This weekend’s research project centered around the Spitalniak family, which really means it also centered on the Obiala family, as you’ll see.
Albert J. Spitalniak was born in 1860 in Potarzyca, Poland. His father was Martinus and his mother was Helena, but other than their being born in 1821 and 1829, respectively, I don’t really have any detail on them. Albert married Margaret (Margaretha) Wosiek, daughter of Carolus and Anastasia, also from Potarzyca, in about 1881 or 1882, when she was 17 or 18 and he was 21 or 22. They had at least 3 children in Poland, but in 1890, Albert left his young pregnant wife and children in Poland and emigrated to Wisconsin. He set up a farm near Stevens Point and within 2 years, Margaret and her three young children were on a boat to join them.
Margaret, Jan (John), Marianna and Antonia, ages 4, 3 and 11 months, sailed out of Bremen and arrived at Ellis Island on April 22, 1892. They had 6 more children that I can find; 5 girls and 1 boy, Catherine, April 2, 1896, Anna, early 1897?, Celia, 1899, Helen, 1901, Frank, 1902, and Agnes, 1903. Mom has a memory of Catherine (known to us as Nana Obi) telling her that there were something closer to a dozen children, but that none of the boys made it to adult-hood. I can only find the two boys, Jan and Frank. Jan died at age 18 in 1904, and Frank died at age 21 in 1923. I don’t have any detail on those two other than that.
Albert & Margaret established a farm. One story goes that the house was falling apart, and that Albert had saved enough money to build a new barn. Margaret told him she wanted a house for all these children, and Albert refused, noting the need for a barn. So Margaret did the enterprising thing and burned the house to the ground so that the money had to go to that. Tough to say if that’s true, but I’d like to believe it.
Margaret died in 1924 in Wisconsin; Albert lived until 1947.
With the exception of Anna, who died young at about age 20 in 1916, the daughters all lived to be old women. Here’s what I know about them:
Marianna
Marianna was born August 6, 1887 in Poland. Nice birthday J At age 4, she boarded a boat in Bremen with her mother, brother and younger sister and sailed across the ocean. What an adventure that must have been! She was the oldest of the daughters, and married Joseph Dix in 1907. It appears they had just 1 child, James, born in 1922 when she was 35 years old. She and Joseph stayed in Wisconsin their whole lives, and lived on a farm in Portage not far from her parents. She died in 1968 in Stevens Point and is buried there. Her husband had died just 3 years earlier, and James lived in the general Portage, WI area his whole life as well, and died in 2002.
Antionette & Andrew
Antoinette was also born in Poland, and was an infant when they sailed to the US. Her name is often listed as Tena or Teenie on family records, and mom remembers he being referred to as Aunt Teenie. Antoinette married Andrew Obiala in 1908 when she was 18 years old.
Andrew was born November 23, 1879 in Kalus, Poland. He arrived on January 26, 1903, though I don’t have info on his boat or port of arrival. He made his way to Chicago, and by 1910, he and Antoinette were living at 4440 Honore in Chicago. His occupation was listed as a Beef Boner in a Packing House. That means he was essentially a character in the book we all read in high school; Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Hardly a nice lifestyle. By 1910, Andrew and Antoinette had a third member of the household, Andrew’s brother, Michael. We’ll get to him in a minute.
Antoinette and Andrew had trouble having children, and in 1917 they adopted their only child, Adeline. By the 1920 census, they were living at 5277 S. Lincoln St and he’s listed as a chauffeur. Michael is no longer living with them, but they do have a “lodger”. They do show as owning the home, so the 1910’s must have been pretty good for Andrew and Antoinette to have gone from the meat packing plant to owning a home.
By 1930, they own a home at 5224 Justine, worth $7,500, but Andrew is back at the stock yards as a laborer. I wonder what happened to bring him back there?
In 1942, Andrew completed a WWII draft card. They’re still living on Justine St, but now his occupation is listed as “In Business” I wonder what that meant?
I don’t have a date that Andrew died, but Antoinette lived until 1976, and Adeline died in 1991.
Anna
There is a 4 or 5 year gap of kids being born between Antoinette and Anna. Part of that has to do with the fact that Albert was in Wisconsin and Margaret in Poland, but perhaps that explains the missing brothers as well? At any rate, Anna was born in 1895 in Wisconsin. I have very few details on her, but she married Hiram Noppensphger in 1915 in Michigan, and died less than a year later. No details on how she died, and no details on what happened to Hiram.
Catherine & Michael
Next up is our Nana Obi. Catherine was born in Wisconsin on April 2, 1896. No real detail on her childhood, but on June 24, 1913, she married her brother-in-law’s brother, Michael Obiala.
Michael was born on September 12, 1885 in Warsaw. His older brother, Andrew, came to the US in 1903, and in 1907, Michael sailed on the SS Professor Woermann from Bremen, arriving in Baltimore. As we know, he lived with Antoinette and Andrew on Honore St. He & Catherine were married on June 24, 1913 in Junction City, Wisconsin.
Their first child, Helen, was born March 24, 1914, which cuts it awfully close to 9 months from the wedding! In fact, it’s 9 months on the nose… On August 28, 1915, they had a daughter, Olgina, who lived only about 6 weeks and died in mid October of the same year. On May 16, 1917, their first son, Edmund was born. On December 19, 1920, Daniel Michael Obiala was born, and finally on May 7, 1923, Dolores.
In the 1920 census, they are listed as living at 5210 Wood St, which they own mortgage free. Michael is a Teamster for what appears to be “Morris Slate” or something along those lines. 5210 Wood St is a vacant lot according to Google Maps, but the house at 5212 looks like it was built pre-1920’s, so if you want to google map it, you’ll get a feel for what it might have looked like.
By the 1930 census, they own the home at 5601 S Winchester. You can google map it; this building may be post-war, so it may not be the house the lived in. Perhaps mom knows?
In 1930, both Michael and Catherine list their occupation is “Store.” Did they have a little shop?
Michael died on November 16, 1930 at only age 45. I don’t know how he died, again perhaps mom does?
By 1940, Catherine had moved to 2908 W. 40th. I can’t tell if it’s 40th Street or 40th Place; if it’s 40th St it’s now a vacant lot. If it’s 40th Place, it’s a classic Chicago 2-flat. You can google that one too. Helen is working at Sears Mail Order House, Ed is a butcher who owns the store, and Catherine is a clerk at the butcher shop. Dan and Deloris are listed as students.
Some time in the early 40’s the family moved to 7047 S. Justine. That house is gone now, too, and it is not a nice neighborhood any more. On November 20, 1944, the Chicago Tribune reported that Dan, a pharmacists mate 1st class had been wounded. Evidently Maureen McFadden is working on finding out more about that, hopefully she can.
I won’t focus much on the rest of the story of the Obiala family, as I think it’s pretty well known. Once I get through the older generations I’ll come back to this crew some more. As we all know, Nana Obi died in 1983. I was thinking the other day about the day of her funeral. Nana & Grandpa came to stay with me & Sara, but the rest of the kids went to the funeral. Donnie Carlson & I missed the bus on Juniper Rd, and Mr. Carlson drove us to school. On the way in to the parking lot, I opened the door of his BMW before it had come to a stop and he yelled at me. I was so upset about that, and about being late for school, that I stopped in the alley way between St John’s and Mt Vernon and was crying. Sister Marie walked by and saw me and took me in to Ms. Tralmer’s class. Strange memory.
Celia
Celia Spitalniak was born in 1899 in Wisconsin. She married Frank Polasky, who was from the same area in Wisconsin, but by the 1920 census they were living at 5243 S. Hermitage in Chicago. They had 2 sons, Edward, born in 1919, and Harold, born in 1920. By 1930, the family was living in Milwaukee. I don’t have a lot of detail about the boys, but they both lived in Milwaukee until at least the 1980’s. Harold died in 1988, I don’t have a death date for Edward.
Celia died in 1975 in Wauk, Wisconsin.
Helen
Helen Spitalniak was born in 1901 in Wisconsin. She married Edward Pasterski, and their children were Edward, Ruth, Ronald and James, born 1921, 1922, 1927 and 1932 respectively. They appear to have lived in Milwaukee all of their lives, and by 1940 Albert was living with them.
Of the children, Edward stayed in Milwaukee as well, and died in 2006. No record of a spouse. Ruth may still be living, as there’s no record of her death. She’d be 96 if she is. Ronald lived in Racine, married a woman named Gladys and died in 1989. Gladys just died in 2013. No record of children. James was living in Mukwanago, WI as recently as 1999, but I don’t have any other detail on him.
Edward Sr died in 1977, Helen lived until 1990 and died in Wisconsin.
Agnes
Agnes was the youngest of the sisters, born in 1903. She married John Koleska in 1923 and had 3 daughters, Deloris in 1924, Corrine in 1927 and Mary Ellen in 1932. In 1930, Agnes & John lived at 5649 S. Wood St. John was a switchman for the railroad. I don’t have a lot of detail about the daughters, but they have all died within the last 15 years or so.
John died in 1957, and according to mom this was the Aunt Agnes who worked at Danny’s Dandy Burgers. Maybe she knows where the key is to lock the door on Christmas day?
Agnes died in 1985 in Chicago.
So that’s a big family. I’ve attached a number of pictures, but my favorite is the one of the 6 sisters in 1959. They look like they had a pretty good time…
Tropp Family History 