
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| Application (D-HEW 17/843) |
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| Husband sent away. Initially paid by Bothwell. |
The home visit was on 26 April 1920. The language saying that she is "separated" and that her husband "left to join [the] Russian army" is misleading. He was forced to leave and they were only "separated" because somebody else did the separating. Konstantinas appears to have been with Kazimiras when he was sent away in Sept 1917.
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| Home Visit |
Marijona apparently worked in a distillery on Muirhead Street (Glasgow?) and was on the (special roll) for Govan from 24 June 1919 to 27 April 1920. 8 Pitt Street and 3 Pitt Street are listed as previous residences, and there is a note that one of both was a company house. Presumably it was miner housing, which should would have been kicked out of when her husband was sent away. Perhaps this is why she had to move in with the Rolwichs? It's also noted that she might have stayed with the "Yankilunas" family. What's the connection there? Her husband was apparently "known in Mossend as 'Adam White'". I assume this was derived from him saying his name was Adomavicius, which was heard as "Adam Avicius" and then just assigned an easier surname.
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| Residences |
An interesting note shows that they (Konstantinas and Kazimiras) were in contact from Lithuania after their deportation. A letter from Kazimiras states that Konstantinas was with him at his and her parents. Strangely, the sentence is unfinished, stating that "she is willing to go there as soon as she can get _____". I wonder what kept her from going. I would assume it was money, but I think others (including Sofija) were "repatriated" (read: deported) at government expense. Marijona eventually does re-marry in 1936 to Juozas Valaitis, having had a child with him in 1926. On her second marriage certificate she is listed as a widow. Did Konstantinas die? Or was she just not willing to go back and join him?
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| Communications from Lithuania |
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| Second Marriage |
Some additional, duplicate information:
The full document is here.
------------------
UPDATE: I contacted the archivist at the North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, which holds the poor books for Bothwell Parish, and requested that a search be done for Marijona. She found a match in the index, but told me that the book has unfortunately not survived. This is the information she had in the index:
Ref Book: CO1/23/115
Marijona Adamavegia
Record No. 10,723
Date of Application – 19th October, 1917.
She also checked the index for Kisielius/Kisieliute and Raulinitis/Raulinaviciute from 1916-1923, but found no matches.
Glasgow Poor Books, Sofija
I'm just now getting back to the poor relief records for my great-grandmother and her sister-in-law that I found last September at the Glasgow City Archive. The records confirmed that my great-grandfather had indeed been sent away under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention. But I didn't get around to posting the other information that these documents contained.
My great-grandmother, Sofija (aka Zose, Yose, Jessie, Sophie), made the application on 9 Oct 1917, just one month after she had married and about 10 days after Kazimiras was sent away. The initial application was declined.
Just a month later, however, an addendum was attached indicating that she was pregnant with my great-uncle Kazimiras Jr, and the application was approved for a payment of 8/- per week (that's 8 shillings).
The application also provides some information about Kazimiras. He was sent away on 29 Sept 1917, and had been earning £3 per week as a coal miner at the time. It says "From Russia 6yrs", which I take to mean he had been in Scotland for 6 years (possibly explaining why I couldn't find him on the 1911 census). The way things are written is confusing, but it switches back to Sofija and explains what she pays to lodge with her mother and father (must be the case because it also confirms that Kazimiras's parents are "both in Russia").* She is residing with her mother and father and 3 children (her siblings, Annie, Peter, and Margaret). It states that they paid 18/9 (18 shillings, 9 pence) rent per month, and she paid 9/- (9 shillings) per week for board and lodging. Also noted is that she was a member of the Pearl Society, which I was told is usually noted because there was an expectation that such organizations were expected to provide support. I wonder if I can find any information about the Pearl Society.
The second page of the application is the record of the home visit, which took place on 12 Oct 1917. It lists the address, which I've seen many other places, 178 Rose Street. But it adds the note "2 up R", which I take to mean two floors up, on the right. It's a shame the building has been demolished. I would really have loved to go back there. It does list "Wilna", "Russia" (i.e. Vilnius, Lithuania) as place of birth, as I have already confirmed. And she is listed as "Howife" (housewife?) and munition worker. I was told there were several munitions factories in the area, but it would be hard to know which one. They did tell me that they (the Glasgow City Archive) does hold a collection of photos of WWI era women working in these factories, so maybe I'd be able to identify her.
The "home visit" page suggests that she's only been resident at 178 Rose Street for 5 weeks (that would be since Kazimiras was sent away). I know from the census she was there in 1911, but I don't know where she was in between. The record also states that she only knew Kazimiras for three months before marriage, which seems to suggest that they suspected this was a marriage of convenience. By that time Kazimiras probably did know he was being deported. The odd note on "settlement", I was told, was a matter of determining which parish would pay the poor relief. Unmarried women were said to be "settled" at their father's residence. Married women were said to be "settled" at their husband's residence.
It's also good to know that my direct ancestor was not a "lunatic" or an "idiot":
Some changes to the status of Sofija's poor relief are also noted. By January of 1918, she was taken off the poor roll and placed on a "special roll" (receiving a benefits increase to 12/6). I know there was a lot of back and forth between authorities about whose responsibility the Lithuanian dependents were going to be (see documents here). I wonder if there is a separate book somewhere that contains these "special roll" entries. I think the special roll was eventually canceled because she returns to the poor roll (and decreases to 10/-) in May 1920. I think I recall that the national government decided it would no longer support dependents of the men they'd deported under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention. This must be it. Finally, it shows that she was "repatriated" (read: deported) on 6 Sept 1920. What is really incredible about this is that not only was she forced out, her Scottish-born son went too.
The full document is here.
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* of course, "Russia" is actually Lithuania, since Lithuania was under control of the Czar at the time.
My great-grandmother, Sofija (aka Zose, Yose, Jessie, Sophie), made the application on 9 Oct 1917, just one month after she had married and about 10 days after Kazimiras was sent away. The initial application was declined.
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| Except he didn't "leave" her. He was sent away. |
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| Application |
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| Application "refused, able bodied, no dependents". |
Just a month later, however, an addendum was attached indicating that she was pregnant with my great-uncle Kazimiras Jr, and the application was approved for a payment of 8/- per week (that's 8 shillings).
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| Nature of applicant's "infirmity": pregnant. |
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| 8/- per week, Aliens Roll |
The application also provides some information about Kazimiras. He was sent away on 29 Sept 1917, and had been earning £3 per week as a coal miner at the time. It says "From Russia 6yrs", which I take to mean he had been in Scotland for 6 years (possibly explaining why I couldn't find him on the 1911 census). The way things are written is confusing, but it switches back to Sofija and explains what she pays to lodge with her mother and father (must be the case because it also confirms that Kazimiras's parents are "both in Russia").* She is residing with her mother and father and 3 children (her siblings, Annie, Peter, and Margaret). It states that they paid 18/9 (18 shillings, 9 pence) rent per month, and she paid 9/- (9 shillings) per week for board and lodging. Also noted is that she was a member of the Pearl Society, which I was told is usually noted because there was an expectation that such organizations were expected to provide support. I wonder if I can find any information about the Pearl Society.
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| Notes about Kazimiras and Raulinaitis family. |
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| Micheal and Katherine Kisielius, "both in Russia". |
The second page of the application is the record of the home visit, which took place on 12 Oct 1917. It lists the address, which I've seen many other places, 178 Rose Street. But it adds the note "2 up R", which I take to mean two floors up, on the right. It's a shame the building has been demolished. I would really have loved to go back there. It does list "Wilna", "Russia" (i.e. Vilnius, Lithuania) as place of birth, as I have already confirmed. And she is listed as "Howife" (housewife?) and munition worker. I was told there were several munitions factories in the area, but it would be hard to know which one. They did tell me that they (the Glasgow City Archive) does hold a collection of photos of WWI era women working in these factories, so maybe I'd be able to identify her.
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| Home Visit, 12 Oct 1917 |
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| Photo from Veronica Thomson of her mother Ona Kisieliute She noted it was possibly the "Moran-Nichol" munitions factory. |
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| Ona again (on right). Veronica didn't know who the person on the left was. Possibly Sofija? |
The "home visit" page suggests that she's only been resident at 178 Rose Street for 5 weeks (that would be since Kazimiras was sent away). I know from the census she was there in 1911, but I don't know where she was in between. The record also states that she only knew Kazimiras for three months before marriage, which seems to suggest that they suspected this was a marriage of convenience. By that time Kazimiras probably did know he was being deported. The odd note on "settlement", I was told, was a matter of determining which parish would pay the poor relief. Unmarried women were said to be "settled" at their father's residence. Married women were said to be "settled" at their husband's residence.
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| Residence |
It's also good to know that my direct ancestor was not a "lunatic" or an "idiot":
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| Good genes. |
Some changes to the status of Sofija's poor relief are also noted. By January of 1918, she was taken off the poor roll and placed on a "special roll" (receiving a benefits increase to 12/6). I know there was a lot of back and forth between authorities about whose responsibility the Lithuanian dependents were going to be (see documents here). I wonder if there is a separate book somewhere that contains these "special roll" entries. I think the special roll was eventually canceled because she returns to the poor roll (and decreases to 10/-) in May 1920. I think I recall that the national government decided it would no longer support dependents of the men they'd deported under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention. This must be it. Finally, it shows that she was "repatriated" (read: deported) on 6 Sept 1920. What is really incredible about this is that not only was she forced out, her Scottish-born son went too.
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| Later Notes |
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* of course, "Russia" is actually Lithuania, since Lithuania was under control of the Czar at the time.
03 December 2014
Catholic Archive
I paid a visit to the Scottish Catholic Archive today. Finally. It's right here in Edinburgh, but I've never found the time to get there. They have very limited hours during the week and by appointment only.
All records in Scotland after 1855 are kept in a civil register (which is held at Register House at the National Archives of Scotland and digitized on the Scotland's People website). Records before 1855 were only kept by the churches. So if your family was Catholic, the Catholic archive holds pre-1855 records of their baptisms, banns, and burials (equivalent to births, marriages, and deaths), plus some other scattered notes on things. These pre-1855 records have been digitized, however, and are accessible on the Scotland's People website. The Catholic Church also holds records of post-1855 events, but these have not been consolidated at the Catholic archive, meaning that if you want to see them you must travel to the individual church where the event was registered!! This means the Catholic archive isn't much use to the average visitor. I went anyway.
The archivist was able to help me identify the churches and the people I need to contact about information I'm looking for. The main thing I want to see is a marriage record for Marijona Kisieliute my great-grandfather's sister, her first marriage to Konstantinas Adomaviczia in 1914. The civil record shows that one of the witnesses had the name Kisieliene. The first initial of the first name is either U or A. My hope is that the Catholic record will list the full name. This could link me to another of the Kisielius brothers. I've seen others in the records, but haven't been able to document any connection yet. This is probably held at Holy Family church in Mossend. I've emailed the priest requesting a look.
Another record I'd like to see is Marijona's second marriage to Juozas Valaitis in 1936. Both are listed as widows on the civil document. My hope is that document will list additional information about the death of her previous husband (I imagine some documentation of death would need to be provided). I actually suspect he was not dead. In the poor relief records that I found, I discovered that Konstantinas was with my great-grandfather when he was sent away under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention. I think he couldn't get back here either. Eventually she re-married. This record was originally recorded at St. John's Church in Glasgow, but St. John's was consolidated into Blessed John Duns Scotus, which should have the record books for St. John's.
I also asked about the baptism record for Kazimiras Kisielius Jr from 1918. It was registered at St Luke's, but St Luke's no longer exists, and I was told the records should also be held at John Duns Scotus.
I asked about the marriage of Kazimiras Sr and Sofija Raulinaite from 1917, which was registered at St Luke's.
And I asked about the baptism of Sofija, which I don't actually think happened here. Contrary to what Chute told me, and contrary to what she actually seemed to believe, she was born in Vilnius. She must have been very young when she arrived (since she doesn't seem to have remembered it), so there's a chance she could have been born there and baptized here. The Lithuanian record proves she was born there, but the German records show that she claimed to have been born in "Glashof, Britania".
All records in Scotland after 1855 are kept in a civil register (which is held at Register House at the National Archives of Scotland and digitized on the Scotland's People website). Records before 1855 were only kept by the churches. So if your family was Catholic, the Catholic archive holds pre-1855 records of their baptisms, banns, and burials (equivalent to births, marriages, and deaths), plus some other scattered notes on things. These pre-1855 records have been digitized, however, and are accessible on the Scotland's People website. The Catholic Church also holds records of post-1855 events, but these have not been consolidated at the Catholic archive, meaning that if you want to see them you must travel to the individual church where the event was registered!! This means the Catholic archive isn't much use to the average visitor. I went anyway.
The archivist was able to help me identify the churches and the people I need to contact about information I'm looking for. The main thing I want to see is a marriage record for Marijona Kisieliute my great-grandfather's sister, her first marriage to Konstantinas Adomaviczia in 1914. The civil record shows that one of the witnesses had the name Kisieliene. The first initial of the first name is either U or A. My hope is that the Catholic record will list the full name. This could link me to another of the Kisielius brothers. I've seen others in the records, but haven't been able to document any connection yet. This is probably held at Holy Family church in Mossend. I've emailed the priest requesting a look.
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| Kisieliene |
Another record I'd like to see is Marijona's second marriage to Juozas Valaitis in 1936. Both are listed as widows on the civil document. My hope is that document will list additional information about the death of her previous husband (I imagine some documentation of death would need to be provided). I actually suspect he was not dead. In the poor relief records that I found, I discovered that Konstantinas was with my great-grandfather when he was sent away under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention. I think he couldn't get back here either. Eventually she re-married. This record was originally recorded at St. John's Church in Glasgow, but St. John's was consolidated into Blessed John Duns Scotus, which should have the record books for St. John's.
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| Konstantinas is in Lithuania |
I also asked about the baptism record for Kazimiras Kisielius Jr from 1918. It was registered at St Luke's, but St Luke's no longer exists, and I was told the records should also be held at John Duns Scotus.
I asked about the marriage of Kazimiras Sr and Sofija Raulinaite from 1917, which was registered at St Luke's.
And I asked about the baptism of Sofija, which I don't actually think happened here. Contrary to what Chute told me, and contrary to what she actually seemed to believe, she was born in Vilnius. She must have been very young when she arrived (since she doesn't seem to have remembered it), so there's a chance she could have been born there and baptized here. The Lithuanian record proves she was born there, but the German records show that she claimed to have been born in "Glashof, Britania".
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| Birth of Sofija Raulinitis, 17 Aug 1901 (microfilm 604-20-289, pg333v-334z, no 757) |
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| She's even got her birth year and birth month wrong! |
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