WHAT'S THE REAL NAME???

 I started my genealogical research over 40 years ago. I started on a good path - I took a class through community ed and learned the basics. The first lesson you learn is to BEGIN WITH YOURSELF AND WORK BACK, and that’s what I did.

 My mother’s maiden name is Dixie Joy Butzek (and yes, we have southern roots). Her father was Anton or Anthony Butzek. His father was Albert Butzek. I knew my great-grandparents but only had vague memories of them. They were called something like JaJa and Bousha, which I was told was Polish for grandma and grandpa. I remember that when we visited my Uncle Rudy, they would be sitting together on the couch — watching and taking everything in but not speaking. I dug into researching my great-grandfather Albert Butzek. Except he wasn’t my great-grandfather. 

The name Butzek can be spelled in various ways. My cousin spells it Buczek, but his father spells it Butzek. After several years of finding very little, I asked my grandmother, who had been married to Anthony, what she knew about Albert and the family. She said something that shocked me. “Well, you know that Albert isn’t Anthony’s real father, right?” DUH!! NO, I DIDN’T. I had never heard the story (we weren’t very close to that side of the family since my grandfather had died in 1943). I had been chasing the wrong family all those years.

 It turns out that my great-grandmother had a first husband, and he was my grandfather’s father. His last name was Martinek - or maybe it was Marcinek. There are many stories about this whole thing, but no one had thought to mention them to me. Everyone assumed I knew. And this was the second lesson I learned – NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING. 

My great-grandfather, Anton Martinek, came to the United States in 1909. He and my great-grandmother had married about 1903. It appears it was his second marriage because he had an older son - Casimir. My great-grandmother, grandfather, and a couple of siblings came over shortly after my great-grandfather in 1909. The story was that my great-grandfather had a temper, got into a fight, and came to the U.S. one step ahead of the law. I have no idea if any part of that story was true. But in the 1910 census, the family is all listed under the name Menson. It’s a bit unclear why they used that name. Perhaps the enumerator didn’t understand them, or maybe they thought using a fake name was a good idea. Living with the family is Albert Butcher - who I believe was Albert Butzek. Albert had come over on the same ship as Anton Martinek. 

By 1912, the marriage was totally on the rocks, and Marie Martinek, my great-grandmother, sought a divorce from Anton Martinek because he was a “habitual drunkard.” “He was wholly unfit to have the care and custody of said children.” She noted that the defendant had “struck, beat, slapped and mistreated” her and “threatened to shoot” her. So Anton did have a temper, and it makes the original story of him fleeing the law not so far-fetched. The divorce was granted. 

In June 1913, Albert Bucsek and Mary Martinek married in Vermilion County, Illinois. Marie was only 28 years old. She already had five children and, in August, gave birth to a sixth. After the divorce, the five Martinek children started using the Butzek name almost immediately. They were always known by that last name. When Anthony Butzek married my grandmother Stella Edwards in 1931, he used the last name Butzek. My mother and her brother have the last name Butzek on their birth certificates. There’s no indication that Albert Butzek, their stepfather, ever officially adopted the children. In 1936, when Anthony completed his social security application, he used the last name of Butzek. 

In 1943, my grandfather completed his naturalization process. He applied as Anton Marcinek. He listed his wife as Stella Mae Marcinek, and his children as Dixie Joy Marcinek and Anthony Marcinek Jr. He noted that he had arrived under the name of Anton Martinek. As part of the court proceedings, he officially changed his name to Anthony Butzek. This name change is noted on the back of his naturalization certificate. It says, “Name changed by decree of Court from Anton Marcinek, as a part of the Naturalization.” 

I am left with a mystery. What was the real name? Martinek or Marcinek? Why was it Martinek on the passenger list and divorce record but Marcinek in Anthony’s naturalization record? This complicates research for that family. My grandfather, Anthony, died a month after completing his naturalization. My great-grandfather Anton Martinek/Marcinek seems to have disappeared after the divorce; what happened to him is unclear. It’s one of the most confusing name changes I’ve encountered in all my research. But the third lesson I learned early on was NEVER GIVE UP! 

ADDED NOTE: To confuse things further, my maiden name is Martin – which apparently used to be Martinek.

 

A Couple of Immigrant Ancestors

 In January, I wrote a post entitled Origins, which talked about my DNA origins and immigrant ancestors in general terms. But who were these immigrant ancestors and when did they arrive? This week's topic for #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Immigration so here are my two closest immigrant relatives. 

My Grandfather - Anton Martinek/Butzek

My grandfather came to the US, landing in Ellis Island, on 16 November 1909 on the Kaiser Wilhelm II. He is listed in the passenger manifest, along with the following^[1]:

• Kasimir Martinek, aged 17, miner, Nationality: Austria, Bohemia. Last permanent residence: Marklowitz, Silesia. Closest relative: grandfather Andreas Miencial, Marklowitz . Final Destination: Ohio, Dillonvale, Going to: father Anton Martinek, Bradley Ohio. 4’11” fair complexion, brown hair, grey eyes. Born Austria Marklowitz. [THIS IS LIKELY ANTON’S STEP-BROTHER WHICH MEANS THAT ANDREAS MIENCIAL IS NOT A BLOOD RELATION BUT IS MARIA’S FATHER.]
• Maria Martinek, aged 25, married, housewife, can read and write. Last permanent residence: Silesia, Marklowitz. Nearest relative: father Andreas Miencial, Sichen?? Austria. Going to: Ohio, Dillonvale, Going to: husband Anton Martinek, Bradley Ohio, 5’2” fair complexion, brown hair, brown eyes, Born Austria, Marklowitz
• Gustav, aged 4, male. Fair complexion, brown hair, brown eyes
• Anton, aged 2, male. Fair complexion, brown hair, brown eyes
• Milada, aged 10 months, female, fair complexion, brown hair, blue eyes

 The Kaiser Wilhelm II was part of the North German Lloyd line. It was a large ship that could hold 775 passengers in 1st class, 343 in 2nd class and 770 in 3rd class.

 

“Passenger Ships and Images, digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 February 2024); photograph of Kaiser Wilhelm II, renamed Agememnon, 1919.

 2nd Great-Grandfather - Robert Halliday

My second great-grandfather came from County Durham, England sometime before 1890 along with his parents, John and Jane (Hutchinson) Halliday. I believe he sailed from Liverpool, arriving on 19 October 1888 on the City of New York. The record is incredibly hard to read, but it appears to list his parents and some of his siblings with plans to go to Iowa — which is where they ended up. 

The City of New York made it’s maiden voyage in August 1888, so it was a relatively new ship when the Halliday’s boarded it in October.

 

“Passenger Ships and Images, digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 February 2024); drawing of the Inman Line Twin Screw Steamer City of New York.

 These are my two closest relatives who immigrated to the United States. Both came to the US but likely had different experiences. Robert was older, about 20 years of age when he arrived — and he could speak and understand English. Anton was a two-year-old, accompanied by a family that did not speak or understand English and had to navigate the chaos of Ellis Island in 1907. I did not get a chance to meet either of these relatives - Robert died in 1933 and Anton died in 1943.

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^[1] “New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island,(1820-1957),” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4005310250:7488 : accessed 17 March 2019), manifest, S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm II. Bremen to New York, arriving 16 November 1909, p.160, Maria Martinek and children; citing National Archives microfilm T715, Roll 1373.

Miners and Farmers - Earning a Living

This week's topic for #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is "Earning a Living." My ancestors earned their living in the same way - as coal miners, farmers, and housewives. My father was the first generation out of the mines and my mom was the first who was not a miner or farmer's wife. 

My maternal grandfather, Anthony Butzek (Martinek), worked as both a farmer and a coal miner. Not having been raised on a farm, he learned how to farm from reading books and other materials. People scoffed, but he apparently had a good farm despite the depression. He died young, killed in a mine accident.

My paternal grandfather, Mike Martin, worked in the mines from a young age. He was crippled by falling coal, and black lung disease contributed to his death. His father was killed in a mine accident (with my grandfather and uncle standing next to him when the accident occurred). 

The women in the family were housewives. None except my grandmother worked outside the home, and she had to work since she lost her husband when she still had two young children to support. As farmer's wives, these women worked hard year-round. As a coal miner's wife, their lives must have been physically and emotionally hard, never knowing if their husband would come home. 

My farming ancestors are my American lines - stretching back through southern Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. My coal mining ancestors stretch back into Eastern Europe, England, and Scotland. 

The chart below shows five generations of occupations.