This house was the home of Ignacy Sobilo in 1967.
The address was found on an envelope containing a letter sent from Ignacy to his brother Ludwik who lived in Hamburg New York at that time. Ignacy emigrated from Zaklikow Poland sometime around 1915-18
From the letter it is apparent that Ignacy was fluent in Spanish, but wrote the letter in Polish.
Got the Ancestry DNA kit for Christmas, and the results are spot on. It includes a listing of people that share the same ancestry, making it easier to compile the family tree. Whats good about it is that the majority of the matches are people with an interest in geneology and who have already done some research on their end. It has allowed me to forward the tree on the Turner and Rollo sides with connections to established family trees. Still hitting a wall with the Gaul/Gall side.
I found another surname for Julia Gall. On a Nova Scotia vital stats site, I uncovered a birth registration for Michael Gall, born in 1915.
He is the son of Joe Gall and a woman named Katie who apparently lived one street over from the Gall address on Currys Lane in Whitney Pier, Sydney NS.
Joe and Julia had Mike baptized into their family a month later. On another birth document ( for Anthony Gaul), Julia’s maiden name is listed as KUTAK.
This seems to lead to her town of origin being in Slovakia near Bratislava, where there are Kutak families living there to this day.
I will fill in the blanks as soon as i can put things together, in a logical framework.
SO,
Unless i have totally been misled, ( or done faulty investigative procedure) , it happened last night while sitting on the back patio at the casita in Costa Rica. It was raining, so i was spending the time researching the Hungarian connection. All of my life i have been aware of oral tradition that my fathers family were from Hungary. That his great grandfather was some sort of judge or judicial official. That his grandmother was “ a gypsy”. That their home was turned into an orphanage during WW2. Where they came from was the mystery.
I knew that my great grandfather came to Canada in 1906. His wife and kids in 1907. Census shows them living on Currys Lane in Whitney Pier Sydney Nova Scotia in 1911. I knew they were there as well from family stories of how he ( Joseph Gall) worked at the steel coking ovens and died in a fall from a crane there. This was confirmed by death records in 1917. But still, no link as to the origin town or village.
Serendipitously, I connected via an internet search, with a woman in Hamilton Ontario , ( Nadine Pozer), who shares the same great grandparents. ( and passion for digging up family history). Nadine had done her research and had his widow’s (Julia Gall) history in Hamilton, but no connection as to Joseph Gall. She shared all of this with me witout hesitation. I am hugely indebted to her for this.
Nadine has her own blog detailing her journey “ mom on the mountain” or google Nadine Pozer…..
She provided photos of Julia and her kids, illuminating that part of the family history. Still, no info as to the home location in Hungary.
So, for the intervening years i have been slowly hunting, proving each step forward. I obtained a copy of my grandparents wedding licence from their day in Hamilton in 1926. On that document, it listed, among the usual witnesses, etc, the names of both sets of parents ( my great grandparents) , AND , THEIR HOME TOWNS IN EUROPE!
I was over the moon, finally knowing! Or so i thought……
The town listed in Hungary on the document in clear handwriting was POPSY Hungary. I emediately began the search, only to find there was no such place. Could not find anything close or sound alike. Radix Forum ( Hungarian site) proved several hits, but all those people advised “ no such place”……
Tons of on line reading in English snd mostly unintelligible Hungarian later, that brings me to now……and how again, luck strikes now and then.
I found a site “ Hungaricana.hu” with a SEARCHABLE function and typed in POPSY. ( ready for the usual negative response). It returned quite a number of hits buried in archival documents, mostly leading to persons of that name. Hours of reading later, i came across two pages in a gazeteer….
LISTING POPSY AS THE ALTERNATIVE LOCAL NAME FOR A TOWN CALLED PAPOS!!
So, again i turned to digging about this town and found that it is in the far north east section of Hungary near the russian border. From my grandfather, he told us that his mother was “ Russian” and “ a gypsy”……and on the marriage document her family surname was listed as ULYANA.
Seems to square with that info.
Here is a google earth image of Papos
And a couple of street views…..
So, if all of this is correct, ( under scrutiny to be proven otherwise) ,this is the town of origin for Joseph and Julia Gall in 1906/1907 ( or at least that of Joseph Gall…….as Julia Gall’s obituary lists her place of birth as “ Yugoslavia”)……..but thats another investigation!
Now, based on this info, we can get on with the exploration of individuals via church records, etc…
This stuff gives me great pleasure. I aim to complete as much of the investigation as i can from here on……with the help of others welcomed!
Gotta cast the net wider now! 🙂
Why did the chicken…..
Cross the road?
Grapefruit tree one year old
Here are some up to date pics…..
