Mary Bereta's Family History - Part 2 continued

In the above mentioned church records, the grandparents of Mary Bereta's maternal side were found. Mary's mother was Victoria Kamyczek. Victoria's father was Casimer Kamyczek and his parents were Sebastian Kamyczek and Regina Kokoszka. Victoria's mother was Marianna Kokoszka (see last post) and her parents were Joseph Kokoszka and Regina Kaczmarczyk. Mary Bereta's maternal grandparents, Marianna Kokoszka and Casimer Kamyczek were married on April 5, 1826 in Stary Wisnicz.

Victoria Kamyczek's paternal grandmother, Regina Kokoszka, died 8/29/1842 and her maternal grandfather, Joseph Kokoszka, died 5/22/1841. From these church records we can see that there is a frequent mention of names marrying each other: Bereta, Kokoszka, Kamyczek, and Kaczmarczyk.

Mary Bereta Family History - Part 2

There is a wealth of information on Film no. 2092290 which has the church records of Stary Wisnicz, Poland, the birthplace of Mary Bereta. Gayle Glinka Weyland, great grandaughter of Mary Bereta, has found another sibling of Mary's immediate family. On August, 16th, 1875, a year before Mary's birth, her older sibling Catherine was born. So we now know that there are four siblings in Mary Bereta's family: Catherine (8/16/187), Mary (11/23/1876, Anna (6/15/1879) and Jacob (6/6/1882).

Also found in these church records was the approximate death date of Marianna Kokoszka, Mary Bereta's maternal grandmother. Marianna must have died between the years of 1845 (when Mary's mother, Victoria Kamyczek was born) and 1851 because in the records we see that Casimer Kamyczek, Mary's maternal grandfather and Marianna Kokoszka's husband remarried to a woman named Maria, illegitimate daughter of Theresa Biernias (sp) and proceeded to have five more children: Joseph (1851), John (1856), Maria (1858), Adalbert (1861) and Joseph (1867). All of the Kamyczek children from both mothers were born in House number 64 in Stary Wisnicz. Marianna Kokoszka had four siblings through her father Joseph Kokoszka and mother Regina Kazmarczyk: Marianna (abt.1807 - 1845/1851), Margaret (6/26/1810), Anthony (1815) and Martin (1820).

Mary Bereta Family History-Part 1

In November of 2009, Mary Bereta's great granddaughter, Gayle Glinka Weyland, pursued Polish Church records through the Family History Center of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Because Mary Bereta's birthplace was known, Gayle did a search in the Genealogy Library's catalog of the Mormon Church for Stary Wisnicz. The film was received in December of 2009 and Gayle researched the church record film. Because the film only dates back to 1873, the only records Gayle found were the birth records of Mary Bereta and her siblings. But birth records in the church of Stary Wisnicz were very extensive and not only were the names of Mary's parents found but also her parent's parents. Here is the information that was found:

Name: Marianna Bereta
Date of Birth: December 23, 1876
Date of Baptism: December 26, 1876
Father of Marianna: Martin Bereta
Paternal Grandfather of Marianna: Martin Bereta
Paternal Grandmother of Marianna: Anna Migrala

Mother of Marianna: Victoria Kamyczek
Maternal Grandfather of Marianna: Casimer Kamyczek
Maternal Grandmother of Marianna: Marianna Kokoszka

Godparents of Marianna: Joseph Bereta and Marianna Wojec-----
Occupation of father of Marianna: Serf

The other birth records that were found were of Marianna's sister:
Name: Anna Bereta
Date of Birth: June 15, 1878
Date of Baptism: June 17, 1878
See Marianna (sibling of Anna) for parents and grandparents.
Godparents of Marianna: Franciscus Kamyczek and Anna, wife of Joseph Bereta

And Marianna's brother:
Name: Jacobus Bereta
Date of Birth: June 6, 1882
Date of Baptism: June 9, 1882
See Marianna (sibling of Jacobus) for parents and grandparents.
Godparents of Jacobus: Jacobus Ca------ and Catherine Woje-----------

According to Fred Hoffman, a researcher of Polish surnames (who Gayle was able to hear from via another Polish genealogy researcher), the name Bereta shows up in Marianna's birth village, Stary Wisnicz. Stary Wisnicz is in the Bochnia county of Malopolskie province and the largest number of Bereta's are found in Bochnia county, 168 out of 558. There are also large numbers for the nearby county of municipal Krakow. Fred Hoffman found through Professor Rymut's book on Polish Surnames that the name BERETA comes from the obvious source - "beret-a kind of head covering." So this is a word that is borrowed from the French "beret". According to Hoffman, BERETA probably started out as a nickname for an ancestor who liked to wear a beret, or perhaps one who made or sold them.

Now, Marianna's maternal grandmother's maiden name, MIGRALA, comes from "migrowac" : to change one's place of residence. So according to Prof. Rymut, it means to "migrate". Most likely, the MIGRALA family were recent immigrants in Poland about the time surnames were becoming established.

In regard to Marianna's mother's maiden name, KAMYCZEK, Prof. Rymut says this name comes from the noun "kamyczek" which means "pebble,shingle.". He lists Marianna's maternal grandmother's maiden name, KOKOSZKA, coming from the noun "kokoszka" which means "young hen", and appears in Polish records as early as the year 1370. Both surnames, KAMYCZEK and KOKOSZKA show up most often in Bochnia county.

The next step in researching the Bereta family is the film that is ordered for church records of Stary Wisnicz that dates from 1668 to 1886 which includes not only birth records, but marriage and death records as well. The hope is to find records of Marianna's parents and grandparents. Updates on the Glinka family genealogy research will be posted as the information comes in.

Mary Glinka

Mary Bereta Glinka was born in Poland in 1876. The passenger ship list, when she came to America in 1906, names her birthplace but the handwriting was illegible. Mary Kopec Norwood, granddaughter of Mary, subscribed to Ancestry.com. It is through this service that Mary and I, Gayle Glinka Weyland, found a brother of Mary's, that came to America the same year she did, His name was Jacob Bereta and it is on his ship list we find the name of the village he was born in which is Stary Wisnicz. This village, Stary Wisnicz, is in the administrative district of Nowy Wisnicz, within Bochnia County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in Southern Poland. It is 27 miles East of Krakow. According to the oral history taken by granddaughter Ann Collette, Mary Bereta Glinka had one sister and one brother. When Mary Bereta met Michael Glinka, she was working as a Pastry Maid in Austria-Hungary. Mary delivered twelve children between the years of 1897 and 1922. Of those twelve births, only nine children survived. The following children of Mary and Michael were born in the years that follows: Anna born in Oderberg, Austria-Hungary in 1897; John born in Oderberg, Austria-Hungary in 1899; Michael born in Oderberg, Austria-Hungary in approx. 1901 (died at birth); Carl born in Oderberg, Austria-Hungary in approx. 1902 (died at six months of age); Charles born in Oderberg, Austria-Hungary in 1903; Emil born in Chicago, IL in 1908; Mary born in Lublin, WI in 1910; Sophia born in Lublin, WI in 1912; Henry born in Lublin, WI in 1916; Emily born in Lublin, WI in 1918; Alice born in Lublin, WI in 1920; and Anthony born in Lublin, WI in 1922 (died at birth).

According to Mary Glinka Burford and Sophie Glinka Lainey, Mary Bereta Glinka spoke only Polish and German. She understood English but could not speak it. She also could understand Czech. She did know how to write and often wrote letters to her sister back in Poland. Sophie Glinka Laniey gave a copy of a letter to myself, Gayle Glinka Weyland, that her mother wrote to her when she was younger. The letter was given to several people on Gayle's behalf in hope of it being translated but the translation did not make sense. Mary Kopec Norwood also gave a copy of this letter to her German friend and her translators when she visited the Czech Republic in 2009. From her understanding, the letter was written in 'pidgin' language which would explain why translation of it has been difficult.

According to Sophie Glinka Lainey, Mary and Michael were happy coming to America. From reading about the Poles in Austria-Hungary during the late 19th and early 20th century, discrimination was a common practice in this area for people who were of not of Germanic origin. This would explain why Mary and Michael both knew how to speak German since Polish was not allowed to be spoken. Both John and Charles baptismal certificates are both written in German which John was baptized 'Johann Stephan' and Charles was baptized 'Karl Peter'.

While Michael used herbs for healing the farm animals while in Lublin, Mary used herbs to heal the children when they were sick. Sophie remembers that when she had an abscess on her finger when she was a young girl, her mother Mary soaked dandelion leaves and bread in milk and then wrapped the leaves and bread around the finger. She also remembers her mother rubbing their chest with heated goose lard and putting flannel material over this when they were sick with a cough and cold. Mary also gave them chamomile tea when they had stomach aches. Mary grew her own herbs and dried them specifically for medicinal purposes.

In 1924, two years after Michael died, Mary sold the farm in Lublin, Wisconsin and used the money to help buy a house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for Anna and her husband Carl Glapa along with their two year old son, Edwin; and herself and the remaining children which consisted of Emil, Mary, Sophie, Henry, Emily and Alice. The house in Milwaukee was at 1567 W. Lapham St. which is still standing as of 2009. After she moved to Milwaukee, Mary worked nights doing janitorial work at a railway station, according to the 1930 Census Record for Milwaukee, WI.

In 1934, Mary developed cancer which eventually affected her brain and resulted in her becoming blind at the end of her life. Sophie recalled her mother had lucid moments and at one point wanting help to go to the bathroom. Acorrding to Sophie, she and Alice led her to the bathroom in which she lost consciousness. Between the two of them, they carried Mary to her bed and vowed secrecy to each other keeping it from their sister Anna. Mary Bereta Glinka died April 24, 1935. On her death certificate, it lists Carcinoma of the left kidney as the principal cause of death and Carcinoma of the liver for the contributory cause of death. She is buried in St. Adalbert Catholic Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is buried in Section 11, Block 8, Lot 29, Grave 3. St. Adalbert Catholic Cemetery is located at 3801 S. 6th St. at the corner of W. Howard Avenue.

Michael Glinka

Michael Glinka, was born on April 17, 1870 somewhere in Occupied Poland (possibly East Prussia or Austria-Hungary). As of this date, we aren't sure of his birth town but hopefully with the help of the Family History Center of the Church of Latter Day Saints, we will be able to find him in historical records. We only know about his mother, who he was very devoted to, according to his children. From his second child's baptismal certificate, John Stephan Glinka, it looks as if his mother's maiden name might be "Jumann". It's a very obscure surname and we are not sure whether it is German or the Germanization of a Polish surname. From the Oral History taken by Ann Collette (granddaughter of Michael), of Mary Glinka Burford (Michael's fifth surviving child) and Sophia Glinka Lainey (Michael's sixth surviving child), Michael's mother was burned to death in a house fire. Before his marriage to Mary Bereta, he was a Cavalry Soldier.

Michael married Mary Bereta, a Pastry Maid, around 1896; possibly a year before. Their first child, was a daughter Anna, born in 1897. Next came John, born in 1899. Then came Charles, born in 1903. Between John and Charles, two sons were born, Michael and Carl, who only survived within six months of their birth. The three oldest surviving children, were all born in Europe. It was in 1904, Michael left for America, leaving Mary with the three children, with plans on joining him within the next two years.

According to the Oral History of Mary Glinka Burford and Sophia Glinka Lainey, Michael was a very loving father. He knew no English but spoke in Polish and German. He could read in Polish but not write in this language. Mary Glinka Burford remembers teaching him to sign his name in English. Mary and Sophia remember sitting on his lap a lot as children and being able to play with his moustache. Sophie remembered a touching story when she was nine years old. She remembered having to walk two miles to the store when a windstorm came up and carried not only the goods away from her, but herself as well. She recalls her father coming with the horse and cart to rescue her.

Michael was described as a quiet, gentle man, who wasn't always healthy but worked hard. He helped a lot of neighbors when they were in trouble and never refused anyone with help. He was always concerned about his children and was protective of them. In the farming community of Lublin, Wisconsin, Michael was known to be the horse expert, probably due to his experience as a Cavalry Soldier in Europe. He knew how to use herbs as medicinal ways to help the horses of the town.

On April 3rd, 1922, at the age of 51 years, 11 months and 3 days, Michael Glinka passed away from Influenza. On his death certificate, it lists the major cause of death as "endocarditis" and the contributory cause as "edema of the lungs". Sophie remembers the day of his funeral and recalled it to me, Gayle Glinka Weyland, on one of their visits. Sophie was ten years old at the time and she had to stay in the house to watch the younger children. She remembers looking out the window watching the neighboring men place her father's coffin on to the horse cart. As soon as the coffin was placed on the cart, Michel's beloved horses threw themselves up in the air, as if to salute their master one last time.

When Michael died, he was buried in what was once the town and village cemetery instead of the Catholic cemetery because he did not attend church that past Easter Sunday, even though he helped build the Catholic cemetery. Thanks to his son, Charles Glinka, Michel's grave is now part of St. Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery in Lublin, Wisconsin. Charles had the fence that seperated the town and village cemetery from the Catholic cemetery removed. He had a new headstone made for him as well. St. Stansislaus Cemetery in Lublin, Wisconsin is found on County Highway F as you are entering the town. Across the road is another Catholic cemetery, St. Mary's Polish National Catholic Cemetery. When you enter St. Stansislaus Cemetery, enter at the sign and go toward the back, even with the last graves in the cemetery. Then go 10 - 20 yards to the left and you will find his grave. These directions were give to me from Jeffrey Glinka, grandson of Michael Glinka, from his 2001 trip to Lublin, Wisconsin. A big thanks to him for these great directions. All of us ancestors of Michael Glinka are thankful for his bravery coming to a new country in order to give opportunities to his children, grandchildren, and so forth, that he never could experience living in his own birth country.

It was December 19, 1904 when Michael Glinka landed at Ellis Island from his long journey on the North German Line ship, Brandenberg, coming from his home in what was known as Oderberg, Austria-Hungary, now known as Bohumin, Czech Republic. I learned this information when I first began my genealogy research in 1997. I always enjoyed hearing stories about the family's history from my dad and my beloved Cio Cia Sophie, Michael's sixth child, prompting me to investigate more about our origins. A few weeks ago, I made the pilgrimage up to Lublin, Wisconsin, Michael and Mary's second home in the United States, to visit Michael's grave and find the location of what was their farm. Being there made everything I have learned about them more real then what I could have imagined. I feel now that I can start putting things together and share some of what I have learned either through family stories, oral history, and genealogical research, with other Glinka relatives and hope to learn from them as well. It was a while since I worked on my Glinka files and I thank my cousin, Mary Kopec, of San Antonio, Texas, granddaughter of Michael and Mary, in getting me involved again. Her enthusiasm for learning about the history of our family validated all the work I did since 1997 and gave me the impetus to continue this genealogical journey. I hope that this blog and the information presented in future blogs will pique interest in our other relatives as well.

Welcome to the Glinka Genealogy Blog

My name is Gayle Glinka Weyland and I am the great granddaughter of Michael and Mary Glinka, who came to America in 1904 and 1906 respectively. The reason why I am creating this blog is to share the Glinka family history with all my relatives. Heaven knows there are a lot of us "Glinka's"! I thought this would be a great way for the Glinka relatives to communicate with each other and to share their memories and stories their own parents told them about what they knew and remembered about Michael and Mary as well as themselves. Many generations have come about since Michael landed on Ellis Island and we need these stories to keep being told so that the ones that are gone before us are forever remembered through the years to come.