Unknown Polish ancestors Enlarged picture of head pieceCopy of scanned photofrom M. SteadmanA few years ago, a cousin of mine and I reconnected via the internet. Her husband has been working on our family history and had several pictures of my ancestors that he scanned and sent to me. This is the one picture that has really fascinated me. No one in the family that I have been in contact with so far knows for sure if the people in the picture are from my Sawicki ancestors, Wozniak ancestors, Wieczorek ancestors, or possibly the Ziolkowski ancestors. We do however, believe they are family members and not strangers! I do know they are not my Hoosier ancestors!
The picture was taken here in Chicago, Illinois. The photographer was Kersting. I do not own the original, I believe my cousin or possibly my aunt own the original, however, they too, do not know which side of our family tree these relatives come from. I know that Henry Kersting, the photographer lived here in Chicago from at least 1880, per the census records. By 1910 he and his family lived in Baldwin, Alabama.
I also do not know if this picture is a wedding picture or another special event. It is a neat picture though. I love her head piece! I just have to keep searching and digging to find out who they are!
The Family
The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck
Genealogy Pox, author unknown
WARNING: GENEALOGY POX IS VERY CONTAGIOUS!
SYMPTOMS: Continual complaint as to need for names, dates and places. Patient has a blank expressions, sometimes deaf to spouse and children. Has no taste for work of any kind, except feverishly looking through records at libraries and courthouses.
Has a compulsion to write letters. Swears at mailman when he doesn't leave mail. Frequents strange places such as cemeteries, ruins, and remote desolate country areas. Makes secret night calls and hides phone bills from spouse. Mumbles to self. Has strange, faraway look in eyes.
NO KNOWN CURE!
TREATMENT: Medication is useless. This disease is not fatal, but gets progressively worse. Patient should attend genealogy workshops, subscribe to genealogical magazines and be given a quiet corner in the house where he/she can be alone.
REMARKS: The unusual nature of this disease is that the sicker the patient gets, the more he or she enjoys it!
