Volume XXI, No. 7 31 July 2020
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Volume XXI, No. 7 31 July 2020 ISSN 1555-774X. Copyright © 2020, PolishRoots®, Inc. Editor: William F. “Fred” Hoffman, e-mail: [email protected]< > CONTENTS Welcome! In Search of Lt. Jan Ruciński, aka Henry Ruskin: Help Needed from Researchers Letter to the Editor The Latest from Polish Origins Geneteka Index Updates An Overview of Recent Periodicals Upcoming Events More Useful Web Addresses You May Reprint Articles... *************************************** *** WELCOME! *** to the latest issue of Gen Dobry!, the e-zine of PolishRoots®. You can find this and previous issues here: <http://www.polishroots.org/GenDobry/Index/60> Also, Agnieszka Maja Migalska of the Facebook group Polish Genealogy has made the PDF available via this link – thanks, Agnieszka! <https://tinyurl.com/y8v6j2wu> Gen Dobry!, Vol. XXI, No. 7, July 2020 — 1 ************************************** *** IN SEARCH OF LT. JAN RUCIŃSKI, AKA HENRY RUSKIN: HELP NEEDED FROM RESEARCHERS *** Paul S. Valasek <[email protected]> As many of you may know if you’ve been reading periodicals and websites on Polish Genealogy, especially that of Haller’s Army, I am continuing my research on the story of the Blue Army as well as individuals who were connected to my grandfather, Jan Kostrubala. My second book was printed in Poland last fall, and due to the craziness of 2020, with plague, lock downs, isolation, unemployment, and a myriad of other roadblocks and life changing alterations, I have had time to start Volume III. My first book took time to produce because there was not too much material online or in English. Since then, a wealth of information has appeared both here and in Poland. Ancestry has listed much more material on individuals than ever before. Having used Ancestry for 20+ years, I am impressed on what is available. But not yet everything! So here’s my pitch for help. While looking for new material on the Haller’s Army, I went through a box of photos my grandfather had saved from the war – probably about forty of them, all black and white or sepia. Many great images of soldiers were there, mainly officers, and some scenes at camps, and different locations. Even Ukrainian Cossacks on horseback...AND some were even labeled! One in particular caught my eye. A Polish officer in full uniform taken at a studio. The best part was he wrote and signed it on the back. Rather simple text, a greeting to my grandfather, his name and rank, city he signed it in and a date. The basics for research. And his handwriting was not bad at all. When I saw the name, Lt. J. H. Ruciński, a bell rang in my head. I remember my mother talking about her father’s “army buddies” and Ruciński was one of them. (While I’m asking folks about Ruciński, other men were Walter Rzewski, Stanley Nastal, Witold Bogucki, Witold Trawiński, and Tadeusz Kwaśniewski.) Almost all with Chicago connections, but some lived elsewhere in the country, Connecticut showing up more than once. Now was the time to search out a bit of history on Jan Ruciński. Checking my Haller database, Jan Ruciński indeed signed up for Haller’s army as an officer trainee, and did this directly at Camp Niagara. He was a naturally born citizen, born in West Hartford, Connecticut in 1892 to immigrant parents. I began accumulating other documents from websites, especially Ancestry. One of the best finds was Find-A-Grave. I have used this site as well as contributing to it for years. But as more and more people volunteer to walk cemeteries, the database is getting larger. Gen Dobry!, Vol. XXI, No. 7, July 2020 — 2 When I looked at his listing on Find-A-Grave, I came up with a different name, Henry J. Ruskin. Not very Polish sounding at all. But then through the numerous documents I had accumulating, you could see the transition from Jan Henryk Ruciński, to Henry J. Rucinski, to Henry Ruskin- Rucinski, plus a couple more variations. The birthdates always matched, locations were good, and connected family members were identical. So why the name change? I contacted the genealogist who listed his information on Find-A-Grave and she was quite happy to help out. My first question to her was, “Are you related?” Unfortunately, she said no, but did research on the Jan due to his interesting headstone. She also sent me links to numerous newspaper articles she had found about Jan’s life. Not only was he American born, but he went to Trinity College for a higher education. For that matter, on his application for Haller’s Army, he states his occupation as “college man.” That was surely different for the 32,000 men who applied. My grandfather listed his occupation as “student” but that was as in high school, not college or university. So as I started to connect the dots, I had a thought. Here I am looking and developing a decent biography of a man who affected my grandfather’s life, including a decent photo for identification, taken from a metal box which was saved in the family since 1958, when my grandfather passed away. It had gone to my grandmother, but after her passing, I remembered it as a child, and took custody of it. So if I, here in Chicago, am looking at an identified photo of a man I never met, “Where may I find a photo or material of my grandfather?” Hopefully signed and identified. Maybe...Ruciński’s family?? Very strong possibility. I started to research Jan Ruciński’s family, and have done fairly well. From one photo to over fifteen documents, and about twenty newspaper articles. But what about family?When we do our family trees, its usually easy to remember relatives due to being involved with them. But these family members have no meaning to me other than being connected to Jan Ruciński, as was my grandfather. So I started a family tree for him, (to keep track of the family), and quickly added 48 members. Unfortunately, most of the members I found were deceased and no information was provided about any current family members – until I located a great-granddaughter. I used the internet. (A lot of people still do not understand it is a great tool if you know how to dig, other than just push a button and wait for answers.) I did make contact with her, but unfortunately, I had more information for her than she did for me. This is not unusual as with the passing of each generation, facts and stories are lost, contacts are broken, family members start living across the country, lose touch with each other, etc., etc. I asked her if anyone would have old photos in their possession? She did not but was not sure if any surviving relatives might. She did offer to try and find out, but it does not look too promising. I did send her a copy of the Jan’s photo which she said she had never seen before. So with this thought process. its turning out more common to locate a total stranger who has a family’s memorabilia rather than a family member themselves. Which leads me to the purpose of Gen Dobry!, Vol. XXI, No. 7, July 2020 — 3 this article...Who may have a photograph, postcard, or letter connected to my grandfather? These items are surely out there, but if they are not a part of someone else’s family tree, they may easily be removed from research and not made available to someone like me who wants to see them. Points to remember when doing genealogy: * Document your sources and label your items for future reference. * Identify all photographs and LABEL them. Never on the front and try not to distort the image. * Make reference to them for other researchers who may not have a direct relationship to an individual. * SAVE material! If you don’t want any item, GIVE it, don’t discard it, to someone or anyone who may be able to use it. * Post the information online, newsletters, and as I do, include it in a book. * Get at least one family member interested in Genealogy. Especially the younger the better. And don’t take, “I’ll do that stuff later.” * Talk to older members of the family who have stories that the younger members don’t know about. And if you are the older member, keep talking about the stories. My mother did and I absorbed a lot of it! * Share with other researchers! Again, they may have what you are looking for and who would know this? Post information looking for and what is available. * I will add, there is one item we should all throw out: Cancel Culture! So here are the pertinent data points: Jan Henryk Ruciński aka, J.H. Rucinski, Henry Rucinski, Henry J. Ruskin-Rucinski, Henry J. Ruskin. - Date of Birth: October 4, 1892 - Born in West Hartford, CT to parents Vincent (Warsaw) and Helen Jagocka (Poznań) - Had siblings, Clara A. , Cornelia A. and Vincent. - Married to Edith Mary Callow of Toronto. She was very active in the Red Cross, White Cross, and was Helena Paderewska’s English secretary. - Served in Haller’s Army and the American Government Consulate in Warsaw after 1921. Also worked for Prime Minister Ignacy Paderewski - Was a published poet (and thus the name change) and received a mention from President Lyndon Johnson in June 1967. - Attended Trinity College, CT. - Attended and organized Polish functions in Connecticut along with Mr. and Mrs. Korczak Ziolkowski, sculptor, famous for working on Mt. Rushmore and starting the Chief Crazy Horse monument on-going in the Black Hills of South Dakota.