The Sons of Andrew Piszczor Sr. & Anna Szczypta, Part 2

This is the next photo I have found that has most of the sons of Andrew Piszczor Sr. in it and it's a good place to review the time line. Everyone is gathered at the family farm in McClellandtown, PA for the 45th wedding anniversary of Andrew and Anna in 1953. It appears that Francis and Monica Piszczor were unable to make it but I suspect it was due to them expecting their second child right about then. (I know I'll have that confirmed very soon!)

So a lot has happen to the family in the past 13 years and sure it would have been even more hectic if some people didn't have to go and start a war. Let me tell you what I know and see if anyone else will have something to add:

Andrew Piszczor Sr. & Anna Szczypta - Not much changed for Andy and Anna during this time, just working the farm and going down in the mines while collecting more grandchildren.

John Piszczor - During this time John and Ann stayed in the Cleveland area. John by this time had begun his career as a photographer, moved to the southeast part of town on a large piece of land near what today is Solon and is running the Grand Studio on Broadway Ave. near E. 75th St.

Joseph Piszczor - By this time Joe and Helen had finished building their home in New Salem and had their third son, Thomas, in 1952. Joseph was well on his way working up the ladder in the Coal Miner Union.

Andrew Piszczor Jr. - Andy and Helen continued to stay in McClellandtown and working in the coal mines. They had a son, Lawrence, in 1944 but sadly he lived only for a year. Then in 1946 Daniel was born to them.

Jesse (Hyacinth)Piszczor Sr. - Jesse and Josephine remained in Cleveland and he was working for a steel manufacturing firm before he got his letter from Uncle Sam. He spent over two years in uniform and served in Europe and the Far East. After he was discharged he also became a photographer,working with John for awhile. In 1943 they had a daughter they named Carol. In 1953 moved to the east side of Cleveland and had a son who unfortunately died in child birth.

Michael Piszczor Sr. - I don't know much of what Mike did during this period besides satying in Cleveland; except that he also was called into the armed forces, serving in the Army during the war. He also married Julia Habrot in 1947.

Francis Piszczor - Frank and Monica also stayed in the Cleveland area and I believe they moved out to Painesville, OH by this time. Frank was working for Sealtest as a milkman. They did have two daughters during this time; Paulette in 1943 and Susan in 1953.

Walter Piszczor Sr. - Walter was born in 1924 and stayed in McClellendtown until he too was called up and served in the Army Air Corps in Europe as a navigator on light bombers. Shortly after being discharged he also found his way to Cleveland and may have been working at White Motors by this time.

The Sons of Andrew Piszczor Sr. & Anna Szczypta, Part 1

Might you be thinking I'm running out of pictures? I know I used this one before but I never explained it and it will allow me to roll into a nice storyline, so please hang with me here and watch how I ride.

This is the earliest family photo I found so far. It is just a wonderful happenstance that it is a family portrait. Andrew and Anna (Szczypta) Piszczor on the front porch with their six sons. I haven't seen this photo in over 10 years but I do know it was taken in 1921 in either Tarr or Mt. Pleasant, PA. There was nothing else on the photo noting why they were all dressed up for the photo. Allow me to set the characters of the story for you till about 1940 and you will see how they progress through the years in the next few posts:

Andrew Piszczor Sr. - Came to the U.S. in 1904 when he was 18. His father, Jakob Piszczor, had already been to this country and back to Poland at least once by the time he arrived so he must have had contacts in Tarr, PA. He was a farmer in Poland and was heading here to work in the mines at that time. Some time before 1908 he found his way to Chicago where his sister Antonia lived with her husband Jozef Basiorka, where legend has it he met his future wife in their apartment.

Anna Szczypta - She arrived from Poland in 1905 at the age of 25 and heading to Chicago to stay with her cousin. The hand writing on the manifest is quite illegible but it looks like a Jozef, which works with the story that she and Jozef Basiorka were cousins. This is why she was in that apartment when Andrew came to Chicago. How ever it happened something worked and they married in Mt. Pleasant, PA in 1908 and went on to raise seven sons.

John Piszczor - The oldest son was born in 1909. By the time he finished high school he knew he didn't want to work in the mines anymore and he rode the trains out to California for a short stay and returned to the Uniontown area and began as an apprentice to a tailor. Some where down the line he married Ann Slosar in the 1930s.

Joseph Piszczor - Born in 1911, Joe went into the coal mines and eventually worked his way into the Union hierarchy. In 1934 he married this girl down the road by name of Helen Schifko, remaining in the New Salem area. They had their first son, Donald, in 1935 and Bernard was born in 1940.

Andrew Piszczor Jr. - Andrew Jr. came into the word in 1912 and after high school he worked in the coal mines and had a second job also (I want to say it was the railroads, but I'm not certain.. anyone help me on this?) He went on to quite literally marrying the girl next door, Helen Sinko, in 1936. They also stayed right in the neighborhood through this time in New Salem and McClellandtown and had two daughters, Josephine Ann (better known as Josie) born in 1937 and Betty Lou in 1940.

Jesse (Hyacinth)Piszczor Sr. - This son of various first names that finally settled as Jesse was born in 1914. From what I know he was the athlete of the family, playing semi-pro baseball and football while in high school. He left the farm right out of school and headed to Cleveland to work manufacturing. It was there where he met and married Josephine Semik in 1938.

Michael Piszczor Sr. - After a well deserved break Michael was born on 1917. He found his way to Cleveland in the late 1930s and didn't find his someone special at this point.

Francis Piszczor - This Frank was born in 1919 and also followed the trail to Cleveland shortly after high school. But once there he didn't waste much time in finding a Cleveland girl, Monica Wolinski, and somehow convinced her to walk down the aisle with him in 1940.

Now at this time we are missing two sons; the first Francis Piszczor who lived only a very short time in 1918, reportedly contracting the Spanish Influenza and Walter Piszczor Sr. who will be making an appearance shortly....

Heard from Dj in awhile?

Well I have. For those not in the loop, Dj (Donald Joseph "Pezar" Piszczor) is the oldest son of Donald Piszczor and Mary Ann Rahija. I'm not really sure if he is a junior or not but sure he'll let me know after reading this. Most of us haven't seen much of him over the years since he became a big time executive chef living in various places throughout southeast Asia.

That's him and his wife Pilar Palma in the picture and I still haven't got all their children straight but I will! I believe they met when he was working in the Phillipines. We have been exchanging letters the past few months since he found me through the web site and he really enjoys this. The main reason for bringing him up is part of a note he sent to me about his family that I hope he doesn't mind me sharing....

"Just to broaden your genealogical tree a bit we’ve now relations by marriage all over Australia, in the Philippines and in Germany. Heck, we’ve even [have] an Aunt in the Vatican and a cousin who is a bigwig in Philippines politics and came close to winning the Presidency. I really like what you’re doing with the webpage. So much so that I’m finally going to try and put one up. .... this one will just focus on where Pi and I are living, traveling to, daily events, etc. Mostly to keep in some kind of contact with all of our families, especially nieces and nephews, whom we rarely get to see."

I hope he does it! This is one of the reasons I started doing this. (Besides, I always wanted to get back to Australia and now may have some one to see if I ever get to do that again!) When Dj gets his site going I'll have a link here so you can keep up with him!

The Old Mill Tavern, Cleveland, OH

This little, nondescript, two story building nestled next to the old #25 Fire Station at the intersection of Broadway Ave and E. 71st St was the Cleveland area family hub for nearly 30 years. Owned by Michael Piszczor Sr, it was worked at one time or another by many of the Cleveland Piszczors (fact is even I put a few days behind the bar). While the clientele was primarily mill workers, firemen and veterans; there where many a Saturday night the place seemed like a family party with a few odd strangers at the bar.

(That's Jesse Piszczor Sr. behind the bar at the Old Mill Tavern and Donald (Pezar) Piszczor just behind him)

There wasn't much to the place really; a long bar, 6' pool table, bowling machine (of which I was told I had a diaper change on a few times!), jukebox and boarding on the second floor. It wasn't that big either and the liquor and beer storage was somewhat like a small cave that you got to through a trapdoor in the men's room. But if you wanted to see family without dropping by some one's home on short or no notice this was our place. I have fond memories when I got transferred back to Cleveland in the 80's of stopping by the Old Mill at Midnight on a Saturday, either with my wife or on my own, and having a beer and playing pool with my Uncle Mike until closing time. Not an exciting life event but I miss those nights now.

More Surprises in that Forgotten box

While going though that old forgotten box I found some items related to my mother's (Josephine Semik Piszczor) side of the family. Now my mother's side of the family never spoke much of their family at all, so much less about her father's side of the family. About the only thing I knew about them is they came from some town within 50 miles of Krakow, my grandmother left the two oldest boys in Poland with relatives, these two uncles had 24 children between them and the Pope John Paul II was somehow a distant cousin!

Over the years I found some odds and ends like my grandfather Martin's death records (he died in 1942) and my grandmother's Victoria's death notice as well as both of their arrival records. Then a few weeks ago I came across this old newspaper article (see image). I remember when they came though they spoke no English and I had no clue of Polish, but they were amazed at life here in the United States.

So after 40 years I read the article and saw they came from a town named Sucha in Poland. But after a lot of searching of maps and on the Internet I could not find a town by the name of Sucha alone. I was stumped and set it aside until this week.

While going through that old box I found some old mail left behind after my mother death and noticed between all the legal papers an old letter in Polish, a Christmas card actually, complete with envelope with an address on it. What I made out for a town was 'Sucha Besk', so back to the Internet and tried that and after searching the returns I clicked on an entry from Wikipedia and up came the information I have been looking years for. The town name was changed in 1970 to Sucha Beskidzka, and it is south of Krakow and in the foothills less than 20 miles from Nowy Targ where the Piszczors are from!

So it's time for me to figure out how to write a letter in Polish and see if I get an answer!

There are always the chance for surprises

I am feeling like I accomplished some headway this week in searching family that I want to share. It developed out of that mystery box I found in the basement I mentioned last week.

For some background; I have been talking to Stan Kensic from California. I mentioned him before a few posts back. He is from Cleveland and his parents settled in the Uniontown area. He is searching on his Fudala roots and we found we both have tracked down a Fudala ancestor to the town of Witow about the same time; My grandmother Anna Szczypta, wife of Andrew Piszczor, grandfather was Maciej Fudala and Stan's great great grandfather was Jan Fudala (same generation if you're keeping score!). We talked about it and could not make a connection, for all we know they could be brothers. So in that box I found a copy of the translation of Anna's birth certificate and realized something I overlooked before, her godparents! It seems that Anna's godmother was Regina Fudala, wife of Jan Fudala! I sent a copy of it to Stan and waiting to hear what records he might have that could make a connection.

So if Maciej and Jan just happen to have been brothers that would mean that Stan and I (with all my other first cousins) are 4th cousins!

Anna Szczypta, Wife of Andrew Piszczor Sr

I was eight years old when she passed away. She was a sweet and loving woman who was able to make all of her grandchildren feel special. When I stayed over at their farm she used to wake me up to do the early chores with her. She taught me how to milk a cow and collect eggs in the chicken coop. I know she taught some of my girl cousins how to make cheese and butter, some pretty important stuff I would say! She also made wine with the fruit from the farm and kept eight Piszczor men in line! I remember that the only time I saw my grandfather Andrew weep was during her entire funeral.

Anna Szczypta was my fraternal grandmother born in Witow, Poland in 1879. Her parents, Jan Szczypta and Regina Sepek, were farmers and she had one brother by the name of Jan. While Jan stayed in Poland, Anna decided to come to America, arriving in 1905.

She appears to have met her future husband Andrew in America, even though they grew up within three miles of each other. This leads into the the romantic legend; that they met in the apartment of her cousin(?) in Chicago who just happened to be Jozef Baisorka. Who incidentally was married to Andrew's sister Antonia! (just to note, Anna's arrival papers stated she was going to stay with a cousin in Chicago who lived on 752 W. 18th St, but I make out the hand writing to confirm the name!) For whatever reason all four of them left Chicago and headed to Westmoreland county in Pennsylvania. It was there in 1908 that they married in Mt. Pleasant, again with misspelled names.

Anna had seven sons with Andrew (and one died who within his first year) and lived on their farm in McClellandtown for nearly 40 years. There are pictures of Anna the farm in a number of the online albums.
----------------
The Evening Standard (Uniontown, PA) Oct 30, 1962

PISZCZOR (PEZAR), ANNA M.

Aged 82, Footedale-Lambert Rd, died Sunday, October 28, 1962 at 11:40 a.m. in the Uniontown Hospital. Born November 11, 1879 in Poland, she had resided in the area for the past 47 years. She was a member of the St. Thomas R.C. Church, Footedale; St, Hedwig's Lodge 2234 ZNP and the Rosary Society of the church. She is survived by her husband, Andrew Piszczor Sr, and these children: John, Cleveland, O.; Joseph, New Salem; Andrew Jr., McClellandtown; Jesse, Michael and Walter, Cleveland, O.; 16 grandchildren; three great grandchildren; one brother, John Szczypta resides in Poland. She was preceded by a son Frank S. in 1958. Friends are being received at Vito P. DeCarlo Funeral Home until Wednesday. A Requiem High Mass will be chanted at St. Thomas R.C. Church, celebrated by Fr. Walter E. Iwaniski. Internment will be in the church cemetery. The Holy Name Society will recite the rosary Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock.

Just when you think you know someone...

I am named after my father, Jesse Piszczor. So you would think I would know his name. Granted, I never could find out why he was named Jesse or who he was named after. Now when I was very young I remember my grandfather, Andrew Sr., calling my dad by the name 'Jacek'. Slightly confused I asked him why he called him that and was told that was his name in Polish. Knowing that Stanislaw is Polish for Stan and Jan is the equivalent for John it made sense to me and I bought it. So I went for about 40 years thinking that if I was in Poland I would be called Jacek. But I never saw this in print anywhere.

As chance and the Internet would have it I happened across a fellow from Poland while doing some research by the name of Jacek. Cool! It was the first occurrence I had and I wrote him to confirm this name translation. He wrote me back and said, "Uh, I don't think so." What we figured out is that the English name for Jacek is Hershell (?!?) and there is no Polish equivalent for Jesse! Now I'm a bit confused, but what's new?

So a couple years later I finally am able to start searching U.S. Census records and of course working to find my dad and nothing comes up in the 1920 records. I try a different tack and search for Andrew and believe I found him, but going through the names of children I can't find my dad but the rest of his brother's names fit! But there is entry for a 'Jacuces' that is just about his age so it must be him! (Just to make it more interesting I discovered he is listed in this Ancestry.com database as James!)

Now if all this sounds banal enough I just happened to find my parents marriage certificate and my dad's baptismal certificate in a long forgotten box yesterday (which both will be their own blog entries soon!) and he is listed under another name, Hyacinth! Of course there is no English equivalent.... sure wish I knew about this years ago when I could have asked someone who might have knew what the hell was going on here while they were still alive.

(BTW-Just in case you're wondering, the earliest document I found with my dad listed as Jesse was Andrew's citizenship filling in 1924.)

Dorothy Basiorka, Daughter-in-Law of Antonia Piszczor

I can't recall ever meeting Dorothy but finding this notice I thought it well to share it on here....

Dorothy Basiorka, 42, of Greensburg RD2 (Brinkerton), died Monday, Dec. 16, 1996, at her home. She was born Nov. 8, 1924 in Greensburg, a daughter of the late Rosatio and Maria Pontario Zangla. She was a member of St. Stanislaus Church. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas S. Basiorka (1988) and three brothers, Carmen "Michael", John and Joe Zangla; (and) a sister, Ann Jansen. She is survived by a son, Thomas M. Zangla and his wife, Rose Ann; two daughters, Linda L. Basiorka of Corpus Cristi, Texas, and Mrs. Carol A. Forsyth and her husband Brain of Greensburg; a great-granddaughter Jessica C. Zangla; a brother, a brother, Frank Zangla of Alexandria, La; three sisters, Margret "Peggy" DiPetro of Pittsburgh, Josephine Zangla and Mary Elizabeth "Libby" Zimmerman, both of Greensburg; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Friends were received at Jay A. Hoffer Funeral Home, Norvelt. The Funeral Mass was held at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church with Rev. Nicholas Trongo as celebrant. Dorothy was interned at St. Stanislaus Cemetery.

Mystery Photo #3

I know what you're thinking, "Where do you find these things?" Well the boxws are deep! So the question is, "Who is this cheerful fellow?" By the look of the type of photo materials I'm guessing it has to be early 1940s or before. So I would guess it should be one of Joseph Piszczor's sons, either Donald or Bernie. The only note on the back of the photo reads "826 Elm St".

So anyone has any ideas about the child in the photo, the whwn and where?

Back to the Uniontown Area

As I wrote about earlier, we were able to get back to Uniontown for a weekend for the first time in over ten years. Knowing how spread out most of you have gotten I bet it's been even longer for many of the rest of us. While we were more focused on visiting and seeing some family sites we didn't do much sight seeing but we did take some pictures and wanted to put them out here just thinking you might just be curious about how much may or may not have changed.

Thee are more photos sitting in the web album.

That old Summertime

I was going to post this picture as another mystery photo until I scanned it and started to clean up a very dark picture. I knew the location since I was taken there a lot as a child (and on many an evening when I was in high school), that is the Hinckley Dam and Reservoir. It is and huge park roughly a half hour southwest of Cleveland and famous for the "Return of the Buzzards".

But back to the photo. Once I cleaned it up I got a good look at the faces and remembered my dad showing me this picture, so this is close to 30 years ago. If I recall correctly this is my dad's brother Joseph Piszczor (or Pezar) and the little fellow is his son Thomas. I'm betting that the good looking guy on the right is his middle son Bernard. If that is Tom there I would guess this was taken roughly around 1958/59.

Anyone who can confirm or correct this please leave me a comment and let me know.

Mystery Photo #2

This was a very small picture (about 1" x 2") found in the bottom of a box. It was almost totally black and I had to work this hard in Photoshop to pull the image out. So now, who are they and where? To me, the fellow front left looks very much like Joseph Piszczor. The only other clue, if you can call it that, is the sign reads "Nugrape" (Supposedly the best grape soda ever made)!

Any help or suggestions? If you got them just leave them in the comments.

Family Gatherings - Frank Piszczor's Birthday, 1958

Went and found another great photo in the boxes. You know, I actually have some vague memories of this get together. Granted I was 4 1/2 years old and don't recall any details as such, but I always loved going to my uncle Frank's and aunt Monica's home. I didn't recognize many of the people in it so I sent a copy to cousin Susan and she sat down with her mom, Monica, and figured most of them out. (So glad they did too, I couldn't even pick myself out correctly! I just happen to be between these two in the picture.)

Everyone gathered for my uncle Frank's 39th birthday. It was a somewhat somber occasion with Frank battling stomach cancer, passing away within a month of this picture being taken.

Listed below is what Sue and Monica identified. If you have any clue on who the unknown people are, catch any errors or remember the day let us know:

1 Ray Lewandowski
2 Maurice Mohney
3 Betty Lou Piszczor (Migyanko)
4 Ronald Lewandowski
5 Virginia Lewandowski (?)
6 Diane Lewandowski
7 Unknown
8 Carol Ann Piszczor (Latham)
9 Stella Mohney
10 Josephine Ann (Josie) Piszczor (Van Sickle)
11 Ruthie Sinko - (Newly identified!)
12 Josephine Ann Semik (Piszczor)
13 Walter Piszczor Sr.
14 Jesse Piszczor Sr.
15 Donald Piszczor (?)
16 Unknown
17 Unknown
18 Mary Ann Rahija (Pezar)
19 Monica Wolinski (Piszczor)
20 Jesse Piszczor Jr.
21 Susan Piszczor
22 Frank Piszczor
23 Paulette Piszczor (Ballock)
24 Unknown
25 Unknown
26 George Sinko

Here is a copy of the picture without the numbers!

Mystery Picture #1

While rumaging through some of the old photo boxes I found this sliver of a photo. No notes on it but my best guess is that these two are Carol Piszczor and Bernard Piszczor, probably taken around 1948 or 1949. If anyone can confirm or help identify them please let me know!

Pronounce it? I don't even know what it looks like!

I heard it a lot, most people gagging trying to pronounce the names of a lot of these towns I'm listing. I have a map in from of me at my desk for years that I still practice with when talking to others in doing the research. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was talking with Stan Kensic in trying to find a link between our lines and he has been there and still has trouble getting the towns right!

But one thing that Stan said to me just stuck with me; he told me how amazing it is that how much the area of Poland our families came from looks like the Uniontown, PA area. Granted we have built wider roads and McDonald's in Uniontown (but no real Starbucks yet! Anyone willing to invest in one with me?), but other than that it is like they just searched for a place to feel like the old home.

Well, as far as I know none of us have been back there but I have located some views of the area around the web. One I like is by Michelle Tibbetts, a U.S. missionary who appears to go to Poland on a regular basis. I just exchanged a few notes with her but you can see her pictures of the area at her SmugMug site.

The Fudala Surname Connection - for you Stan

In doing research on the family I have run into a number of very diligent researchers working hard to make connections on the Fudala family. Fact is there are more people researching the Fudala lines than any other family from our Nowy Targ region. So how do they connect with our family you ask? Anna Szczypta married Andrew Piszczor Sr and they were fruitful and mutiplied. Anna's parents from Witow were Jan Szczypta and Tekla Fudala! (Just in case any Fudala researcher happens to read this, Tekla's parents were Meciej Fudala ans Anna Kwak.)

I have gotten to know a few of these people but one in particular, Stan Kensic, stands out with a number of coincidences even though we haven't found a connection yet. First of all he is been to and very familiar with the Uniontown, PA area, and still has family there! Then it seems his grandparetns were married in the same church that Anna and Andrew Piszczir were married in, Transfiguration in Mt. Pleasant, PA. He also had the opportunity to visit our region of Poland where all our families came from! (He and I also share heart surgery experiences, who says it doesn't run in the family now!)

So with that I have made the effort to put out the Fudala information I have and hope we might be found by someone who can find our connection:

This name has a shrouded origin. There is no Polish root fud-, but in his book Nazwiska Polakow Polish surname expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions Fudala among several names common in Poland but actually of Rumanian origin, which lends some credence to the carpatho-rushyn theory of who originally inhabited this area. So it seems likely Fudala derives from Rumanian. Rymut does not mention the meaning of this root in Rumanian, but there are in Rumanian such words as fudul, which means "proud," fudulie, "pride, haughtiness," and a verb fuduli (a se) meaning "to bridle up, strut, flaunt.

Fudala: (e.g. Fudala, Fudale, Fudalak, Fudalej, Fudaley, Fedalewicz, Fudalowicz)

Date Name - Town - Event
1608 Fudala - Pieniąźkowice - Old Church Record
1631 Fudala - Bukowina - Birth
1632 Fudaley - Bukowina - Birth
1633 Fudalak - Baiły Dunajec - Marriage
1726 Fudalowicz - Nowy Targ - Birth
1739 Fudalowicz - Nowy Targ - Birth
1739 Fudalewicz - Klinkuszowa - Birth
1763 Fudałowicz - Nowy Targ - Birth
1763 Fudalewicz - Nowy Targ - Birth
1782 Fudalowicz - Nowy Targ - Birth
1786 Fudałowicz - Nowy Targ - Birth
1809 Fudalewicz - Nowy Targ - Registraton
1786 Fudala - N. Bystre - Birth
1788 Fudala - Rogoźnik - Birth
1790 Fudala - Czarny Dunajec - Birth
1792 Fudala - Dział - Birth
1793 Fudala - Chochołów - Birth
1799 Fudala - Witow - Birth
1803 Fudała - Nowy Targ - Birth
1805 Fudala - Stare Bystre - Birth
1808 Fudala - Podczerwone - Birth
1810 Fudala - Długopone - Birth
---- Fudala - Białka Tatrzańska - Registration
---- Fudala - Czarny Dunajec - Registration
---- Fudala - Ciche - Registration
---- Fudala - Długopone - Registration
---- Fudala - Dzianisz - Registration
---- Fudala - Konoiówka - Registration
---- Fudala - Międzyczerwienne - Registration
---- Fudala - N. Bystre - Registration
---- Fudala - Odroważ - Registration
---- Fudala - Podczerwone - Registration
---- Fudala - Ratułow - Registration

The Early Szczypta Records

The Szczypta name merged with the Piszczor when Anna Szczypta married Andrew Piszczor Sr in Mt.Pleasant, PA in 1908. Now they grew up less than 10 miles apart in in Poland but, according to the stories, met in the United States at her cousin's home. Her cousin was Jozef Basiorka who just happened to be married to Antonia Piszczor, Andrew's sister! (Just another link to connect!)

Szczypta: (Scipta, Scypta, Sczipta, Sczypciak, Sczypta, Sczypty, Szcipta, Szczipta) - a very small amount of an ingredient

Year Name - Location - Record Type
1620 Sczypta - Nowy Targ - Birth
1620 Sczypta - Szaflary - Marriage
1632 Sczypciak - Skrzypne - Marriage
1640 Sczypty - Nowy Targ - Residence
1650 Scipta - Nowy Targ - Birth
1652 Scipta - Nowy Targ - Birth
1684 Scypta - Zab - Birth
1778 Szczipta - Chochołów - Birth
1786 Sczipta - Witów - Birth
1786 Szczypta - Witów - Birth
1786 Szczypta - Wróblówka - Birth
1786 Szczypta - Wróblówka - Birth (b)
1787 Szcipta - Witów - Birth
1787 Szczipta - Witów - Birth
1787 Szczypta - Odroważ - Birth
1788 Scypta - Dzianisz - Birth
1788 Scypta - Witów - Birth
1788 Szczypta - Wróblówka - Birth (a)
1790 Scipta - Chocholów - Birth
1790 Szczypta - Wróblówka - Birth (c)
1807 Scipta - Witów - Birth
1809 Scipta - Dzianisz - Birth
------ Szczypta - Odroważ - Civil Registration
------ Szczypta - Podczerwone - Civil Registration
------ Szczypta - Stare Bystre - Civil Registration
------ Szczypta - Witów - Civil Registration
------ Szczypta - Wróblówka - Civil Registration
------ Szczypta - Załuczne - Civil Registration
(a) al. Galik
(b) al. Galus
(c) al. Kurasek

The Piszczor Surname - The Early Years

In an incredible stroke of luck for those of us Novy Targ area family history researchers, there is a reference guide in existence that can lead to the earliest known records!

This extraordinary book was published in 1970 by Jozef Bubak under the title of Nazwiska Ludnosci Dawnego Starostwa Nowotarskiego. Roughly translated it means "First Records (of the) Surnames (in the) old Sheriffdom of Nowy Targ". Except for a monastery, this area was a royal preserve until roughly 1600 when it was opened officially for settlement. It was comparable to the Old West in the U.S., before this time it was uninhabited except for some native mountain people, bandits and people basically trying not to be found.

So below are all the variants of Piszczor as defined by Mr. Bubak (admittantly, the people doing the recording were not the most literate, but more so than the people who went to them) and the first found records of the name:

Piszczor: (e.g. Picora, Piczka, Piczor, Piczora, Piczula, Piczulak, Piczura, Piscior, Piściorek, Piscor, Piscór, Pisčor, Piscur, Piscura, Pisczor, Pisczorzak, Pisor, Piszczar, Piszczór, Piszczorski, Piszczur, Pyscor) comes from the roots of the polish words pisc and piszcz - to shout out, piper, boastful, claimer.

Year - Name - Location - Record Type
1613 - Piczor, Marcin - Nowy Targ - Marriage Civil
1643 - Pisczor - Szaflary - Birth
1650 - Pisczor - Maruszyna - Marriage
1652 - Pisczor - Maruszyna - Marriage
1661 - Pisczor - Skrzypne - Birth
1668 - Pisczor - Skrzypne - Birth
1674 - Pisor - Skrzypne - Marriage
1679 - Pisczor - Szaflary - Birth
1690 - Pisczorzak - Olcza - Birth
1692 - Piczulak - Biały Dunajec - Birth
1705 - Pisczor - Olcza - Birth
1712 - Pisczor - Ludzimierz - Birth
1712 - Pisczor - Biały Dunajec - Birth
1712 - Piszczorski - Szaflary - Birth
1738 - Piszczor - Skrzypne - Birth
1769 - Piszczur - Skrzypne - Birth
1778 - Piczura - Zakopane - Birth
1786 - Piczura - Czarny Dunajec - Birth
1786 - Piczura - Stare Bystre - Birth
1786 - Piczura - Witów - Birth
1786 - Piszczor - Zakopane - Birth
1788 - Picora - Witów - Birth
1788 - Piszczor - Pyzówka - Birth
1789 - Picora - Witów - Birth
1790 - Piczura - Dzianisz - Birth
1790 - Piczura - Podczerwone - Birth
1791 - Piczula - Ciche - Birth
1792 - Piczura - Wróblówka - Birth
1793 - Piscur - Zakopane - Birth
1793 - Pyscor - Zakopane - Birth
1794 - Piscur - Zakopane - Birth
1795 - Piściorek - Chochołów - Birth
1796 - Piczura - Chocholów - Birth
1798 - Piscor - Zakopane - Birth
1798 - Piszczor - Nowe Bystre - Birth
1798 - Piscor - Nowe Bystre - Birth
1800 - Piczura - Wróblówka - Birth
1803 - Picora - Czarny Dunajec - Birth
1803 - Picora - Witów - Birth
1804 - Picora - Czarny Dunajec - Birth
1804 - Piczora - Ciche - Residence
1810 - Piczura - Dzianisz - Birth
1811 - Piscor - Obidowa - Birth
1816 - Piszczor - Obidowa - Birth
1818 - Piczura - Ciche - Birth
1821 - Piczka - Ciche - Birth
1822 - Piszczór - Obidowa - Birth
1825 - Piscór - Zakopane - Birth
1825 - Piszczor - Zab - Birth
1827 - Piszczar - Obidowa - Birth
1830 - Piscior - Obidowa - Birth
1832 - Piszczor - Zakopane - Birth
1832 - Piszczur - Zakopane - Birth
1834 - Piscura - Obidowa - Birth
1840 - Piszczór - Zakopane - Birth
1842 - Piszczur - Zab - Birth
1848 - Pisčor - Kościelisko - Birth
1849 - Piszczor - Kościelisko - Birth
1850 - Piscor - Kościelisko - Birth
------- Piszczór - Bańska - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Biały Dunajec - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Lasek - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Nowy Targ - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Obidowa - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Podczerwone - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Skrzypne - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Szaflary - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Zab - Civil Registration
------- Piszczór - Zaskale - Civil Registration

Where in the World did John Go?

About everyone I have talked to doing family research has run into this; just when you think you have a part of your family line figured out you're talking with the last person of a generation and out pops a name you have never heard of before. Who is this person and why has nobody ever mentioned them before? The inevitable answer is, "Well, no one ever asked about him before."

This happened to us, that is all of my cousins and I, at a family wedding about 12 years ago. I was showing my father's last surviving brother what I have documented on the family with this brand new software along with some old photographs I discovered and asking him if I had everything correct. Then while looking at one of the photos he says out of the blue, "Oh my, my uncle John used to take us there all the time."

Time out! Who is this 'Uncle John'? The only sibling of our grandparents we knew about was Andrew's sister Antonia and her husband Joseph Basiorka. So I asked, "Who was this John?"

"John was my father's brother. He had a son about my age also named Mike. I remember he was hit by a car about 1939 and hospitalized. I wonder what happened to him." That was it! I went around asking my cousins about this and this was news to them also. That's all I had to go on until late last year with the release of more documents on the Internet.

First, I finally found the 1910 census page for Andrew Piszczor Sr. It was blind luck following a hunch of where my uncle John was born in 1909 (East Huntington Twp, PA) and scanning pages until I noticed an Andrew and Anna together with a infant John. Of course the name was not correct (Pisczur!), I also noticed something I wasn't expecting; his father Jakob (who I never knew was in this country) and a brother John living with him! So now I knew for certain it wasn't the whisky talking that night, but what else about him?

Only other information I had to work with now was that he arrived in the U.S. in 1907. A few months later I was nosing about in the Ellis Island web site trying 'sounds like' searches and came across a Jan Piscur in 1907 from Ciche/Czar. Dunajec, Poland born about 1884. More than enough to to make me look into the manifest and saw his mother was a Kati Pisczur and he was going to Tarr, PA... where I knew Andrew lived at the time... to see his father Jakob Piscur! (Our last name was so messed with through the years)

So he was established and verified, but what happened to John after 1910? One rumor was he lived near his sister Antonia Basiorka near Greensburg, PA and searching there for him now. If anyone has any clues or information please pass it on to me.

Draft Registration Records

These are records that are just recently being released and published for WWI and WWII. What's nice in researching is they provide some exact information that can not be gleaned from census records, such as the address, employer, and physical features. (Not that they are all correct as you can see if look closely and Andrew's record!)

They are being released in a piecemeal fashion and I have found four so far: Andrew Piszczor Sr., Louis (Ludwik) Piszczor Sr., Joseph (Josef) Basiorka and Anton Wolinski.

Check in the album to read them all and I will add more as I find them!