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                                               Are you of Polish anscestery and trying
                              to trace your roots back to your homeland like I am?
                                      Well, just maybe we can help each other out.

    My name is Roy Czekay and I am a second generation Polish American. My
     grandfather, Joseph Czekaj, immigrated to America from Krakow, Poland in
     1888 and settled in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania.

     For the past three years I have been doing research to find other relatives in
     Poland. I would like to make contact with anyone who could help me with my
     quest.

    Surnames that I am currently researching are:
                                      Adamek, Checki, Czekaj, Czekay, Dudy, Mikrut, Pawlak, Szeli, Vogel,
                                      and Weber.

                                    Adamek, Frank. (maternal grandfather)
                                     Emigrated to America from Liegnitz, Gernany in 1890 according to the 1900
            Taylor County, Wisconsin census. His wife, Marie Vogel arrivied in 1892.
            However, his declaration of intent papers filed in Wells county, North Dakota,
            September 24, 1892, states his arrival date as February 1892 at the Port of
            New York. He received his Certificate of Naturalization July 1, 1902, in
            Medford, Wisconsin while living in Rib Lake, Wisconsin. Worked as a
            laborer in a tannery in Rib Lake until his death on December 25, 1904.
                             Born - Liegnitz, Germany October 7, 1865.
                           Died - Rib Lake, Wisconsin December 25, 1904.
                           Wife: Marie Vogel.
                           Born - Liegnitz, Germany November 14, 1877.
                           Died - Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 6, 1936.
                           Children:
                                          Anna:
                                          Born - Chicago, Illinois May 8, 1897
                                                                    Died - Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 30, 1988.

                                                                     Frieda:
                                                                     Born - Rib Lake, Wisconsin June 22, 1899.
                                                                     Died - Milwaukee, Wisconsin November 15,1995

                                                                     Mary:
                                                                     Born - Rib Lake, Wisconsin July 20, 1904.
                                                                     Died - Rib Lake, Wisconsin August 6, 1906.

                                    Czekaj, Joseph. (paternal grandfather)
                                     Emigrated with his wife Julia, (nee Szeli), to America from the Krakow area of
            Austria-Poland in 1888. Settled in Mt.Pleasant, Pennsylvania and worked in
            coal mines there until 1902. [source:1900 Westmoreland County census.]
            After developing lung problems, his doctor advised him to leave the mines,
                                      so he moved his family to Lena, Wisconsin and homesteaded a farm there in
                                      1902. Farming was his vocation in Poland, so he had no problems getting
                                      started in Lena. He died August 17, 1922.

                                     Born - near Krakow, Poland 1860.
                                      Died - Lena, Wisconsin August 17, 1922.
                                      Wife: Julia Szeli. Birth and death dates unknown.
                                      Children:
                                                   George Czekay:
                                                   Born - Mt.Pleasant, Pennsylvania July 3, 1892.
                                                   Died - Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 24, 1964.

                                                   Andrew Checki:
                                                   Born - Mt.Pleasant, Pennsylvania July 20, 1900.
                                                   Died - Green Bay, Wisconsin December 8, 1987.

Pauline Czekaj, Rose Czekaj:
Birth dates and death dates unknown at this time.

                                       The variation in the spelling of the surname Czekaj, can be attributed to the
                                       fact that upon arrival in America, the people interviewing the emigrants
                                       at Ellis Island in New York, often wrote the names down in phonetic spelling,
                                       due to the fact that the immigrants quite often were illiterate and weren't able
                                       to spell their own names, even though they were fluent in their native tongue.

                                       The same is true of the census takers in the early 1900's. They were also
                                       lax in compiling the exact dates about births and other important facts. They
                                       couldn't have cared less at the time if they got their facts correct. Now, we
                                       have to unravel all the data in order to get back to our roots. But it can be
                                       done! It can take years, but with determination and a lot of patience and
                                       fortitude, our mission can be accomplished.

                                    Checki, Andrew.
                                     Born - Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania July 20, 1900.
                                      Died - Green Bay, Wisconsin December 8, 1987.
                                      Son of Joseph Czekaj, but spelling of surname changed to Checki while
                                      attending grade school.
                                      Wife: Helen, nee Mikrut.
                                      Children: Stanley, Marcella. Married Louis Pawlak.

                                    Dudy, Otto.
                                     Half brother of Anna and Frieda Adamek.
                                      Son of Marie Vogel.
                                      Wife: Adele.

                                    Weber, Ed.
                                     Born - October 1, 1901, Died June, 1979.
                                      Half brother of Anna and Frieda Adamek.
                                      Son of Marie Vogel.
                                      Wife: Esther.
                                      Children: Ed, Jr., James.

                                      You can learn more about me and my heritage by looking around my web
                                      site.
                                     Use the links on the left to navigate.

                                      Please let me know who you are! You can do so by
                                      signing my guest book.

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