Looking for family

[katesmom]

I am new to this site. I'm trying to find info on my mother's family.Here's some info I do know.My mother's name is Helene Mary Pasiak.(maiden name). Her father was John Pasiak; mother Nellie W?. (Nellie's maiden name started with a W, that's all I know)My mother had two brothers;Charles died young, Joseph who was older had been in Sing Sing prison.Nellie died in some kind of gas accident when My mother was around 7 and her father couldn't take care of her so he put her in St. Josephs Aslyum and orphanage in Brooklyn N.Y. If I remember correctly, from what she told me Her father John was the only son and there was 7 or 8 sisters one of whom name was Amelia.I tried getting records about her but was told the records from the orphanage had been destroyed by a fire. After running across this forum I have hope I can find some information on her family I hope I didn't ramble on. My email is [e-mail]. Thank You.

[Jaga]

Katesmom,

welcome to the forum! Do you know where from Poland your mother's family came from? The name "Pasiak" is Polish and it is not very common, but you may find people with this last name in different regions of Poland.

your mother was a very brave woman

here we have more articles which should help you to organize your genealogy search:
culture.polishsite.us/smgenealogy.html

[Mary]

Katesmom,

It sounds like you are looking for family here in the states, is that correct?

If so, you might start with census records. It can be very hard, as I know, when records were lost or inaccurate. I guess I would start with the census records and you can also go to social security records, births, deaths, in New York state.

The very best of luck on your venture, and I hope you will stay and enjoy the forum.

Mary

[freetobe]

katesmom,

Keep after the Brooklyn RC Diocese for the St. Josephs records. While the "records lost in a fire"
may be true, it is also a convenient way to blow off seekers. Don't know why they do this.

[rdywenur]

Good luck to you in your search. I hope you don't have a harder time tracking down the sisters. Guys keep their names and girls will get married and change names so might be harder to track down. My ex was from the Bronx and I know there is a Bronx forum with lots of old timers there. Maybe there is a similar forum for Brooklyn that you can post some questions to. People are always talking about searching and looking for long lost friends there. Maybe someone will recognize the name.

[jimpres]

Pasiak is derived from the Polish word Pas meaning belt or strip. In the 1990 Polish census there were 702 people in Poland with the name Pasiak. ref: Polish Surnames:Origins and Meanings by William Hoffman

[katesmom]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm hoping that someone who knew about the orphanage might happen on here. One thing I remember my mother telling my sister and me was her dad was a basket maker and that on one special occasion he bought my mother's mom a full length mink coat. That must have been very expensive back then! Everyone have a great weekend!!!

[katesmom]

I haven't been on here in quite a while. But I might have found out more on my mother's family. Apparently my grandmother's name was either Angela or Aneila(more likely) Wojitas. She was born in Poland around 1894. So now I am researching the names Pasiak and Wojitas. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[freetobe]

Hi Kate,
Don't know how you are continuing your search. Have you been to the Ellis Island Records site?Do you have any idea when grandma/grandpa came to the U.S.? If you can find the ship record, it may give you a clue to where they were headed and where they came from. Have you tried googling the the St. Joseph Asylum? The suggestions re census records are great. Most census records to 1930, maybe later, are online. It is time consuming work, but when you get a hit, it is so rewarding.
Keep at it amd good luck!

[Jaga]

Hi Kate,

the first name is probably "Aniela", the last name - I am not sure, maybe Wojtas. Wojitas sounds Lithuanian.